Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi - It's nice to hear from you again, and to know that your
    kitties are doing fine.
    
    We have 3 kitties, and leave a bowl of IAMS out at all times. Two
    of the cats ( 1 indoor & 1 outdoor/indoor) get 1/2 can each of
    Sheba cat food, once a day, the other cat (larger boned all the
    way around) has 1 can of Alpo 6oz. once a day. At first the BIG
    guy thought he should eat all the dry before someone else got it
    but now eats what he wants and goes back when he wants more. 
    
    I would try leaving the dry out at all times but monitor the
    situation.
    
    Barbara, Mocha, Ming, & Mr Miyagi (to be introduced today)

    Since I have four "kids", I leave two bowls of
    two different types of dry out at all times. 
    I brought home two underfed kittens last year,who would
    "mow" through all wet food put out, leaving none for
    the two adults.  They did, however, get over the
    "get it now as it might not be here later" syndrome
    after the two bowls of dry (one small, the other large) 
    were left out at all times.  The two different types
    of dry are because I have one finicky and one picky
    eater.  It takes a while, but they did finally realize
    that there was enough for everyone.  I even separated
    one of the bowls (dry) to another room, so that MR. Picky
    could eat in *privacy*.
    
    (I also separate the kids every once in awhile, for a
    special treat(they love Sheba). Rusty, the bottomless pit, 
    would eat his canned food, and the next, and the next....so I
    feed them in separate rooms, to monitor how much each  
    puts away, just so I know who's eating what volume)
         
    L-

    Oh, I forgot to mention.....your cat may *barf* for
    awhile, because of all the food he will keep wolfing
    down (too fast) until he learns that it's not going "away".
    

    When I only had two cats...I split a big can (12 oz) between the
    two of them in the morning and again at night. Sometimes they wouldn't
    eat it all.  I also leave moist food (tender vittles) out during the day.
    But of course I never had problems with them getting sick.
    
    My cats are not fat, but I really believe it because they 
    are outdoor/indoor cats...and they are constantly on the run.
    
    Sandy


    
    
    
    

      We've got five...
      We feed two cans of "Morris-food" in the morning and two more at
    night..(9-Lives) and we have one of those "Feed-A-Cat/Water-A-Cat"
    setups that we leave full of Blue Seal dry.. Four of the cats are in
    super shape. Two of the smaller females are on the "skinny" side, but
    it's more from all the exercize they get playing "kitty-tag" than from
    any lack of food. One female's a "couch potato", but she's definitely
    not fat. One of our males--a three-legged one named "Smokey" is a 
    "kitty-tag" playmate of the girls, and he's also in great shape. 
    The OTHER male was what could probably be described as "legally dead"
    when he limped into our yard last summer, but he's fully recovered from
    everything that was wrong with him then. "Luke" is also known as
    "Kitty-Blimp", "Mr Goodyear", "El-Chubbo", "Fat-Cat" etc... Poor old
    guy was so destitute that I really believe he has no comprehension of
    "leave some till later" when it comes to food. He just eats if theire's
    food to eat. I don't ever see him at the dry food, but is sure is easy
    to clean up after him with the 9-Lives...he licks the bowls!! 
      I simply do not have the heart to "discipline" him after what he went
    through, though. He DOES have fairly long fur, so he LOOKS like he's
    even fatter than he actually is, but he IS on the "chubby" side.
    (Actually, he looks sort of on the "square" side--almost as wide as he
    is long...but he's HAPPY!!)
    
    John McD

    I'd love to know who thought up the half a can twice a day thing--
    probably the one who said "just wrap your cat in a towel and give him
    the tablets".  My cats are big and they eat much more than that.  Tigger 
    is fat but because of the hormone treatment we had to give him to calm
    him down; Chuckie Cheese and Miss Moffet are (not exactly lean, but) 
    hard and mean.  They get about a half a can three times a day, and some 
    times more if they pest enough.  Dry cat food down at all times--it's 
    not their favorite but they eat it if they are really hungry. 
    Sometimes the end cuts of cold cuts from the supermarket deli (you can
    get them cheap)  chicken is favorite but garlic beef also meets their
    approval.  This time of year I also give them chopped raw chicken liver 
    once in a while.  Come to think of it, they're fed better than I am!!!!
    
