Offering Wet Food Occasionally

[Kobayashi22]

Is giving your cat some wet food a couple of days a week is still better than feeding just kibble or it will only upset her stomach and I should stick to the kibble? I would really like to feed wet only, but my budget is really tight right now and feeding only wet food seems really expensive, even if I'm going to mix it with kibble. Also, is it true that even the worst wet food is better than the best dry food? I'm reading the label and having some serious doubts about this idea. I don't live in US, ordering from Amazon or something like that isn't really an option. Also, I'm not interested in discussing raw diet, thanks.

 

[Azazel]

The main reason why wet food is better is because it’s high in moisture. Cats are meant to obtain moisture from their food and will often be dehydrated on kibble which can lead to all sorts of painful medical conditions. So any wet food you can feed is better than none.

 

[Kobayashi22]

The main reason why wet food is better is because it’s high in moisture. Cats are meant to obtain moisture from their food and will often be dehydrated on kibble which can lead to all sorts of painful medical conditions. So any wet food you can feed is better than none.

Oh, sure, I'm aware of that. I was just under an impression that cats need to have a more consistent diet, so just throwing in wet food one day, but not the other day could be a bad idea.

 

[Kieka]

Oh, sure, I'm aware of that. I was just under an impression that cats need to have a more consistent diet, so just throwing in wet food one day, but not the other day could be a bad idea.

Cats can do well with mixed diets. The reason why we usually say to make slow changes is if you are feeding a specific food their systems get "stuck" on it. The same thing can happen to humans when we make a drastic diet change. But that is more changing dry food completely or drastic wet changes. Adding in a little wet shouldn't cause problems.

 

[Kobayashi22]

Cats can do well with mixed diets. The reason why we usually say to make slow changes is if you are feeding a specific food their systems get "stuck" on it. The same thing can happen to humans when we make a drastic diet change. But that is more changing dry food completely or drastic wet changes. Adding in a little wet shouldn't cause problems.

It's just that by mixed diets people usually mean feeding them every day a mix of kibble and canned, not feeding them kibble and offering canned sometimes, I think. Granted, I'm still not sure if I'm not able to afford this kind of mixed diet, but I'm just preparing for the worst.

 

[Azazel]

It's just that by mixed diets people usually mean feeding them every day a mix of kibble and canned, not feeding them kibble and offering canned sometimes, I think. Granted, I'm still not sure if I'm not able to afford this kind of mixed diet, but I'm just preparing for the worst.

It’s completley fine to give mixed food to cats and to do so on random days. Just introduce the new food slowly the first time you give it and once their digestive system is used to it you can give it whenever you want.

 

[Kobayashi22]

It’s completley fine to give mixed food to cats and to do so on random days. Just introduce the new food slowly the first time you give it and once their digestive system is used to it you can give it whenever you want.

Thanks! What about the quality of the wet food?

 

[Saber_Wing]

My cats have kibble set out for them during the day, and get wet food every night. Granted, that's a very consistent schedule, so I'm not sure that helps you, but they do very well on a mixed diet.

 

[Azazel]

Thanks! What about the quality of the wet food?

Try to find one that has mostly meat ingredients listed at the beginning of the ingredient list and avoid carrageenan, gums, potatoes, and peas if you can.

 

[KarenKat]

For quality wet food, I avoid peas and potatoes when possible and carrageenan. For me the gums are too hard to avoid (they can be seen to cause inflammation in the intestines, so they are bad for sensitive stomach kitties. Mine doesn’t seem bothered). I will feed some foods with peas or potatoes as long as they are after the first five ingredients. The key is really high amount of meat protein.

 

[Name9335]

I would switch fully to wet and dump the dry.

 

[jen]

If you look at the charts at this site: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf You will see that even Friskies and Fancy Feast Classic Pates which are often considered lower quality, have under 10% carbs. Which is GREAT!

So yes I would say that the majority of canned food, no matter the quality, is better than dry. A long life of dry kibble can lead to obesity, diabetes, kidney failure, etc which are all considerably more expensive to treat then food.

 

[MissMolly08]

I have a very tight budget and manage to feed my cat all wet for under $15 a month. I am in the US though so I know that's not possible everywhere.

I avoid corn, wheat and soy but nothing else really. I like to see meat as the 1st ingredient but I am ok with it being in the form of by-products. Can't be too picky on a budget. My cat does perfectly fine on Friskies canned.

 

[sargon]

One option is a cooked food diet, which works out a lot like it does or humans, giving you healthier food for less money if you make it yourself, vs pre-packaged foods. You can shop sales on the meat, cook it up, add the mix, and then freeze the portions. You get a better quality food than most canned with less junk in it for far less money per serving, and you can set the portions to exactly what works for your cat...

It is a bit more work than popping open a can (it's basically about as much work as making up and freezing taco meat) , but it isn't the huge hassle (and potential health risk to you and the cat) that raw food involves.

The two cooked food mixes I know of offhand are U-stew and Fur for life.

Canned foods are, on average, better than dry (and cheap dry food is generally very bad) , but I strongly disagree that the worst canned is better than the best dry. Hydration is important, and insufficient hydration is a common issue for many cats, but the best dry foods are 95% animal protein, and carb free, while the worst canned foods have carrigen, corn, soy, and mystery meats, including from dead, diseased, and dying animals.