[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Some cats don't, or can't, eat dry food. My cat has no teeth. She is fed three times every day. First thing in the morning, a snack mid-day, and last thing before bed. She can only eat pate, no shredded food.

Cats don't have a "natural" thirst drive. If a cat is eagerly drinking water, it's usually because a) you refuse to give her wet food and she is dehydrated enough to actually drink water or b) way past that point and already suffering from renal failure.

Some cats like drinking water, but most do not, and if you fed them only wet food, and put a water dish beside the food dish, would never drink from the water dish. It's not in their nature to do so.

Feeding a cat kibble is unhealthy. Cats are obligate carnivores; their digestive systems are not designed to handle dried pea protein or alfalfa or potato starch. They are also gluten intolerant and can't efficiently digest wheat or most other grains, including rice.

Most domestic cats that are fed kibble, eventually die of renal failure. That's not true in most domestic cats fed exclusively grain-free wet food or a raw food diet including organ meat.

By the time a cat is diagnosed with kidney failure, he has already likely been suffering for years. Cats don't express pain in the same way dogs or other pets do.

If someone says they need a cat sitter to come 2-3 times a day to feed them, then they are being a responsible cat-owner. If you think self-feeding dry food for a few days at a time is all that's needed, I hope you are someone else's domestic cat in your next life, so you can see just how cruel that is for yourself.

And for anyone who claims kibble is good for teeth - I suggest you try to clean your teeth by eating stale biscuits for the next month, and keep your toothbrush in the cabinet. Good luck with that.

How old is the Cat with no teeth? And why did that happen?