Info. & Links on why canned is better than all dry diet

[edkate]

I am feeding our cats Wellness wet food and some Homestyle's by Prairie....

Does anybody have any updates on websites that keep an eye on food recalls?

What do you guys think of the food i feed the kitties?

The youngest cat would NOT even touch dry food, but the oldest (2.5 y.o) would eat it non-stop if i didnt put it away when we come home from cottage....

[Briana]

Thank goodness for this topic. My mom is telling me all the time that canned food is really hard on a cat's kidneys. My cat, Fluffy, who is fourteen has had mostly a dry food diet all his life. I give him wet, canned food though for a good treat. And she's always telling me it's really bad for him.

Is it, though? It sounds like it might be better for him....?

[Hypurrrrr]

Great thread! And this is a really fantastic summary:

Originally Posted by OsnobunnieO

I think feeding a mix is just fine.

To sum up what I believe to be true about the two:

Feeding ONLY dry food tends to leave many cats slightly dehydrated because they rely on food to get their moisture, most cats don't drink enough water on their own. This can put some stress on their internal organs, like kidneys. Also, it can lead to a more concentrated urine and possible UTIs and maybe even blockages in male cats (females too, but less common).

Most dry foods contain a high amount of carbs and other fillers that cats don't really need. They are carnivores who do best when they eat meat, or mostly meat meals. A lot of lower ended dry foods contain little meat at all (some you really have to search to find it!).

A lot of cats tend to overeat when free fed dry. This leads to a lot of weight issues, as well as a "need" for food all the time... you can read lots of stories about cats who stress out and scratch, pee, and poop all over the house at the sight of an empty bowl.

Wet foods provides moisture. It hydrates them, and keeps the urine a good concentration to provide a healthy urinary tract. It usually keeps them fuller longer since they get more nutrition from the food and are not just "filled" with grains and such. It also tends to keep cats a healthier weight and has been helpful for many people in getting their cats to lose weight.

I personally feed an all wet diet now and have been very pleased. While I tend to scoop about 3-4 clumps of urine every day, I usually get a small amount of poo once a day. His coat is beautiful and soft, and he just seems all around healthy.

I think you'll do fine on the combo you're starting. Natural Balance is one of the high end dry foods, good choice! Basically, the best diet for your cat is going to be one that he does the best on. If he refuses to eat canned food (some do!) feeding him the best dry you can find is just as good... I mean, it can't be good for him if he doesn't eat it right?

I used to feed my cat wet food but he lost interest in it. At first, he'd lick the gravy off and then come back later to eat the meaty bits. As time went by, I noticed there were days where he didn't eat it at all and seemed satisfied with just dry food. So I just stopped buying the wet food. However, since reading through this entire thread, I will certainly give the wet food another go.

I always have a bowl of water and dry food available for my cat and he eats only when he's hungry. He weighs what he should and has had no health problems. Once in a while, as a treat, I buy him a can of tuna (in water) or some shaved turkey from the deli. I have yet to research this forum to see if these treats are OK to give a cat, so if anyone has an opinion or advice about the occasional tuna/turkey treat, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

[Susan]

I see nothing wrong with tuna/turkey as occasional treats. Neither is harmful and, if only fed upon occasion, neither will interfere with his normal feeding. Tuna and turkey are likely no worse (indeed, better) than Pounce, Temptations, etc. As for transitioning him from dry to wet, that’s an excellent idea. But, for some cats, it can be a difficult task. I’m currently in the process of transitioning my two. One cat was relatively easy. The other is stubborn, stubborn, stubborn – but we’re slowly making progress. Here’s another excellent article (although lengthy) on dry vs. wet, which addresses many of the points you found helpful in the summary post you quoted. It also includes tips for transitioning cats from dry to wet, many of which I’m using with success.

Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basis of Feline Nutrition

I don’t know if this article was earlier referred to in this thread, since I’m afraid I haven’t had the time to go through all of the posts!

Finally, when I feed my girls wet food comprised of chunks with gravy, they too tend to lap up the gravy and ignore the meat. They also hate pate-style wet food. So, I’m now using Weruva, which is neither pate nor chunks with gravy, but a bit of a compromise between the two. It’s also grain-free. So far, so good.

Good luck!

