Wet vs Dry?? Scheduled vs free-picking?

bbleho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
45
Purraise
1
Location
Canada
Hi all, what are your opinions on feeding? Is it better to leave food out all the time or to feed at scheduled intervals? How about dry food versus wet food as the main component of the diet? At the moment I have dry food out at all times and I feed her about a tablespoon of wet food at dinner (as recommended by the shelter staff). I'm really paranoid about weight gain. My previous cats have been overweight (though I wasn't in charge at the time). I want to keep this kitty skinny and active!

Thanks
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I measure free feeed dry ( ie If said cat gets a cup a day I measure the cup and put it in the bowl)... wet food is closer to a natural cat diet and many on here and a number of vets will say it is best ... I have always done wet and dry till one cat moved to canned and raw ...
Many cats self regulate .. ie dont over eat ... but if you have a older or less active cat wet food has oz for oz fewer calories
 

optionken

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
286
Purraise
12
Dry food is not allowed in my house. The carb loads are too high, it dehydrates and from what i have seen there is no benefits to a cat from eating dry food. My cat got diabetes from eating it and i have seen the difference in literally over a thousand cats with diabetes when the transition was made to canned or raw. I have since adopted 2 diabetics. One cat is now diet controlled obn canned and another is on less then half the insulin he was on before and is doing a million times better
My own personal opinion is that dry food is responsible for most blockages, obesity, crf, ibs, allergies, obesity and a host of other problems
I don't just feed any canned either. I feed no gravy foods and no grains. I want a muscle meat as the first ingreiant like chicken and not meal or organ meat
I free feed but also have set meal times when they get fresh food. Cats do like to eat alot of small meals throughout the day

http://www.catinfo.org/
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
I agree in principle that wet food is better than dry. However, I can't feed exclusively wet because of my schedule. I work a 12-hour night shift and with the drive time am gone for a minimum of 14 hours at a time. If I don't get off work on time, or if I take extra time to do some shopping, it can be as much as 16-17 hours. My poor kitties just can't go that long without food, especially since I have a lactating mother and three kittens that will soon be eating solid food.

I give them a meal of wet food just before I leave for work and again when I get home in the morning. I also put out a measured amount of dry food for them to eat while I'm gone. By the time I get home they have usually eaten most of the dry food. I leave a small amount of dry food out all the time, but they don't eat much during the day.

I have recently switched to grain-free dry food which seems to be working well. At least they like it. They get very picky about which wet food they will eat. Two of my cats have a decided preference for beef, will eat chicken if nothing better is offered, and turn their noses up at fish. They also want only food that has a texture similar to chunks of real meat. They won't touch pate and barely tolerate the food that is compressed and cut into cubes.

Do some research on the actual ingredients of various types of food, then choose the one that looks the best to you. You may have to experiment some to find one that your kitty will eat. Sometimes you just have to go with what works.
 

*pepper*

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
299
Purraise
1
What is best is honestly going to depend n your cat and lifestyle. I don't really think there is a BEST out there. what is best for one, is not best for another. What we find that works for US if feeding some canned food in the morning and leaving dry out all day for free-feed. Mine are still kittens though so this works ok for us.
 

mschauer

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
6,753
Purraise
2,338
Location
Houston, Tx
IMO a cats diet should be mostly if not all wet. There's just too much evidence that a long term diet of dry food is responsible for some of the chronic ailments seen in cats today.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

bbleho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
45
Purraise
1
Location
Canada
Thanks for the responses everyone. I have a 5 month old kitten. Lots of activity at the moment. I do like the idea of having food available for her to eat whenever she is hungry, but it sounds like I should be feeding her more canned food.

Would a system of one 3oz/85g can, maybe fed in two servings, with free-feed dry (measured daily) be reasonable? I really have no idea what a good serving size is!!!

Thanks!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

bbleho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
45
Purraise
1
Location
Canada
Also, for those who feedonly wet, when? How often? I don't have a regular schedule at the moment, which is also why I'm leaning towards keeping some dry food in the diet that is readily available.
 

mschauer

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
6,753
Purraise
2,338
Location
Houston, Tx
Originally Posted by bbleho

Also, for those who feedonly wet, when? How often? I don't have a regular schedule at the moment, which is also why I'm leaning towards keeping some dry food in the diet that is readily available.
I feed wet twice a day, morning and evening. I don't believe cats need food available at all times.

Edit: I missed the earlier post where you said you have a kitten. My understanding is that kittens should be given as much food as they want. My comment about how frequently to feed is assuming adult cats. I still wouldn't feed dry though.
 

blaise

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
598
Purraise
2
bbleho-

The solution, as I see it, is that you get yourself educated in Feline Nutrition 101...

The very basic concepts can be found at this link.

The practicalities of those simple concepts, the how-to's, which's, what's can be heard from one of the best Feline Veterinarian-Nutritionists at the website provided by optionken at this link.

I would support your initial conclusion of increasing the wet diet content...to the greatest degree possible. (As to the "how much" - you need to think calories, not ounces initially...Dr. Pierson will help you figure that out in her article.)

The goal: the availability of frequent, small wet meals of high protein and fat, low carbohydrate meat foods throughout the 24-hour day.

