Cat food...wet or dry or both?

Question

I have called around different vets, one will say dry food, one will say wet food and one will say owner's preference. I have ready all over the net and seen places that say wet is better than dry due to health problems in cats. For you long time cat owners please provide your personal feedback.

Answer 1

Wet cat food twice a day and then dry out a few times a day.

Take a look at this:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family...

Cats naturally do not get enough water themselves, by drinking.  By eating wet food they get enough water!

Adding milk or water to dry food is dangerous because of the bacteria on the surface of dry food.

Try to feed Wellness dry and wet as it's the best out there for them!

A lot of vets will say dry, and so will a lot of people.

The truth is, dry does not clean teeth.  It's only convenient for us.

Please feed wet and dry- it's the only way to have a healthy cat!

Answer 2

Soft food allows the tartar on teeth to build up.

Dry food actually helps to keep the teeth clean

So your choice is..  Wet food and clean your pets teeth  OR --

Willie Tattle???  heehee

Answer 3

People get on the defensive when it comes to what is the best food to feed their cat. Some swear by a certain brand, and some will only feed dry or wet. In short, there are two camps when it comes to feeding. The dry food camp and the wet food camp. You will see a lot of arguments and debate between both camps here, as witnessed by the answers you are getting.

Also, another new camp is emerging and fast growing and they are the RAW food movement and sometimes you will also hear what is called a BARF feeding, Bone and Raw Food diet or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet.

What you need to do is to do your research and weigh each camp's argument as to which one you are more comfortable with and what makes the most sense. You need to understand what motivates the pet food industry, (profit!), and what motivates pet parents to buy their product (price/cost, advertisement, vet advice, self research, cat's health while being on the product, etc)

When you are well informed, you will ultimately make the right decision on what is best. So, do a lot of reading and in depth research. It's really not easy feeding our pets now. If you are unaware of the March 2007 Huge Pet Recall, I would suggest you look into it. You will never see pet food the same way again.

You need to learn how to read ingredient labels. By learning how to read a label, you can learn a great deal of information about the food you are feeding your pets. You can even learn how to compare one food to another and choose the one best suited for your cat.

When you are choosing food, it is important for you to learn how to read ingredient labels. They tell you a lot about what kind of meat is being used and whether the food has any cheap fillers which does not benefit your cat/kitten.

You want to feed a food which is high protein - meaning the meat source must come from wholesome muscle meat. Make sure to select only food that list chicken, lamb, rabbit, beef, turkey, venison, salmon, whitefish, herring or a combination or those and not one that says by-products (chicken by product, meat by product, fish by product)

Stay away from too much fillers like corn, corn gluten meal, wheat, wheat gluten, soy, oatbrans, etc. These are all cheap filler which help reduce the cost of manufacturing but brings little to no benefit to your kitten.

You would also want to stay away from preservatives like BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin which are proven to be harmful to your kitten. Also you do not want other artifical preservatives such as propylene glycol and propolyneglycol .You need natural preservatives such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A or Rosemary.

Your cat need an essential amino acid called Taurine. Cats can only receive this from eating wholesome meat. Choose a food that contains ample amount of Omega 3 sources - Salmon Oil, Flaxseed Oil or Canola Oil.

When you are well educated in learning how to read pet food ingredients, shopping for the best food for your kitten would be easier.

I only feed 100% wet. I came to this conclusion after doing my own research and getting to know pets that suffer dire consequences as a result of being fed exclusively dry. These websites has great information if you are interested in learning more about feline nutrition and the proper diet for a cat.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac...

http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canne...

http://cats.about.com/od/catfoo1/tp/tpca...

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://www.naturalmatters.net/article.as...

http://www.traciehotchner.com/cb/QandA.h...

I love to say this whenever someone ask this question.

Look at your cats. They are majestic animals, with their wild ancestors blood still running through their veins. They are predators, equip with sharp canine teeth to shred through meat. Now, imagine a lion or a tiger, feasting on a bowl of dry kibble. Does that sound right to you? Well, now you know why it is so ridiculous to feed your cat dry kibbles!

Domestication only changes the way the cats live but not the way the cats eat. If we cannot guarantee their wellbeing, we have no right to invite them into our home.

    

Answer 4

wet food is better, and gives the cat more water in the diet. Sometimes cats don't drink enough and can get problems from that. Dry food of good quality is OK, and easier to deal with. I give mine wet in the morning when she is hungry from all her night activity. That way she will finish it all and there is no time for smells to develop. Then I put down dry food for her to eat at her pleasure until I go to bed.

Answer 5

i am the owner of two beautiful cats and my opinion is to feed your pet dry food as the normal diet but a couple of times a week treat them to soft food. its nice to be spoiled every once in a while. ;-)

Answer 6

I have a 13 year old cat named Tiger. For all of his life we have been giving him dry cat food. He loves it. Its also very convenient for our family because we put it in an automatic feeder and when he eats it more comes down. That way we don't have to feed him each day. If you were to put wet food in a feeder and left it , it would go old and get yucky. Good luck!

