Dry Food Bad For Kitties?

[calikitteh]

Hi all - we saw a new vet a short while ago and she told us that we should give our cats wet food only. We currently feed them a kitten wet food and some grain-free dry food (about 2/3 to 1/3 ratio). I have heard it's not great to give them all dry and to stay away from kibble with carby filler. But ZERO dry food? Interested to hear more people weigh in...the cats are young and at healthy weights.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'm not a vet and am not suggesting you go against your vets advice, but the ratio you give is what I do

 

[calikitteh]

I mean, housecats have been living on kibble for years...I was surprised to hear it and she was pretty adamant about it! Just wondering if I missed the boat on some new knowledge, I haven't had cats since I was a kid.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I would not feed my cats all dry food . We have always given wet - about 70/80 % of the diet . The dry food today is much better - mostly dehydrated poultry, beef and fish ; grain free and/or no corn , soy or flour .
Look around the site for articles on dry vs wet diet .
All the best to you ...

 

[Hyda]

I do believe that wet food is better than dry food because thats the closest thing to a natural cat meal, i dont prefer to give my cat dry food but i still buy it and tbh she rarely eat it.
Usually cats who eat dry food gain weight faster at least thats my opinion

 

[Kieka]

My vet is of the same school of thought. The reasoning being that one of the top health problems they see is kidney related. Kidney problems can typically be traced back to not drinking enough water. Cats naturally will get a good amount of their moisture from their foods. So a wet only diet ensures your cat is getting enough moisture through their diet.

My vet and I have talked, and she is comfortable with me feeding a good dry with one wet meal a day. The only thing she asks is that I add a spoonful of water to the wet to bring the moisture content up. I also am supposed to monitor and make sure my cats are drinking well. We have a cat fountain and I pay attention to their habits. We also will give the cats their own glass of water when we are watching TV and cups of water at sinks.

 

[calikitteh]

Thanks - we do not plan to feed them only dry or even mostly dry. I was just surprised to hear such a strong recommendation for ZERO dry.

 

[calikitteh]

My vet is of the same school of thought. The reasoning being that one of the top health problems they see is kidney related. Kidney problems can typically be traced back to not drinking enough water. Cats naturally will get a good amount of their moisture from their foods. So a wet only diet ensures your cat is getting enough moisture through their diet.

My vet and I have talked, and she is comfortable with me feeding a good dry with one wet meal a day. The only thing she asks is that I add a spoonful of water to the wet to bring the moisture content up. I also am supposed to monitor and make sure my cats are drinking well. We have a cat fountain and I pay attention to their habits. We also will give the cats their own glass of water when we are watching TV and cups of water at sinks.

That's helpful and this vet didn't mention kidney issues, but that cats are obligate carnivores and the dry food is too different from what they are meant to eat. Thank you for sharing this.

 

[tabbytom]

Hi C calikitteh , this is a hot topic and there are different camps on it. Glad that you ask the question so that you may get clearer picture.

Personally, I'm for 100% wet food for my boy. He was on wet food since he was back with us at 3 weeks old and was fed food made 'For All Life Stages'. He was never on dry food nor any treats. Yes, zero dry for him.

Wet food are full of nutrients and proteins and they have real meat in them and less calories and even if your cat does not drink water but is just on wet food, he is hydrated verses the one that have dry food and does not drink water which is bad.

As cats are Obligate Carnivores, they live on a diet of meat. Here's an interesting article on it :-Feeding Your Cat - 4 pages 11-13.pdf
Dry food is full of carbohydrates which may lead to many health problems. And dry food does not clean teeth :-6-reasons-dry-food-clean-cats-teeth

This is my personal opinion and I strongly believe that wet food is better than dry.

But it's better that you do your own study and come up with what you think is best for your cats.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again
Just a note, I've read that when dry food is moistened it can't be left out for very long due to fast bacteria growth.
This isn't the case with wet food, it can be left out for several hours.

 

[calikitteh]

Hi again
Just a note, I've read that when dry food is moistened it can't be left out for very long due to fast bacteria growth.
This isn't the case with wet food, it can be left out for several hours.

Also something I didn't know - thank you! Also planning on looking into making our own food for them....another internet rabbit hole I'm sure =)

 

[cheeser]

We used to feed our cats a combination of wet and dry, until one of them developed recurrent urinary tract problems and couldn't pee (which can be a life threatening emergency), and we kept having to dash him off to the vet's office and/or the emergency clinic every time we turned around.

