Why Does Everybody Hate Dry Cat Food?

[sargon]

Quality dry foods are every bit as good as wet foods. The "common wisdom" that says all dry foods are high carb compared to wet foods is outdated and was set up comparing msotly cheap store brands.

it is far from universally true that all dry foods are high in carbs, so there are soem good reasons to consider it ( value, convenience, puzzle feeers, etc. )

My cat did well on all dry until I put her on "kitty prozac", which calmed her, and caused her to drink less water(she used to drink a lot of water to calm her nerves, so once her anxiety levels were reduced, her water intake was, too.)

I think that the cost per quality differential ( the very best dry foods still cost like 1/4 as much as wet foods with simlar nutrient profiles), the ability to use puzzle feeders for mental enrichment, convenience, and ability to free feed really make dry food a great option, but it isn't for all situations or cats.

Many cats have kidney, urinary, or other hydration issues, or just aren't good drinkers. In those cases either a mixed or even wet only diet makes a lot more sense. Both can be good ( and both have some bad brands), so which you use really depends on your situation and that of your cat.

 

[Azazel]

Quality dry foods are every bit as good as wet foods. The "common wisdom" that says all dry foods are high carb compared to wet foods is outdated and was set up comparing msotly cheap store brands.

it is far from universally true that all dry foods are high in carbs, so there are soem good reasons to consider it ( value, convenience, puzzle feeers, etc. )

My cat did well on all dry until I put her on "kitty prozac", which calmed her, and caused her to drink less water(she used to drink a lot of water to calm her nerves, so once her anxiety levels were reduced, her water intake was, too.)

I think that the cost per quality differential ( the very best dry foods still cost like 1/4 as much as wet foods with simlar nutrient profiles), the ability to use puzzle feeders for mental enrichment, convenience, and ability to free feed really make dry food a great option, but it isn't for all situations or cats.

Many cats have kidney, urinary, or other hydration issues, or just aren't good drinkers. In those cases either a mixed or even wet only diet makes a lot more sense. Both can be good ( and both have some bad brands), so which you use really depends on your situation and that of your cat.

Please point out some dry foods that are low in carb and high in animal protein. I only know of 2: Dr. Elsey and Ziwipeak.

All cats need moisture in their food. Cats that drink from a water bowl regularly are dehydrated. Dry food may be more convenient for humans but wet food is in all aspects healthier for cats. I choose my cats’ health over my own convenience.

 

[sargon]

Please point out some dry foods that are low in carb and high in animal protein. I only know of 2: Dr. Elsey and Ziwipeak.

Theyr'e still a minority, but a third I know of, offhand, is young again (It has 2 versions, a low and a no carb version).

Young again and Dr Elsey's are expensive for dry foods, but still cost pennys on the dollar per meal when compared to even the cheapest wet foods.

it is very fashionable to say that dry food is bad and wet food is good, but the truth isn't so black and white. It depends on the situation, and, honestly, on what you consider most important. If your cat had hydration issues, then you probably want to lean towards wet. If you believe that your cat's psychological health is paramount, then dry food in puzzle feeders comes out ahead.

If you are concerned about carbs, then, generally wet is better, if on the other hand, you're concerned about thickening agents like carrigen, maybe dry is better.
Some cats cant' keep wet down, some can t' keep dry down, some won't eat one or the other.

Naking a blanket statement that assumes that all dry foods are bad and all wet is good, and that any cat owner who feeds their cat dry is doing it for personal advantage and doesn't care about their cat is just not true.

 

[maggie101]

My cats only eat wet but a few years ago, I went on vacation and left out dry food. Soon after I came back my cat Peaches had a stool stuck in her,high temp, and high white blood count she was on meds for 2 weeks. Not doing that again!

 

[Azazel]

Theyr'e still a minority, but a third I know of, offhand, is young again (It has 2 versions, a low and a no carb version).

Young again and Dr Elsey's are expensive for dry foods, but still cost pennys on the dollar per meal when compared to even the cheapest wet foods.

it is very fashionable to say that dry food is bad and wet food is good, but the truth isn't so black and white. It depends on the situation, and, honestly, on what you consider most important. If your cat had hydration issues, then you probably want to lean towards wet. If you believe that your cat's psychological health is paramount, then dry food in puzzle feeders comes out ahead.

If you are concerned about carbs, then, generally wet is better, if on the other hand, you're concerned about thickening agents like carrigen, maybe dry is better.
Some cats cant' keep wet down, some can t' keep dry down, some won't eat one or the other.

Naking a blanket statement that assumes that all dry foods are bad and all wet is good, and that any cat owner who feeds their cat dry is doing it for personal advantage and doesn't care about their cat is just not true.

The issue isn’t really that cats that have hydration issues need wet food. All cats need wet food and many that aren’t properly hydrated will develop urinary and kidney problems. Cats aren’t meant to drink from water bowls. So yes, actually when considering the physiology and biology of cats, it really is black and white. They are designed to extract moisture from raw meat and have naturally low thirst drives meaning that they will only drink lots of water if they are dehydrated. Kibble is inappropriate food for cats.

