Originally Posted by Ducman69 
Second, if at all possible, don't feed kibble. As has been mentioned, kibble-fed cats run the risk of chronic dehydration, which stresses all their body organs. In addition, kibble has been linked in studies to ailments such as urinary tract issues and cancers, among many others.
... A wet junk food with poor quality protein sources and nitrates would clearly be inferior in that respect to a high quality dry food.
...There are also studies that show dental disease, by far the most common disease in cats, was "significantly more absent" in cats fed at least some dry food compared to cats fed exclusively a wet food diet such as in one of the largest scientific pet nutrition studies to date (38,776 cats and dogs in the study).
Its great that there is a lot of attention being given to feline health, but note that the above sites provided are all getting their information primarily from a single source and thus parroting the same information from Lisa A. Pierson that has made overgeneralized statements that not all industry leaders or veterinarians agree with...
As they say, there are always two sides to any story, heh. 
As has been said many times, it isn't the ingredients that make kibble an inherently species-inappropriate feline diet, it's the fact it's a dry, water-deficient diet being fed to an animal that evolved to eat moisture-rich prey and lacks the ability to make up for that deficiency. That most kibble also includes species-inappropriate ingredients just adds insult to injury.
I won't address the dental claims made here, as they're easy to check out and have been refuted in many threads, including Ducman's own siggy thread (starting at Post #40).
Dr. Pierson has an active practice and is years away from being the first veterinarian to advocate a species-appropriate diet. Nor is she alone in her beliefs today. Plenty of experts have taken the time to study this topic and come to the same, common sense conclusion - a species-appropriate diet is the most beneficial and nutritious diet possible and for cats, that means fresh, non-processed, animal-based products.
In case it piques any reader's interest, here are a few names I've right to hand without any research needed: Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM, JD – Veterinarian researcher, author and one-time staff veterinarian for Hill's Pet Foods; Dr. Jean Hofve - Holistic veterinarian and author; Lynette Ackman – Co-founder of Feline Outreach; Michelle Bernard – Researcher and author; Lee Ellis – Founder of the Feline IBD forum; Michael Fox, BVetMed, PhD, DSC, MRCVS – Animal rights and welfare advocate, author and syndicated columnist; Margaret Gates – Founder of the Feline Nutrition Education Society; Anne Jablonski – Founder of CatNutrition.org; Kymythy R. Schultze, C.N., C.N.C. – Clinical nutritionist and author; Andrea Tasi, VMD – Feline-only veterinarian and lecturer; Dr. Will Falconer, DVM – Certified Veterinary Homeopath; Kay Aubrery-Chimene, RMT and Bio-Nutritional Therapist; Martin Goldstein, DVM; Richard Pitcairn, DVM; Donald Strombeck, DVM; and Kerry Brown, DVM.
We're going in to the vet Saturday morning. I have a list of things to go over with her as it is (I'll make a post of my concerns in another thread).. As for food..Enzymatic toothpaste- benefit for dry-food eating cats? Oliver loves dry food. He wakes us up when his bowl is empty overnight if we forget to fill it. Sometimes he puts it above his wet food! Oliver also is not dehydrated. He drinks his full bowl of water every day and sometimes he wants to go "look" at the bunny's water bowl :P I don't notice his thirst as excessive but I know he's not starved, so to speak, for water.
Foods formulated to balance urine ph are they a gimmick? What makes them worth buying?? I will have a look around bc I still need to find a way to the pet store to get his toothpaste and some other things.
How did your appointment go, OllieOxenfree? I hope Oliver is doing well!
Like all animals, feline physiology is perfectly designed to maintain a healthy urine PH. If a food is balanced for a cat's natural needs, it will not require any special supplements to further balance the cat's urine. If supplements are added to specifically target and change the urine of the animal eating the food, it's because the food itself contains unhealthy ingredients that alter the cat's natural chemistry away from what is optimal.
It's always better to feed a more natural, less processed, species-appropriate food, then to feed a less-optimal diet and use supplements to mask or correct the deficiencies. (If this sounds familiar, it's because this is a canon for ALL animals, including us. :-} )
Best regards!
AC