[Hypurrrrr]

Thank you for the advice and for the link! It's funny that you mentioned "Pounce" and "Temptations" because I just posted about them on the "kitty treat" thread.

Originally Posted by Susan

As for transitioning him from dry to wet, that’s an excellent idea.

I can't remember if I mentioned it in my post, but my plan was to do a combo of the two: to continue having a bowl of "Hairball Control" dry food avaliable at all times (as it is now) AND re-introducing wet food once a day.

[annepanee]

I can't believe I've never heard about the wet/dry food debate. My cats are on dry only because of my feral. If I didn't leave the dry food out, she would never eat.

My cats are on a dry food called EVO. I had done a lot of research on dry foods and this one kept coming up as really good and very close to a cats natural diet.

After reading this sticky and the links, I'm going to look into feeding the cats a combo.

[coonconnoisseur]

I'm inclined to agree with the content of the OP that says cats get too dehydrated without wet food.

However, I wonder if enough consideration is given to the drawback of wet food, namely dental problems.

Today I brought this issue to my vet who I saw for the first time with my new kitten.

I asked him if I should feed wet instead of dry. He said, "normally if a cat is drinking water it should be okay to feed dry."

I then asked him, "is it not better to feed wet because it will hydrate the cat more?"

He replied, "that is true, but then they will have dental problems. They lose their teeth very easily."

Finally, I asked him if it is better to feed wet and brush a cat's teeth as well. He said "if you can do it, that is very good."

Right now, I'm not sure I can do it because I don't know if my cat will let her teeth be brushed.

These considerations make me wonder if dry might not be better for a cat who's teeth cannot be brushed. Both options-wet and dry-seem to have health risks. It's like the old cliche of being caught between a rock and a hard place-either possible decision about this issue is bad.

Hypothetically, if a cat loses her teeth and/or has other severe dental problems as a result of the bacteria in her mouth that got there from eating wet food, would it not have been better to have instead fed her dry food?

I'm on the fence about to feed my cat wet or dry, because I don't want her to get dehydrated from dry food, and I also don't want her teeth to fall out or her gums to get messed up from wet food.

For those who advocate wet food for cats that aren't being fed raw, how do you reconcile the dental issues that likely will arise with the decision to feed them wet food?

[doodlebug]

Dental issues when feeding wet are not "likely" to arise. I have a 14 year old cat, she has needed one teeth cleaning when she was 10. My 9 year old will need a cleaning shortly. Other cats that are predisposed to teeth issues will probably have them no matter what kind of food they're eating.

Dry food doesn't do anything to help keep the teeth clean unless it's specially formulated to do so (prescription dental food) and the ingredients in those foods are less than optimal.

Brush if you can. There are some gels out there that are supposedly having some good results although I don't know anyone who has tried them. Petzlife is one, Tropiclean is another. The reviews on both are excellent. Get a cleaning done when necessary.

I'd rather have a toothless cat with good kidneys than one with all her teeth and bad kidneys. Toothless cats can still eat wet food and live a long time. A cat with kidney disease has a limited life span.

Did you find out the cause of the inflamed gums? Is she teething?

[coonconnoisseur]

Originally Posted by hoofmaiden

Neither canned food nor dry will clean the teeth or prevent gum disease.

The post to which the quoted text is replying did not necessarily say that feeding dry food would clean the cat's teeth or prevent gum disease, although the quoted text carries the implication that it does, and is a response based on that implication.

Rather, the post that inspired the quoted response may well have been saying that feeding wet food will encourage gum disease in ways that feeding dry will not.

[coonconnoisseur]

Originally Posted by doodlebug

Dry food doesn't do anything to help keep the teeth clean unless it's specially formulated to do so (prescription dental food) and the ingredients in those foods are less than optimal.

Did you find out the cause of the inflamed gums? Is she teething?

Yes, she is teething according to my vet. Also, I have the contract and it says gingivitis is common in maine coons. Apparently the health guarantee doesn't cover gingivitis but does cover 4 years against HCM or other life threatening diseases, which seems very generous IMO, at lease compared to another breeder I am also dealing with who IIRC only gives a 2 year health guarantee.

I understand dry food doesn't do anything to keep a cat's teeth clean.

However, is there not merit to the point that wet food is introducing tons of bacteria into the cat's mouth that would not be there with dry food, and therefore wet food poses more of a dental risk than dry food for that reason?