Wet Or Dry Food, Which Is Really Better?

[Azazel]

It's a special brand meant for his teeth. It actually really helps and his gums are no longer red, plus his breath doesn't smell as bad. As for wet food, males need it in their diets, whereas females can live off of dry food no problem (unless they are actually dehydrated, though most will drink enough.

Can you provide some evidence or reasoning for your arguments?

Just because something is marketed as being dental food doesn’t make it so. And it’s common knowledge among feline nutritionists that all cats obtain water from their food.

 

[theflash82]

Can you provide some evidence or reasoning for your arguments?

Just because something is marketed as being dental food doesn’t make it so. And it’s common knowledge among feline nutritionists that all cats obtain water from their food.

It was food highly recommended by the vet. It is called Science Diet. This is sort of getting off-topic from the article though, so we should probably end this here

 

[Azazel]

It was food highly recommended by the vet. It is called Science Diet. This is sort of getting off-topic from the article though, so we should probably end this here

I don’t think it’s off topic- the thread is asking which is healthier, wet or dry.

Science diet is notoriously unhealthy and vets are not experts in nutrition unless they have done further training in addition to their basic veterinary training.

I just think it’s important for people to know that dry food doesn’t actually clean teeth and that all cats need high moisture diets.

 

[theflash82]

I don’t think it’s off topic- the thread is asking which is healthier, wet or dry.

Science diet is notoriously unhealthy and vets are not experts in nutrition unless they have done further training in addition to their basic veterinary training.

I just think it’s important for people to know that dry food doesn’t actually clean teeth and that all cats need high moisture diets.

If Science Diet is unhealthy, explain why my cat no longer has red/swollen gums, no longer has strong smelling breath, and no longer has pain while eating. The veterinarians we go to also have more than basic training.

 

[Azazel]

If Science Diet is unhealthy, explain why my cat no longer has red/swollen gums, no longer has strong smelling breath, and no longer has pain while eating. The veterinarians we go to also have more than basic training.

There is no way you can provide evidence that these differences are due to the kibble. They are based on your observations of the correlation between two events. This doesn’t provide any basis for causal or unbiased claims. Also, no kibble company would claim to clean teeth that are already unhealthy (i.e., kibble doesn’t get rid of tartar, gingivitis, swollen gums, or abscesses which might cause pain, etc. The companies only claim that it helps keep teeth clean and reduce future buildup). Did your cat have a dental cleaning before they started eating kibble?

If the vet is recommending science diet then I would question whether their training in nutrition is adequate.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Mika loves her dry food but I try to get her to eat as much of wet as possible. She was on an all wet diet for a really long time and I fully believe that it's better for them. However, at the end of the day, what your cat will eat is what is best.

You can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Ditto for cats.

You can bring a cat to water, but can't make them drink. Or bathe. Or stop shredding your skin because water = horrifying! =)
I've said a billion time but I'll say it again for the OP..
our non raw fed cat eats Fancy Feast. Not terrible, not great, but it is working for him OK and he eats it happily and is always ready for food.
I'd LOVE it if this cat ate a raw diet and did well but, he will eat raw food but doesn't do so hot on it.
For his comfort and health and our peace of mind, we do what works even if rating sites say FF is crap. *Shrug* We just want our cat to be happy.

 

[laura mae]

Even cats that have been raised on wet food do not often like the premium brands. I bought some cans of Friskies canned pate because I was frustrated with throwing away $2.69 cans of food that was barely touched. They snarfed it like furry vacuums. All I could hear was kitty lip smacking. sigh.

 

[10009891]

I had taken my cats to the vet a few weeks ago. He said my cats were very healthy. I told him I feed them freeze dried raw, raw or other high quality food. He gave me a odd look and said, all kibble brands are good, that Science Diet, Purina, 9 Lives, Friskies, Whiskas, and IAMS would be just fine.

 

[Tashanasha]

The never ending debate... When it comes to food in general, there is one good rule to follow: the less processed the food, the better it is. Why wouldn't that apply to cat food?

