# feeding good dry food, cat is still gaining weight



## zoologist (Aug 17, 2010)

Hey all,

I am feeding my cat Kiwi blue buffalo wilderness dry food, a mixture of the duck and chicken recipes BLUE Wilderness High Protein Healthy Cat Food and friskies canned food, classic pate variety

she is a relatively small cat. When I adopted her from the shelter my vet told me to feed her 1/2 cup a day to keep her slim. I have been feeding her 1/4 cup of dry food in the morning and half a can of canned food in the evening (approx. 1/4 cup)

however she is still gaining a little bit of pudge. Fat cats are adorable, but I want her to be trim and healthy, hence my snobbishness for healthy cat foods.

I picked wilderness because it seems to be the best choice for dry cat kibble. I picked the friskies because she refuses to eat the canned wilderness food. The pate varieties do use meat by-products which I don't like, but they do not have wheat gluten or corn- just rice. 

where am I going wrong? Why is she gaining weight when I am regulating her diet with decent foods?


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Unfortunately, even the best dry foods are still high in carbs, and carbs are probably the primary source of weight gain in cats. My cats were pudgy on Wellness Core dry, and their weight problem resolved itself completely once I removed all the kibble from their diet.

Basically, the more carbs that are in a food, the more of the food the cat must eat to meet their nutritional requirements. Since the nutrients they need are mixed in with all this extra filler, they end up gaining weight. A more nutrient-dense food, with more nutrients coming directly from animal sources, will allow a cat to eat less to meat their nutrient requirements.

Have you tried any wet food other than Wilderness or Friskies? Wilderness is a great food, but of course cats can be picky. You may have more luck with one of the other varieties of quality canned foods out there. If you'd like to try to get her eating more wet, but want to avoid by-products, other brands you could try are Wellness or Merrick. Merrick makes a pretty wide range of flavors with different textures, some my cats hate and some they love, so you may be able to find something she likes in there. Wellness comes in the usual standard cat food flavors, and my cats seem fond of those.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

It is still dry food - which is going to still be way to high in carbs and of course extremely low in moisture. 
Personally, I would say to stop feeding the dry food. Feed all wet food instead, or a properly balanced raw diet.

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health explains why to feed wet food instead of dry; Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: cat weight management, obese cat, cat weight loss goes much more into depth about obesity and diet.

Diabetes and Obesity: Preventable Epidemics is another article about feline obesity that is written by Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM.

Food Products has a list of what I would consider good canned foods. The food that is listed is grain and dairy free, as well as not having certain herbs and spices. Yes, the list is intended for cats with IBD, because they are sensitive to those sorts of ingrediants. But, we should be avoiding those ingrediants for any cat, which is why I referance that list. The author of it is constantly watching for ingrediant changes and recalls of foods and keeps the "safe" list updated.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

You don't say exactly how small she is, but I suspect there are two things going on here....

First, I think it might be a tad too much food. Second, I think that she's getting no nutritional value out of the wet food and it's just getting converted to fat. The first 3 ingredients of the turkey and giblets dinner are Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, poultry by-product and make up the vast majority of the food. The bioavailability of by-products, especially non-named meat by-products is extremely low, so she's just getting a bunch of empty calories. 

I suggest finding a better quality wet food that she'll eat and if that doesn't do it, cut back the dry by a tablespoon.


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## Nitachi (Jan 8, 2011)

I would suggest feeding your cat Orijen dry cat food if you can get a hold of it, and some premium wet cat food. Do some research into different foods, you wont believe the garbage/fillers company's put into cat food. Personaly I feed my cats:

Orijen as a dry food. This is the >best< food available for cats on the market in the UK/US.

ORIJEN Cat Food: Great Deals on ORIJEN Dog Food at zooplus

Cosma is the wet food i give them, i appreciate it might be hard to get ahold of if your living in the US as it is a zooplus.co.uk only item. If you cant get ahold if it just do some reserch into what other food would be suitable.

Megapack Cosma Original in Jelly 36 x 85 g: great offers on Cosma Original cat food

I feed my cats half a 80gr tin of food each day, and they self regulate the dry food. Both my cats are at a really good healthy weight and have no health issues at all! Their stools are nice and firm and they seam to be enjoying apartment life!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Nitachi said:


> Orijen as a dry food. This is the >best< food available for cats on the market in the UK/US.
> 
> ORIJEN Cat Food: Great Deals on ORIJEN Dog Food at zooplus


IMO best to stick with a good quality wet food that doesn't have all the extra junk in it that cats don't need.


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## Nitachi (Jan 8, 2011)

MowMow said:


> IMO best to stick with a good quality wet food that doesn't have all the extra junk in it that cats don't need.


Orijen only contains what cats would eat in a natural enviorment, it has no fillers or grain.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Nitachi said:


> Orijen only contains what cats would eat in a natural enviorment, it has no fillers or grain.


I'm not saying it's BAD food...just not the >best< Imo. I have yet to see a cat in a natural environment looking for:

sweet potatoes,.....peas, .......fresh eggs,.....sun-dried alfalfa, ..... chicory root, kelp, squash, carrots, spinach, apples, cranberries, juneberries, blackcurrants, choline chloride, psyllium, licorice, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, fennel, peppermint leaves, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savoury, rosemary extract, sea salt


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## Nitachi (Jan 8, 2011)

Some people don't have the convenience of feeding wet food meals threw out the day, the dry food is only meant to be a filler for when you get home and can feed your cat a wet food meal. Some people dislike feeding wet food as it gives your cat friend bad breath and when they try to brush their cats teeth all they get is bit/scratched . Its not wrong to feed a dry food diet as long as your aware of what needs your cat has. Id say give wet food for "meals" and let your cat graze on the dry food.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Cats have no need to graze. Actually, that is much more harmful for their health than it is helpful. 

I don't care about the quality of dry food - I will never feed it to my cats. Orijen still doesn't have much meat (as compared to wet food) and is of course, way to low in moisture. 

Just to note: dry food does not clean a cats teeth. Wet food does not rot their teeth. Raw feeding (at least when feeding either prey model or whole prey) does clean a cats teeth)


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