What to feed adopted cat?

[averageguy]

Help me knife brothers. I picked up an old stray off the streets. I will house him and feed him this winter. Because I'm not sure his teeth are ok I'm hesitant about forcing him to eat hard food. But. I want to feed him for hard food prices. He is a big cat and will eat as much as I feed him.
Is there a softer texture bulk type food anyone can recommend.

 

[Gollnick]

Add a bit of warm water to the hard food and let it sit a few minutes.

 

[Mike Hull]

They do make softer "hard" foods too. I leave hard food down(Chef's Blend, mostly), in bowl all day and the cats snack throughout the day, when they feel the urge, and I give them a meal of canned cat food in the evening. I use one large(tuna sized can, but not tuna) split up amongst the 5 of them, so it doesn't take a lot.

Your cat may eat quite a bit for a week or so, to make up for the starvation he was was undergoing before rescue, but he will slow down when he gets enough nourishment in him.
There are a few inexpensive brands of canned food, and if you want to give him a special treat from time, to time, get jars of Gerber's baby food, ham, chicken, beef, and turkey, and you can give him a few fingertips full occasionally. They love the stuff.

Thanks for rescuing the poor thing.

 

[averageguy]

That's the ticket. Thank you.

 

[Walking Man]

Good job with the cat,
yes, there are semi-hard foods that come in packets.
Take a look at any pet store, you'll find something.

 

[James Green Dragon]

Good job dude - for rescuing him. Stray cats have a very tough life - usually only live to be 3 or 4 yrs old. You definately saved his... As they say though, by saving him, you are now responsible for him till the end of his days.

This is not a bad thing. But, you need to take his butt in for a rabies shot! Already here in Deltona FL, there has been one recorded case in the last month or so - there was a pretty severe outbreak here in FL a couple years ago too. The shot is cheap & well worth it.

Don't mean to "nag" but you should really consider neutering the little fellow. ...If cost is prohibitive, you should look into finding a pet rescue.

Anyway, Gollnick had a good suggestion about the food. Good luck with your new buddy & like MH said, THANKS for taking him in - you done a good thing this Christmas!!!

 

[shappa]

Just a little bit of warm water sprinkled on top will soften dry cat food up.

There are about a dozen feral cats behind the restraunt where I work. There has been cats back there for the last 15+ years. There is a brushy creek and hillside where they roam. We take turns buying bags of cheap cat food for them plus we save everything a cat would eat from the plates that are returned.
I bet these cats are the fattest feral cats in the U.S. !! They get to eat filet mignon, losbster, prime rib, salmon, petrale sole.

This Christmas I pulled a 15 lb turkey out of my freezer that had been there way to long....defrosted it and fed that to them one afternoon. Buy the time I got down to the carcass they were so full they were just sitting there watching me, they wouldn't move unless I threw a piece of turkey right between their paws!
The kittens looked the funniest...tiny little things that looked like they had swallowed tennis balls.
Some of the cats I can pet, a few I can even hold. We try to catch a few of the kittens and tame them down early and give them away to good homes. My cat came from the restraunt.

 

[tarsier]

averageguy, Great job on helping the cat out.

shappa, That is a beautiful animal. I don't remember seeing a chocolate coat like that before.

 

[fisherk]

My wife and I have rescued quite a few feral cats (taken them in for shots and neutered). This one probably has worms, which are eating a large portion of the food you feed him. As others have said, get him in to see a vet (some vets specialize in feral cats, and will give you a break on the price of all needed proceedures and meds.) A BIG thumbs up for taking this poor guy in. I hope you get attached to him and adopt him. We adopted one of our ferals about 8 years ago, and she has been a great addition to our family. You'll both be happy, and both your lives will be enriched from this experience.

BTW Store brand canned food of the ground variety is pretty easy on the digestive tract of a starving feral cat. Most importantly, get him to a vet. Thanks for saving his life. He can't express that now, but give him a few weeks or months, and you will feel greatly rewarded.

Ken

 

[shappa]

Yes, she is a beautiful animal.

I got lucky. One night at work one of the bus boys came in the back door and said " there's a bunch of kittens out here." I told him to grab one and put it in a box and put the box in my truck. I never saw her till I pulled her out of the box at home. She was tiny!! You can't tell by the pic but she has the lightest blue eyes i've seen on a cat. On a sunny day she is virtually blind when outside. I've seen her walk into the garage wall at noontime.

Side note: Almost all the vets in my area will spay/nueter for free. Just trap them and take them in. Some will even come out and trap them for you. The ears will be notched so they can tell which have been already neutered.