You are on the right track!
 

darlili

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
3,310
Purraise
14
Location
Illinois
I split the difference, since I work outside the office, have a reasonably long commute of one hour one way, and sometimes have overtime. My adults split a small can of wet food twice a day (when I make my breakfast, and whenever I get home) and I leave a measured amount of dry food down for their nibbling pleasure. I replace the dry food each morning.

My boy was overweight when adopted - with help from my vet regarding my cat's caloric needs, we identified how much wet and dry seemed a good target, and, blessedly, Dante lost three pounds and is a nice healthy weight now. I was always lucky with Dharma - she self-regulates herself - I wish I could do that myself!


Since you really can't leave wet food down more than 30 minutes at a time, for me, with my schedule, I'd definitely leave dry kitten food out for a growing kitty - you can start doing measured amounts when she's matured. If you're frequently home on a daily basis, wet may be manageable - but it can be hard for those with schedules outside the home.

And, honestly IMO, you've got to work out what your cat does well on, what she wants to eat, and what you can get and can afford yourself., and what will work with your daily life Don't beat yourself up over what works for other people - if your cat is healthy, happy, energetic, has a nice coat, and poos & pees well, who can really argue with that? Especially if she's getting regular vet checks to get that objective assessment as well.
 

blaise

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
598
Purraise
2
Originally Posted by darlili

...Since you really can't leave wet food down more than 30 minutes at a time...
bbleho- in case you hadn't gotten to the end of Dr. Pierson's article, she has a few ideas about "leaving out" wet food........all of which work for her (and me
) and might very well work for you. By adding a little water to the Wellness grain-free which I use, my guys can munch on wet food whenever they wish.
 

optionken

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
286
Purraise
12
Since you really can't leave wet food down more than 30 minutes at a time, for me, with my schedule, I'd definitely leave dry kitten food out for a growing kitty

Wet food can be left out all day. Even when it gets hard it is still fine and safe to eat
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
For a kitten younger then about 5 months old, I'd leave dry kitten food out and then give a meal of quality canned kitten food when you get home. I don't think its a good idea to leave canned food out more then 30 mins. Better safe then sorry.

Most cats will eat the canned food within 30 mins. And if its left longer, unless they are starving to death, they will not eat "dry" canned food!

After 5 months old, they get 2 meals a day - dry in the morning, canned at night.
 

blaise

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
598
Purraise
2
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

For a kitten younger then about 5 months old, I'd leave dry kitten food out and then give a meal of quality canned kitten food when you get home. I don't think its a good idea to leave canned food out more then 30 mins. Better safe then sorry.

Most cats will eat the canned food within 30 mins. And if its left longer, unless they are starving to death, they will not eat "dry" canned food!

After 5 months old, they get 2 meals a day - dry in the morning, canned at night.
GoldenKitty45- I have full respect and understanding for the manner in which you feed your cats, and for your own feelings about "how long" wet foods should be left out. However, I do have a problem with pronouncements about what "most cats" will and won't do. (I also find it most interesting that my six cats behave diametrically differently from the behaviours you describe...they will gradually, over a period of several hours, consume the plates of wet food that has been left out; if, after 8-9 hours there are dry crumbs remaining, they will gobble up those "crunchies" when I begin to pick up the plates! And, they are not "starving to death!") So. rather than such generalizations, it might be more helpful to a new member here to understand that you are only describing your own experiences/observations with your own cats.
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
True, however, I've been around enough cats (not just my own) to know that most cats will walk away from canned food that has been sitting out on plates/bowls that is all dried up.

Maybe your cats will eat it, but I still think its not safe (bacteria wise) to be leaving canned food out for more then 30-60 mins. If its not good for humans to be eating food sitting out for hours, then why would it be ok for cats/dogs?

Besides, most of the people that have answered do NOT recommend the food out longer then 30-60 mins - I'm not the only one to say this.
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
Originally Posted by optionken

Since you really can't leave wet food down more than 30 minutes at a time, for me, with my schedule, I'd definitely leave dry kitten food out for a growing kitty

Wet food can be left out all day. Even when it gets hard it is still fine and safe to eat
My cats usually eat the wet food within 10 minutes. Any little bits that are left stick to the dishes as they dry out, and stick hard. The kitties couldn't get the stuff loose to eat even they wanted to.
 

mschauer

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
6,753
Purraise
2,338
Location
Houston, Tx
Originally Posted by optionken

Since you really can't leave wet food down more than 30 minutes at a time, for me, with my schedule, I'd definitely leave dry kitten food out for a growing kitty

Wet food can be left out all day. Even when it gets hard it is still fine and safe to eat
I used to have qualms about leaving wet food out for a long time also. After hearing the experiences of many, many people I am now comfortable with leaving it out for hours.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19

bbleho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
45
Purraise
1
Location
Canada
Let's agree to disagree on that one!


I don't mind leaving wet food out, but I don't know if she'd eat it when it dried up. My last cat never did. Also, there will be times when I'm gone overnight, possibly the weekend, and it would be great if I had a self-regulating cat. I'm still leaning towards a can/day in 2 servings and dry as backup, so long as she doesn't overeat. That way I can use dry when I'm gone.
 

*pepper*

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
299
Purraise
1
Mine will not eat canned food if left out for longer then a hour. Once it gets crunchy, they won't touch it.
 
Top