    Where cats are concerned I have little back bone.  I function from the
    standpoint that what ever they want they get, just as long as I don't
    bleed.
    
    Guido Tiggerini, Miss Kitty Moffet, Chuckie Cheese (ball)
    and underfed me.
    

    I find that if I just leave the food out, the cats are more finicky
    eaters than if I tried to ration their portions.  They have a "feeding
    station" on all 3 floors for dry food which includes Iams, Max Cat,
    Fromms, Triumph, and whatever samples I obtain form cat shows all mixed
    together.  Whenever I want to give them a treat I will leave out a bowl
    of "junk food" (supermarket dry that they would kill for, kind of like
    me diving head first into the brownies).  They only get canned twice a
    day, and I have cut back considerably on this because most of it dries
    up after they take a few bites and walk away.  For the most part, they
    subsist on the dry food and lots of fresh water.
    
    I do have one porker cat, T.K., who will eat nothing but Iams.  Each
    year the vet lectures me about his weight and we try to correct it but
    he either breaks out with eczema from the change in diet or completely
    starves himself.
    
    I like the title of .6 a lot!!
    

    well well well, look at that.. and i thought they were complaining
    about nothing.  i feel so bad.. poor shirly has been whining for weeks
    about this!  she used to eat half her food and save the rest for the
    afternoon, (while we were out) but i noticed a few weeks ago she eats
    the 'whole' thing now, (like verne) when i put it down.  i thought to
    myself that it must be hard to wait 12 hours before eating anything
    again but know that dry food isn't good for my neutered male verne.  i
    guess its back to aims lite, i will not start feeding them the blimp
    food again.  if its dry, its got to be light.
    
    i guess my 1.00 coupon for alpo won't do eh?  they love that stuff!
    (sometimes i wondered if they preferred us going away for a night
    because they got alpo!)
    
    thanks for all the quick responses!!!!
    
    cj, a very greatful shirl and a soon to chubby (for a while anyways)
    verne.
    

    Why don't you just leave a limited amount of dry out so verne can't
    eat enough to get sick.  
    
    re: dry food and males - as long as the food you select is a premium
    quality, low ash food he should be fine.  Low ash dry foods include
    IAMS, Hills, Blue Seal Kat Kare, Fromms, Triumph etc  Unless your vet
    has specifically told you not to feed Verne dry food then these should
    be fine.
    

    As I was saying before my workstation crashed an destroyed my lengthy
    reply:
    
    Tubbs eats only dry (Vittles every few days).  He was put on this
    because of his urinary problem, as well as being slightly huge.  Tubbs
    used to eat a bowl a day of the store bought food.  At the suggestion
    of the vet I switched him to C/D and now a bowl of dry lasts at least
    two days, more if he is out for part of the day.
    
    You may want to start leaving a bowl of "good" dry food out on Friday
    night after they've had their supper and have gone off to play or
    sleep.  This way you can watch them over the weekend, getting them used
    to the bowl of dry always being there and monitoring any pigging out
    sessions (taking it away if they seem to be eating too much at once,
    but putting it back after they've gone onto something else).  You might
    want to consider using one bowl for the dry, they can be trained that
    it is for the both of them.  Using a brand new bowl would help too, as
    neither of them would have any claim on the bowl itself.
    
