Canned or Dry or both?

Hi

I find my kitten Misty likes canned food better than dry. I give her a little canned in the morning mixed with dry and leave dry out all day. She hardly touchs it and I end up giving her the canned again.

Is dry better or canned. I always was told dry is best for their teeth.

cats need canned since they really dont drink h2o as for needing dry for dental care yeah it is good to scrubb there teeth but only some foods actually have things to clean there teeth... talk to your vet..

I believe dry is better then canned. Alot of the canned food contains useless ingredients.

Canned is better than dry for our kitties. It is more like their natural diet and lower in unnecessary grains. Kitties who eat primarily dry food have been shown to have a much lower water intake than those that eat wet. Adequate water intake is vital to their health.

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

Canned is better than dry for our kitties. It is more like their natural diet and lower in unnecessary grains. Kitties who eat primarily dry food have been shown to have a much lower water intake than those that eat wet. Adequate water intake is vital to their health.

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That's what I believe too. It's (wet food) good for their kidneys. Mine eat both dry and wet.

I feed Chloe both, but she gets more dry than canned.

mine have a mixure of both but I agree...the wet food is there if your cat doesnt seem to be taking in any water much.......

I feed both but more dry than canned. IMO, canned food is more appropriate and I would feed more of it if I could afford to.

I have dry out for free feeding all day, and they get canned for breakfast and dinner if they want it (they normally want it!)

If one can afford to, a canned food, or moist home cooked diet (one that is properly supplmented and okayed by your vet) is best. Here is a great article on dental health and canned cat food:
click here

I have to admit I spoil my cats . They get some canned in the morning and night then I leave dry out during the day and at night. I also make sure they get plenty of water, because my male loves dry food, and will only eat a small amount of wet . I try and think of myself when I feed them. I would be bored eating just dry food, or wet, so I give them both. I have also heard that canned food is better for cats, but some will say that cats need dry food for their teeth. I don't listen to either opinion, just go with what I believe.

i feed mine dry food, he doesnt seem to eat as much of it as the wet food however they dont need as much of it because it is more nutritious for them anyway. i find that if you feed them wet foods the majority of it ends up in the litter tray afterwards lol

on the whole i dont think it matters that much whether you feed dry or canned as long as what you are feeding is good quality. the only reason i choose dry is because i think the royal canin breed specific food is absoutely fab and they only make it in dry.

(I had the same problem with my kittens) If you mix the wet food with the dry, your kitten will associate dry with wet and wont eat the dry food alone. I recommend that if you want to give you kitten wet food, feed it to her seperately from the dry food, so that when you put out the dry food, she will not refuse it.

Also if you put her on a feeding schedule, she will be hungry when you put out the dry food and will grow accustomed to eating it. (i feed my kittens Nutro Natural choice - they love it)

Wet food , esp. when feeding kittens can get very expensive and I was told by my vet that once you feed them quality cat food, there is no need to worry about having them on a dry food only diet-- the risks of that sort of diet comes along with feeding your cat poor quality dry cat food.

Originally Posted by Alisa

Wet food , esp. when feeding kittens can get very expensive and I was told by my vet that once you feed them quality cat food, there is no need to worry about having them on a dry food only diet-- the risks of that sort of diet comes along with feeding your cat poor quality dry cat food.

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I don't believe this is still the conventional wisdom on this...cats are living much longer and they are finding that (I believe it is the number one killer) of senior cats is kidney failure, and that due to the high amount of carbohydrates and the lack of water in dry food as compared to quality canned, it is far preferable to feed a canned diet versus solely a dry food diet.

Here is a decent article on this, though I don't follow this opinion on feeding raw click here


Just my 2 cents based on my cats and my experience and articles I've read,

Wow, this thread has really opened my eyes.
I always believed the myth that dry is best for plaque buildup but upon reading that article, Pat and Alix, I see that it isn't true.

I feed both and I do mix the dry and wet. My boy is luckily not picky and will eat either depending on his mood.
I am going to start looking for a better quality canned if anyone has suggestions.

Also, my boy does drink water though..He seems to like it and always has fresh water in a glass on my coffee table. Or drinks a bit out of the tap.

But I when I do give them can food... I mix it with dry food.
So if they want to eat it, they have to eat the dry food too

When I was having issues with my kitten, Izzie, not gaining much weight, I started giving her canned food in the evening. She liked it at first, but after about 2 weeks she refused to eat it. I had even tried different flavors and brands (Nutro and Natural Balance).

Charlotte is about 2.5 years old and she doesn't really "dive" into canned food either. They both seem to prefer Wysong Dry food. They also both drink plenty of water every day. I know this because there is evidence in the litter box. Every cat is different so I don't there is one really good answer to the question.

We have been feeding dry food for 30 years and have never had a cat have issues because of it. Every vet I have ever had has reccomended a dry food, as in, what should I feed them, and they answer with a dry food, not canned food. Our cats do drink plenty of water, and actually, will turn their nose up at canned food when we have tried to give it as treat, etc...we stick with ther dry and do just fine.

WOW thanks for all the reply's about what your cats eat and the information I can look into. Right now I am feeding Misty canned in the morning mixed with the dry but she hates the dry I leave out all day. I will try not mixing the dry with the wet and just give her a little wet and put out dry for the day and see what happens.

She is an incredible mooch and when we have supper wants to climb up and have what we are eating. Well tonight it was fish so she went nuts. I gave her just a little in her dish.

I couldnt resist her.

I feed my cats dry food in the morning and canned at night.

Whether you feed dry only, canned only, or both, you should always clean your cat's teeth.