Well it depends .. If you are purchasing dry kibble food from the grocery store, chances are it is something like IAMS, Purina, Meow Mix which IS pretty bad food as it is full of grains, high in fat, low in protein. If you are purchasing something like Orijen/Acana, Nature's Variety Instinct, Wellness CORE (not sold in grocery stores), these are higher quality, grain-free dry foods that contain concentrated amounts of different proteins and are foods that would be fine to feed as a supplemental part of the diet. Cats should be getting a majority of their diet from wet canned, cooked or raw meat, but I don't see anything wrong with feeding a small amount of good quality dry kibble.
Yes, it is. Dry food is very moisture-depleted, which puts cats at risk for urinary tract disorders. The protein is sourced more from plants than from animal meat (cats are obligate carnivores). It is also way higher in carbs than cats are designed to eat (often 40% or more - a cat's natural diet is less than 10%). Even a food like Orijen/Acana has 20%, which is still too high IMO.
You are making generalizations and blanket statements. Cats are not automatically at risk for urinary tract infections solely because of dry food. There are other factors involved. Not ALL protein in dry food is plant-based, nor is ALL dry kibble high in carbs. The carb content in Orijen may be as much as 15-17% but many of the carbs are low glycemic and represent things like red lentils, peas, green lentils, pumpkin, carrots, rather than a lot potato which you will find in other dry foods. Kibble is not the only food that can contain carbs and grains. Many of the grain-free wet canned contain either potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.
Per the quote that Andrya gave us, Dr. Pierson said "Water-depleted diets do not promote urinary tract health and they signifcantly increase your cat's risk for very painful and potentially fatal urethral obstructions, as well as cystitis"...there's nothing to square there. It's common knowledge that a healthy intake of water keeps the urinary tract flushed out. It's also common knowledge that cats aren't very good drinkers in general.
Pretty much just listen to this guy
Yes a healthy intake of water helps to keep the bladder flushed. What has this got to do with dry food? You are making the assumption that a cat who is consuming dry food, must automatically not be drinking water. All of my cats were very strong water drinkers when on an all-dry diet. They now get the majority of wet canned but still get a bit of dry.
Aren't they? (saying that dry food is absolutely guaranteed to cause all kinds of health concerns). Sure looks this way from where I am sitting. I am well aware of some of the negative aspects of dry food, but a lot of this has to do with bad ingredients. Not all dry foods are created equal, just as not all wet canned foods are created equal. That said, this thread is not about feeding an all-dry diet, and so I don't see the point to some of the comments that have been made here?
l only saw people openly answering the OP's question, "ls it bad?" Each person has their own opinion, and four people offered their personal opinions without judgement of others' (you were one of the four).
It didn't come across to me that way, so I guess we read into things differently. I did not read "absolutely guarantee" or any variation thereof in this thread. I'm really not even sure why I'm seeing a certain level of defensiveness and lashing out here.
