Low-quality Wet Food Over High-quality Dry Food?

[Tagrendy]

Hi everyone,

Since I've been reading posts here I have gotten a bit confused as to what to feed my kitten. I used to think that low-quality or supermarket brands ( Whiskas, Pourina Friskies, Pourina Felix ) are a no-no & high quality brands ( Royal Canin, Hill, Monge ) is what I should feed him. The brands in the brackets is what's available in the country.

Now so far I have been feeding the kitty mix of dry & wet food from Royal Canin, but I have seen multiple posts mentioning that dry food is really bad & that any wet food is better than dry. Is it true? Would I be doing better if say I fed him the wet food from Whiskas instead of dry food from Royal Canin? Of course in a perfect world I would feed him wet food from a high brand, but that's not affordable for now.

Thanks for any input, T.

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi. Canned food is better because cats just don't drink enough water. My cats start having urinary problems at only half a cup of dry food. So I have to be careful to measure it out and keep it under half a cup. I have tried all different types and brands of dry food and it is always the same, it dehydrates them and they can't pee right. So if you are going to feed dry, I recommend feeding at least half their diet as canned food.

 

[Tagrendy]

Hi. Canned food is better because cats just don't drink enough water. My cats start having urinary problems at only half a cup of dry food. So I have to be careful to measure it out and keep it under half a cup. I have tried all different types and brands of dry food and it is always the same, it dehydrates them and they can't pee right. So if you are going to feed dry, I recommend feeding at least half their diet as canned food.

Thanks a lot, I should probably have mentioned the dry food is always mixed-in with wet food & a bit of extra water on top. Judging from his litterbox I don't think he is dehydrated, but I don't know if the carbs in dry food could cause him health issues in the future. For now it's about 50 / 50 with dry food & wet / canned food.

 

[Columbine]

I'd go wet over dry every time, especially as brands like Royal Canin and Hills aren't much better than the supermarket brands imo. Going for pate or jelly styles of wet as opposed to gravy ones is generally a better choice nutritionally too, as they're less likely to have as many carbs/starches in them.

Which country are you in? If you're in Europe, check out Pet Supplies, Pet Food, and Pet Products on Sale Now at zooplus. That' the UK site, but if you scroll to the bottom of the homepage there's a list of links for most European countries. I get almost all my pet supplies from them, as they work out cheaper and have some great exclusive brands that are better quality for the same money as the supermarket brands (here, at least).

Ultimately, the best food for your cat is the one he will happily eat and that you can afford to buy. So long as you're doing the best you can, you have nothing to stress about

 

[Columbine]

Thanks a lot, I should probably have mentioned the dry food is always mixed-in with wet food & a bit of extra water on top. Judging from his litterbox I don't think he is dehydrated, but I don't know if the carbs in dry food could cause him health issues in the future. For now it's about 50 / 50 with dry food & wet / canned food.

It's best to feed the wet and dry food in separate dishes. The moisture from the wet food can stimulate bacteria growth in the dry food. I feed dry in one bowl, and wet (with added water) in another

 

[Tagrendy]

Going for pate or jelly styles of wet as opposed to gravy ones is generally a better choice nutritionally too, as they're less likely to have as many carbs/starches in them.

Thanks so much, I didn't know this! I was giving him the gravy ones since he seemed to like it better, guess he likes it for the wrong reason >:[

It's best to feed the wet and dry food in separate dishes. The moisture from the wet food can stimulate bacteria growth in the dry food. I feed dry in one bowl, and wet (with added water) in another

He eats the food immediately, or can it still be dangerous? Thanks.

 

[Columbine]

If it's all eaten straightaway, it's probably fine. I just prefer to keep things separate just in case. That way, any leftovers can be used later

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats are the same way, they prefer the shreds in gravy. I don't mind, as long as it keeps them eating and peeing.

 

[duckpond]

There is a lot of debate on all wet, or wet and dry. No question cats need more water in the diet, wet food is great for that. Some cats really prefer dry, and some schedules need the ease of dry. I happen to feed both, i feed wet 2 times per day, and leave out a very low carb dry food.

Cats need high protein, moderate fat, and low carbs. Check the labels on the foods available to you. whether wet or dry you want as low in carbs and high in protein as you can get. you want as little grains, corn, potatoes, peas, fruits and vegetables in the food as possible.

one place for a quick check, hopefully they have some of the foods you have available, is the cat food data base. with dry its fairly straight forward, add up the protein, fat, moisture, fiber and ash, most everything else left will be carbs.

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

wet food may be a bit harder to figure, so i use an online converter. Cat Food Nutrition Calculator | Elizabeth C Scheyder you want low, hopefully under 10 on dry matter carbs, and i want the calories from protein to be higher than the calories from fat. Hope this helps.

And no i don't always think all low quality wet foods are better than all dry foods. wet foods are great, and i think should be a big part of a cats diet, but some wet foods are very high in Carbs and have questionable ingredients. so i think judge each food on its own merit. Buy the best you can, that your cat likes and no mater what make clean fresh water easily available at all times.

 

[Tagrendy]

There is a lot of debate on all wet, or wet and dry. No question cats need more water in the diet, wet food is great for that. Some cats really prefer dry, and some schedules need the ease of dry. I happen to feed both, i feed wet 2 times per day, and leave out a very low carb dry food.

Cats need high protein, moderate fat, and low carbs. Check the labels on the foods available to you. whether wet or dry you want as low in carbs and high in protein as you can get. you want as little grains, corn, potatoes, peas, fruits and vegetables in the food as possible.

one place for a quick check, hopefully they have some of the foods you have available, is the cat food data base. with dry its fairly straight forward, add up the protein, fat, moisture, fiber and ash, most everything else left will be carbs.

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

wet food may be a bit harder to figure, so i use an online converter. Cat Food Nutrition Calculator | Elizabeth C Scheyder you want low, hopefully under 10 on dry matter carbs, and i want the calories from protein to be higher than the calories from fat. Hope this helps.

And no i don't always think all low quality wet foods are better than all dry foods. wet foods are great, and i think should be a big part of a cats diet, but some wet foods are very high in Carbs and have questionable ingredients. so i think judge each food on its own merit. Buy the best you can, that your cat likes and no mater what make clean fresh water easily available at all times.

Thanks so much, those were useful links - I just looked up the dry food I am giving him now in the database and it turns out it's horrible! Will need to spend some time looking through, thanks a bunch!

 

[Neo_23]

I think that all wet food is best if you can manage it. But I do think that there is something to be said about dry foods that are high in animal-based protein vs. canned foods that have poor ingredients. If you need to feed low quality canned food such as friskies, I think it would be good to supplement with a high quality dry food such as Ziwipeak which is made up of 98% meat and very low in carbs. By "supplement" what I mean is to give it as a little snack here and there. This being said, there are very few dry foods I would say are good "supplements." Actually, probably only two: Ziwipeak and Dr. Elsey's.

Also note that Hills and Royal Canin are not considered high quality dry foods. They are perhaps the worst of the worst dry foods out there (okay maybe not as bad as Meow Mix but still pretty bad).