is frisky canned food really more healthy than any high quality dry

pinkman

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It might sound weird, but I personally think so. Some of the Friskies pate's are pretty good! Like the mixed grill, poultry planner, and country style dinner! No fish, it does have a bit of rice, and despite the "mystery" ingredients, Friskies would give the cat 1) MEAT and 2) HYDRATION. Orijen is a good food, don't get me wrong but cats on dry food are perpetually dehydrated for the most part. And any dry food (I wanna say 99%) has high amount of carbs. Also, keep in mind that even though Friskies have by-products, cats in the wild will eat "by-products" to a certain degree.

Now, some dry foods that are low-carb include Young Again, Wysong Epigen90, and Ziwipeak's Air Dried Raw. I also want to mention that as much Orijen is great about where they source their ingredients - their food has a lot of fish. Fish, dry, and carbs? Not thanks. A lot of the ingredients in Orijen sounds like they're trying to sell the product for HUMANS, not cats.
 

pinkman

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A diet high in protein and little to no carbohydrates should help with shedding. With hairballs, we like to give an egg yolk (raw) every week, or give egg yolk lecithin. But if you don't brush/comb your cats I highly recommend doing that. The more loose/dead hair you get off them = the less hairs kitties will digest.

http://catinfo.org  - many of us refer to this website for nutritional information for cats. It may answer some of the questions you have on your mind. :)
 

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If I might add my two cents. I can't speak about Orijin dry, but I can talk about Friskies Buffet.

We have six cats and every single one of them was raised on Friskies Buffet canned cat food. When Mollipop came to us, I tried her on the premium kitten brands and she wanted none of them. She'd eat them once or twice, but then she'd always go over to the "big kitties" plates and take their food. 

Two of our cats (Hydrox and Bootser) lived to be 20 years old and Whisper lived to just a few months shy of her 20th birthday. We've been feeding Friskies Buffet for decades now and our cats seem to do very well with it. They eat a lot of the pate, but sometimes we'll get some meaty bits and some shredded cans, too. We tend to stay away from the fish and salmon, although the cats do like the tuna....we give it as a treat, more so than anything. They like the different pate cans. We use four cans a day divided among the cats.

And Friskies Buffet was never on that list of the Chinese pet foods that had melamine.
 

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In a word yes.  I think any wet food is better than any dry.  When they make this point they usually refer to the cheapest wet which here in the U.S. is Friskies.  I think the pate is the best one of the Friskies because it's a lower carb food than the others.   But any of the Friskies would be better than any of the dry.
 

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According to Dr. Lisa Pierson at catinfo.org, it is. She says ANY wet food is better than even a high quality dry food. See the second paragraph under the heading, "Learn How to Read a Pet Food Ingredient Label" in the previous linked page.

Water is essential to life. If you get stranded in the wilderness, you have to find water first. You can go only a day or two without water, but much longer without food. Feeding kibble puts cats in a state of chronic dehydration because they naturally don't seek out water--their desert ancestors evolved this way in order to survive the harsh, dry desert climate. Instead, they got their water through their food.
 

betsygee

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We have seven cats--three young healthy ones and four older ones with various health problems.  I've spent a year experimenting with different grain-free, premium foods to try to help prevent future health problems in the young ones and improve the health of the older ones.  A couple have sensitive systems, a couple have allergies.  Friskies pate is the ONLY food that works for all of them--they all like the taste, they don't vomit it up (like some of them did with some of the premium foods), it makes it easier for me to only have to buy one brand of food, and it doesn't break the bank.

Edit:  With the older kitties, a couple of whom have had dental work and are missing some teeth, I add water to the pate.  It makes it easier for them to lap up and obviously they get even more moisture that way.
 
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Willowy

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From my personal experience with a bunch of cats who now eat canned Friskies but used to eat a variety of mid-to-high-quality dry food? Yes, definitely.
 

gravekandi

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According to Dr. Lisa Pierson at catinfo.org, it is. She says ANY wet food is better than even a high quality dry food. See the second paragraph under the heading, "Learn How to Read a Pet Food Ingredient Label" in the previous linked page.

Water is essential to life. If you get stranded in the wilderness, you have to find water first. You can go only a day or two without water, but much longer without food. Feeding kibble puts cats in a state of chronic dehydration because they naturally don't seek out water--their desert ancestors evolved this way in order to survive the harsh, dry desert climate. Instead, they got their water through their food.
This exactly.^^^ 
Most people agree that the cheapest wet food is better then high end dry solely due to water content and less carbs for the most part. Fancy Feat classics are a good option as well!
 
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flamingo1981

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my cat is not shedding at all not even a tiny bit? is it because of this time of year they don't shed or the wet food?

I also noticed i had a short hair cat that would grow slightly longer fur in the winter time
 

pinkman

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The wet food is probably helping! Not sure what your climate is like so I can't really comment on the weather effecting the amount of shedding - since we live in conditioned homes the temperature is pretty consistent, I would say.

Wet food usually has more protein, fat, and way less carbs. Think of wet food as a mouse in a can. Their natural prey is consists of protein, fat, and very little carbs. Wet food, even the cheap kind is closer to what a cat will naturally eat in the wild compared to dry food.

Both my longhaired dude and shorthaired dudette have their "winter" coats. Not really a huge different but a bit more plush.
 
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