Why would cats need dry food at all?

Question

This is a follow-up to fish man's question a little while ago, about why are wheat and corn in pet food. Why would cats need dry food at all? I see many people here say to give them high quality dry food, but since grain is required to make dry food hold its shape, why give them dry food at all?

Answer 1

Because people still believe the myth that it is somehow healthier for their teeth. Let me ask, does chewing on pretzels clean /your/ teeth?

The carbohydrates in dry have been linked to diabetes in cats. Even without that point, wet is definitely better. The reason is, in the wild, cats normally get most of their water content directly from their prey items and drink very little. Domestic cats are no different, and because of the fact that they are designed to take in water with their meal, they have a very low thirst drive. Cats often just don't drink enough. This leads to urinary tract infections and crystals. The bit about dry food being better for teeth is a myth and has not been proven in the least. Canned/wet food is better because it more closely mimics the cat's natural diet. More on why canned food is best:

http://www.catinfo.org/  (Excellent cat nutrition information by a vet)

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

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

Edit: Christian, did you seriously just say that grain is good for cat health? ...Do you know what an obligate carnivore is? Cats are obligate carnivores. They do not benefit from grain, they are designed for an all meat diet. Grain free diets are best for kitties and thankfully some of the higher quality food companies put out grain free diets now.

Answer 2

several reasons..and grain isn't that bad for them...also some cats cant handle canned food...some get worms and even diarrhea

Answer 3

Because there has been a lot of questions about dry food here, I called my brother in law, who is a vet in Pittsburgh - and he gave me this answer:  

Many cat owners prefer dry cat food, which stores easily and makes litter boxes easier to clean up. Dry cat food is great in terms of cost and handling (some people can't stand the smell of canned cat food), but canned cat food is closer to raw food and contains a lot of water, which helps cats get the hydration they need. Canned food also generally contains less filler and carbohydrates, though reading the labels carefully is key.   For certain cats with kidney or bowel problems, dry food can exacerbate the condition, and if your cat has urinary issues, the water content in canned food can be especially valuable.

He said to talk to your vet to see what is best for YOUR cat, and that answering such a question here can be detrimental to the health of your individual cat.  You can listen to the opinions of everyone, but ultimately, it's what you want to do with your cat, and what your vet suggests.

I use dry food, my cats are very healthy and quite happy.  None of the four have diabetes, nor any other health issues except for a bit of dental problems POSSIBLY caused by the canned food (I'm not saying it was or wasn't).  My previous cats have lived 20+ years on only dry food (except for a little tuna in water).  This has to be a personal decision - just as much as a parent has to choose what to give their children.

Answer 4

Well if you want you can give your cat some canned cat food,the kinds I suggest are 9 lives, and friskies.....But please do not give them that unless you want your cats having diarrhea.because it gets too rich for them unless they are kittens because kittens are not able to chew up dry food.thx jeff halpain

Answer 5

It's cheaper.

Answer 6

Cats don't actually need dry food.  A little bit may be good for their teeth, but in fact they're probably healthier on a good canned food, fed twice a day.  But be sure it's a cat food so that the nutritional content is what your cat needs.

It's not cats who need dry food.  It's the people who want the convenience, and the companies who make money on it.

Answer 7

The crunchiness of dry food is good for their teeth.

Answer 8

Cats actually DO need dry food, regardless of what people above have said. The corn and grain used to make it is actually a form of roughage for cats, which helps them digest their food. For indoor-only cats especially, dry food is an essential, since they don't get to go outside and eat grass.

Feeding wet food only can actually cause your cat health problems, such as constant diarrhea (and therefore dehydration), diverticulitis (bulges and bleeding of the intestines), and hemorrhoids, all of which, if untreated or treated too late, can kill. Most canned food does not contain taurine, either, which is essential for cats' eyesight. Without enough in their system, they often go blind.

The main reason wet food only can cause this is because the cat is getting NO roughage in their diet. Roughage = Fiber, which every living thing needs, not just people. Now, if a cat is an outdoor cat, or an indoor/outdoor cat, you don't have to worry quite as much, because the cat has access to grass.  If they are indoor only, however, they will sometimes turn to houseplants, many of which are deadly to cats, out of desperation.

Your best bet is to feed cats a mixture of both wet and dry. My family feeds our cats this way, mixing their dry food into their wet, and adding a little water or milk to make a gravy. Our cats LOVE it, and other than seasonal allergies to ragweed, NONE of our cats have any health problems.