Truth is, most cats like their kibbles more than wet food, precisely because it's highly processed and designed to get them hooked. Similar to our fast food. I myself would choose a burger over every salad. And surely I can live on fast food alone for quite some time. But sooner or later I would have to deal with the consequences. And so would the cats fed only dry food.

There is no good reason to feed the dry stuff except that it is easier and cheaper for us humans, but there is not one benefit for the cat. The argument that it's good for their teeth has no ground (except that the manufacturer said so, and the vet that earns money selling it agrees), since the kibbles are to small and they do not chew them - they either swallow them whole or just crunch them an then swallow. It does benefit them to chew on bones, but those are bigger and have a completely different structure. And I never heard any other justification for feeding dry.

All that being said, I do have dry food available for Marx. He gets 2-3 wet meals per day, but also has kibbles available since I don't want to worry if he's hungry between the meals (aka it's easier for me).

I tried to give him raw chicken wings for the teeth, but he refuses to eat raw meat. I honestly think he doesn't know how to.

 

[10009891]

Good post Tashanasha. The vets get kickbacks by these major commercial cat food brands. Moreover, they would also lose some business if cats and dogs were maintained more healthier because of quality raw or other superior food type being fed.

 

[rubysmama]

If Science Diet is unhealthy, explain why my cat no longer has red/swollen gums, no longer has strong smelling breath, and no longer has pain while eating. The veterinarians we go to also have more than basic training.

theflash82 : are the Science Diet kibble pieces larger than regular kibble? My vet noticed that my Ruby girl had red/swollen gums at her last vet checkup, and suggested a "dental" kibble that I could feed Ruby as a treat. She said she used it with her own cat and it cleared up the gum problems, and that we should see a difference in Ruby's gums at her next checkup.

Unlike the smaller kibble pieces that cats (mine at least) swallow whole, these ones are quite large, so they have to be bitten into, and when they bite into them, it presses against their gums, kinda like dental floss. So not sure if they clean teeth, but I am hopeful they are helping with Ruby's gums. And now that I think about, I haven't noticed Ruby's breath like I have in the past.

Welcome to TCS, btw, theflash82

 

[Alice catlady]

The never ending debate... When it comes to food in general, there is one good rule to follow: the less processed the food, the better it is. Why wouldn't that apply to cat food?

Truth is, most cats like their kibbles more than wet food, precisely because it's highly processed and designed to get them hooked. Similar to our fast food. I myself would choose a burger over every salad. And surely I can live on fast food alone for quite some time. But sooner or later I would have to deal with the consequences. And so would the cats fed only dry food.

There is no good reason to feed the dry stuff except that it is easier and cheaper for us humans, but there is not one benefit for the cat. The argument that it's good for their teeth has no ground (except that the manufacturer said so, and the vet that earns money selling it agrees), since the kibbles are to small and they do not chew them - they either swallow them whole or just crunch them an then swallow. It does benefit them to chew on bones, but those are bigger and have a completely different structure. And I never heard any other justification for feeding dry.

All that being said, I do have dry food available for Marx. He gets 2-3 wet meals per day, but also has kibbles available since I don't want to worry if he's hungry between the meals (aka it's easier for me).

I tried to give him raw chicken wings for the teeth, but he refuses to eat raw meat. I honestly think he doesn't know how to.

This thread is kind of blowing my mind. Our cats has always gotten both. And all of them are crazy about the wet food. Dry food is what they eat it they get hungry between feedings of wet food. They will run around us a long time to get the wet stuff, before they resort to the kibble. It seems to our cats eating dry food is like eating a dry slice of bread, when you really want a yummy dinner. Our vets will also tell us to cut down on the wet food.

I don’t know why this seems to be so different? Maybe it’s a difference between countries? I don’t know.

