Unexpected advice from the vet: feed dry

[brick]

So, when I took mocha to the vet for her first round of kitten shots I asked the about feeding in order to make sure she was getting the right stuff. At the time she was getting about a half to 2/3 of a can of Nutro split up over two feedings, and free feeding dry in between. (These are both kitten-specific foods.) She usually won't eat the wet food until it has warmed up closer to room temperature, but she's been perfectly happy and gaining weight normally. But, contrary to what I've been reading here, the vet told me that there is really no point to feeding wet food. (Yes, WET.) He said all she really ought to have is very little wet food (basically a treat) and mainly dry. His logic was that wet food doesn't give her anything extra except dirty teeth.

So what gives? I'm inclined to feed according to the vet's advice (which I have, and she still seems perfectly happy about her food) but thought I'd ask about it here. Anybody else get this advice from their vet?

 

[sharky]

I can guess your vet is likely 50 plus yrs old...lol.. vets have very little nutritional education ( like your dr ) ... I say do your research and take it to the vet ... I got go raw from my vet ...

 

[cearbhaill]

It may be an unpopular opinion (or not) but I would never take nutritional advice from a veterinarian- they are just not educated in such matters. Ditto MD's, but that's another topic entirely.

The whole methodology of traditional medicine is based on alleviating symptoms, not on understanding what a "whole body" requires to function optimally. Bodies are wonderfully resilient and our internal organs and systems have healing mechanisms just like our skin heals when it is cut. You just have to supply bodies with what they need nutritionally.

But then most traditional medicine folks would be out of business. The AMA and medical schools know what they are doing [/grassy knoll]

 

[jen]

Ya that is an old myth, wet food does not cause dirty teeth, as well as dry food does not exactly help clean teeth either. I would feed more wet food then not, It is closer to their natural raw diet and also help prevent UTIs and crystals.

 

[gayef]

While I would never, ever counsel anyone not to listen to the advice of their vet, in this circumstance, the information you've been given is outdated and no longer accurate.

A cat fed mostly with a high-quality canned/moist food designed for all life stages is overall, a happier, healthier cat. Cats who eat mainly moist food are not as prone to become obese and to develop the life-threatening health issues that go along with it. They are better hydrated and their coats are less prone to shed or be brittle. They are less likely to develop urinary tract issues.

If you but look at the ingredients on a bag of dry cat food -- ANY dry cat food -- the bulk of stuff is carbohydrate filler ... Corn, rice, potato to name a few. To date, I have never seen a cat in the wild walk voluntarily into a field of corn, grab himself an ear and shuck it so he can chow down. In my humble opinion, feeding a cat a lot of dry food is like exclusively feeding a child a steady diet of potato chips or the like. There is very, very little actual nutritional benefit other than empty calories.

As far as the dental issue, it doesn't matter what you feed them, they ALL need proper dental care to ensure healthy teeth and gums throughout their lives. A thorough dental exam no less frequently than once per year and a cleaning with subgingival scraping should be performed when necessary.

 

[urbantigers]

Originally Posted by gayef

While I would never, ever counsel anyone not to listen to the advice of their vet, in this circumstance, the information you've been given is outdated and no longer accurate.

Most vets are a bit behind the times when it comes to cat nutrition. They just repeat what they were told at vet school. Most research now points to dry food having minimal (if any) beneficial effect on teeth. Water is also very important so as far as I'm concerned wet or a mix of wet/dry is best!

 

[zissou'smom]

It's not a vet's job to be a feline nutrition expert.
Keep feeding as you were before, and listen to your vet's advice about everything but standard nutrition (meaning, if your cat needs a prescription diet or has allergies or something, that's a whole different story and is a medical problem, which is his job). Doctors/vets know what to do when something is wrong with what we or our pets are eating, but not about maintenance/preventive nutrition.

 

[sophiec]

Originally Posted by urbantigers

Most vets are a bit behind the times when it comes to cat nutrition. They just repeat what they were told at vet school.

The vet that was seeing my cat about his UTI....he's not an older doctor....I'd say he's mid 30's. I talked to him about this recently.....told him what I have been reading on these forums about dry vs. wet. He said as long as the cat is drinking enough water, there is no need to put him on wet food. On the other hand, if your cat drank very little, he said he would suggest wet food to help keep the cat hydrated.

