posted 03-01-2004 11:20 PM         

I e-mailed Wellness (Handsome's cat food) and asked them if it was okay to slightly warm up the soft food in the microwave. I also asked them if any nutrients would be lost in doing this.

They replied saying that a lot of people ask this question as their cats also don't like 'cold' food. They said it was perfectly okay and that no nutrients would be lost. As long as you are just warming the food and not 'nuking it to death' it's okay.

I was glad to hear this as Handsome really likes his food slightly warmed. As I mentioned in my other post, I read that slightly warmed soft food is like a fresh kill to a cat (kind of gross to me, being a vegetarian), but they're cats and they love it.

posted 03-02-2004 12:35 AM         

I'm a firm believer of dry food since wet food contains more preservatives and prone to go bad easily. But I do give Lucky the wet food once or twice a week as a treat. It seems to me that Lukcy likes the juice or sauce of the wet food rather than the chucnky stuff of it. Whenever I'm about to open one pouch/can, Lucky goes wild. I guess it's becuz of his more delicate smell sense and he also knows where I kept those stuff =). Anway, I usually slipt half so I can have the other half as a treat later the week.

Since I mix the wet food with a few tablespoonful of water which i keep in the frige (since he like to lick the juice rather than the chunky stuff), it is necessary for me to warm up a little bit for lucky. As far as I know, Lukcy seems to enjoy the one slightly warmed up rather than cold ones. Like chessmind said, it might be related to cats' instincts about fresh kill (and I do believe so).

If I may say something about microwaving the wet food, just don't try to cook it (like Cheesmind said already). The stuff is already cooked and packed. And if you are still curious about the nutrients, as long as you don't cook it over 140-150F (not that i cook that much for lucky, but it's still okey to cook it above the said temperature, but would the cat like the sizzling stuff??), it will be still ok while zapping the harmful bacterias (for humans, but aren't cats supposed to eat freshly killed and raw?? )

Well, I guess I'm talking too much here, but I really think it's really okey to warm up soft/wet food for our furly companions.

posted 03-02-2004 07:14 PM         

The only real advantage to hard food only is that it is cheaper and has a longer shelf live than soft food. The advantages of soft food are that cats require so much water to help their kidneys properly function and soft food is very high in water content.

While hard food alone requires cats to consume so much water. However, cats often don't consume enough water needed to enable their kidneys to function properly. The stress then put on by kidneys of years of this is what often causes cats to have problems with their kidneys.

posted 03-02-2004 08:57 PM         

quote:

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since wet food contains more preservatives

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