Dry Food Only?

[BluPersian]

So I am fairly new to cats. I am very very familiar with canine nutrition but not so much with felines. I have done quite a bit of research but who better to ask than actual cat owners?

That being said...do I have to feed wet food also? My cat eats his dry food just fine and he drinks plenty of water. Just curious to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks in advance.

 

[maggiedemi]

I feed at least half a large can of wet canned food per day or one whole small can. Sometimes I'll do one and a half small cans per cat. And limit the fish. Male cats really need the moisture in wet food. I have to use a urinary dry food for mine.

 

[artiemom]

If your cat really likes dry food, and as long as he is drinking an ample amount of water, it is ok..
But.. remember, there are a lot of 'empty' calories in dry food.

It would be good if you could also feed some wet food. That way, he would be getting extra water.. and again, not much fish..

Having a cat accustomed to wet food is really good. It can help future because it is easier to feed any prescription foods in the wet format. Yes, I know your kitty is young. You do not want to feed him exclusively dry. Transitioning him to wet food would be a real chore. It is better to have that done now, while he is young.

Many male cats suffer from cystitis and stones. Dry food is not good for them. The extra water content in wet food is great..

In other words: give both wet and dry.. Use the dry as an in-between food, and wet when you are home.. that is a good balance.

 

[kashmir64]

The thing about this question, is that if you ask 100 different cat owners, you will get 100 different answers. At the end, it's what works best for your kitty. Just be sure that whichever way you decide to go, make it a higher quality food and not the cheap stuff. Check your ingredients.

 

[ander35]

So I am fairly new to cats. I am very very familiar with canine nutrition but not so much with felines. I have done quite a bit of research but who better to ask than actual cat owners?

That being said...do I have to feed wet food also? My cat eats his dry food just fine and he drinks plenty of water. Just curious to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks in advance.

Wet food is better. They get their water from food. My last cat died from uronary blockage and I think he probably would not have if he had been on wet food.

 

[BluPersian]

It sounds like I need to try to incorporate some wet food into his diet. When I got him they just gave me a bag of dry food, a litter box, his shampoo (he won't let me bathe him) and a carrier.

It sounded like he only ate dry food. I did switch him over to a higher quality (IMO) kibble with no problem. I will try to get some wet food for him today.

What about catnip?

 

[cheeser]

Having a cat accustomed to wet food is really good. It can help future because it is easier to feed any prescription foods in the wet format. Yes, I know your kitty is young. You do not want to feed him exclusively dry. Transitioning him to wet food would be a real chore. It is better to have that done now, while he is young.

Many male cats suffer from cystitis and stones. Dry food is not good for them. The extra water content in wet food is great..

For years, we fed our cats Hill's Science (or Prescription) Diet dry food because that's what the vet recommended as being 'the best' food for them. And who doesn't want the best for their fur babies? Then when they'd get sick, they wouldn't eat the prescription canned food that the vet would prescribe because they didn't recognize it as food. Or when the vet would prescribe some medication and tell us that we could sneak it into some canned food to make it easier to get it down them, I wanted to cry because I knew it was going to be a lost cause. I can't tell you how many times I've had to feed a cat (with or without meds) with a syringe for weeks or months because they simply didn't know what to do with wet food.

I also learned the hard way about male cats being prone to urinary tract disorders. Even with prescription dry food, Buddy was still having relapses every three months. It was extremely painful and stressful for him, heartbreaking for us to see him suffer, and all those trips to the emergency room got pretty expensive. So we switched him to a diet of wet food only, and thank God, Buddy hasn't had a relapse in over 2 years.

Some cats seem to do fine on a steady diet of dry food. I just don't want to take any more chances.

 

[BluPersian]

I'm really glad now that I asked. When I got his dry food I did get him some primal freeze dried turkey that I was planning on giving him as a treat. It can be rehyrated also. I'm going to try that too. I've been just crumbling it up dry.

Like you all have said, I just want to do what will be best for him. I can definitely see where wet food could be not only useful in the future for medication or illness but also necessary for his health. Thank you all for taking the time to give me your opinion.

 

[cheeser]

It sounds like I need to try to incorporate some wet food into his diet. When I got him they just gave me a bag of dry food, a litter box, his shampoo (he won't let me bathe him) and a carrier.

It sounded like he only ate dry food. I did switch him over to a higher quality (IMO) kibble with no problem. I will try to get some wet food for him today.

What about catnip?

