Should I feed my cat dry or wet food?

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

Yes I know that, as a vet tech and as a person, that cat feeding isnt rocket science. The simple fact is a cat is an obligate carnivore who requires animal protein, not plant protein or grains. As an animal originating in the desert, this obligate carnivore derives moisture from their food and does not compensate by drinking water when eating dry food. It doesn't take a mathematician or scientist to figure out that canned food (without grains and starches and plant proteins) is more appropriate for cats than dry food.

And no it's also not rocket science to know that a cat who expends more energy than it eats will not gain weight. Duh. However, there is some evidence that cats fed on a meal basis are in better condition, as compared to cats that are free-fed the same amount of calories. A cat in the wild isn't always able to eat what they want.

As a vet tech, I also know that companies.like hills are milking clients of a lot of money with their propaganda. They make feeding more complicated than it should be. Instead of feeding cats what is appropriate, they make foods with the cheapest ingredients and claim all their scientific research proves these ingredients are good for your cat. You would think that their scientific research would have figured out after 34 million years of cats' evolution during which they have not changed that much, that cats need moisture from their food and require animal protein. It just takes some common sense. It will take a rocket scientist to prove to me, without a doubt, that dry food is appropriate for a cat.

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Well said, SweetPea.

AC

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I just have to say the very wise part was aimed at Ducman69. You definitely misquoted me. Please fix that.

All I can say is I have seen many cats live into there late teens on dry cat food. Plus as I have said many times the best nutrition is useless if the cat will not eat it.

Lastly I still feel people make feeding and general cat care of a "normal" healthy cat way too complicated.

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Yes I know you were directing your 'wise' comment to Ducman. I just clicked the quote button and that's what I got -I didn't misquote you - I figured you'd figure that out. I agree with you, Ducman is wise.

All I can say is that feeding cats isn't complicated; it is humans and their need for convenience and profit that are making it complicated. I'm not saying starve your cats but I am saying that canned food is the most ideal. Yeah cats may live into their (not 'there') teens on dry food but imagine how long they could have lived on canned food? I have and always will say that life span is not always the best determinant of health - look at all the comedians who have done drugs, alchohol, and smoke and still live till 90 - there are other factors - stress level, environment, attitude and the biggest factor of all, genetics. I've eaten boxed cereal all my life and I've lived till my ripe age but I wouldn't say I'm totally healthy. I do have a strong immune system which runs in my family.

Why would man take an animal who has existed for millions of years and eaten meat and taken moisture from their food and make food that is cooked for a long time at high temperatures and has maybe 10% moisture? For OUR convenience, not the cats. To me, the simple way is to feed my cats what they should be eating.

While I strongly believe this, I understand that some cats are adamantly resistant to canned (and vice versa) and if that is the case, by all means, feed it. All I am saying is that canned food is better for cats. The OP asked so I answered with my opinion. It is awfully presumptuous and immature of you to indirectly insult me and my opinions. We all have opinions and most of us can express them in a diplomatic and objective manner but you seem to want to argue and insult me. I don't take offense as I realize where it's coming from but I also understand that we all have opinions and personal experiences which may or may not be based on scientific research or whatever. But insulting me is just letting me know where you are coming from...nothing else.

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Well said, SweetPea.

AC

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Thank you AC!

Originally Posted by three4rd

Hi,

I just adopted a new cat today! It's been 6 months since I lost my beloved Jasmine, and so I felt the time was right.

I've been reading alot lately about feeding cats wet food - and that this is better than dry due to them being 'obligate carnivores', etc. Jasmine, whom I had for 12 years, only ever ate dry. I certainly hope that this was not a prime factor in her getting kidney problems as she got older - due to the lower moisture content in dry food.

What do you recommend? Only wet? Combination wet/dry? There seems to be some validity to always having dry food out and available for the cat, but then also giving canned.

Any advice appreciated...

