totally wet

I'm thinking of switching my cats from Purina dry food to a good quality food. I have heard that wet is best, and if I do get wet can they be on an entire wet diet or should there be dry in there too? Is it true that wet feeding is better than dry, are there any benefits to dry? How much wet would wet food cost compared to dry (more or less and by how much)? And I need some suggestions on good wet and dry foods (i'd like an all life stages food if you know of any since I have a 8 month kitten and a 2 yr. old cat) and a the cheapest good food you know (wet or dry) would be very helpful. Thanks!

i like maxximum nutrition dry food, thats what my cats eat, and i mix in whatever canned looks healthy for the lowest price, on that i cant tell you cause i compare every time i buy wet food.

at 8 months old your kitten will do well on adult food.

Sharky will be around to give you some good advice on the specifics.

I will weigh in with my feelings on the wet/dry thing. There are A LOT of differing opinions 'out there' on this issue...you may have already found that some people say that dry food is evil and others say the same thing about wet. It comes down to arming yourself with all of the info out there, finding out what your cats will or won't eat vs. what they do well on, what fits your lifestyle and budget, and whether you want to be able to get the food at the corner store, pet store, feed store, or mail order it. There are tons of choices.

I have heard that wet is best, and if I do get wet can they be on an entire wet diet or should there be dry in there too?

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IMO, you don't have to feed dry. In my household, if things were perfect (which they aren't) ...we would be on all wet and/or raw and I would feed dry as 'treats' or small 'snacks'. I don't think I would cut it out COMPLETELY, because they do seem to enjoy it, and I like to spoil them. But it would be like a treat. That said, we still have bowls of dry out here...I can't have everything I want, yet.

Is it true that wet feeding is better than dry, are there any benefits to dry?

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IMO, there are no great HEALTH benefits with dry. Some say it cleans the teeth but I personally don't give that thought much merit. I think there is some research somewhere that states that in an experiment, tube fed cats still got tartar buildup on their teeth (even though food was never in their mouth). It *can* be easier and *slightly* cheaper to feed all dry, but for the long term overall health benefit I like canned. Again, just my opinion. This subject is something I've lost sleep over recently.

How much wet would wet food cost compared to dry (more or less and by how much)?

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That will vary widely depending on the brands and how much your cats eat.

It costs me approximately $5-$6 a day to feed 8 cats a 50/50 split of premium wet and prescription dry. To go "all wet" of those same premium brands would be $7-$8 for 8 cats, feeding from only the huge more economical cans...make it as much as $10 if I want anything in smaller cans. But your numbers would be a lot less with just 2 cats.

And I need some suggestions on good wet and dry foods (i'd like an all life stages food if you know of any since I have a 8 month kitten and a 2 yr. old cat) and a the cheapest good food you know (wet or dry) would be very helpful.

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I'll let someone else cover that.

We like Eagle Pack, Merrick, Nutro, and Wellness right now. Blue Spa went over pretty well too.

That was probably more than you ever wanted to know. LOL

An all wet food diet would be excellent for your cats, good plan It really does have some amazing health benefits to eliminate dry food from their diet.

www.catinfo.org is one of the best resources for information on this subject.

In terms of choosing a high quality food, look for something with no by-products, low (or no) grain, no corn, wheat or soy (as these are not easily digested by cats and are very common allergens), and with a good amount of meat protein. These guidelines can be followed for both wet and dry food.

As for cost, it does cost more to feed wet food, simply put. Usually about double what it costs to feed dry food. The difference is, you end up paying less in the long run because have a better chance of avoiding costly vet bills. But feeding all canned food (especially high quality) can be cost-prohibitive, which is why most people feed a wet/dry combo (with at least half the diet consisting of wet food). Ask around at the stores in your area. Many of the high end foods have a frequent buyer program that counts the cases of canned food you buy and after 10 or so cases, you get a free one, which does help with cost. Also, buying bigger cans as opposed to smaller ones helps as well.

i forgot to mention that i do also feed wet food. i mix about half wet and half dry and add a little water. i feed that twice a day. the cats like it. they also like to snack on dry food throughout the day but they dont know when to stop eating and they chunk up so i cant let them do that anymore. there are so many conflicting "facts" out there about both wet and dry, i wouldnt obsess about it if i were you (not that you are). i think either way you will be fine

one thing is true though, regular dry food does NOT scrape tarter or in any other way clean the teeth.

