Mixing different dry food?

I am a first time cat owner. Can I mix different kinds of cat food (wellness core, science diet oral care (3 kibbles per meal) and Pro Plan chicken/ rice for my cats. It is good for them to eat wet food and dry food as snack while I am at work? Thanks. 

Wet is better all around.  The low carb ones though that are pate(one solid loaf of food). I personally would stick with one dry and mix up the wet foods within the brand you choose.  If you have the option an all wet diet or as much wet as you can afford is best.

Welcome!

You can definitely mix brands or recipes. I do this all the time with wet and dry food - our cats usually get 2 brands a meal, which gets mixed up depending on what I end up buying, and it gives them a bit of variety. A lot of people say it's good because if one recipe gets discontinued, recalled, or you run out, the cats are already used to the other brands you feed.

It's definitely good for them to get wet food, but if you're gone for a long time and your home is warm, some fear nasty bacteria will grow in uneaten wet food. If it goes uneaten long enough, it'll dry up and become less appetizing to the cats. If the cats lap up all the wet food quickly, it can be less of a concern.

I know that wet food is better, especially my cats don't really like to drink water. I mix some warm water into the wet food to make sure they drink enough water. But, I also heard that wet food cause gum and teeth problems in long term. Brushing teeth can fix this issue. However,  my cats were adopted when they were around 18 months old and they won't let me to brush their teeth.  I hope that oral care dry food can help. 

The idea of dry helping is wrong though.  It is like you eating hard things-still need to brush teeth.  Long term a cat not getting enough water can result in kidney issues.  A cat can always have a dental down road but kidneys are not fixable besides supporting them with sub-q fluids.

I am one who must dry feed due to amount of cats and budget. Sadly I know that even with added water it leads to dehydration and the carbs in dry food is NOT natural.

catrepublic said:

 
 I hope that oral care dry food can help. 

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FYI, cats do not chew their food the way we do. Their teeth are designed to rip and slice chucks of meat into smaller pieces, which are then swallowed whole.

And I would not feed them Science Diet's "oral care" food. That kibble is larger than most because "supposedly" it encourages chewing - this is one reason of many why I have absolutely no respect for Hill's and their approach to cat food, because they go against known, proven, feline dietary needs. I read an Amazon review not too long ago, written by a cat owner whose cat tried to eat it by swallowing the kibbles whole. His cat nearly choked to death.

AutumnRose74 said:

 
FYI, cats do not chew their food the way we do. Their teeth are designed to rip and slice chucks of meat into smaller pieces, which are then swallowed whole.

And I would not feed them Science Diet's "oral care" food. That kibble is larger than most because "supposedly" it encourages chewing - this is one reason of many why I have absolutely no respect for Hill's and their approach to cat food, because they go against known, proven, feline dietary needs. I read an Amazon review not too long ago, written by a cat owner whose cat tried to eat it by swallowing the kibbles whole. His cat nearly choked to death.

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That scary!. I thought the kibble is too large too. I brought mine from petsmart. Can I return it if it is opened? 

^^^ That I don't know. I normally don't buy from Petsmart (there is a locally-based pet supply place, Benson's Pet Center, that I give most of my business to), and I haven't been "in the game" long enough to have to return anything, so I don't know their return policies.

My cat also choked as he had no want of chewing.  Even on a regular food I watch my cats gulp it on down:S.  You may want to look into raw food diet-there is a forum just for that on TCS

AutumnRose74 said:

 
^^^ That I don't know. I normally don't buy from Petsmart (there is a locally-based pet supply place, Benson's Pet Center, that I give most of my business to), and I haven't been "in the game" long enough to have to return anything, so I don't know their return policies.

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Thanks. 

Petsmart is VERY good about returns. Even without receipt they have done store credit no issue.

Chewing really depends on the cat. My Oliver may crunch a few kibbles but most go down the hatch whole. Though bigger kibbles he WILL chew as well as crunchy treats. On the other hand, my boy Pinball chews each piece of food quite thoroughly. They normally eat all wet but recently I've added back a bit of dry for convenience/budget reasons. Neither have dental issues or anything. If you can get them brushed then by all means do it! Anything and everything you can do to prevent dental disease will be good for your cat! Genetics will ultimately decide what your kitties dental health will be like. Some will be blessed and others will suffer regardless of food or even brushing. While someone above said something about kidney disease can't be reversed but dentals can be done whenever, I agree and disagree. Dental diseases can bring on a whole host of problems itself. Bacteria in the mouth will get into the blood stream and then be carried through the body to major organs including the kidneys, and can cause its own damage. That and the effects on the body from anesthesia. So a dentals can be done and useful but left too long, organs can become damaged from dental disease just as quickly if not more quickly than they will from kibble being in the diet. However, I have never been able to understand why someone would risk anesthesia every year or two to have dentals done on their pets! You have to find balance for everything. So if your kitty crunches the food, it can't hurt to have a bit of dry. It won't be the prevention for all but it MAY help the teeth to some degree. I don't see 3 "oral care" kibbles per meal causing any harm so by all means, I say feed it since you have it. The kibbles HAVE been shaped and sized to help encourage crunching and "scrubbing" the tooth (Though doing much for the gum area is debatable) No worse than most brands of treats on the market...

Though adding in at least some wet is definitely a good idea! I even add a bit of warm water to my boys canned food to make it a "soup" and get extra fluids in them. Of course I'll likely be beat for this, but I also add a bit of water to their dry meal. They eat it SO much quicker (One go rather than walking from the bowl) and easier, especially for my boy who swallows small kibbles. I think the liquid really helps it get down easier. Otherwise my kitten who chews seems to enjoy the "gravy" it makes and it adds extra fluids too.

I also switch and mix brands of wet and dry, so I'd say go ahead to that too. :beerpals: