Is soft food better for the belly?

Seems to me it would be richer (cause it smells so strong).

I don't know if it's better so to speak and I've never heard of that. Although some kitties prefer it since it smells so strong. It's less caloric dense than dry food since there's much more water in it. I guess it's just kitty and owner pereference on what to feed unless instructed otherwise by your veterinarian.

I can't answer your question but was thinking....Can dry food only be good for your kitty? For a few months I was feeding our two babies a quality dry food only. And I thought, "Would I want dry only?" So I started to give them a 1/4 of a can of canned food a day. They really enjoy it and I feel good about this decision because they get quality food! Just thought I'd share!

I have had three different vets (over the years) recommend that my cats get a small amount of moist food every day - something to do with the water content and cats having evolved from desert origins. So I feed a quality dry food free choice and my kitties get a couple of teaspoons of the soft food in the morning.

Yes, a combination of both soft and hard cat food is very healthy for your cat. Water is the most important of all 6 nutrients contained in a healthy diet.

As for your cats food allergy.

Taken from the book "Caring for you sick cat"
Written By: Carol Himsel Daly, DVM

"Adverse reactions to foods can be caused by any substance in that food, whether it is a major ingredient such as beef, eggs, or soy, or a minor one such as dairy products, preservatives, dyes, or "fillers."
Food allergies manifest themselves in one of two ways. They either cause skin problems, with severe itching, redness, sores and hair loss around the face and sometimes body, or gastroenteritis with vomiting and/or diarrhea."

So basically, trial and error are you best efforts to get your cat a food that he/she will like and can tolerate. You can ask your vet about "Home-Cooked Diets" and see if that may help eliminate whatever it is that is causing this problem.

There are also some anti-inflammatory drugs and medications to supress the immune response probably worth looking into.

Hope this helps.

It probably would be a nice change to have some soft food daily but I want to get her used to some hard food that won't upset her belly. We're on day two on Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs with no barfing. I've decided to feed her 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup when I get home from work and try to get her on a schedule. She likes the food. (Took the Nutro back b/c she stopped eating it after 3 days and was swallowing the big pieces whole!)

Before cats were domesticated they got the majority of their hydration from the food they ate. If your cat has adapted well to drinking water, then wet food is not necessary for hydration.

Also, before cats were domesticated, they ate lots and lots of rough, hard, sharp things such as rodent bones and fur and fowl feathers and bones. They also got alot of herbiage through the grasses and seeds these animals ate, who were then eaten by the cat. Sorry if this sounds gross!

So, exlcusively hard food will not in and of itself be too hard on the belly, and will not cause most cats to dehydrate.

Changing the food, more than what the food is, is more likely to cause tummy troubles.