 

[Royalty]

I had read many times that dry food is not good for cats. As cats are obligate carnivores . While out hunting they don't eat biscuits . It's so difficult. We all want our cats to be happy and not all cats will eat just meat. I will admit my two have high meat content food, but I do give them a little dry food as treats, but I also give them freeze dried raw treats too. I'd have dearly loved to have given both my cats raw food but they just weren't really interested so to be honest they have a bit of everything although not supermarket food as I've found the meat content isn't high enough. I had read recently though that the worst cat food is said to be better than dry. It's a minefield out there, thank goodness my two boys seem healthy so far

 

[Azazel]

Here is a video of a cat eating a raw chicken wing which helps keep teeth clean due to the naturally occurring enzymes in raw food. Notice how the cat works their jaw to bite through the bone and how this action would help keep teeth clean. Cats do not chew kibble this way. Kibble is full of starches and sugars that contribute to dental disease. Don’t be fooled by pet food companies.


Once you witness your cat tear through raw meat and bones you laugh at the notion that processed kibble could be marketed as cleaning teeth. The idea that kibble flosses teeth is about as reasonable as the idea that chips floss human teeth.

 

[theflash82]

theflash82 : are the Science Diet kibble pieces larger than regular kibble? My vet noticed that my Ruby girl had red/swollen gums at her last vet checkup, and suggested a "dental" kibble that I could feed Ruby as a treat. She said she used it with her own cat and it cleared up the gum problems, and that we should see a difference in Ruby's gums at her next checkup.

Unlike the smaller kibble pieces that cats (mine at least) swallow whole, these ones are quite large, so they have to be bitten into, and when they bite into them, it presses against their gums, kinda like dental floss. So not sure if they clean teeth, but I am hopeful they are helping with Ruby's gums. And now that I think about, I haven't noticed Ruby's breath like I have in the past.

Welcome to TCS, btw, theflash82

Yes, they are much larger. My cat Rocky also used to swallow the kibble whole and too fast, so he would throw up. It helps with his teeth and now since he needs to take more time to chew it he doesn't throw up.

 

[Royalty]

Wh

Yes, they are much larger. My cat Rocky also used to swallow the kibble whole and too fast, so he would throw up. It helps with his teeth and now since he needs to take more time to chew it he doesn't throw up.

what is the name of the science diet kibble you feed

 

[theflash82]

There is no way you can provide evidence that these differences are due to the kibble. They are based on your observations of the correlation between two events. This doesn’t provide any basis for causal or unbiased claims. Also, no kibble company would claim to clean teeth that are already unhealthy (i.e., kibble doesn’t get rid of tartar, gingivitis, swollen gums, or abscesses which might cause pain, etc. The companies only claim that it helps keep teeth clean and reduce future buildup). Did your cat have a dental cleaning before they started eating kibble?

If the vet is recommending science diet then I would question whether their training in nutrition is adequate.

This thread isn't about my cat so I don't see reason to give "evidence" like pictures. He no longer has problems so making a new thread would be unreasonable. He hasn't gone for a dental cleaning yet, though he may soon. He took medicine for three days (couldn't take it for longer) for the tartar, but it didn't see m to reduce his pain while eating and drinking until we introduced the kibble along with it. He didn't want to eat it at first but after a few days of eating more and more, he got back into his normal eating habits.

 

[theflash82]

Wh

what is the name of the science diet kibble you feed

Hill's Science Diet

 

[theflash82]

Wh

what is the name of the science diet kibble you feed

Oral Care adult (sorry that part didn't send with the first message for some reason)

 

[Royalty]

This thread isn't about my cat so I don't see reason to give "evidence" like pictures. He no longer has problems so making a new thread would be unreasonable. He hasn't gone for a dental cleaning yet, though he may soon. He took medicine for three days (couldn't take it for longer) for the tartar, but it didn't see m to reduce his pain while eating and drinking until we introduced the kibble along with it. He didn't want to eat it at first but after a few days of eating more and more, he got back into his normal eating habits.

Oral Care adult (sorry that part didn't send with the first message for some reason)

Ok mine have science diet hi can't think offhand which sort as I'm dog sitting at the moment, I will check when I get home. Mine also have orijen dry both are as part of their treats daily it's great go hear that he no longer has problems