Thanks!
Keith

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Congrats on the new kitty Keith I feed a mixed diet for my 4. They have all done well on the mixed. Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition states that the an 80% wet to 20% dry mix is the perfect ratio if you are going to feed a mixed diet. I free feed kibble and feed the wet 2x daily. The kibble I use is Nutro Max Roasted Chicken Indoor formula. For wet I mix it up for variety but stick mainly to Nutro Natural Choice wet formulas.

I see the usual nutrition posters have already given their own ideas which should give you plenty of options.

An all kibble diet is okay as long as your cat is drinking plenty of water. I prefer a mixed diet myself. A warning on the kibble diet though, kibble tends to be calorie dense so weight gain can be a problem. In particularly if you free feed it as I do. None of my cats have weight issues so I continue to free feed.

Personally feeding some kibble and some dental treats like feline Greenies will help with being proactive about the oral health of the cat. Yes, yes, there will be those that say kibble does noting for oral health but I find just the opposite to be true.

Best of luck with the new baby

Originally Posted by jcat

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Thank you very much.

Unfortunately most vets get little to no training in nutrition and then usually the hour or so training they do get is from Hills or Science Diet which both are poor quality foods but they push them to the vets. I doubt if the vet techs get more nutrition training. I've had a vet that took extra training in nutrition which is what would be the ideal situation.

Cats do NOT chew - their jaws do not move side to side to allow chewing, their jaws just go up and down. They break the kibble with the tip of their tooth and swallow which does nothing to clean the tartar at the gum line.

Take a test of your own - have a spoonful of beef stew (wet food) see how much is left in your teeth and the gaps between your teeth. Then eat a dry cracker without any water or drink and then see how much is left in your teeth after eating the dry cracker. You may be surprised to find the cracker left more food in and around the teeth than the stew.

Quality of food will dictate how much your cat eats as well. Foods that are full of grains and fillers will not satisfy a cat which is a carnivore so they will need to eat more to get the nutrition they need. These cats will also probably gain too much weight from all the extra carbs they need to eat to get the nutrition they need from the poor quality food.

Dry food is convenient but wet food is a healthier diet. If I have to go out and know that I won't be home in time to give Bijou his wet food at his regular feeding time, I'll leave him some good quality dry food to tide him over.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Unfortunately most vets get little to no training in nutrition and then usually the hour or so training they do get is from Hills or Science Diet which both are poor quality foods but they push them to the vets. I doubt if the vet techs get more nutrition training. I've had a vet that took extra training in nutrition which is what would be the ideal situation. ....

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I have never really had any formal training on nutrition as a vet tech. I just assumed that a food that was primarily meat and low/no grain was good . This has worked for my cats but I am sure it might not for other cats.

G D point Yosemite .

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I have never really had any formal training on nutrition as a vet tech. I just assumed that a food that was primarily meat and low/no grain was good

. This has worked for my cats but I am sure it might not for other cats.

G

D point Yosemite

.

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You are right - food with low/no grains and good meat (not by-products) is the best! That's hard to find in dry food.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

You are right - food with low/no grains and good meat (not by-products) is the best! That's hard to find in dry food.

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Not really, you drive to petsmart, extend your arm, pick up product, and put it in your cart. Voila.

Even if there are only ten different options for grainfree low carb dry foods without byproducts, you really only need one.

What is also not hard to find, are wet foods with grains and by-products sometimes even as a first ingredient. Go to Walmart and look at almost all the wet food on the shelves.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

What is also not hard to find, are wet foods with grains and by-products sometimes even as a first ingredient. Go to Walmart and look at almost all the wet food on the shelves.

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By-products, definitely. But even most of the cheap canned cat foods are surprisingly low in grains. The only one I've ever seen with grains in the top 3 was at the dollar store (Twin Pet? Or some name like that). And the Special Kitty tuna flavor has "wheat middlings" fairly high on the list. But most don't.

It is getting easier to find good, meat-based, grain-free or low-grain dry foods, thankfully. I remember when Science Diet was the highest quality pet food you could find. . .

Ew! Yeah, thankfully the upscale market is quite large now, so there are tons of healthy options.

I meant the mainstream grocery wet food, there are plenty of foods with meat byproducts and grains. Yucky!

