Wet vs Dry is driving me crazy

...and trust me it's a short trip!

I've always been one to feed only dry food. My dogs and cats all get Innova EVO dry. Does this have more fat/carb/calories than high end canned food? I just brought one of my cats to the vet for his yearly physical. He has lost 2 more lbs and needs to lose another 4 lbs (he's currently 17.5 lbs). He gets about a 1/4 cup of dry a day and I can't cut back any further without negatively impacting his health. Salem also had a UTI a couple of years ago. The vet said that this time of year cats tend to drink less water and to start feeding him moist food to help supplement the moisture.

So I've begun researching certain brands of canned food: Innova Evo, Merrick, Tiki, and Weruva. Evo had the highest fat (8%), then Merrick. Weruva only has 1% fat and Tiki was between 1.5-2.1% fat. Both of these brands are seafood only, no other meat source.

So I guess I'm asking what is the best combination of food to give them a day. I don't free feed because of Salem's appetite, but feed them twice a day. I've started giving them dry food in the morning and a small can each of Weruva. Is that enough canned food?

dry evo contains around double the calories of a 5.5 oz can... most cans ave about 200 cal

accurately figuring canned dry matter is a bit tough but a ball park way is to multipy by 4

so a can with 10 % protein is 40-45% protein dry matter ( ie if it was a dry food)

5% fat =20%

That's good to know, thank you. Does high end canned food contain all the necessary nutrition to maintain a cat's health or is it a good idea to feed dry food as well. I know this has been debated forever, I guess I just want facts and proof of either positive or negative.

Originally Posted by sharky

dry evo contains around double the calories of a 5.5 oz can... most cans ave about 200 cal

accurately figuring canned dry matter is a bit tough but a ball park way is to multipy by 4

so a can with 10 % protein is 40-45% protein dry matter ( ie if it was a dry food)

5% fat =20%

Click to expand...

Well the more research I do .. I say all canned with dry for treats ... But since I too live in a cat ruled world a good 50/50 is a nice balence ... For wt loss 75% canned would be great

I used to worry about fat content, but cats arephysiologically designed to use protein and fat for energy and excrete excess in their waste. They can use carbohydrates but readily turn it into fat. I recently started feeding Evo and Wellness Core dry food because of the high protein. If you check to labels, any food that says complete and balanced nutrition for your cats' lifestage will provide all the nutrients they need. I feed my cats Merrick wet food in the mornings. I recently had to stop giving them the Wellness and Evo wet foods and will be looking at other brands for variety. If you would like to know how to calculate dry matterhere is a site that explains it in detail with examples http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html. Also remember to look at the feeding guidelines on the pet food. It will suggest the amounts to feed usually based on weight. To figure the dry/canned proportions just figure out the amount of each then divide it in half. You pet may eat less depending on how active they are.

I'll throw in my endorsement. LOL

My chubby cat is losing weight eating high end wet 3x a day (dry as treats only). He's been checked out and is healthy, just chubby. The diet is going pretty well.

mskitty666 - Thanks for that link! All my guys get fed Innova EVO dry and Salem has lost weight on that alone. But I think I'm going to start feeding canned food and cut back on the dry some more. He doesn't drink as much as my other cat and I worry about him not getting enough.

Thanks everyone for your comments!

I could swear two of my big ones have trimmed down since feeding moist and the Evo/Core dry. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. I am glad you will be incorporating canned food into into their diet. My cats weren't too receptive at first and my dry food junkie still won't come for breakfast most of the time. He's the reason I started this . Maybe you won't have too much trouble. Good luck.

Actually both of my cats LOVE the Weruva canned food so I won't have any problem there. One cat takes his time eating it but he did eat it all. The other cat must be part Corgi because he's a walking stomach and inhales all his food.