Good tasting wet food.

Hi guys, I am having a little bit of problems getting my cat to eat wet food. My cats love dry food but hates wet food. I give him wet food in the morning and dry food at night. I know cats need to eat wet food for water intake and dry food to clean their teeth a bit.

I am currently on nutro wet food. My boy eats a little bit and then begs me for dry good. Does anyone know of a good tasting wet food that has good ingredients? Also, my cats will only eat solid pieces of food, no mush like halo or wellness. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Russianbluea&t

Hi guys, I am having a little bit of problems getting my cat to eat wet food. My cats love dry food but hates wet food. I give him wet food in the morning and dry food at night. I know cats need to eat wet food for water intake and dry food to clean their teeth a bit.

I am currently on nutro wet food. My boy eats a little bit and then begs me for dry good. Does anyone know of a good tasting wet food that has good ingredients? Also, my cats will only eat solid pieces of food, no mush like halo or wellness. Thanks!

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Mine like 9 Lives. It's cheap too.

Its hard to say. Generally the cheap gravy stuff with lots of carbs seems to be a big hit, and its better than nothing for sure. Fish flavors or things that smell strongly are also usually nom'tastic, but personally I don't believe in feeding TOO much fish, at least not every day.

Odd they don't like Nutro, as Nutro Complete Care (a bit higher grade than that other cheaper recipe they have) is very popular in various flavors with my furballs.

Even little stuff like texture can vary a lot, and kitties like different things, so IMO just get a whole bunch of different stuff in 3oz cans at Petsmart and experiment. If they are reluctant, rather than wasting anything just put it on your finger which most will lick off even if not hungry, and make a note to skip that in the future.

Mine get Holistic Select - which is good because it is manufactured locally AND something they LOVE ! Especially the Salmon & Shrimp & Tuna flavors.

But it is a pate, not gravy or chunks.

All cats have individual preferences. So there's no way to tell what your cat will think is "good-tasting". Like Ducman said, just buy a can of everything and see what he likes best.

Ducman is right, cats are very picky when it comes to textures and flavors, that's why when I wanted to expand my cats food selection, I literally went to Petco and bought 20 small cans of different flavors and brands and tried them all!

Dry food unfortunately doesn't do anything to help a cat clean it's teeth. :[ The problem is that cats don't chew, they just grab and swallow. The most that happens is the tip of the tooth sinks it and that's it. The back teeth never get touched.
If you worry about their dental health, there are some treats on the market that help with that, but you can also give poultry giblets or brush their teeth to help as well.

I wouldn't recommend Nutro ever, simply because there are just too many deaths and recalls associated with that company. It's a chance I'm not willing to take or ever recommend to anyone.

The tastiest flavors I've encountered are: Before Grain Chicken, Wellness Chicken, Wellness Turkey, Natural Balance Duck & Pea and Natural Balance Chicken & Pea. All of those are great brands with great ingredients as well.

One problem I have encountered with feeding wet and dry is that dry food is covered with special flavorings that make it extra tasty to cats, so even if you find them a wet food they like, they may refuse it in favor of the dry and you will find yourself throwing out can after can of wet. In this case, I might just recommend switching to wet all together; if you are a good coupon hunter you can spend just as much as you did on dry and the extra moisture will be really good for your kitties system.

Hey, thank you guys for all your inputs. I went to petco and got several different cans of wet food. To my surprised, my cats were all over the first can of food I opened for them. It is Soulistic. They literally licked the plate. I think I am going to stick with this one since it is the healthiest of all the ones I picked out for them. I am so happy that this battle to get them to eat wet food is finally over!

As to Minka's comment, it is really true that dry food doesn't do much for their teeth? I've tried to brush their teeth before it is quite the failure. :-( My boy runs away now whenever he sees the toothbrush.

My kitty isn't so picky and she eats lots of different foods, but she's recently become OBSESSED with Merrick before grain in the quail flavor. I've heard of other kitties also going totally nuts over that particular flavor of before grain.

Cats should have dry food as well as wet food. Not only does it help clean their teeth, it provides other nutrients that wet food doesn't.

Also, my cat LOVES Blue Buffalo's dry and wet food.

Originally Posted by Russianbluea&t

As to Minka's comment, it is really true that dry food doesn't do much for their teeth? I've tried to brush their teeth before it is quite the failure. :-( My boy runs away now whenever he sees the toothbrush.

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Unless you can get your cat the larger size kibbles and actually get them to chew it, kibble does nothing for their teeth. Cats basically grab-and-go, so the only part of the tooth that even touches the food is the tip and thats not the part where plaque builds up.
If your cat is scared of toothbrushes, you can either feed them: raw meat, poultry giblets, or specialty teeth cleaning treats. Also a teeth cleaning from your vet every couple of years will be very helpful.

