Is it really BAD to feed cats DRY food?

Romi upchuked dry food bits when my grandma fed him milk one day and I understand that cats are lacotesntolerant but I wasnt there to see her feed him but now I told her that they cant have milk she knows not to feed him that again. I just wonder if I got a better quality than Fancy Feast Dry (I know that some people say that Fancy Feast IS a good brand as its the only brand their cat will eat but Romi isnt seriously picky!) - then maybe Romi can benefit from dry kibble. 

I could purchase some Halo Spot's Stew as thats what I'm planning on switching my dogs over to when I get my job hopefully in a couple of weeks. My mom said if I paid for it then I can let them eat it, but I dont want  Romi to always be eating the cans because I dont have all that much money to afford to spend on the buck per can or whatever. So, even if it's forty dollars for a bag of dry I still would rather pay that than a dollar or two for a small can of wet. 

I will leave a link here for Halo's Spots Stew Cat food and let you all have your opinions on it. Plus, if I get a hedgehog next year sometime then I might be able to feed him this brand of cat food as well so it's a win-win! http://shop.halopets.com/Spots-Stew-Dry-Cat-GR-HW-6Lb

I think it is safe to say that is could be the #1 most debated or at least discussed topic on this board. I am a member of the no dry food side. I am sure that there are some high protein/low carb,  very good quality dry cat foods out there but I believe that wet food is just better for them and if you are thinking about it from a financial standpoint only right now, what you don't spend on food now, you will more than likely spend on vet bills later if he develops kidney problems. Cats are obligate carnivores and have no biological need for many of the things found in dry food. They also get most of their water intake from their food and dry food (obviously) doesn't have any. If he eats dry food only, he will have to be encouraged to drink a lot more water than he would if he ate only wet food for that reason. If he doesn't, this is what could cause those kidney problems down the line.

Many people here feed their cats both wet and dry but I believe that those who do that keep the wet food as the main food source and dry as an in between meals thing. There are a lot of affordable foods out there that you can try. Many people here feed Sheba and Fancy Feast pates which, depending on where you live, average about .50-.60 per can. Some also feed Friskies pates, which can be found even cheaper than that. Wal Mart carries all 3 of these brands. 

Regarding the Halo Spot's stew, my 2 cats have tried it and they didn't like it. It ended up in the trash. Maybe yours will like it. They don't like anything from Halo or Merrick. Halo Spot's Stew is on par with other premium brands. Any particular reason why this one? Nature's Variety Instinct sells both canned cat and dog foods and they are identical. Some people buy the big cans in the dog food aisle and give it to their cats. Maybe this would help you out to only have to buy one kind for them to share? Please keep in mind, it is only the NVI that is the same, the kibble and NV Homestyle are different.

Well if I might end up with a higher vet bill I might consider purchasing him a couple of cans of Halo Wet . 

The reason why I want to switch him to Halo is because Halo is the only brand my dogs will eat, and if I switch my cat to Halo dry then I can also feed my Hedgehog Halo Cat Dry. Hedgehogs can eat cat food but they cant eat wet cat food ; / 

Most hedgehog-foods on the market arent even SAFE or nutrionally complete for hedgies. . . Its so frustrating, I'm still learning about them all - but still. 

You need to feed healthy food to the cat you already have and stop worrying about a hedgehog.

Wow this site has such lovely people and such lovely feedback - thank you so much for the advice and wonderful words of wisdom !! -_- 

Is that Romi in your avatar? What a cutie. I have to agree with @bonepicker  that it's more beneficial to find good quality food that is healthy for the cat you have now than it is to worry about what to feed a hedgehog that you may or may not even get next year. 

There are sites online that you can buy pet food from and get a much better deal than what you find at pet  and grocery stores. Wag.com and petfooddirect are just 2 of them. I see you are in Florida (Hi neighbor, so am I  ) so you wouldn't need to worry about shipping costs. Most online pet food sites offer free shipping with a certain (say $25-30) order and they often have percentage off deals and coupons if you sign up on their site with your email. Going to the reviews section of this board to find out what members have to say about different foods is very helpful. You can also find reviews on many pet items at Amazon. If you decide to try other wet foods besides Halo Spot's Stew, let me know. I can give you a list of what 2 very picky eaters have given their seals of approval to after much trial and error. 

I browse chewy dot com all the time - and I'm sorry for what I replied with, I just am a bit grumpy. I have everything planned out until June of next year to get my hedgehog from a breeder, so trust me, I have plans. Yes that's Romi in my Avatar - he's so lovely! Though I dont mind switching him over to the 'same food that I'm going to be feeding said Hedgehog' - I just want to think 'oh it might be really convient. Your right, I dont have to feed him the same thing as the 'hedgehog I might not even get', but if he doesnt like Halo, I can switch him to something else. 

I dont mind. 

There's no need to apologize.  I understand that it's frustrating to find the best food we can afford for our babies that they will not just eat but enjoy and as cat lovers, everyone here wants the best for ALL cats, not just our own. We're in this together. 

My 2 were happily eating Sheba and Fancy Feast and then they weren't. They turned up their noses at them and that was it. I have no idea how many cans of food went in the trash until I found a good rotation for them. I'd advise a few different brands, flavors and textures so they don't get bored. Here's what mine will eat:
 

Wellness Divine Duos

Soulistic Good Karma and Harvest Sunrise (Petco brand made by Weruva)

Pride by Instinct

Prairie Homestyle by Nature's Variety

Weruva Cat's in the Kitchen

Nature's Variety Instinct (not by itself, with a topper/mixer)

Nutro Natural Choice (the topper for above, the minced and sliced varieties)

I keep a variety of the above brands in the pantry at all times and try not to give them the same thing more than one meal in a row. I avoid the seafood flavors except for every now and then (it's really not good for them in large quantities). They favor chicken, turkey, duck and rabbit flavors. 

My daughter wants a hedgehog. The dorm she's in has a no pet policy so she's not getting one    Thinking about that, Hedgehogs seem pretty small so I can't imagine they eat much. If you got a small bag of kibble strictly for the hedgie, it would probably last quite a while

What about these? http://www.chewy.com/cat/halo-spots-pate-ground-turkey-duck/dp/104926 I just bought a few cans of Fancy Feast Wet (various flavors I cant remeber which kinds though) and dropped them off at my grandparents today. 

Apparently canned cat food is used quite widely for hedgehogs (being that their natural diet of insects is usually high in moisture) so you can find out what brand is most recommended by veteran hedgehog keepers and keep some of it around for your cat too.

Fancy Feast dry food is really very low-quality (anything with bright colors should be avoided), although FF canned food isn't too bad. Same with Friskies---the kibble is fairly bad but the canned pate foods are OK. You definitely want to see meat as the first ingredient no matter what brand you buy.

To answer your question, there is no one objective answer. Different cats react differently to different diet largely due to their genetic makeups. For every owner who claims that their cat died from eating dry, there is at least another who has a cat on 100% dry and lived to be 17 years old.

The better question is, "is dry food bad for MY cat?"

I personally do not feed dry. My cat is not picky, eats pretty much anything I give him, and so I have him on raw food. He's been on raw so long that if I give him anything other than treats, he throws up, even though he gobbles them down. 

The best premium canned food mean nothing if your cat wouldn't eat them.