Wet Food or Dry Food

I recently read some articles on how cats should be feed all wet food. They were also very specific about the nutritional value of the wet food. They say that dry food is very high is carbohydrates which can lead to overeating in cats and then to diabetes. Here is the links for the articles I read:

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-he...inks-why-canned-better-than-all-dry-diet.html
http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

Right now I give my cats mainly dry food with a little wet canned food at night. What are your thoughts on the diet of our cats?

 

I have never been the one to follow any specific diet for my cats. From the first day I had cats, I have always fed them dry and wet food mixed together, or sometimes, wet food in the morning and dry food in the afternoon/evening, or vice versa. I have never had any issues with them or their health. I am sure of this because I hate seeing my cats look unwell, so every time I sense or feel that they are not themselves, I would take them to the vet for a check-up. Thus far, I have never experienced any cats with diabetes, obesity, cancer, and what-not *touch wood*.

Since it has always worked for me, I'll stick to what I know rather than to jump on the bandwagon and follow what "experts" tell us to do. I guess I'm just wired differently, in that way.

 

My cat has always been given dry food. It is available to her all day, but she does not overeat. She goes over a few times a day, chows down, and walks away. The only other thing she gets besides that is the occasional mouse she catches outside!

 

I used both dry and wet food. All my cats don't eat the same thing, they prefer different kinds. I heard dry was better but who knows because It's two sides to every story.

 

When I had my kitten I never really put in on a diet. I mean I would buy him the food that the vet would recommend so it couldn't have been that bad of cat food He was really healthy so I'm guessing it was healthy food..

 

My vet told us -not- to feed wet food actually. She said it encouraged them to crave people food which is why we were struggling to keep her off the tables. We haven't had issues with her getting on the table during a meal in many years since we switched away from wet food.

I do still use it occasionally for a Christmas present and to hide pills in.

 

I've always mixed wet and dry food together and haven't really had any issues with my cat's health.

 

So why do you do it that way? Is it because your cats won't eat just the dry food? Or do you think there's something better in one or the other?

 

Hi, Jessi. I was doing it because my cat seemed to enjoy the mixture of moist and crunchy, but this cat food company website seems to think there's actually some nutritional value to mixing the foods. This is news to me.

http://www.nutro.com/pet-center/mixing-wet-and-dry-cat-food.aspx

 

We too use both wet and try food. But only one brand. Royal Canine. I am VERY brand loyal; we feed this to our dogs as well. The food works with a cat's digestive, metabolic and immune systems to maximize her health and longevity. I have the perfect example as to why we feed Royal Canine wet and dry...

I do the shopping for our household. About 8 weeks ago, my husband decided I was spending too much money on our pets and that HE was gong to do the shopping. He came home with two off brand foods...one wet and one dry...(at least he got that part right!) Since switching the cat to the two, different, off brand foods he has been sick. Coughing, shedding (I've never seen my cat shed like this, it's crazy!) and ended up with tapeworm. Now, both of these can be argued to be from other sources - and I am not denying that - but that shows me his immune system was less responsive on the new food compared to the old food.

I feed the smaller kibbles in a dry food because it helps to clean their teeth, among many other benefits. I feed the wet food more for personal reasons, I feel it is a treat to my cat, but it does hold all of the benefits listed above in other posts.

In short, I will be doing the shopping now that the off brand food has come to an end and I am hopeful to put him back on track with his health so he can continue his prowling without getting noticed!

JenVarsity

 

My cats live basically on dry food. They find wet food a bit too sticky for their liking. Sort of like sticking to their noses when they eat. They have no problem with drinking water after they have eaten, though.

 

I feed mine a complete dry food. Every single cat I've ever owned, has always puked wet food back up. It contains far too much water, and too many carbs. Zod gets Applaws chicken variety, which is actually 80% chicken. It's the best cat food I've ever found. I free feed him, as in keep his bowl topped up, and he 'grazes' throughout the day. He is in excellent shape, he has a beautiful glossy coat, and bright eyes.

Every cat I've ever seen that's been fed on wet food, has usually gotten a bit porky, and developed health issues earlier than normal. Diabetes being one of the big ones. So yes, you could say I'm a militant dry food enthusiast.

 

Damn! My cat eats mostly dry food, wet food is given to him, but is more like a treat to him than anything else. I'm afraid if I give him mostly wet food he will get bored of it, but I might try.

 

From what I have been told wet food is the way to go, my cats eat both but wet food high protein low carb is the best.

 

I have never heard that wet food is better than dry. We give wet food every once in awhile, like Trellum says, it is more of a treat. Bob doesn't seem to care much for the wet food though. She mostly licks the gravy and maybe eats a small amount of what was in the can. Therefore we give her primarily dry food and we haven't had any problems. We haven't tried mixing the two, maybe she will eat it that way. I still don't know if it will be a big part of her diet though.

 

Oh my god...really?
I often give my cat eat small fish which is dried. She love it very much! And there has no problem. But always feel that the article said some truth. Maybe both?

 

Wow, really? Have you triewd with other wet food brands? Maybe she doesn't like that brand much, there are wet food brands that Bob doesn't like either.