Answer 7

i have had a ton of cats and my dad always got them cans of wet food its more better than dry food because i personaly think that cats get wet meaty food while dogs get dry food

Answer 8

I give my cat dry food every day except Sundays. I buy those sachets which is one serving and she gets that... before I used to give her wet food more often but she put on too much weight, so now it's just once a week and a treat.  

Answer 9

i always have dry food available for my cat, and i give him a can of cat food twice a day, breakfast and dinner.

Answer 10

My last cat ate dry food (probably Purina) for about 8 years.  During that time she had her teeth cleaned at least once, perhaps twice.  At the age of 14 she developed IBD, a common problem with dry-fed cats.  She lived another 6 eating crappy canned food with a Prednisone pill hidden in it.

My current two ate dry Purina for two years until I just couldn't stand it anymore.  Poppy is very sensitive to grains and I could no longer deal with her poopy behind.  So I did some research and now they are wet food only eaters.

Poppy eats raw and some canned.  Sophie eats canned with a little bit of raw hidden in it - I'm going to transition her yet!

They do get a teaspoon of dry as a treat every day.  I know it's bad to treat regularly and I advise against it all the time, but I'm weak!  Anyway, it's not that much.  I only do it as a treat, not because it allegedly cleans the teeth.

Both girls, having eaten dry for their first two years, would have pristine teeth if that were true.  But they both have a small amount of tartar on their back teeth, which also interestingly has NOT gotten worse since they switched to wet.

I try to be understanding of those who for budget or schedule reasons have a need to feed some dry.  But in those cases I suggest feeding the best they can afford, and at least feeding 1/2 dry and 1/2 wet.

If you want to learn more, read about how dry food is made.  

I almost forgot - the interesting thing about vets is that most of them have not been taught specifically about feline nutrition.  That's why many of them don't have a clue.

I personally chose to switch to a vet who does have a clue.  In many cases as in mine, that means a holistic vet.  This one charges more and is farther away, but what price good health?

Oh and wet food is NOT more fattening.  Sheesh, even Oprah knows this now!  I'm surprised everyone isn't spouting that these days, because we all know Oprah is going to be joining the holy trinity one of these days.  But I digress.  Poppy lost 5 pounds eating one full can of wet food per day.  She gained weight in the first place due to eating dry.  She swelled up like a poison toad.

Answer 11

There's a lot of contradiction as to what's best. Some say dry, some wet, others beg to differ cats should be fed a natural diet of raw meat (something which I have no experience in).

In my personal experience and years of having cats, I've found it depends on the cat. Generally, I've had a source of dry food always available, preferably a kind with mostly natural ingredients, little/no waste products, no artificial coloring, etc., along with plenty of fresh water, because dry food is...well, dry.

I have the habit of keeping my cats inside at night for safety, and I call them in at night and they get a wet food treat. For the most part, wet food is kind of a waste of money. There's about 15% food, the rest is water. In dry food it's vice versa.

Then, I have one cat who cannot have wet food at all, because she has severe digestive problems. Another older cat I had, was not allowed wet food because she had very bad plaque problems.

So personally, I prefer dry over wet, though I'll still use some wet. I'd love to hear other people's opinions and experiences on this though...

Answer 12

what i do is give them dry food everyday but at least 3 cans a week mixed with a lot of dry food so they wont get used to wet food

Answer 13

I suggest wet food as dry is akin to potato chips for us, although the better brands are certainly just that, better. You have chosen a good option but be aware that having dry food available all the time may lead to your cats being overweight as they often eat out of boredom.

Please feed your cats the best food you can find, this likely means doing a little research to find a local, specialty pet food shop, but your cats will reap the benefits their entire lives. I recommend brands like EVO, Nature's Variety, Taste of the Wild, Wellness and Solid Gold. There are many others but I would find a pet supply store with very knowledgeable staff who should be able to recommend a good product for you. Many of the above brands have a store locator option as well to find a place near to you.

Answer 14

I have 7 cats and I've raised many kittens and this is how I tend to feed my cats.  I give them dry food everyday (its down for whenever they want to eat it) Then I give them soft or wet food 2-3 times a week as a treat.  I give them about a quarter of the can.  Soft food is more fattening and once your cat gets use to it they will want it all the time.  

Answer 15

My cat has always had a little extra to carry around - when she was 13 lbs I switched her over to only wet food (high quality- Wellness) from the "light" dry food she was eating (same brand).  Over time she lost 1 lb and has been holding steady at 12 lb ever since.  She's 13 yrs. now, started the all-wet diet at around 9 yrs.

* She also used to be thirsty all the time- jumping onto sinks whenever there was someone around to turn one on... that too has stopped.  Of course always provide fresh water in addition to food!