Once your kitty gets used to the idea of eating canned food, you might want to add a little extra water to work even more moisture into his diet. I add 3 extra spoons of water per 3 oz. can for Buddy. Oscar, on the other hand, loves to drink water from his bowls strewn all over the house and his beloved water fountain, so I don't need to sneak in quite as much.

As for the catnip, I can't remember, but I think cats don't start to respond to it until they're about 3 months old. I've had cats that weren't affected by catnip at all, some that acted like happy drunks, and some that zipped around the house at warp speed when they got their fix. But if your cat likes it, it will make it much easier for you to train him to use a scratching post, if he doesn't know how already!

Good luck, and congratulations on your new fur baby!

 

[tabbytom]

So I am fairly new to cats. I am very very familiar with canine nutrition but not so much with felines. I have done quite a bit of research but who better to ask than actual cat owners?

That being said...do I have to feed wet food also? My cat eats his dry food just fine and he drinks plenty of water. Just curious to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks in advance.

Hello BluPersian, personally, I'll go with wet. The words wet and dry gives very a clear distinction over their meaning. Wet being hydrated and dry is dehydrated. So I choose the former.

I feed my boy canned food and still add water to it so that I'm sure he is fully hydrated on top of the 85% moisture that comes with the wet food. Dry food often states 10% moisture but how long can 10% last? Even wet food dries up after being exposed for a long time.

Here are some articles for you to consider :-

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

What Dry Food Does to Your Cat's Gut - Feline Nutrition

What Dry Food Does to Your Cat's Fur - Feline Nutrition

What Dry Food Does to Your Cat's Pee - Feline Nutrition

What Dry Food Does to Your Cat's Teeth - Feline Nutrition

Dry Cat Food - The Big Easy - Feline Nutrition

6 Reasons why dry food does not clean your cat’s teeth

One More Reason to Ditch Dry Food - Feline Nutrition

 

[lalagimp]

I think the phrase "my cat drinks plenty of water" is subjective.
Tommy loves his fountains. He drinks every day. But being on a high quality dry and seeing him drink water all the time, still left him with a urine pH of 8 and struvite crystals blocking his urethra. I felt like an idiot. He was 7. A blockage is so expensive and painful on the cat that it's a terrible time for both owner and feline. Each blockage was about $2000 to treat.
Moving him to canned and then onto raw has him still drinking from his fountains just like old habits, but his urine pH went from an 8 to a 7 which is much more acceptable though not entirely ideal. He ended up blocking twice in February the same week for an undetermined cause from his FLUTD that we took him to Virginia for surgery. Now hopefully this is squarely nipped in the bud for my other male cat before he even has a risk to experience it. He's three years younger than Tommy and they get fed together.
My females are still on dry, and I know my oldest has struvite crystals. It can be uncomfortable but not usually life threatening because of her urethra. She refuses to go to wet food. She does use the fountains. She's on a really high quality kibble with my other girl. I'm hoping to move them to a kibble that more closely resembles a raw formula but it's twice as much and we're about to get our housing allowance cut until school is back in session.
They are obligate carnivores. They are supposed to eat just meat and supplements and get their fluids from their meals. No need for peas, potatoes, rice, wheat, soy, corn, carageean, tapioca, cellulose, fruits.

 

[laura mae]

With the primal, I would definitely add water to that and not feed it dry. The freeze dried food is meant to be re-hydrated. You might want to make a meal of it. Warm the water you will add to the bricks and smoosh it up. You can sprinkle a little of the food dry to tempt, but that would be a good way to encourage your cat to eat it wet.

 

[ignited-red]

So I am fairly new to cats. I am very very familiar with canine nutrition but not so much with felines. I have done quite a bit of research but who better to ask than actual cat owners?

That being said...do I have to feed wet food also? My cat eats his dry food just fine and he drinks plenty of water. Just curious to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks in advance.

I don't think by feeding him dry food only will do good for him in a long term. Well in short term, you will not seeing any significance problems to his health. But it is very dangerous if you keep feeding him only dry food for long term. Dry food can cause serious problems to kidneys and cause death. You might want to gradually change his diet to wet food. All felines need proteins from raw food (if you never gave your cat raw food, you can start with feeding him wet canned food)

Best protein a feline can get is from poultry source such as chicken, duck and turkey.
Beef are good
Fish you can give him occasionally since fish are high in sodium materials, this also can cause kidney problems.

Try find wet canned food that contains poultry and / or beef contents. It's the best for your cat