Is all canned food better than dry?

Well, you already have the BG wet food analysis. So I'll compare it to the NV chicken wet food. :nod:

Nature's Variety chicken dry food as fed:

Crude Protein (min) 50%
Crude Fat (min) 22.0%
Crude Fiber (max) 2.8%
Ash (not provided, but assumed to be 7%)
Moisture (max) 10%


Nature's Variety chicken dry food on a dry matter basis:

Crude Protein (min) 55.6%
Crude Fat (min) 24.4%
Crude Fiber (min) 3.1%
Ash (assumed to be 7% as fed - typical for dry foods, though it can be as high as 11% in dry foods on an as fed basis) 7.8%
Moisture - removed for the analysis
Carbohydrates 9%

Nature's Variety chicken wet food on an as fed basis:

Crude Protein (min): 11.0%
Crude Fat (min): 8.0%
Crude Fiber (max): 3.0%
Moisture (max): 75.0%

Nature's Variety chicken wet food on a dry matter basis:

Crude Protein (min) 44%
Crude Fat (min) 32%
Crude Fiber (max) 12%
Ash (assumed to be 2.5% on an as fed basis) 10%
Moisture - removed for analysis
Carbohydrates 2%

As you can see, the NV canned food is also high protein, but has almost no carbs.


....and from the post above, the BG chicken canned, on a dry matter basis:

BG canned food (chicken) on a dry matter basis:

Crude Protein (min) 40.91%
Crude Fat (min) 27.27%
Crude Fiber (max) 6.36%
Ash (assumed to be 2.5% max, which is typical in canned foods) 11.36%
(No moisture, we removed it for the comparison)
Carbohydrates 14%


When I was feeding canned foods, I fed both NV and BG. I also fed EVO, the grain-free Wellness, and Ziwipeak.

Unfortunately, with what I've learned about carageenan, it's an ingredient I'd really want to avoid at this point (we don't know what caused it, but my Lazlo developed bleeding ulcers. Any number of things could have been the cause, but carageenan and fiber are the most likely culprits. He subsequently developed lymphosarcoma, and the tumor growth was at the site of ulcer irritation. The good news is he underwent chemo and is doing great now. Hopefully he'll stay in remission for a long time!).

Of the brands (canned) I was feeding, only Nature's Variety doesn't have carageenan. Some flavors of Weruva and Soulistic do not contain any.

LDG,

Thanks so much for the analysis. It's much appreciated by me. I will pick up a few cans of wet Nature's Variety chicken and see if I can get my cat to try it.

My kitties love Fancy Feast canned food and Innova dry food. They also love chicken breast and canned tuna (in water). I only feed them 1/2 can each per cat for breakfast and another 1/2 can each cat for dinner. Hope this helps!!

Due to cost and having 4 cats now (rescued another, and the last for a long time) I doubt we'll be able to do an all wet food diet for the three older boys. Our latest, Zoe is currently on Wellness kitten - wet. Our boys are on Wellness Core - dry. We are going to add wet food (Core still) to their diet, but to keep the cost below about 140 a month, we will need to still have dry formula mixed in. Sad I know. But at least we'll be adding wet in there daily.

I should say that as per vet instructions, the boys are to get around 2/3 a cup of dry daily. Any idea what that translates to in wet? I know there are feeding instructions on the cans, but there are also feeding instructions on the bag which is more than the boys are supposed to be given.

I am seeing the vet tomorrow for Zoe's first check-up, and can ask then. Just curious for now.

Do you know how much wet food you'll be able to buy with your budget? "Most" (normal sized, not crazy active or underactive) adult cats need about 4-6 ounces of wet food a day. Kittens, I don't know, but I assume it's more as they're growing. :lol3: If you can afford one 5.5 oz can a day, then their wet food would comprise about 1/4 of their diet. If you can afford two cans a day, then it would comprise about 50% of their diet. Just adjust the amount of dry you're feeding based on what percentage of their diet the wet food will be.

And I believe some Wellness cans come in the 13oz sizes, so you would be able to save money buying the larger cans.

For people with a tight budget, I am sure a cost comparison will be very important. I would like to see the cost comparison for similar products (real meat/grain free vs. real meat/grain free, etc.) so if my vet recommends several different brands, I can choose one based on prices.

Emily, I put one together. It compares different types of food, but each one is color-coded, so you can look at just the similar types.

I compared 48 brands of kibble (including ZiwiPeak’s air-dried raw not intended for rehydration), 40 canned foods, and 15 commercial frozen raw foods.

The kibble category included 10 “supermarket” distribution brands, 19 grain-free brands, 18 pet/specialty distribution brands, and the one raw kibble.

The canned category included 8 supermarket distribution brands, 17 grain-free brands, and 15 pet/specialty store distribution brands.

http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and...y-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/

The tables are at the end of the article.

Thanks Laurie. I read the whole article. Who would have guessed raw food is cheaper than some dry foods even after shipping and handling? That was a surprise.

Of course, I was not interested in that comparison. I was looking for something like Wellness vs. EVO 95% in the same size can. But good job showing the price difference for both good and bad food choices in all three food types.

Back to the topic: I don't see any reason the OP should worry about switching every cat to raw full time when they like the Wellness. Only one cat has a nose problem, so it does not make sense to they all need the hard-to-get raw food. Also, because Wellness was a winner and there is no store nearby that sells raw cat food, there is no reason to stress out about feeding an all-raw diet to one kitten. That is just my two cents.

Oops, wrong thread. I was thinking of the person who had a problem figuring out what to feed a kitten with a bad nose.

But it does compare Wellness and Evo 95% in the same can size - they both come in 5.5 ounce cans. However, some do not. So the analysis breaks all of the foods into cost per ounce, so the comparisons are apples-apples. They may not come in the same container size, but the prices are all broken down into the cost to feed based on manufacturer RDA for a 10 pound cat.