What the others have said .... Depending where you buy as decent to good wet can be found in grocery too unlike dry

I figure ave cat will cost about 50cents to $1.50 a day to feed wet

I figured canned cost me about a $1 -1.25 to feed my 11lb girl all wet ... she ate 6-10 oz a day


Decent wets found at grocery ... they are mostly fish or fish heavys
Meow mix
Sheba tubs ( I will be checking the reg as they say new and improved)
Some of the Iams
Natural life( walmart often carrys)

Big pet stores

Nutro
Natural balence
Authority
Pet gold
Solid gold
Sensible choice
By nature ( I only have access to the dog but it is good stuff)
Avoderm

Small pet stores
Likely carry many of the above plus
California natural
Evangers
Eagle pack
Timberwolf/serrengetti
Innova
EVO
Wellness ( now garlic free , many grain fee but those have flaxseed)
Merricks
Natures variety/ prairie
Felidea
Newmans organics( no cat I know will eat but they read well)

I am sure there are more just cant think of them

Originally Posted by sharky

Newmans organics( no cat I know will eat but they read well)

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Ye know? Mine liked this one! LOL I've heard that most cats don't even bother with it, but BOTH of mine (including miss Nya-fussypants) ate it without any problem.

Decent wets found at grocery ... they are mostly fish or fish heavys
Meow mix
Sheba tubs ( I will be checking the reg as they say new and improved)
Some of the Iams
Natural life( walmart often carrys)

Big pet stores

Nutro
Natural balence
Authority
Pet gold
Solid gold
Sensible choice
By nature ( I only have access to the dog but it is good stuff)
Avoderm

Small pet stores
Likely carry many of the above plus
California natural
Evangers
Eagle pack
Timberwolf/serrengetti
Innova
EVO
Wellness ( now garlic free , many grain fee but those have flaxseed)
Merricks
Natures variety/ prairie
Felidea
Newmans organics( no cat I know will eat but they read well)

I am sure there are more just cant think of them

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Thanks for the list! I would have thought Iams and meow mix were no no's.
How about dry food brands, are they the same? So it's cheaper to feed both wet and dry. Would it be best to feed the same brand of wet and dry? i was also wondering what you thought about Chicken Soup... brand food. I got my mom on board pretty fast so I think we will definitely change foods, yay!

and also for dry food should grain, wheat and corn be absent from the first three ingredients? Oh and when you said Nutro did you mean Nutro natural choice or nutro MAX?

Dry is totally different ... I prefer Nutro Max for cats without issues but most do better with Natural choice ... dry will have either grains like wheat and rice or starches like tapicoa and potato....

Chicken soup is a good food here it hasnt succeded but many have had luck and for the price at a feed store it is hard to bet

Chicken soup is a good food here it hasnt succeded but many have had luck and for the price at a feed store it is hard to bet

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In what way has it not succeeded? does it give them gas/diarrhea or does it effect their coats?

Originally Posted by Maxy24

In what way has it not succeeded? does it give them gas/diarrhea or does it effect their coats?

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i dont know about sharky's but it gave my kitty horrible gas and a dull dry coat.

how about felidea has that been successful for everyone?

I feed wet and dry. I've been trying to move to mostly or all wet but have met some resistance. The wet I'm using is a no grain food. It's called Innova Evo and you can usually find it in the small local pet stores (not the chains). I also think Nutro is excellent.

Chicken soup caused gas and dirrea here ... Felidea chn and rice wrecked her coat ... coat came right back once on natural choice again.... similiar ingrediants ???

note that is the dry on all the foods...

All wet is best. But unfortunately one of my cats is a nibbler who can take hours to eat even a quarter of a 5.5 ounce can of wet food and often not even finish it. I wish he would just clean his bowl like my other cat does. Why does it seem to be so difficult for him?

Well, any way my other cat Rosie who cleans her bowl and eats her wet food quickly is also the cat I could sucessfully have eat raw. But for some reason my cat Spotty is picking at his canned food and it's not going to be possible to eliminate the dry food as much as I would like to. Not even the advice on www.catinfo.org is helping me. Not with this cat.