Water as first ingredient

[klunick]

I know cat need a lot of water for overall health and they don't tend to drink enough themselves. I know some add water to their wet food (I have done that also). But I am wondering if a food that has water as the first ingredient is a viable option.

 

[Maurey]

The closest thing I can think of would be the Tiki Cat After Dark series, where broth is usually the second ingredient in their broth line. If memory serves they also have a pate line. Here’s an example with their chicken broth ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Chicken Heart, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Salt, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (vitamin B1), Vitamin E Supplement, Tuna Oil, Niacin (vitamin B3), Zinc Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement (vitamin B2), Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement

 

[klunick]

The closest thing I can think of would be the Tiki Cat After Dark series, where broth is usually the second ingredient in their broth line. If memory serves they also have a pate line. Here’s an example with their chicken broth ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Chicken Heart, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Salt, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (vitamin B1), Vitamin E Supplement, Tuna Oil, Niacin (vitamin B3), Zinc Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement (vitamin B2), Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement

I have tried Tiki After Dark pate and it was a hit or miss. They liked it the first time I bought it and didn't the second time. They don't like broths/gravys either. Only pate.

I found a brand that has a chicken and a salmon flavor with water as the first ingredient. Not sure if it's a good option though as I know meat should be the first. But water is just as important so...

 

[Maurey]

I have tried Tiki After Dark pate and it was a hit or miss. They liked it the first time I bought it and didn't the second time. They don't like broths/gravys either. Only pate.

I found a brand that has a chicken and a salmon flavor with water as the first ingredient. Not sure if it's a good option though as I know meat should be the first. But water is just as important so...

Could you share which brand/food? Realistically, water as a first ingredient shouldn’t be an issue if the food is formulated well, as wet food composition (i.e. Protein/fat/ash) is calculated on a dry matter bases.

 

[klunick]

This...

 

[Maurey]

I personally have issues with Hills, in general, but I won’t get into my, hah, beef with their food as a whole.

In any case, this food, specifically, has a lot of issues, imo, and I wouldn’t feed it for all the water content in the world. Unspecified pork byproducts would be bad enough, but almost everything listed after pork liver are pretty harmful fillers and additives, or indicative of problematic formulation. Starches, flour, meal, gums AND carageenan (both of which are linked to gastric issues with the latter being associated with cancer risk), flavourings they wouldn’t need if the product had enough quality protein in it to actually taste like meat. Also, the fact that the crude protien is only 10% above the carb level is really rough. Cat food should ideally have above 70% protein and under 10% carbs on a dry matter basis, based on their nutritional needs.

 

[klunick]

I personally have issues with Hills, in general, but I won’t get into my, hah, beef with their food as a whole.

In any case, this food, specifically, has a lot of issues, imo, and I wouldn’t feed it for all the water content in the world. Unspecified pork byproducts would be bad enough, but almost everything listed after pork liver are pretty harmful fillers and additives, or indicative of problematic formulation. Starches, flour, meal, gums AND carageenan (both of which are linked to gastric issues with the latter being associated with cancer risk), flavourings they wouldn’t need if the product had enough quality protein in it to actually taste like meat. Also, the fact that the crude protien is only 10% above the carb level is really rough. Cat food should ideally have above 70% protein and under 10% carbs on a dry matter basis, based on their nutritional needs.

Weird because a cat fanatic feeds this and her cats have never had issues with it.

 

[Maurey]

Weird because a cat fanatic feeds this and her cats have never had issues with it.

Cats can do well on foods that might not be ideal for them, or they might have a particular metabolism that could make high carb medium protein diets more viable.

That being said, this is purely my opinion based on the research that I’ve done. I’m not a vet, and while I am in research, I don’t have much overlap with feline nutrition. I’ve done my best to educate myself on the topic of cat food and what to look out for, though ofc I’m open to learning more from people with different experiences who may have come to different conclusions from their own research :> I very well could have missed things in my reading.

That said for some circumstantial evidence, a friend of mine had a cat who’s crystal and cystitis issues largely went away after she transitioned her boy off of Hills Urinary Care. He’ll still get the occasional flare up and need Metacam, but he’s not been back to the vet since he finished transitioning, something my friend told me the vet was annoyed about, as he wanted her to keep buying the Hills. Presumably the clinic got a big cut from the sales or something, as he’s obviously doing way better on his new diet. Needless to say, she’s found a new vet and not been back since.

