wet and dry or one or the other?

I have never had a cat. I have always fed my dogs dry and wet food. Do cats eat both as well? If not, for indoor cats, is there a benefit to feeding one over the other?

Wet food is much better for cats than dry. Cats are obligate carnivores who are geared to get their nutrition from animal sources and their moisture from food. They have a low thirst drive, unlike dogs. I would recommend as much wet food as your schedule and budget allow. www.catinfo.org is a site written by a vet that explains feline nutrition really well.

The two prime concerns with dry food is that it has too much carbs and not enough water. Cats do not compensate for the lack of water by drinking. They need to drink about a cup of water a day if fed only dry.

The carbs in dry food will also cause nutritional problems and possibly diseases such as IBD.

Feed 100% wet if at all possible, and make it a high protein, grain-free food. Friskies pate line and Fancy Feast classic line are reasonable choices if you are on a strict budget. (But obviously there are other brands which are better.)