dry v. wet

we feed dry and wet once a day, mine must be piggies as they eat both quite happily!

The littlebigcat site (link posted near the start of this thread) has lots of good information. I know the 'does dry food feed cats teeth' bit quotes lots of scientific studies, and I think the 'why cats need canned food' probably does as well.

I feed my 10 year old all wet food and my 2 year old a mixture of wet and good quality dry (Orijen).

Originally Posted by urbantigers

The littlebigcat site (link posted near the start of this thread) has lots of good information. I know the 'does dry food feed cats teeth' bit quotes lots of scientific studies, and I think the 'why cats need canned food' probably does as well.

I feed my 10 year old all wet food and my 2 year old a mixture of wet and good quality dry (Orijen).

Click to expand...

I've had scores of pets over the decades, and Jamie is actually the first one who has preferred dry food. After a lot of trial and error, we've reached a compromise: He gets his beloved dry food (several different brands) in the morning, but canned food in the evening.

Originally Posted by Red Scathach

My cats have also had teeth issues with having an all wet diet

Click to expand...

On the flip side to that, my sisters cats have always eaten dry only and 2 of them have the worst teeth I've ever seen at 5 yrs of age they need quite a few teeth pulled out.

I feed mine mainly wet (although as Zia came 3 months ago eating purely dry, she does eat more than I would like) and at Molly's annual check up on Thurs, she only had a slight amount of tartar on 2 teeth, which I thought quite impressive for a 15yo, who in the past 3 years hasn't had a dental. I have cut back on her dry food this year, and added Plaque Off. I have also had more success with weight loss on wet food than dry food, even the prescription diet food hasnt worked well imo.

One of the vets we've had over the years told me bad teeth are an individual thing. Probably even genetic. Raven and Nabu always had bad teeth. In fact Nabu needs a dental this year again. His last dental was last January. He's been fed all dry (when he was young) and mostly wet (now) and had the same bad teeth the whole time. Stimpy on the other hand, is 7 yrs old and hasn't needed a dental yet. He was fed all dry (before I adopted him) and now a mix of wet and dry.

i feed wet and dry to my 3 and agree that it is beneficial for their teeth to have dry. my 8 year old supplements this with mice and birds and consequently her teeth are pearly white!

Originally Posted by tab

my 8 year old supplements this with mice and birds and consequently her teeth are pearly white!

Click to expand...

That'll be the bones I feed raw chicken wings to keep the teeth clean. Dry food doesn't have that effect though as a lot of cats just swallow it whole, and even if they crunch it they just use the tip of the tooth to do so and it doesn't have a cleaning effect.

I don't think food (ie wet or dry) has any effect on whether a cat has good teeth or not. There are examples of those with very good teeth and those needing regular dentals eating both types of food.

Sash eats a variety of wet and dry, he used to eat more dry but now he eats about 75% wet and 25% dry. Some days he may not have any dry at all, and other days he may have more. He seems to like the variety and seems happy.

Originally Posted by littleraven7726

One of the vets we've had over the years told me bad teeth are an individual thing. Probably even genetic. Raven and Nabu always had bad teeth. In fact Nabu needs a dental this year again.

His last dental was last January. He's been fed all dry (when he was young) and mostly wet (now) and had the same bad teeth the whole time. Stimpy on the other hand, is 7 yrs old and hasn't needed a dental yet. He was fed all dry (before I adopted him) and now a mix of wet and dry.

Click to expand...

This is absolutely true. The teeth issue is much more complex that "wet food vs. dry food". Some cats are genetically predisposed for "bad teeth". These cats will probably get bad teeth no matter what food you feed them. Maybe raw bones do a little good, but they'll probably develop problems later on anyway.

Some bacterias and viruses can cause bad teeth.

The teeth issue is not an easy one.

Because wet food is 75% moisture cats digest it better and feel fuller quicker which is good for their weight. Thinner cats are healthier then over weight cats. Also wet food helps maintain urinary health. Wet food contains less carbohydrates which contribute to crystals in the urinary tract. My oldest cat Sam who is 13 has had a history of urinary problems. One time he required surgery. I spent a fortune on prescription cat food until I got a new vet and she told me to feed him wet food. Sam has had no urinary problems since I started giving him wet food 2 years ago.