# What should I feed my Persian?



## kelso1980 (Sep 15, 2008)

I have a purebred persian that i got from a shelter about a year ago. I've been feeding him Iams either regular or for digestive care (he had the runs a little bit a few months ago so I put him on digestive care). He has been doing REALLY well: no illnesses since i got him healthy from living in a shelter, he's clean, healthy, happy and playful (despite being 108 years old) I just want to put him on the best food for him because I hear that they are prone to UTI's. I dont think he's had one, but I dont know how to tell if he did.
I do feed him wet food occasionally but not often because he never eats very much of it. I'll give him a spoonful and he gets really excited, but just doesnt finish it. 
So what should I feed him? please keep in mind I'm on a college budget...


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## kelso1980 (Sep 15, 2008)

please ignore his dirty face, he just woke up.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

If he had a UTI you'd know it....they typically pee in inappropriate places.

The best thing to prevent urinary/kidney issues is a primarily wet food diet. Try making the wet food more attractive to him, add a few kibbles, tuna juice, parmesan cheese, chicken pieces (or dehydrated chicken) to get him to make the transition.

Iams is a pretty poor quality food. A significantly better alternative that is probably cheaper is Natural Balance. And a very inexpensive wet food that is very good for the price is Trader Joe's.


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## velvet6 (Dec 17, 2008)

That's one gorgeous cat, dirty face and all!

 

I had a look at the ingredient list on the IAMS dry, proactive health digestive care food (I'm assuming that's the one you give your boy?), and in my limited experience, anything that starts out with an ingredient that's not meat or a meat by product should be avoided. The first ingredient in a good cat food should be meat because that's what a cat needs the most of.

That said, there's a whole thread in health and nutrition devoted to wet v. dry. It's a sticky at the top of the page and you'll find tons of information there that should be helpful to you. If you want to keep him from getting a UTI, you'll find the best way is to keep him on wet. High quality wet foods tend to contain moisture rates of 70% or greater as opposed to roughly 25% for a good quality dry (don't hold me to those numbers...I'm giving them to you off the top of my head). The more water in your boy, the easier it is for his system to flush out all the nasty things that cause UTIs. Signs of a UTI? Distress in the litterbox, tiny litter clumps, not using the litter box (a big warning), constant licking of the private bits...those are usually signs. 

What kind of wet food do you give your boy when you do give him wet? You said that he doesn't eat much of it...if it's a high quality one, I can tell you that my cat doesn't eat too much either anymore. That's because the more nutrient packed it is, the less a cat needs to get all the nutrients he needs, so he eats less. That said, I'd say he gets about 4 to 4.5 oz of wet a day and possibly 1/4 cup of dry. So keep that in mind when you consider the cost. Some of the brands that people favor around here (Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, etc.) are quite pricey. But if you take into consideration that many animals won't eat as much of the good stuff as opposed to the kitty junk food (i.e. Friskies, Meow Mix, etc.) AND that better quality food means fewer health problems (which turn into vet bills), it actually ends up being cheaper.

Good luck!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Dry food is actually more like 10% water. Cats were originally desert animals and their bodies were designed to get their water from their prey, which is about 70% water. Consequently they have a low thirst drive. So a cat on dry food doesn't get enough moisture because they need to drink about 1.25 cups of water for every cup of dry food. They just don't have the thirst drive to drink that much water and they go through life mildly dehydrated, which affects the kidneys, concentrates their urine and causes problems.

Lots of good nutritional articles here:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library


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## Krystalily (Jul 13, 2006)

I'm definitely going to be a part of a minority opinion here but I figure if your cat is healthy and is active, then keep doing what you are doing. I do believe that wet food can be healthier in the long run for a cat, but if cost is a concern along with the idea of "will my cat eat this?" then I wouldn't change a thing if what you are feeding your cat works. Just like humans, every cat is different and so their needs differ from one another. I wouldn't worry too much, however if you find your cat suffers constant UTI's then ask your vet what kind of changes they recommend in terms of diet and also in terms of litter habits. If you find them pushing a brand name, get some second opinions or ask the vet what ingredients they find helpful in treating a specific problem so you can find an alternative remedy in other brands. 