Only twice in my lifetime have I ever had to take a cat to the veterinarian. Once was for a broken leg, the other for symptoms of abdominal feline leukemia (which he had). We have never fed them anything but the wet/dry mix, and none have ever had any digestion-related problems.

Edit: *sigh* In response to Ken's answer below me, yes, cats DO require fiber and roughage. Not quite in the way that humans do, but it is needed.

Humans need fiber/roughage in order for us to break up the more indigestible parts of our daily food, so it can pass through our digestive tract and not cause blockages.

Cats need fiber/roughage in order to REMOVE said indigestible parts of their food. Which form of roughage they eat induces different types of removal.

Grass causes a cat to regurgitate, therefore removing any indigestible things, INCLUDING HAIRBALLS, that could potentially cause a blockage.

Wheat/corn acts in the exact same way that roughage does for us - by breaking up indigestible things into smaller pieces, which can then be moved through the intestines and out of the body. In other words, a natural laxative.

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they HAVE to eat the tissues of other animals in order to survive, as at least 70% of their nutrition needs come from meat, but this does not mean that they don't need vegetables and roughage to maintain health.

Those special-formula cat foods (many of which veterinarians personally recommend to you if your cat's condition would benefit from it) for hairballs are extremely high in fiber. Now, would a certified veterinarian tell you to feed your cat some kind of hairball special-formula food, which they KNOW has a ton of fiber in it, if it was detrimental to their health?

Really, the best type of roughage you can give a cat is their own little indoor garden of cat grass. Most cats adore it. For the few that do NOT, however, look for dry food that has beet pulp in it. It can be extremely hard to find, though, which is why so many use regular corn/grain food. It's okay to give a cat fiber supplements designed for cats, if you really, really don't want to go that route, though.

If you require links to various websites in order to believe, here: I will give you a few. Ken, I hope this solves the issues you had with a cat needing roughage. The links are in the 'sources' section.

1. A reason that cats need grass. Also talks about why other vegetables can be 'harmful' to a cat....but I'd like to know why my cats go to my garden and eat corn straight from the stalk if they have a stomach problem?

2.  Another short article detailing why cats need grass.

3. A section on feeding cats meat, but also mentions how important vegetable matter is to a feline diet. From a cat-care manual by Dr. David Brunner and Sam Stall.  If cats do not need roughage, why do even wild big cats eat it?

4. A complete overview of cat and dog food nutrition. Believe it or not, fiber/roughage is on the list, as well as what it does.

5. A short article on elderly cats - explains why they can benefit from extra roughage in their diets.

6. Probably the best one. A definitive look at fiber (aka roughage) in a cat's diet, and WHY it is  beneficial.

7. Go down to 'Wool chewing' and 'Plant eating'. It explains these two behaviours, and how roughage/fiber and grass can benefit a cat displaying these behaviours.

8. A short article by Tim Phillips, DVM, on the role of dietary fiber in pets' diets. At the bottom of the article is a link to the extended article, a 33-page paper which includes references.

Answer 9

Cats need the dry food for dental health.  Soft canned food does not contain all the necessary nutrients offered by a varied diet and feeding wet exclusively could be harmful.  The big cats in the wild are carnivores, but our smaller domesticated friends have been subject to inbreeding and environmental changes.  Veterinarians and breeders both recommend the dry as well as wet food.  

Answer 10

They are usually more comfortable with the dry cat food because cats are adapted to live so that they can keep themselves alive, and grain is in the dry cat food mainly to mantain a good health for them

Answer 11

Cats do not need dry foods for any reason

Things have changed though and there are grain free and lower carb dry foods with a 0 carb dry food in the works. There was a time that grain was neeed to make dry

That said because of the dehydrating factors on a cat which is not naturally a big drinker, I would feed a poorer quality canned food over a top quality ry food any day. Cats are suppose to get theor mositure needs from their prey. Blockages, constipation, ibd crystals and kidney disease are things that i attribute to the lack of moisture in foods

These peoples answers above drive me crazy?  All animals need roughage? LOL Please provie links. cats have no use for fiber and roughage. They make it up as they go along.

I also love the old wives tale that dry food is better for the teeth, I guess these people brush their teeth with a hard pretzel

Answer 12

there are brands that are grain free etc.