 

[klunick]

Cats can do well on foods that might not be ideal for them, or they might have a particular metabolism that could make high carb medium protein diets more viable.

That being said, this is purely my opinion based on the research that I’ve done. I’m not a vet, and while I am in research, I don’t have much overlap with feline nutrition. I’ve done my best to educate myself on the topic of cat food and what to look out for, though ofc I’m open to learning more from people with different experiences who may have come to different conclusions from their own research :> I very well could have missed things in my reading.

That said for some circumstantial evidence, a friend of mine had a cat who’s crystal and cystitis issues largely went away after she transitioned her boy off of Hills Urinary Care. He’ll still get the occasional flare up and need Metacam, but he’s not been back to the vet since he finished transitioning, something my friend told me the vet was annoyed about, as he wanted her to keep buying the Hills. Presumably the clinic got a big cut from the sales or something, as he’s obviously doing way better on his new diet. Needless to say, she’s found a new vet and not been back since.

This site is just people's opinions on what is right/wrong and good/bad. As far as I know, there are no experts on here . I lose sight of that and get overwhelmed trying to compete.

Took a few days off and did a reset to figure out what works best for me and my cats. Went from feeding wet 3-4 times a day back down to twice and my cats are perfectly fine with it. I am going to feed what they like sometimes, not necessarily the best by TCS standards.

I don't think there are set rules for all cats because all cats are different. People raise their kids differently so why not their cats too? I am old school and can't hang with the new ways of thinking sometimes.

 

[Katdog]

I personally have issues with Hills, in general, but I won’t get into my, hah, beef with their food as a whole.

In any case, this food, specifically, has a lot of issues, imo, and I wouldn’t feed it for all the water content in the world. Unspecified pork byproducts would be bad enough, but almost everything listed after pork liver are pretty harmful fillers and additives, or indicative of problematic formulation. Starches, flour, meal, gums AND carageenan (both of which are linked to gastric issues with the latter being associated with cancer risk), flavourings they wouldn’t need if the product had enough quality protein in it to actually taste like meat. Also, the fact that the crude protien is only 10% above the carb level is really rough. Cat food should ideally have above 70% protein and under 10% carbs on a dry matter basis, based on their nutritional needs.

I'm new to this research food game but I second Maurey . maybe the cat will do fine short term but in a long term window bad issues may come up. I mean isn't that how diabetes, high cholesterol, heart attacks all work? I know hills has a good reputation with their science diet and marketing and all that, but based on my research as well, I'm steering clear of carbs, gums and especially carageenan. carrageenan def came up as something bad bad- "a known cancer causing substance for humans, it is also known to product intestinal lesions, ulcerations, and tumors in experimental animals."

my tip of the iceberg wet food pate search, from my list, I have RAWZ, Kiwi, Tiki After Dark, Dr Elseys clean protein, and Cat Person all with water for processing or broth as the 2nd ingredient. not that I would feed my cat all of these, but you should peruse to see if it fits your food standards. good luck!

 

[Katdog]

I don't think there are set rules for all cats because all cats are different. People raise their kids differently so why not their cats too? I am old school and can't hang with the new ways of thinking sometimes.

so true! you do you, and kitty cats Boone and Gracie! its good to get opinions but end of the day, your call!

 

[LTS3]

I know cat need a lot of water for overall health and they don't tend to drink enough themselves. I know some add water to their wet food (I have done that also). But I am wondering if a food that has water as the first ingredient is a viable option.

If the first ingredient is water, then the bulk of the food is water and you're basically a high price for water. Personally, I look for a food that has meat as the first ingredient to get my money's worth.

 

[klunick]

If the first ingredient is water, then the bulk of the food is water and you're basically a high price for water. Personally, I look for a food that has meat as the first ingredient to get my money's worth.

I do too and honestly that was the first time I have ever seen water as the first ingredient. Just wondering if it was a viable way of getting the extra moisture in their diet. I switch food so often so they would only be eating it for maybe a month along with several other brands of food.

 

[molly92]

Companies have some freedom with how they list ingredients. Maybe the add water to dehydrated chicken meal and list them separately, or maybe they use chicken meat that still has natural moisture and just list it as chicken. Both could have the same amount of water. To get a more accurate idea, you should look at the % moisture (next to the crude protein, crude fat, ash, etc). Most can foods are somewhere around 80%, so there usually isn't a huge difference.