Your cat is lovely, btw! :luv


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Krystalily said:


> I figure if your cat is healthy and is active, then keep doing what you are doing.


The thing is, the ill effects of a poor diet often don't show up for years so that approach is a bit short sighted.


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## Krystalily (Jul 13, 2006)

It may be short sighted, in your opinion.  Like I said, my opinion is a part of the minority here and I'm well aware not a lot of posters will agree with what I wrote. The effects of _any_ diet could take time to manifest, not just a dry food diet.


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## velvet6 (Dec 17, 2008)

You're right Doodle...

I just doubled the moisture content didn't I?



> The effects of any diet could take time to manifest, not just a dry food diet.


You're right about that. But I have to say, in the seven months I've had my cat, besides a couple of minor issues (there's a reason why I call him goat cat), I have a very healthy cat. Healthy appearance, healthy appetite, great activity levels, NO UTI issues, and (this is my favorite) no odors. I give him almost exclusively wet with a bit of his favorite dry 'cause he likes it so much. I really believe that the great condition he's in is due in part to his diet, and his vet agrees 'cause she told me that she's never seen such a healthy guy.

But that's my experience.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Krystalily said:


> It may be short sighted, in your opinion.  Like I said, my opinion is a part of the minority here and I'm well aware not a lot of posters will agree with what I wrote. The effects of _any_ diet could take time to manifest, not just a dry food diet.


What is the basis of your opinion?


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## Krystalily (Jul 13, 2006)

> I do believe that wet food can be healthier in the long run for a cat, but if cost is a concern along with the idea of "will my cat eat this?" then I wouldn't change a thing if what you are feeding your cat works.


The quote above is what I wrote in my original post. It isn't a matter of whether or not I personally believe dry food to be better than wet food. That wasn't my ulterior motive here in this thread because if I wanted to do that I'd post to the sticky and (for those really wanting to know) I have and will be in agreement that wet food can ultimately lead to a healthier life for a cat. The basis of my opinion are the facts presented by the original poster: the cat is old, the cat is perfectly healthy and active, the poster feeds wet food occasionally but not often, the poster is on a college budget, and the poster is concerned about UTI's (that the cat has never had before). If this was a kitten/younger cat, I'd be in total agreement that the pet should have the majority of their food intake be wet food, however this isn't a kitten/younger cat and the poster is on a limited budget.

Quality wet food can get pretty expensive and while I understand there are cheaper wet food options (I believe Trader Joe's was mentioned... not everyone has a nearby Trader Joe's) it still is pricey in the long run and I believe that the poster is doing what they can to get both forms of food into their cat's diet based upon what they are able to afford in this day and age. All they probably should do is make sure the canned food that they supplement with is quality canned food and higher quality dry food but that'd be about all I'd suggest they change if they felt it was absolutely necessary to change anything.

The great thing about opinions is that they don't necessarily have to be based upon any facts, but can be based upon personal experiences and knowledge. The sticky is a great read for someone asking this question as it contains a lot of links to sites for a good read. The internet can be a great resource as long as reliable and unbiased information is looked up in regards to what is healthier for a cat to eat. I am not changing my opinion though for what this particular cat should eat.  

I'd also like to add that I'm not really looking to debate this here on this particular thread. I hope I've posted on how I came to form my opinion as respectfully as I could have considering that saying someone's approach is "short sighted" and asking for a person's basis of opinion is somewhat rude (though I can see that perhaps doodlebug wanted some scientific facts presented?). I hope that doodlebug and any other readers/posters will understand where I was coming from and what I was thinking when I was posting my original response to the original poster.


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## kelso1980 (Sep 15, 2008)

Thank you so much for all of your opinions! I ran out of his Iams food and I have some cheap crap food that I had as back up from a long time ago. It's like kitty junk food. I offered him both wet food and the dry crap incase he wouldn't eat the wet. kind of a little experiment i'm running...
The results are in: he likes the dry crap better and his poops are bear sized!
So what i think i'm going to to is to buy some better quality dry food that will be available for him at all times and then offer him wet food once a day (or every other day). I used to do that till it was going to waste. But when I offer it to him I'm going to try to spice it up with some dry food or something. 
Thanks for all of the info!


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