Which diet would be better?

Puppy is currently eating dry and wet. The dry is Drs. Foster and Smith Chicken and Rice Formula, the ingredient list is good. The wet is store brand, whichever flavors have at least 25% real meat.

Right now, he has 2.25 oz. of wet a day, and he is free fed dry food. He seems to eat half a cup a day, but it's hard to tell since there's two of us filling the bowl. His water bowl gets filled with fresh water twice a day and sometimes three times, so it's hard to tell how much water he drinks. He does seem to be drinking it though.

I'm wondering if I should switch him to 5 oz. of wet a day, and free feed dry. He seems to regulate his own intake well, so I presume he'll eat less dry.

So, which is better? More dry food that actually has decent ingredients, or more wet food with worse ingredients?

Others may disagree with me, but I think wet food is better overall for cats.

Originally Posted by gayef

Others may disagree with me, but I think wet food is better overall for cats.

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but depending on kitties likes you may want to try a 50/50 wet dry mix for a bit..

So, you think the wet is better even though it's low quality?

What he's eating now is like 40/60, what I'm considering going to is more like 75/25.

I opt for more dry with better ingredients rather than wet with cruddy ingredients.

I would try and go 50/50 if this were me. There are sure benefits to any kind of wet food, but if for some reason I couldn't feed top quality wet, I'd want them getting some of the ingredients and nutrients in a top-quality dry. And plus, I just wouldn't feel comfortable having 75% of their diet be by-products and additives.

All of my vets have always recommended premium dry food only for my cats. My current Vet told me he can tell what type a diet a cat is on by its dental health. The all dry cats always have better dental health.

Originally Posted by Black&Tan

All of my vets have always recommended premium dry food only for my cats. My current Vet told me he can tell what type a diet a cat is on by its dental health. The all dry cats always have better dental health.

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I would sit down and have a chit chat with my vet if I heard that at my clinic. All signs point to wet food being all-around better for cats and has little or no bearing on their dental health. There's almost nothing in diet that affects dental health; it has more to do with genetics than anything, according to the newlestter and vets at my feline-only clinic. On the other hand, wet provides the moisture that cats need FROM their food and helps to promote healthy kidney functions and aids in the prevention of diabetes.

http://www.catinfo.org <---- this is a REALLY good resource on this subject.

I have to agree - I don't have a lot of faith in most vets' knowledge on food and nutrition.

A wet food diet is IMHO far better for your cat than dry. I think it is especially important for neutered males to be on wet food rather than dry food since the dry food has been said to cause crystals in neutered males.

Have you worked out the price per ounce of higher-quality canned as opposed to supermarket brands, and then compared the feeding quantities? You might find that you're paying as much for the supermarket stuff.
My mom was feeding her dogs Alpo, and having to add sliced hot dogs or cheese to get them to eat it. When I sat down with her and we did the math, she switched them to Nutro canned, which they like much better.

He eats the store market brand without additional stuff, so to buy the higher quality canned would be about 3 times as much. The problem is that I'm student, so I'm on a rather tight budget. I switched to the good dry food because the price difference wasn't too bad.

Usually when you feed better quality food they eat less. You may find that although the better quality foods are initially more expensive, in the long-term they end up about the same price.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Usually when you feed better quality food they eat less. You may find that although the better quality foods are initially more expensive, in the long-term they end up about the same price.

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I know intially it is sticker shock but after a month or so .. you may find quality food is cheaper than non quality

Interesting, I didn't know that. Maybe I'll try getting some and feeding half a can, same amount he gets now. Then I can watch if he starts to eat more or less dry food. I've got 2 weeks more of grocery store canned, so I'll start measuring the dry and charting it out. Then I'll order two weeks of the high quality canned. Thanks!

I'm also a full-time student so I feel your pain...but I'm doing fine giving my cats about half to two thirds of a wet can and 1/4 cup of dry a day, each- so they get almost exactly 50/50. I feed Felidae dry, one gets Wellness wet, one gets Evanger's and one gets Eagle Pack (Evanger's and Eagle Pack are considerably less expensive than Wellness) and I spend something like 60 a month to feed 3 cats (and you only have one little mouth!).