But the per ounce cost and per pound cost are both listed, so if you want to adjust for feeding, let's say, 4 or 6 ounces a day, the per ounce cost is there. :dk:

LDG said:

But it does compare Wellness and Evo 95% in the same can size - they both come in 5.5 ounce cans. However, some do not. So the analysis breaks all of the foods into cost per ounce, so the comparisons are apples-apples. They may not come in the same container size, but the prices are all broken down into the cost to feed based on manufacturer RDA for a 10 pound cat.
But the per ounce cost and per pound cost are both listed, so if you want to adjust for feeding, let's say, 4 or 6 ounces a day, the per ounce cost is there.

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Thanks for explaining that Laurie. I tend to always think of cost per can as I will think, "How many cans do my cats need each month?"

Of course, that question belongs in a different thread.

I got my boy switched over to an all wet food diet from an all dry grain free diet. It seemed really hard at first and he wasted allot. I found out he really does not seem to like pate style food. Now he eats his wet food like it is his last meal. I am so happy to be feeding him healthier. I have been feeding him Earthborn Holistics Chicken Catciorri http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/cat_formulas/chicken_catcciatori/  and Natural Balance Platefulls, but only the Chicken & Chicken Liver formula, Chicken & Chicken Giblets formula, and the Turkey, Chicken & Duck formula. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/catformulas/platefulls.html

I don't want to feed a fish food unless it is a special treat maybe once a month. All the other formulas of these two brands have fish in them.

The cost listed in the analysis is not the cost per can. It takes into account how many ounces the manufacturer says a cat should eat per day. So it doesn't matter whether it's a 3 oz can or a 5.5 ounce can, or a 13 ounce can. Lower quality foods require more ounces to get the right nutrition. So the 9Lives recommends feeding 13.8 ounces of food a day to a 10 pound cat; Wellness core recommends feeding 6.9 ounces a day to a 10 pound cat ((Wellness regular grain free recommends 7.9 ounces); and Nature's Variety recommends feeding 7.3 ounces a day. Almost all raw foods recommend 3-4 ounces to a 10 pound cat.

Now - most adult cats only need one 5.5 ounce can of food a day. Some need a little more, some need a little less. It depends on how large and how active they are (or aren't).

Hobo08 said:

I got my boy switched over to an all wet food diet from an all dry grain free diet. It seemed really hard at first and he wasted allot. I found out he really does not seem to like pate style food. Now he eats his wet food like it is his last meal. I am so happy to be feeding him healthier. I have been feeding him Earthborn Holistics Chicken Catciorri http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/cat_formulas/chicken_catcciatori/  and Natural Balance Platefulls, but only the Chicken & Chicken Liver formula, Chicken & Chicken Giblets formula, and the Turkey, Chicken & Duck formula. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/catformulas/platefulls.html

I don't want to feed a fish food unless it is a special treat maybe once a month. All the other formulas of these two brands have fish in them.

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I can't remember who, but one company is eliminating pate (they call it loaf) cans because cats prefer chunks.

EmilyMayWilcha said:

I can't remember who, but one company is eliminating pate (they call it loaf) cans because cats prefer chunks.

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That seems like an odd business move because isn't it about individual preference? My cats do NOT like chunky cat food. Or I guess they do, but just the gravy--they leave the chunks :lol3:. I feel like it wastes a lot of food. I'm sure just as many cats prefer pate as prefer chunks. . .

Must be that one brand, because plenty of cats prefer pate! :lol3:

LDG said:

Must be that one brand, because plenty of cats prefer pate!

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I will try to find out which brand it is.

I know my cats never cared. They ate pate because that is how Royal Canin packs d/d wet food, but were just as happy with eating chunks in gravy before the prescribed diet switch. As a cat mom, I prefer chunks because they don't stick to the spoon when I scoop it out.

Deborah Julian said:

I understand that kibble is not good for cats--even grain free kibble.  But one of my cats is extremely stubborn and prefers dry food.  I am trying to get him off the grain free dry but it has become a battle of wills. I have tried putting tuna water, his favorite treats, cooked chicken etc. on top of the canned food to get him to eat it at every meal but he just walks away. He went without eating for about 18 hours one day because he refused to eat the canned food. After several months, I am able to get him to eat Natural Balance canned food for 2 of his 4 meals each day but if push it to 3 he won't eat it.

One day out of frustration I gave him some canned Fancy Feast and he gobbled it up. Is eating Fancy Feast better than eating dry food? 

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Did your vet recommend an all wet food diet for your cat? I have seen studies that say all wet is better, others saying all dry is better, others claiming a combination of both wet and dry is best. I'd ask the vet what he or she recommends for your cat's diet. Your vet is paid to know what is going to be best for your cat's diet based on age and breed. I have 2 cats. One's a hybrid and the other is an old domestic cat. Their dietary needs can vary because of their breed and their age, The recommended diet for my hybrid is different than for my old domestic cat.

Katiechan said:

Did your vet recommend an all wet food diet for your cat? I have seen studies that say all wet is better, others saying all dry is better, others claiming a combination of both wet and dry is best. I'd ask the vet what he or she recommends for your cat's diet. Your vet is paid to know what is going to be best for your cat's diet based on age and breed. I have 2 cats. One's a hybrid and the other is an old domestic cat. Their dietary needs can vary because of their breed and their age, The recommended diet for my hybrid is different than for my old domestic cat.

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Welcome Katiechan!  

Nihonjin desuka?

This is an old thread, so not sure if the original poster will see your message.

About Vets - I would only consider their advice if they recommend foods other than Science Diet and and/or Royal Canin...

otherwise, many of us probably know more about Feline Nutrition than they do.