Do vets cover much on feline nutrition in their training?

Question

The other day I took my cat to the vet for a check-up and the cat needs to have dental surgery, which is to be expected for her age. What concerned me was that the vet said that after surgery, I should only feed the cat dry food from then on, as it cleans the teeth and doesn't lead to as much tartar as wet food. However, I have done some research into wet vs dry food for cats, and many sources state that the ingredients in dry food can cause other illnesses, and isn't necessarily that much better for the teeth; I would rather pay out money on more dental surgery than feed my cat food that is bad for her in other ways. The reason I'm asking my question is because i don't know now whether I should lose confidence in my vet or whether most vets would say the same thing and would not necessarily know much about feline nutrition because there are so many other aspects to cover in their training.

Answer 1

Of course they cover feline nutrition!.. Do you think a heart doctor would skip over training on heart disease? No, absolutely not... when becoming a doctor, they go threw extreme amounts of intense training, and hands on experience.... Your cat should not always be eating wet food.. If you like the wet food feed it to your cat once a week... Didn't any of your teachers throughout school ever tell you that everything you read online is not always true?.. About 75% of the links that show up on a google search have false information, mixed in with correct information. You need to listen to your vets advice... if you don't feel satisfied with his information, you can call other vets, but keep in mind your vet knows your cats health the best.  

Answer 2

Nutrition information changes quickly.  As does medical information regarding treating various diseases.  New graduates may have more up to date info regarding nutritional issues.  Talk to your vet....or their vet techs.

Answer 3

Most vets would say the same thing.

Holistic vets tend to be better educated in this area.

Good for you for asking this!  You're quite right.  Any dental benefit of eating dry food is far outweighed by the negative.  And obviously, if it was so great wouldn't your cat's teeth be perfect?

As for the alleged dental benefits, there are none.  Cats don't chew.  They hoover or crack kibble in two with a fang.  How that translates into cleaning the teeth I have no idea.

As for what specifically vets are taught, I don't know for a fact.  I have heard (from my own vet) that they have a class sponsored by Hills.  They also have a small animal class, but it's not feline specific.

Answer 4

Vets are trained on some nutritional information but not much.  You are better speaking to a nutritionalist with regards to your cats diet.

Don't believe all the myths about dry food in actual fact dry is often more nutritional.  Foods like James Wellbeloved, Hills and Burns have a much higher meat contenet from 25 to 60% where as some tinned food have only 4%.

I suppose the thing to do it to make sure that you are aware of what you are feeding your cat.  All animals are different.

Good on you for caring and asking.