Lillie, I would give it some more time; my two cats have gone smoothly from dry to wet food over a ten-day period, but still enjoy the occasional dry treat.

The third, Niku, is not into it at all, and I've decided I'll give her three months to make a switch, else dry food for her. Must add here that she has never had any problems with a 100% dry diet. The reason might just be that she does not eat all that much anywyas. Trying to latch her on to wet food, I've seen her chew the bits of dry food that I'd coated with a little gravy, and then just spit it out and look disdainfully at the plate, so I guess the real challenge is to help her get used to the texture.

As for the two boys who decided not to exasperate me so much, I've seen some positive results already (it's only 10 days now): The fat cat seems to have lost a bit of weight, and their breath doesn't smell as if there's a rotten animal inside! I'm hoping Niku accepts wet food soon.

For tips on how to make the transition, try this link: http://catinfo.org/index.htm#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

Good luck !!

Be very careful about transitioning a very fat cat from dry food to wet. Our vet recommended we switch from dry to wet, as a way for our cat to lose weight. We thought we were feeding her enough, but we weren't, and she went into liver failure. Fat cats need to be watched closely -- they can develop fatty liver disease in just a few days if they're not eating properly.

We feed our cat both!! She has dry out and at night we give her a bit of wet food. She isnt overweight at all. She drinks a lot of water so not concerned about her water intake. We purchased one of those drinkwell pet water fountains off Ebay (much cheaper than the stores) and I notice she drinks from it a fair bit.

Lillie, don't give up... it may take a little while for some kitties to understand that wet food is yummy! You could try microwaving the food for a few seconds or so just to make the smell stronger but not heat the food, or try putting a favorite treat in the food. Some kitties are stubborn and they love that dry food, just be more stubborn! You don't have to feel guilty, just keep trying.
Airforceguy (and all) if your dry-food-eating feline drinks a lot of water please be sure to have the vet check for feline diabetes.
Since cats are obligate carivores (they do not have the enzyme humans, dogs and other animals have to break down carbohydrates) many vets are now giving more thought to the appropriate diet for felines - which is meat based. Many vets are also looking further into the cause and effect relationship between dry food diet and fd. My two boy-cats were kitty-crack addicts (dry food = kitty crack) and one (at 10 years old) is now diabetic - drinking larger amounts of water over a period of time was the only clue. Both boys are now eating wet food only and the weight loss is dramatic as is the reduction in water intake. Oh, someone commented that their breath doesn't smell as bad with wet food - add to that another plus... the litterbox doesn't smell as bad!
As for fatty-liver definitely make sure your kitty is getting enough wet food when you transition. It may even be ok to let them eat until satisfied when you first start (I've found that once they get a taste for wet food they want a lot of it and then the appetite evens out) and then determine how much they should get daily based on their current/ideal weight. Talk to your vet about how much your cat should eat for optimum health.
Peace

Thanks Rivkadr for the advice, initially we made sure our Mr. ChubbyChops ate all the wetfood he wanted. Once we were certain he loved wetfood, we started monitoring the amount of wetfood given to him. (Our vet did warn us about FLS). We still give ChubbyChops a little dry food as a treat, and he looks very happy.

I'm just hoping that Niku gets used to wet food soon!

lillie1441 -- may I suggest you try a "pate" style food instead of chunks and gravy? I know of many cats (including my own) that will only lick the gravy and leave the chunks. Many kitten foods (I used Nutro Kitten 3 oz cans) are pate style and so is Fancy Feast I believe. I have never used FF -- but many people say their cats love it (supposidly not as good for them as other high end foods though).

My 8 month old cat eats both wet and dry but I think he is getting chubby. I'd like to cut back on the dry but he will only eat a small amount of wet 2X a day. When I go to bed at night I actually remove the dry and leave the wet giving him no choice but to eat it.

The bad part about the wet is that if they don't eat it -- it dries out and does not appeal to them.

That is the first time I've ever heard that wet is better than dry food because of the water content. Doesn't your cat drink any water? If so then I wouldn't worry about it. My vet has actually told me that dry is better for their teeth. It helps clean them.

Livvysmom-I got the pate type as well as several others.She won't touch any of it.This cat has never eaten anything but dry food.She won't even eat anything out of my hand.She just smells and walks away.
Nookie-She does drink plenty of water and is healthy and not over or underweight.I called my vet today and asked him if I should keep trying to get her to eat the wet food and he said as long as she is healthy he sees no reason not to feed her the dry only as long as it is a good quality food.He said there are lots of differing opinions about feeding wet and dry foods,(depending on who you talk to) but his opinion is that it is OK as long as the cat is getting the nutrition it needs and is healthy.So,I'm not going to worry about it anymore and will continue to do as I have been from the time I got her!
I had never heard that wet was better than dry either until someone posted some information here.I also thought that dry food was good for their teeth but someone here said it isn't because it breaks up into small particles when the cat bites into it so it has no abraisive qualities.I don't see how wet food could be any better since it is soft. Some doesn't even require chewing,(just lick it off the plate),which would make it even more useless as far as cleaning the teeth.
Thanks everyone for the responses.I appreciate it.

On one of my visits to our vet, we got on the topic of food. I can't recall all of it. But he did mention that vets all thought dry food was better and usually recommended that to clients. now that thought is changing and there are many benefits to the wet food. Nothign wrong with either if your cat is doing well. There was much more, but can't recall!!

First, cat owners need to remember that cats need to consume lots of Protein in their diet, in addition to other nutrients. As for wet vs dry food, every professional will give a different opinion. So basically, feed your cat whatever combination of dry/wet food that they seem happy with AND that supplies them with adequate nutrition and plenty of protein. Also, a great way to "reset" your cat's eating habits, is to feed them only rabbit for 4 days. Buy a fresh rabbit from your butcher, boil it, and then shred the meat. It's also really stinky, which cats LOVE. Apparently, rabbit meat "neutralizes" their digestive system. After 4 days on the rabbit-only diet, you can pretty much start a totally new feeding program. I've done this several times, and it worked every time. There is also a canned rabbit food for cats, but it's very hard to find. Now I give my cat the new Purina "Naturals" dry food, which is full of veggies and protein. He has that available all the time. Then I give him 1/2 can of wet food (shredded with gravy) twice a day. Avoid large chunks of meat in the wet food with gravy, or else you'll start another problem with them licking off the gravy instead of eating the meat. And don't forget to have plenty of clean water available. My cat LOVES his water fountain! Another tip: If you only feed your cat dry food, then keep his water bowl somewhere else. Otherwise, if he drinks right after eating dry food, it will expand in his belly and cause him to throw it up.

Just thought I would update this.All efforts to get my cat to eat canned food failed so she is eating only dry.I am not worrying about it as she seems happy and satisfied with it and is healthy.She has even gained a little weight,which was needed.
She prefers her water bowl in the bathroom sink.I just refill it with fresh water every morning.

I'm confused! This is my first cat and I only have her because my DH rescued her from a certain death. I take her to a Vet that only sees cats and she told me to get her off the wet food I was giving her to start with. Since I had not been on this board until recently I didn't ask her why and now I'm seeing the opposite. Why would the Vet tell me not to give her wet food if that's what is best for her? Actually she gets both since I give my two dogs food that is home cooked for them and she eats some of theirs. Still, I'm curious which is really best.

The important thing here is that your cat gets enough water. If they do, then dry versus wet doesn't really matter. The nice thing about dry is it helps their teeth - and I know about expensive teeth cleaning and extractions. My vet typically recommends dry but will also go with wet. I would do what your vet recommends.