    After they've gotten used to this and are moderate in their eating
    habits, you should wean them off of one of their two regularly
    scheduled feedings.  This is advisable so they don't gain too much
    weight.  This also cuts down on your "having" to be there twice a day
    to feed them.  I would choose the am feeding, as they will carry on and
    "yell" for a few days, and if you are out of the house during the day
    you won't have to listen to it.                         

    that is a good idea .10.  thanks for taking the time to re-write it.  i
    have been feeding them the dry for a few days now and guess what?  they
    don't eat their wet food now.  completely ignore it.  i left the wet
    out and didn't refill the dry last night in hopes that they would
    finish their wet and realize that the dry isn't their usual food and
    is only there for a filler.  they didn't complain.  however, when i went
    to re-fill the dry and put out the wet before leaving today they rushed
    to the dry, leaving the wet to dry out and be useless.  (gawd!   don't
    they know that wet food isn't cheap!  sometimes i think i buy them more
    food then i do for myself!)   
    
    so... i'm beginning to think about this seriously now.  i think i will
    wean them off one can of food in the p.m. starting this week. 
    afterall, i did it yesterday and they didn't mind not having the wet
    for some evening food.  
    
    the only problem i have now is how good is the dry for them all the
    time?

    Someone noted awhile back that cat food cans used to be/some
    still are 7.5 ounces, while many of the newer ones are
    cheaped out at 6 ounces, so that's quite a bit less if
    you still go by the half a can rule of thumb for each meal.
    
    

    There was a discussion about male cats and how much dry food is
    good/bad, why switch to dry only in Note 4058, that might help you out
    in determining how much is okay.  When your kitties have been eating the
    dry (instead of the wet) do they eat all of it in one sitting?  If they
    are, then maybe taking it away after a reasonable amount of eating time
    would be helpful, then putting it back when their attention is
    elsewhere.                                    
    
    What kind of dry are you using?  Again, stressing the importance of a
    quality food, IAMS and C/D (ones I have used) last longer than grocery
    bought cat food.  You want low ash and magnesium food.  I can buy a
    10lb bag of C/D (from the vet) for $18, this lasts one cat 3 months or
    so, and this is all he eats.
    
    Dianne

    I found an interesting place to buy cat food here in Merrimack -
    actually, I think it's on the Bedford line on the road that Tortia
    Flats is on, Rte. 3A I think?
    
    The place is called Pet Foods Plus - their prices are great!
    
    They listed in the yellow pages!
    
    E.T.

    My cats do not get anything but dry food, I tried giving them wet
    once as a treat, only one of them would eat it. I use Dads Gormet,
    it is a 3%ash low magnesium dry food that is not real expensive. It is
    made local to me (Pittsburgh PA) so I don't know if it is available in
    NE. The only kitty I have with tarter problems, came to me as a five
    year old that had been fed wet and moist food. My nine year old has a
    lovely smile! I really beleive the dry helps keep the teeth clean.
    Sandy, Tinkerbell, Nicki, + Chessie
    

    Well, if your cat has a tendency to build up tartar on his/her teeth
    then dry won't solve the problem, but it may help.
    

    
    That't true, feeding dry food will help to scrape of some of the tattar
    deposits as they develop, but won't take the place of regular cleaning
    in a cat with a chronic tartar problem.  Some cats just seem to be more
    prone to this than others.  (Ask my Spot, she LOVES to eat, and *HATES*
    to have her teeth brushed.)
    
    Regular work by the kitty Mom with baking soda and gauze can help a lot
    in reducing the number of trips to the vet for scraping.  Not fun, but
    necessary.  Now if I could just get her to sit still....
    
    Feline Tartar is the PITS!!!
    
    Sue & Panther (look Mummie no cavities!) & Spots
    

    Well I guess I'll put this note here...why not!!
    
    Over the long Holiday we got my last three baby kitties fixed.
    One of these male cats will only eat dry food (Kitten-n-Kaboodle 
    sp??) and very seldom touches wet or moist food.  The Vet strongly
    recommended that we do not give them any more dry food.
    
    I use to treat my other cats with a little bit of this dry food every
    other day....is there any "premium dry food" that is low in
    Ash count that won't bother by babies.  Or should we just try and
    stay away from this stuff all together.
    
