I had thought it’d be impossible to get the Blondies to eat soaked kibble (it was a few months ago where they would stage a boycott and go on hunger strike), but it’s totally possible now. So that’s one achievement for me!
Perseverance and lots of luck!
My senior vet who likes to feed kibble said that for her cat (male, I think?) she just added water to the kibble. Her cat would dutifully lick up all the water first, then only go for the soaked kibble. So obedient, right? So her cat finally did not even have CKD and passed away of something else in his old age.
Cats not having CKD towards the end of their lives is a wonderful thing. Is it achievable? Well, we can try.
But some cats are genetically predisposed to kidney disease so that’s a minus point there. I know the Cow Mau family, our first rescued cats and our warriors were predisposed. Bunny, Pole and Cleo all had CKD in their geriatric years. Pole passed away at 16, Cleo at 16 and Bunny at 17 (CKD with lymphoma and gastro-intestinal issues too). Only Cow never had kidney issues right up till the end – his kidneys were solid and functioning well, but he had heart failure. Indy had CKD too, but he was well for five whole years since diagnosis. Indy was a super warrior, all the way. And Vincent was our first CKD cat. He came from the street with a bad dental condition and I did not know how told he was, but he was quite elderly when he passed on. Two dental extractions did not help too and the senior vet had already warned me that he would eventually have kidney failure and he was right.
This is why I’m so very concerned about two things: (1) Dental hygiene and (2) Sufficient water in their food.
So, since the Blondies, Riley and Juno are kibble-queens, I simply had to add water to their kibble.
And I’m happy that Juno is now willing to eat water-soaked kibble. I started by just wetting the bowl, then I added a bit more water each day. Now, it’s not as soaked as the Blondies’ kibble but there is definitely water in it.
Riley was willing to eat for one day, but decided on a boycott the next. So yes, I would have to work for Riley. But all said, Juno and Riley still eat wet food, so it’s not like they are on a 100% kibble diet. They have wet food at least twice a day.
Juno eating soaked kibble and Riley looking on. She tried it too, but only after Juno had “tested it with a silver spoon”!
“No poison, Juno?”, she asked.
Juno said no. So Riley tried it…just a bit.
I do not soak the RC Dental because that has to be eaten dry to “brush the teeth”. Soaking it with defeat its purpose, so that’s given separately. One of my vets said his own cat has been on the RC Dental has his main diet and he’s now 10 years old with no plague, let alone tartar. Now, that is amazing. And not needing a dental scaling is a good thing because I worry that scaling would remove the protective layer on the teeth. Extractions are also very tricky as the vet has to ensure that every bit of chipped tooth is remove and nothing is left behind.
Now, our senior vet has the special dental X-Ray to ensure no chips are left behind. Cow Mau had dental pain in his final year of life but he was too told to undergo yet another dental procedure under GA. I helped him cope with his dental pain. It was tough. Some of you might remember this. We will never know what happened to have caused the dental pain but the vet thinks it was the FIV causing severe gum pain. Cow Mau did have two dental cleaning and extraction. The second one left him with only his incisors and canines. All the premolars and molars had to be extracted because they were in bad shape.
If only we could brush their teeth efficiently, right?
My senior vet says certain wet foods will cause the formation of plague more easily. That is why she personally prefers kibble.
Hey Juno, will you please teach Riley to eat soaked kibble? I’m counting on you, Juno.
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