Friskies Beef:
"Water sufficient for processing, meat by-products, beef, wheat gluten, chicken, turkey, fish, soy flour, corn starch-modified, artificial and natural flavors, added color"

Even their "selects" higher brand chicken still pretty bad IMO:
"Water sufficient for processing, chicken, liver, meat by-products, corn bran, artificial and natural flavors, brown rice, spinach, rice, calcium phosphate, guar gum, added color"

Or the popular Fancy Feast:
"Poultry broth, chicken, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, cheese, artificial and natural flavors, salt, calcium phosphate, sodium caseinate, soy protein concentrate, soybean oil, added color, potassium chloride, dried whey"

Fancy Feast Classic: "Meat by-products, meat broth, poultry, poultry by-products, artificial and natural flavors, calcium phosphate, guar gum, potassium chloride, salt, magnesium sulfate,"

Or 9-Lives:
"Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, chicken, fish, poultry by-products, chicken broth, lamb, brewers rice, guar gum, salt,"

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Not really, you drive to petsmart, extend your arm, pick up product, and put it in your cart. Voila.

Even if there are only ten different options for grainfree low carb dry foods without byproducts, you really only need one.

What is also not hard to find, are wet foods with grains and by-products sometimes even as a first ingredient. Go to Walmart and look at almost all the wet food on the shelves.

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Your PetSmart must stock very different food than mine. Mine has few products that don't have grains, rice and by-products.

Pet food is.basically by-products of human food production. According to the AAFCO's definitions of an animal's meat and its by-products, there really isn't much of a distinction.

Example: poultry is defined as "the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts of whole carcasses of poultry or a combination thereof, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, and entrails.

Poultry by- products "must consist of non-rendered clean parts of carcasses of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, viscera, free from fecal content and.foreign matter except in some trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice."

The AAFCO doesn't regulate pet food companies so who's to say that.they comply with these definitions. Hills uses the whole chicken carcass- yet what does this mean? If it meant bone, heart, liver, kidney etc that would be fine but what else?

Pet food is basically what is left over from human food production so that means skin and various parts that aren't usable for human consumption.

Well, at least we know no carcass goes to waste (note the sarcasm) I really wish my cats would eat raw or homemade food. Yes I promote canned food but ultimately, I would do raw or homemade if my boys would allow.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

You are right - food with low/no grains and good meat (not by-products) is the best! That's hard to find in dry food.

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I have to disagree on the hard to find part. There are Evo, Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo just to name a few. I am glad to know I am right .

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Not really, you drive to petsmart, extend your arm, pick up product, and put it in your cart. Voila.

Even if there are only ten different options for grainfree low carb dry foods without byproducts, you really only need one.

What is also not hard to find, are wet foods with grains and by-products sometimes even as a first ingredient. Go to Walmart and look at almost all the wet food on the shelves.

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As usual very very very very well said !

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Your PetSmart must stock very different food than mine. Mine has few products that don't have grains, rice and by-products.

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I get my grain free foods from local pet feed stores or Petco.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

I have to disagree on the hard to find part. There are Evo, Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo just to name a few. I am glad to know I am right

.



As usual very very very very well said

!



I get my grain free foods from local pet feed stores or Petco.

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You and Ducman are fortunate indeed to be able to get quality food at prices you can afford.

I was feeding Bijou and Mika Merricks but when it went up to $1.89 for a 5.5 ounce can I had to find another product that I could more readily afford. Quality cat food is much more expensive here in Canada than in the US so consider yourselves blessed.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

You and Ducman are fortunate indeed to be able to get quality food at prices you can afford.

I was feeding Bijou and Mika Merricks but when it went up to $1.89 for a 5.5 ounce can I had to find another product that I could more readily afford. Quality cat food is much more expensive here in Canada than in the US so consider yourselves blessed.