Then one day I stumbled across the website catinfo.org, and it was the miracle we had been hoping for. Per Dr. Pierson's recommendations, we eliminated all dry food from Buddy's diet, as well as fish and foods high in carbs. Thank God, Buddy hasn't had a single flare-up in over three years.

There's a treasure trove of info on Dr. Pierson's website, but here's a good place to start: Cats Need to Eat Water-Rich Food.

So because of our purrsonal experiences, I understand where your vet is coming from re: recommending a wet food only diet.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Also something I didn't know - thank you! Also planning on looking into making our own food for them....another internet rabbit hole I'm sure =)

You can start with the Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food subforum right here!

 

[Azazel]

I agree with your vet.

 

[kittyluv387]

So cats are not dogs. They can't tell how thirsty they are because they need water from their food. Even if they drink it's not enough. I have 2 boys and 1 girl. One of my boys cant do canned or dry or else he will get diarrhea. He's a special one that needs raw. I used to give my other boy half canned and half dry. But even on that he developed unexplained urinary issues that immediately got better once i stopped giving him dry food.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

My vet asks is that I add a spoonful of water to the wet to bring the moisture content up. I also am supposed to monitor and make sure my cats are drinking well.

~ I rinse all the cat food cans in warm water - swish it around - and add that to the wet food and even leave it in the empty food bowls . They must like the flavor because it's always gone in the morning ...

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[tinydestroyer]

The current consensus is with your vet that wet food is much better for cats than dry, for the reasons outlined above. I will agree with Furballsmom and say that I, too, feed a combination of wet and dry anyway because we work all day, and want to leave something out for them. Two wet meals a day, and I leave 1/3 cup dry out for them while we are at work. It's usually gone, but not always.
My female cat loves dry, and I always make sure that she eats all her wet food first. I also think that ensuring your cat's are drinking lots of liquid - whether in bone broth (no onion!,) water flavored with cat food, or by using fountains to keep their interest. I keep three watering stations (fountain and two bowls,) refreshed all the time.
Also, checking your cat's litter box and litter box habits for signs of kidney / urinary distress is important, as well as making sure any other digestion issues. Finally, ensuring their caloric intake isn't too high is necessary, and dry food has more carbs / less nutritional value per calorie.

I feel like by taking these into account, I'm doing an ok job of counteracting potential problems with feeding them a little dry food. Honestly, these are things that are good to do anyway. However, if my cats were to experience any health issues like those listed above, I'd definitely see if diet was contributing to the issue. This is just my personal choice: to feed some dry, but know the risks and try to mitigate them. You might very well come out of that internet rabbit hole that cat food choices can be, and decide differently. This is a heated topic, so I'd say educate yourself with all points of view, then do what works best for you and your cat.

 

[calikitteh]

~ I rinse all the cat food cans in warm water - swish it around - and add that to the wet food and even leave it in the empty food bowls . They must like the flavor because it's always gone in the morning ...

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That's so smart! I'll have to try that!

 

[Azazel]

By the way, for those that feed dry for the convenience of leaving it out while at work, you can get the catmate c20. I freeze portions of wet food and then put them in the catmate when I’m leaving the house. It also has space for an ice pack underneath. I set the timer for about 5-6 hours later and the cats get meals while I’m out.

 

[lisahe]

Hi all - we saw a new vet a short while ago and she told us that we should give our cats wet food only. We currently feed them a kitten wet food and some grain-free dry food (about 2/3 to 1/3 ratio). I have heard it's not great to give them all dry and to stay away from kibble with carby filler. But ZERO dry food? Interested to hear more people weigh in...the cats are young and at healthy weights.

Our cats-only vet agrees with your vet! She recommends diets with low in carbs and high in meat-based protein.

I also echo the benefits of wet food that tabbytom mentions -- cats need meat -- and suggest visiting Catinfo.org, which cheeser mentioned.

Since your cats are kittens, this is a great time to wean them off the dry food so they can have maximum protein for development and not get addicted to dry food while they're young. It can be a tough habit to break!

And yes, if you're thinking about making food for your cats, check out the raw/homecooked subforum. I use the EZ Complete supplement to make homecooked food for our cats and they love it.