Dry food VS Canned

Hello all,

What opinions or facts do any of you have on whether it is better to feed dry food or canned food, assuming that either one is a super-premium human-grade food? I am asking this question for a friend who recently aquired a new kitty, a young healthy male who appears to be part Main Coon. She simply wants information in order to choose the best nutrition for him, and has received a lot of conflicting information. Some people say dry, some say canned, some say only raw, and she is a bit confused. If any one here has good info.... or links to good info, it would be appreciated. Ultimately of course she has to make the choice, but more information on the pros and cons would help her to do so. Thanks!

I basically have NO idea...but I'd guess dry.

I have a CRF kitty and noticed that for CRF kitties, if you compare the best canned renal foods to the best dry renal foods...the dry is more healthy and better for the kidney's. (The down side for CRF kitties is that they need water...and canned food is moist and so has some water in it. But your friends kitty is not CRF so water isn't a concern.)

Also...you'd think that dry would be better for teeth and gums...just the abrasion would help with some plague and such (though you'd still need to take care of teeth separately as well).

Well, I feed both. I have a bowl of dry food out because my cats really prefer to 'graze' eat - they nibble on and off during the day, but I also feed canned in the morning and the evening as part of a regular routine.

There are pros and cons of both - along with a lot of urban legends. The quality of the food is the most important consideration - along with palatability. It doesn't matter how good the food is if the cat won't eat it:-). The biggest consideration with dry is that the bulk of most commercial dry food appears to be carbohydrates - corn or rice or some other grain or processed grain product. Even on the ones where meat is listed as the prime ingredient there is still a lot of carbohydrate listed. Cats are carnivores and do best on a diet that has a high percentage of quality meat. I have difficulty in understanding how most of the dry foods available meet this criteria and tend to be more suspicious of them than of the canned foods.

Kathryn

Kathryn,

What you say makes sense...that cats are carnivores and should do better on meat than on carb friendly vege based (corn or rice) diets. The weird thing is...my kitty prefers dry food. She seems to like the taste of dry better. Do they add some sort of irresistable artificial meat flavor to the dry foods? I'm just wondering why my kitty likes dry better...

I feed canned and dry both A little canned in the morning and a little in the evening and inbetween I feed some dry. Canned is said to help prevent UTI, among other things. I think of cats like myself, I couldn't eat one type of food all day. cat.

My vet has always said that canned food is best for my three boys. It prevents urinary tract and bladder problems like inflamation, infections and stones. The more fluid a cat gets, the healthier it's bladder and related structures are. (And since these diseases occur more frequently in males, it makes sense for my boys.)

There's been new studies released by Ohio State University (one of the leading veternary schools in the U.S.) stating that canned food has been found to be healthier for felines. And that the old wives tales of diarhea and bad teeth are just myths. There's nothing to prove that a wet only diet will cause a cat's teeth to go bad. And there's nothing to prove that a dry diet only will keep a cat's teeth clean and healthy.

Personally, I'm going to be switching over to scheduled feedings next Wednesday. Hans will be on a canned only diet, due to his having bladder stones. L.S. will be getting half canned and half dry. (Only because my mother will be doing morning feedings and can't be around wet food.) And Merlin will be getting 3/4 dry and 1/4 wet. (He gets a stomach ache from too much wet, but I don't want him feeling left out when the other two are eating it.)

All my cats now get strictly canned food. After years and years of fighting urinary problems, doing my own personal research and talking to other experts, this is just how I have decided to proceed. I am against raw diet simply because of the bacteria content in some raw meats. I lost a sweet sweet boy to salmonella last year.

I do think that bottom line is quality of whichever path one takes, dry plus some canned, dry or canned only. Cats are obligate carnivores, they do best on foods that don't contain unnecessary sweeteners, carbs, artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives.

I do feel I am also moving towards canned only, for a number of reasons including have a kitty with crf as well as a kitty with a history of bladder stones.

Here is an article that discusses the former gold standard belief that a canned food diet would lead to dental issues:
article on feeding canned versus dry just know that this page first comes up with an ad, that can be closed by clicking on the option to skip the message.

Here is an interestng link on which carbs are hypoallergenic for cats and dogs (might as well know which ones are better)
article on carbs

Good quality food is better than cheap. Whether you go for the natural, organic diets (Innova, California Natural) or for the Eukanuba, Nutro... available at pet stores, just stay away from the Alley Cat, Whiskas, Friskes at the grocery store.
If you can afford it, wet is better than dry. As others have mentioned, it increases water intake which will ward off urinary tract problems and CRF as well it is closer to a cats natural diet.
This does not mean that Fancy Feast (while a fun treat once and a while) is better than good quality dry food.
Dry food only helps maintain dental health if it is specially formulated to. Hills t/d is one diet that does. I think Eukanuba has one now too.
IMO a raw diet is more trouble than its worth.

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

Good quality food is better than cheap. Whether you go for the natural, organic diets (Innova, California Natural) or for the Eukanuba, Nutro... available at pet stores, just stay away from the Alley Cat, Whiskas, Friskes at the grocery store.
If you can afford it, wet is better than dry. As others have mentioned, it increases water intake which will ward off urinary tract problems and CRF as well it is closer to a cats natural diet.
This does not mean that Fancy Feast (while a fun treat once and a while) is better than good quality dry food.

Dry food only helps maintain dental health if it is specially formulated to. Hills t/d is one diet that does. I think Eukanuba has one now too.
IMO a raw diet is more trouble than its worth.

Click to expand...

IF you feed a raw diet you cannot just throw it together. You have to read up on it and study and make changes. AND there are some cats who DO get samanella.

Dry food, on the other hand is full of fillers. Cats do not need or utilize grains, and dry food is full of it. Canned food is best and you want brands like Natures Variety Prarie, Felidae and Wellness. Cats do not drink enough water and this causes cystitas and can lead to kidney failure.

This is what a wonderul vet at Cornell told me.

BTW Dr Doolittle, do you think UC Davis is as good as Cornell?

I have firsthand trial and error experience about canned food being the best for cats that get urinary crystals. If your cats ever develop them even once, I would switch to canned or home prepared diet if your cat will eat it.

I have a little tortie now that gets crystals constantly if she is fed any dry food at all. Cats are desert animals and most of the little varmints will not drink enough water on a dry food.

My cat likes canned or dry but not home cooked meats. I had her strictly on canned for about 8-9 mos after a bout of crystals for the umpteenth time, and she was doing so well that I thought maybe she could tolerate a meal once a day or skip a day here and there and go every other day with a dry meal. I had bought some Iams to try and within a week and a half of only getting a dry meal here and there, she got urinary crystals again. In the past I had fed Science Diet dry when she was young, and she developed crystals on that too.

This is potentially very serious in male cats as they have a narrower uretra. In females, you can pretty much trust it will be self limiting if you put the cat on a canned diet and add water. I don't like to use antibiotics if it clears up within a week or so as my cat gets diarrhea with them. Nothing worse smelling than kitty diarrhea!!!!!!!

When I feel she needs a lot of water to get over a bout of crystals, I will put a little saucer of baited water down with just a drop or two of canned food in it and won't feed her until she laps it up. It works really well for me. Also do not free feed a cat prone to developing crystals as urinary ph rises when cats eat.

Kate