    Thanks....Sandy (Tamba, Poco, Barkley, Chloe, Anges, Dewey and ?????
                                   (still haven't named the new one)
    
                                           

    re: .18 - premium dry food - Sure, Hills, Proplan, Iams, Perform....
    If you're most concerned with ash I'd go with the Hills - or at least
    check out the ash content on the Hills and use that as a guide for
    the other foods.
      Nancy

    I finally found the Hills Science Diet...and my cats all love it.
    I was pretty surprised of the Ash Content (5%) on the Hills.  I'm
    used to checking out the ash content on wet and I usually buy
    the ones that are 2.5 - 3.0%.  I thought the 5% was high.  Can
    you imagine what the ash content is on the dry you buy at a grocery
    store..no wonder most of them won't publish the percent on the bag.
    
    Well I bought a 4 lb bag for $7.59 at the UCF in Fitchburg.  Is
    that pretty comparable price to other places.
    
     Sandy (all seven cats love this stuff...)
                                              

    ooopss...just another note.  Even though I thought the 5% was
    high...it was the one with the lowest ash content.  Iams, Proplan
    etc...was anywhere between 6-7%.
    
    

    You have to remember to compare the ash content on a dry matter basis.
    5% is very low for a dry food.
    
    Jo

    Sandy,
    
    4 lbs of Science Dry kitten is $5.99 at Erickson's Grain Mill in
    Maynard, I think the cat formula is considerably less.
    
    I have found the UCF to be fairly pricey for the area.  You might
    want to check the prices from your vet, or Com-o-shun Pet Supply
    on Bemis Road (they seem to have the best prices in the area). 
    I know that Animal House on John Fitch has the best price on BilJac
    in our area, and is the same price as Ericksons, but I haven't checked
    their prices on Science Diet yet.
    
    I'm also going to check the prices at the Blue Seal place in Townsend,
    they carry Science Diet, Iams, and I also believe BilJac.  I'm going
    to be needing a place to buy my cat food locally when I'm out on
    maternity leave.
    
    (There E.T., I've finally mentioned "IT"!)
    
    cin...
    

    Gee Cin...that's alot lower then I paid.  Thanks so much for
    the info.  Now that I consider myself a "MULTI" cat house...I
    need to start buying in bigger bulk and finding cheaper places.
    
    Now...I think you tried to sneak something else in here...that
    I know the other feliners won't let you get away with it.  Did
    I hear Maternity Leave!!!!  When are you due??  Is that why
    they have been calling you Mama Cin and I thought it was because
    you breed kitties????   Congratulations!!!
    
    Sandy

    Well......
    
    Actually, Marlene started calling me Mama Cin, and it just kinda
    stuck.  Had nothing to do with the change in breeding programs,
    per se! ;-)
    
    Yes, you heard Maternity leave....I'm due the beginning of May.
    It's really hard to try to plan my kitty breedings around when I'm
    due!  
    
    cin
    

    welllll - it certainly is time to mention it!!
    
    A big congrats to ALL - Marlene, Cin, Bailey, and baby!!! and Dave
    tooo!
    
    e.t.

    Cin, I also heard tell that Happy  is planning a " shower for you".
    I heard her reading up on her recipes for Pizza.
    Kate

    Hey, Kate,
    
    Tell Happy that me and "baby" like Ham and Pineapple Pizza!
    
    cin
    

    Cin, I will tell "Chef Happy" that Auntie Cin wants "ALOHA PIZZA.."
    er um can we share.. I also like it.. I first had it in Hawaii..
    ah yes.. sun,warmth, sandals, mahi-mahi.
     BTW... the "grooming table" is doing well.. Happy is
    napping on it.. smirk, grin, giggle..
    Kate, Happy.(thats one Aloha Pizza hold the tuna and the anchovies..)
      Preschie(OH boy Mama Cin,, PIZZA