Cat litter & Wet food

[Myia09]

Hey guys. This may be a totally stupid question..but how often do you completely change our your litter? The box I got said once a month..my friend said every 2 weeks. I am saying every week!

I just use basic fresh step for multiple cats (although I only have 1 cat)

When I fostered another kitty, I didn't have her that long. I was also using a better deodorizer than what I got now (I am using petco brand's..it really sucks!) so I didn't change out her litter completely.

Right now I don't think the litter smells as fresh..but maybe that is because of the deodorizer? Idk.

Then, my second question is, I feed Wellness Kitten dry food. I am a sucker for wet food though. I have been feeding the Wellness pouches:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4390190

I only feed 1/3 of a pouch a day. So it is still like a treat. But my friend (A Cat enthusiast) says wet food is bad..and should only be fed once a week in a small amount. My cat is still eating his dry food just fine. Anyone have helpful information?

I do also give treats:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11251699

but only 1-2 a day..and they are super tiny. 2 treats probably equal a dime in size.

I just want to make sure I am feeding him properly.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Wet is so much better then dry. My cat get 1/3 cup wet and 1/2 cup dry now I have a 17 pound monster. He is slim to.

 

[okiron]

Whenever it needs it. If you have 5 cats, 1 litterbox and you're feeding them meow mix you're gonna be changing it more often than 1 cat, 1 litterbox and eating wellness core.

 

[fuzz16]

wellness is expensive for what it is i think. your paying for a shiny fancy bag with "high grade" grains and meat. might as well be on grain free...and those pouches are expensive 0.0

i feed taste of the wild canyon...lower ash=less chance of liver issues. 1/2 cup of that at night

then a couple spoonfulls of wet cat food.

i change litter box every other day with 3 cats using sams club cheap litter. fully clean it out ever 4-6 weeks.

it might help a little maybe not, i throw a bunch of baking soda in there too...id like to think it helps

 

[Flash Gordon]

nothing works for smell as good as fresh step ...u shouldnt be having a prob with this brand...is it pee that ends up smelling too strong??might wanna check ur cat for bladder or kidney probs if the pee is real strong.
canned cat food is way better for them cuz cats dont drink enough fluids , they tend to get UTI's and bladder and kidney issues when their older..so anyway u can get more fluids in ur cat is a good thing.i actually add water to their wet food.

 

[okiron]

fuzz16 wrote:

wellness is expensive for what it is i think. your paying for a shiny fancy bag with "high grade" grains and meat. might as well be on grain free...and those pouches are expensive 0.0

Wellness Core is grain free.

 

[Nela]

We fully change the litterboxes once a week. We have two cats, therefore we have 2 boxes.

As for food, they get both dry and wet They both have pros and cons so I think using both is an ideal combination. Diet is such a controversial subject because everyone has different methods so it doesn't mean my ideal is anyone else's. However, looking at my cats' coats, vet records, etc. I am very happy with how they are doing.

 

[RandomWiktor]

"Wet food is bad for cats' teeth" is a myth ingrained in the public. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's totally false. Cats are thought to have been domesticated from an african wildcat species found in arid regions. They are designed to obtain much of their moisture from their diet, and many cats consequently do not have a high drive to drink water. Cats who eat a 100% dry diet often have issues with overconcentrated urates and other bladder/kidney problems as a result. Canned foods help reduce the chance of urinary disease by keeping cats better hydrated.

When I worked in vet offices, we routinely saw cats with bad urine results whose problems could be completely absolved by feeding a 100% wet food diet. After going through a severe bladder stone problem with my own cat, to the point where he was going to possibly need his penis surgically removed even though he was on a perscription dry diet for urinary disease, I did some of my own research, switched him to 100% Wellness Chicken Canned (which has a comparable magnesium and ash content to canned perscription diets)with a tiny bit of added water, and he has never had a single bad urine test result since. I have since reccomended this to other cat owners (I am a certified animal nutrition counselor) who were having similar struggles and being pushed to buy pricey and ineffective dry perscription diets, and across the board they have had the same result. I am a true believer in wet diets for cats now.

Another myth is that dry food cleans a cat's teeth. Just like eating a box of cereal or some pretzels doesn't clean your teeth, neither does dried cat food. What actually clean's a cat's teeth is the same thing as any other carnivore: biting into actual prey, through hide, against bone. In the captive environment, that can and should be replaced by the owner cleaning the cat's teeth unless the animal is on a whole prey raw diet. Short of a few foods deliberately high in silicates, no commercial dry diet is appropriate to keep teeth healthy.

I personally advocate, in addition to routine dental care, providing the cat with toys that it can sink its teeth into, chew on, puncture, etc. as well as occasionally providing opportunities to eat meat right off the bone. I did this with my cat after noticing his less than favorable tooth health (he's had bad teeth since kittenhood; some of them are missing or underformed, and he had plaque before he was a year old), and I saw a big improvement in the cleanliness of his teeth. And thanks to enzymatic cat tooth pastes, you don't really need to struggle too badly with a well socialized cat to clean the teeth either.

Sorry, that wound up being a longer post than I expected but...wet is definitely not the enemy. Healthy female cats being fed dry and wet in combination is just fine, but because of their higher incidence of urinary disease, I personally believe male cats should be on wet, whole prey, or "barf" diets. I don't expect that opinion to be popular and it may even be considered unreasonable. It has just been my experience.

As for litter... that is something that really comes down to the individual cat and the owner's preference. Once Leo was on a 100% wet diet, he urinated a good deal more (though pooped less - one nice thing about cat foods that aren't loaded with grain), and we usually did a full cleaning weekly so that we wouldn't wind up with a pervasive urine smell worked into the plastic. Other cats may need it less often, and if you have a messy cat who likes to poop/pee on the side of the box, more often may be needed. My general rule of thumb is similar to the one I use for rodents: "If you can smell urine, there's too much ammonia for the animal, and you need to clean it."

 

[Bassetluv]

I don't have a cat any more (Fritz, my 16-yr-old, was euthanized in January); however, I found that he seemed to do best on a mixture. I would feed him dry food two or three times a week, and the rest of the time would mix dry with wet cat food. He loved it. I also read recently that there is a link to felines fed solely dry cat foods and CRF in cats. Quite honestly, the only reason I fed Fritz a combo was because I figured he would enjoy the variety...I wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day for my entire life.

**A bit of a side-track to the food topic: I've also read recently that 'they' (whoever they are) are now claiming that fish, and fish-based cat foods, are harmful to cats, having been linked to allergies, hyperthyroidism, and such, and one should never ever give their cat anything containing fish. I have no idea if this is true, or if it is the current 'myth-of-the-month' type of thing. I do recall when I took Fritz in for a vet visit some time back, I told the vet that every once in a while I would feed Fritz a bit of sardines with his dinner, and she nodded and said that's okay. This is a clinic that specializes in cats only, so I found it a bit odd in reading about this issue, and yet the local cat hospital found nothing wrong with feeding my cat fish.

 

[Myia09]

Thanks guys for the response.

Lisa, it isn't that his pee stinks at all. I am really sensative to non bunny smells. LOL. I think my litter might be too dusty and that is what I am smelling. I also realized I wasn't adding a bit of litter each time I scoped some poop out. I added some litter (Just a bit) and it made a difference.

Ren, I think I am going to do a staple mixed diet with wet food being the primary. I of course trust you completely. I just want to be on the safe side! lol! I have had so many mixed message from friends, the internet, and the 10+ vets I have called.

I thought bunny diets were debated

Thanks everyone so much!