Originally Posted by Russianbluea&t

As to Minka's comment, it is really true that dry food doesn't do much for their teeth? I've tried to brush their teeth before it is quite the failure. :-( My boy runs away now whenever he sees the toothbrush.

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See: http://www.ehow.com/how_2312175_impr...al-health.html

Studies have shown that kibble has a mild abrasive effect on the teeth, and the mastication is good for the jaws/gums over commercial wet. A mixed diet alone is typically enough for most young cats, as they have very smooth dagger like teeth with few crevices for plaque to build up.

If your cat is older or is prone to dental issues (some siamese and persians can be), or you notice stinky breath, you may wish to switch to a specific dental kibble though that is formulated usually a bit larger and designed not to immediately shatter, and is typically coated in a substance that when dissolved in the saliva breaks down plaque. Alternatively, there are treats available like Greenies kibble, which can be fed as a small snack.

Personally, my cats are always up in my face, and don't have stinky breath and are so young their teeth appear fine w/ nice pink gums so just regular mixed wet and dry diet + 3-4 greenies puffs a day is enough for now and I don't worry.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

See: http://www.ehow.com/how_2312175_impr...al-health.html

Studies have shown that kibble has a mild abrasive effect on the teeth, and the mastication is good for the jaws/gums over commercial wet. A mixed diet alone is typically enough for most young cats, as they have very smooth dagger like teeth with few crevices for plaque to build up.

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I'm not sure I would trust a source such as eHow. Especially since studies have also shown that there is no difference between the dental health of cats on wet or cats on dry.

This is an article written by a vet, with quotes from actual studies. http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/d...ean-the-teeth/

Originally Posted by Russianbluea&t

Hi guys, I am having a little bit of problems getting my cat to eat wet food. My cats love dry food but hates wet food. I give him wet food in the morning and dry food at night. I know cats need to eat wet food for water intake and dry food to clean their teeth a bit.

I am currently on nutro wet food. My boy eats a little bit and then begs me for dry good. Does anyone know of a good tasting wet food that has good ingredients? Also, my cats will only eat solid pieces of food, no mush like halo or wellness. Thanks!

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Cats can be finicky but taste is not always why they don't want to eat a certain food. I mix the wet up between one of the Nutro Max sliced in gravy and the Nutro Natural Choice pate' foods. I've also noticed that sometimes they will get tired of one of the foods but dive in on the other and vice versa. Mix it up and see what they like. It all boils down to what the cat will eat. I'm surprised about the Nutro though. My 4 meezers love the stuff.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

See: http://www.ehow.com/how_2312175_impr...al-health.html

Studies have shown that kibble has a mild abrasive effect on the teeth, and the mastication is good for the jaws/gums over commercial wet. A mixed diet alone is typically enough for most young cats, as they have very smooth dagger like teeth with few crevices for plaque to build up.

If your cat is older or is prone to dental issues (some siamese and persians can be), or you notice stinky breath, you may wish to switch to a specific dental kibble though that is formulated usually a bit larger and designed not to immediately shatter, and is typically coated in a substance that when dissolved in the saliva breaks down plaque. Alternatively, there are treats available like Greenies kibble, which can be fed as a small snack.

Personally, my cats are always up in my face, and don't have stinky breath and are so young their teeth appear fine w/ nice pink gums so just regular mixed wet and dry diet + 3-4 greenies puffs a day is enough for now and I don't worry.

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It is interesting that you said your cats don't have stinky breath, because i think my cats do. especially the girl. I wonder if this is something that needs to be looked at. I just thought this was normal.

Originally Posted by Minka

Unless you can get your cat the larger size kibbles and actually get them to chew it, kibble does nothing for their teeth. Cats basically grab-and-go, so the only part of the tooth that even touches the food is the tip and thats not the part where plaque builds up.
If your cat is scared of toothbrushes, you can either feed them: raw meat, poultry giblets, or specialty teeth cleaning treats. Also a teeth cleaning from your vet every couple of years will be very helpful.

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Feline Greenies are a great way to help with cleaning teeth and promoting fresh breath. They are also vet recommended. There are 5 flavors of the Greenies so there should be something even the most finicky puss will like. I give them to my cats daily and they love them. None of my cats have bad breath and so far all of them have gotten good dental health checkups from the vet. I think the dental treats along with the mixed diet my cats are on have gone a long way help with their dental health. I disagree with you Minka bout the kibble but that is for another discussion. I'm not sure about the raw meat and giblets you mentioned but it is something I'll research. So far (knock on wood), I've not had to have a dental cleaning on any of the cats. That said, I think it is important to make sure the vet takes a look at the cat's teeth and do dental cleaning when needed. Probably nothing beats a good dental cleaning from the vet. Taking preventative measures and being proactive about dental health is important. About 70% of cats over the age of 3 have some form of peridontal disease.