If you say that they are just repeating what they were told at vet school, then where are you all getting your information from that dry is bad? I'm confused about the whole wet/dry issue.

Peace,
Sophie

 

[urbantigers]

Originally Posted by SophieC

If you say that they are just repeating what they were told at vet school, then where are you all getting your information from that dry is bad? I'm confused about the whole wet/dry issue.

Vets get very little education about nutrition and what they do get is primarily a few lectures (if that) and reading a couple of text books. All they are qualified to do is repeat what is in those text books which is very likely outdated. Unless they specialise in feline nutrition they are unlikely to delve any deeper and actually read research papers. Once they are qualified they are even less likely to keep themselves up to date. Think about how many different illnesses/conditions there are and how many different species a vet may need to treat - nutrition, and preventative medicine in general, isn't usually top of the agenda.

Originally Posted by SophieC

He said as long as the cat is drinking enough water, there is no need to put him on wet food.

That's the problem - so many cats don't drink enough water. Prevention is better than cure so I'm all for getting them onto wet food from the start. If you only feed dry you may have a problem switching them onto wet if you later need to.

Many people on here have more interest in nutrition than your average vet and have become very knowledgeable. I've learnt loads in the short time I've been here.

Here's one of my favourite links about dry food. It refers to several journal articles at the end.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...dcleantheteeth

I found this quite recently - I've not read it through from beginning to end, and I don't think it's bang up to date, but what I read was very interesting.

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

 

[satai]

I feed my cats dry, though I'm not obsessive about it - the older two used to eat wet food, it's what they were used to and it's what they perfered. The younger two started on dry and stayed that way, and the older two switched themselves to dry one Christmas (go figure).

My vets advise dry over wet, though I will specifically ask the youngest vet (the one we consider "our" vet in the practice - my cats ADORE her), as she is my age, 26. The practice is pro-active about keeping up to date in training, so hopefully she will be able to explain a bit more about the debate; I imagine it's one of those things with pros and cons.

My kitties are healthy (touch wood) and their teeth are fine. If it was an issue (for our cats, I mean, not generally) we would correct it. Bobby eats Hill's C/D (because he has to), the girls eat Burn's which they like, and Bobby's C/D, which they love, when we aren't fast enough. Molly's teeth have improved a lot since going onto dry, but she was a stray for (we think) a long time, and is old, so I would say other cats mileage may well vary.

 

[zissou'smom]

One of the problems with dry is that it contains much more grains and such, which cats don't really need. One of the benefits is that by mass it is, obviously, more compact and has higher percentages of protein and fat, however, some of it is less bioavailable due to the fact that some of it is from carbohydrates, which cats are far less designed to digest and use. This is why I feed both.

 

[satai]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

One of the problems with dry is that it contains much more grains and such, which cats don't really need. One of the benefits is that by mass it is, obviously, more compact and has higher percentages of protein and fat, however, some of it is less bioavailable due to the fact that some of it is from carbohydrates, which cats are far less designed to digest and use. This is why I feed both.

Well, we don't have a huge choice when it comes to Bobby; we would perfer not to feed him Hill's Science at all, because we try to avoid non cruelty free products.

As for the girls, we picked their food (It's called Burns - real food for cats) because:
a) Bobby adores it (irony, right?)
b) our vet recommended it
c) it was developed by a vet (who still contactable)
d) it contains no wheat, soya, beef or dairy, no GM ingredients, colours, or flavours, it's naturally preserved in rosemary oil and vit E. (BTW, we aren't experts, but this sounded better than the usual supermarket stuff, and while more expensive, didn't break the bank).

Its exact composition is:
Borwn Rice 46%, Poultry Meat Meal 34%, Maize, Poultry Fat, Chicken Liver, Fish Meal, Fish Oil, Seaweed, Minerals and Vitamens.

It works out as 28% Protien, 12% Oil, 2% Fibre, 8% Moisture, 7% Ash, 2% Calcium, 2% EFA, plus vitamins and minerals (all listed, but I'm not typing them all out as they are all under 2% - Calcium made the cut though).