 

[Point44]

My mom has 10 cats not counting the strays she feeds outside. I prefer to give them dry food since it's cleaner and their poo doesn't smell as bad. Try testing the cat first. Dry food is good in that the crunchiness is designed to help clean their teeths. As they bite through the food it helps to clean their teeth. However, if it finds it difficult to eat then just sprinkle some water on the food.

There's also Whiskas pockets where it has a crunchy outside and a soft filling inside. A lot of cats love this.

 

[mycroftt]

Is he a fleabag? If you need to get rid of fleas, use FrontLine. It's expensive (about $10 for each ampule which you have to apply every 4-6 weeks) but it's the only thing that really works.

 

[Eagleblade]

Try 9Lives cat food they have a lot of soft foods my cat likes the grilled beef

 

[Carthage]

One of our own posters here at BF is a veterinarian who helps cats. send me a message and I'll give you his email address.

 

[cognitivefun]

a BARF diet is natural for dogs and cats -- Bones And Raw Food. I buy chicken backs for my dog and feed him those every day. Every 3rd day he gets veggies ground up with raw hamburger and cod liver oil and occasionally he gets chicken liver, all raw.

Think about it: what are cats designed to eat? Surely not cat "food"?? Cats eat whole mice, whole birds and other critters, and the closest you can get to this is chicken parts.

This diet will ensure the healthiest cat also. Our dog doesn't get fleas with this diet and I have heard other pet owners say the same thing.

Some animals may require a short transition period to this diet because their systems are messed up but we had no trouble 7 or so years ago when we converted our dog to this. And our dog has been almost totally healthy.

The same works with cats.

 

[Thomas Linton]

We have four former strays. The latest -- about a year old -- came home with me on October 31st. He weighed in at 4 pounds and could barely walk. He was already neutered and his front claws had been removed. Then he was dumped in a box at the front gate of a Scout camp. Per the vet, he had round worms, hook worms, lung worms (new one for me), and some bacterial infection. He seems pretty healthy now BUT still eats like he's starving. He eats anything!!

 

[bladefixation2]

We used to feed our dog hard food but when he got older he would struggle to eat it, so we used to make up some instant gravy and mix it in with it to soften it up. Similar to the hot water ideas suggested before but a bit tastier

 

[Point44]

a BARF diet is natural for dogs and cats -- Bones And Raw Food. I buy chicken backs for my dog and feed him those every day. Every 3rd day he gets veggies ground up with raw hamburger and cod liver oil and occasionally he gets chicken liver, all raw.

Think about it: what are cats designed to eat? Surely not cat "food"?? Cats eat whole mice, whole birds and other critters, and the closest you can get to this is chicken parts.

This diet will ensure the healthiest cat also. Our dog doesn't get fleas with this diet and I have heard other pet owners say the same thing.

Some animals may require a short transition period to this diet because their systems are messed up but we had no trouble 7 or so years ago when we converted our dog to this. And our dog has been almost totally healthy.

The same works with cats.

Originally cats were designed to eat like this but really because of evolution and breeding it's not really the case anymore. Take for example the persian. They cannot survive on their own. They have to be fed and no longer have the instinct for hunting. It really depends on the breed of cat. My friends cat won't even eat food that's not mashed up for them.

And what does diet have to do with fleas? I thought animals got fleas from the places they went to. So a total house cat has less chance of getting fleas than a cat living in the streets.

 

[Point44]

We have four former strays. The latest -- about a year old -- came home with me on October 31st. He weighed in at 4 pounds and could barely walk. He was already neutered and his front claws had been removed. Then he was dumped in a box at the front gate of a Scout camp. Per the vet, he had round worms, hook worms, lung worms (new one for me), and some bacterial infection. He seems pretty healthy now BUT still eats like he's starving. He eats anything!!

MY STRAY CATS ARE LIKE THAT TOO!!!

I've got 2 strays that are now house cats. My parents saved the first one which was really badly injured. Bloody and all. He has cost us the most in terms of vet bills. The second one me and my wife saved off the street. Very little at the time. He was covered in so much oil that he had to be shampooed twice. What i've seen with both of 'em are strays tend to get fat once you bring 'em in. They eat like they aren't sure whether they'd get a next meal. We've had 'em awhile (about 2 years) and they are now what i would call on the verge of obesity. They even steal other cats' food. Plus they keep begging for food at non-meal times.

Damn fatso cats.

 

[bladefixation2]

they are now what i would call on the verge of obesity. They even steal other cats' food. Plus they keep begging for food at non-meal times.

Damn fatso cats.

If they are allowed outside then they probably get food off of the neighbors too!