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If I am reading your post correctly, I think you mean the Petsmart in your area doesn't carry the low grain/high protein foods you want. If I am not, please forgive me and correct me. I must agree with you on the prices of foods here in Canada. And I can understand how it would be diificult to find the low grain/high protein foods where you live. I wonder if you wrote petsmartvand asked them if they plan on stocking better foods at your location. However, I am happier with the regulations here, they are a bit more strict here. I live in a fairly large city so I have the mom and pop stores as well as the big box stores (I much prefer mom and pop) so I'm pretty lucky. I spend a ridiculous amount on cat and dog food each month. Could you order online perhaps?

Again, if I've read your post incorrectly, please correct me.

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

If I am reading your post correctly, I think you mean the Petsmart in your area doesn't carry the low grain/high protein foods you want. If I am not, please forgive me and correct me. I must agree with you on the prices of foods here in Canada. And I can understand how it would be diificult to find the low grain/high protein foods where you live. I wonder if you wrote petsmartvand asked them if they plan on stocking better foods at your location. However, I am happier with the regulations here, they are a bit more strict here. I live in a fairly large city so I have the mom and pop stores as well as the big box stores (I much prefer mom and pop) so I'm pretty lucky. I spend a ridiculous amount on cat and dog food each month. Could you order online perhaps?

Again, if I've read your post incorrectly, please correct me.

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I don't have a PetSmart in my area - London is the closest place. I can get low grain/high protein dry foods but they are very expensive and I would prefer NO grain. The only "decent" stores we have in this area are PetValu and you wouldn't believe the prices they charge.

I tried online ordering and the cost for shipping was prohibitive.

I've found a decent wet food so Bijou gets wet food. There is a dog grooming place in town that has a quality dry food but again, it is expensive. I've bought the Royal Canin Siamese before but again, it's expensive and still has grains.

Are you saying the regulations here in Canada are stricter than the US?

I know that Kellogg's make different products for Canada than the ones in the US because of stricter Government regulations so I guess it would stand to reason that pet food could realistically be the same.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I don't have a PetSmart in my area - London is the closest place. I can get low grain/high protein dry foods but they are very expensive and I would prefer NO grain. The only "decent" stores we have in this area are PetValu and you wouldn't believe the prices they charge.

I tried online ordering and the cost for shipping was prohibitive.

I've found a decent wet food so Bijou gets wet food. There is a dog grooming place in town that has a quality dry food but again, it is expensive. I've bought the Royal Canin Siamese before but again, it's expensive and still has grains.

Are you saying the regulations here in Canada are stricter than the US?

I know that Kellogg's make different products for Canada than the ones in the US because of stricter Government regulations so I guess it would stand to reason that pet food could realistically be the same.

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That is unfortunate that the prices are so high. There is a client that goes down to the states just to get royal canin urinary so cases because it was almost half the.price that it is here. Scary.

In general, Canada's regulations are more strict than the U.S. That is the reason purina nf. anned is no longer sold in canada. Apparently, there is an issue with one of the ingredients though I don't know whether it's a tarriff issue or quality issue.

The only thing I can think of to suggest is go on the.websites of the foods you like and see of.there are any coupons to print out. I know if there are any, they would only be small discounts but every bit helps.

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

Pet food is basically what is left over from human food production so that means skin and various parts that aren't usable for human consumption.

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This is not accurate, the definitions for ingredients are specific and are regulated by the FDA, the same as the ingredients on the food that you eat.

The AAFCO provides recommendations to the FDA on nutrient profiles and the like for the pet food manufacturers to follow. Labels on the front are only enforced in a few specific ways regarding wording they are permitted to use, but the ingredients list on the back is strictly enforced.

If you're not able to figure out the difference between "chicken" and "meat by-product" from the definition, I don't really know what to say to that. Its fairly self explanatory IMO, and should be obvious that chicken breast/legs are more nutritious protein sources than unnamed source poultry feet, heads/beaks, and guts (that's what viscera means).

I wouldn't get TOO hung up on grain free, as long as they aren't throwing in lots of wheat, soy, corn, and the like. The grain free food both wet and dry still often has peas, potatoes, carrots, and other starches in there. So if a food has several named meats as first ingredients, and has some brown rice in there, that's no biggie IMO. You just don't want a high carb food.