 

[yosemite]

Bijou was getting rather "chunky" on dry food. We switched him over to more of a wet diet about 3-4 months ago and he has maintained and actually dropped a bit of weight. He had his 1 year check-up last Sunday and the vet says his teeth are beautiful and that usually Siamese cats and Poodle dogs are prone to getting tartar buildup. She also said that dry food does little to nothing regarding cleaning their teeth. She said her cat just swallows it whole so it's certainly not cleaning her teeth. She was very much in favour of the wet diet which confirms my feelings on the subject.

I'm rather subjective about this I suppose since I would prefer not to eat a steady diet of cereal for my whole life.

We've noticed their coat is softer also since feeding wet. For dry they get about 1/2 cup of Royal Canin for Siamese per day for the 2 to share.

 

[zissou'smom]

"because we try to avoid non cruelty free products" I'm assuming that you mean cruelty-free, not non-cruelty-free, right?

Most pet food companies do feeding studies, and there isn't one in America that does cruel ones. If you are referring to what I think you are, please pm me, as I don't like hijacking other people's threads over it, and if you're not I'd love to know what you are referring to.

The OP was feeding wet and dry until the vet recommended otherwise, and I think you should stick to what you were doing. Most cats like wet food better, and kittens don't really overeat since they need all the extra stuff to grow! Feeding only wet or only dry is kind of like putting all your apples in one basket, to me, although feeding only wet of a very high-quality food is also good if you can afford it.

 

[satai]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

"because we try to avoid non cruelty free products" I'm assuming that you mean cruelty-free, not non-cruelty-free, right?

Most pet food companies do feeding studies, and there isn't one in America that does cruel ones. If you are referring to what I think you are, please pm me, as I don't like hijacking other people's threads over it, and if you're not I'd love to know what you are referring to.

I'm pretty sure that I said that right, avoid non cruelty free means buying cruelty free products! Avoid non cruelty free - non cruelty free bad, cruelty free good!

It is stilted though, I guess.

I will PM you about it, as I'm not talking about feeding studies.

 

[jen]

I think the double negatives just got confusing there hehe. So you don't feed non-cruelty free products, that is just a funny way of wording it, I am still not sure if thats right, but don't worry we know what you mean.

 

[zissou'smom]

I wasn't trying to be the correcting-grammar-jerk, it just struck me as being funny... I still think it goes either way, like non-cruelty-free (you avoid products which are not cruelty free) or non cruelty-free(you avoid products which are not cruelty free). It just hit my funny bone, I'm a big geek like that.

 

[satai]

Originally Posted by Jen

I think the double negatives just got confusing there hehe. So you don't feed non-cruelty free products, that is just a funny way of wording it, I am still not sure if thats right, but don't worry we know what you mean.

I was trying not to come across as a mean greenie, lecturing everybody

I will try harder to keep my double negatives to myself in future!

Edited to add last. And cause I wanted to!

 

[satai]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I wasn't trying to be the correcting-grammar-jerk, it just struck me as being funny... I still think it goes either way, like non-cruelty-free (you avoid products which are not cruelty free) or non cruelty-free(you avoid products which are not cruelty free). It just hit my funny bone, I'm a big geek like that.

Me too - my dyslexia and OCD clash in this area - as so many others - I guess.

 

[catsallover]

Originally Posted by gayef

If you but look at the ingredients on a bag of dry cat food -- ANY dry cat food -- the bulk of stuff is carbohydrate filler ... Corn, rice, potato to name a few. To date, I have never seen a cat in the wild walk voluntarily into a field of corn, grab himself an ear and shuck it so he can chow down. In my humble opinion, feeding a cat a lot of dry food is like exclusively feeding a child a steady diet of potato chips or the like. There is very, very little actual nutritional benefit other than empty calories.

.

That's why I switched mine to the Felidae from SD- the ingredients are SO much better, and I can tell the difference in their coats! My Boxer dog forum feels the same way, and since Boxers are often advised to avoid corn because it can cause bloat (rare but can be deadly, Boxers are more susceptable(sp) ), I have gotten a crash course this year in desirable ingredients and it was their advice that led me here, originally, to find a better RX food, but I found a better food that didn't have fish (mine has a fish allergy) -no more bladder infections, and shinier cats

! Mine free feed, so they get a majority of dry food, but they have been drinking better since we got another dog (they like dog slobber water, I don't know why

) and are doing great!