Yes, many canned foods have questionable ingredients but given that proper moisture in food is such a key part of feline health, making the blanket statement that canned food is better than kibble is actually quite appropriate. Canned foods also tend to be higher in animal protein, less processed, and lower in carbs.

Of course, most commercial cat foods are quite questionable and not all canned foods are great. I wouldn’t purchase most commercial foods on the market, honestly. But would always choose wet over dry. The low quality of commercial foods more generally is why many including myself choose to feed primarily raw/homemade food.

I’m not really sure how puzzle feeders help with psychological issues. Seems like a strange statement when we know so little about the psychology of cats.

 

[kittyluv387]

Well honestly you asked us why we hate dry food and we told you. What else do you want? Most everyone starts feeding dry at the beginning of their cat parent careers. Many of us have moved on from that because we have learned better and/or found that dry caused issues. You're never going to convince us that both dry and wet are equally healthy. Because they're not. It's not due to "fashion." But we can certainly agree that everyone's trying their best for their cats and if they need to feed dry for whatever reason, that's fine and it's their choice.

 

[maggie101]

It has been proven that cats that eat wet food have more dental health problems than cats that eat dry. I agree that wet food is overall much better for a cat's health, but it is definitely worse for their teeth.

Influence of Diet on Oral Health in Cats and Dogs | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic
The Choice of Diet Affects the Oral Health of the Domestic Cat

Don't know if this makes a difference but the first article was written in 2006. Second 2015

 

[Wile]

Don't know if this makes a difference but the first article was written in 2006. Second 2015

What difference do you think it makes?

 

[maggie101]

Things change. People learn more from research

 

[Wile]

Things change. People learn more from research

In this case neither study has been retracted, and their results continue to be cited in other more recent studies published within the past year. Other researchers seem to think that the findings are still relevant. I think it's safe to say that for now the research stands.

 

[Willowy]

Young again and Dr Elsey's are expensive for dry foods, but still cost pennys on the dollar per meal when compared to even the cheapest wet foods.

Not really. It would cost about $1 a day to feed a cat Dr Elseys dry food (prices from chewy.com). I feed my cats canned Friskies, I buy the 13-oz cans for a little over a dollar each, and they eat an average of 6 ounces each, so that's less than 50 cents a day per cat.

I know that Friskies isn't the best quality, so let's take Chewy's own brand, American Journey, which is better quality and is about $2 per 13-oz can. So that would be comparable in price to feeding Dr Elsey's dry food.

All depends how you shop .

 

[1 bruce 1]

Cost is what actually drove us away from dry cat food (and dog food) if you can believe it.
Right now I think so long as a cat is fed and is happy and healthy on whatever they're eating, things are OK. Dry food only didn't work for several of our cats, but it did for the others. Dry food doesn't clean teeth, neither does wet, sometimes even raw doesn't if their teeth aren't rooted well or they have a severely mis-aligned bite, and ground raw might help a little but not always.
We have a few cats and dogs here now that have poor bites and no matter what they eat, their teeth aren't perfect. They can chew on bones and fatty pieces of meat until they're blue in the face but the teeth not fitting together correctly seems to create gaps that lead to teeth not being scrubbed no matter what.
Now when I look at a new addition, having a good bite is higher on my list than it used to be.

 

[sargon]

The low quality of commercial foods more generally is why many including myself choose to feed primarily raw/homemade food.

I’m not really sure how puzzle feeders help with psychological issues. Seems like a strange statement when we know so little about the psychology of cats.

To be clear, I said that many cats do have hydration issues, and for those wet is generally better.
I also said that dry food has some advantages. One of the most noteworthy was the ability to use it in puzzle feeders, which are generally agreed to provide a more natural feeding experience, since there is a degree of hunting activity to obtain the food, and, as an dded bonus, they reduce high speed gorging.

The other advantage was that it can suppliment food for kittens, as it can otherwise be exceedingly difficult to ensure that kittens receive sufficient nutritional input.

Not really. It would cost about $1 a day to feed a cat Dr Elseys dry food (prices from chewy.com). I feed my cats canned Friskies, I buy the 13-oz cans for a little over a dollar each, and they eat an average of 6 ounces each, so that's less than 50 cents a day per cat.

I know that Friskies isn't the best quality, so let's take Chewy's own brand, American Journey, which is better quality and is about $2 per 13-oz can. So that would be comparable in price to feeding Dr Elsey's dry food.
All depends how you shop .

If you bulk purchase low to mid range wet foods and happen to have several cats, you might spend a little less than if you buy the absolute best and msot expensive dry foods with far less care.

And if you feel that the hydration advantage is more important for your cats than the better ingredients and nutritional profile, that's okay. It may very well be true for your cats(I'll assume that it is, in fact), it's even true for a lot of other cats, but it isn't a universal truth, and that's all that I am saying.

 

[Azazel]

To be clear, I said that many cats do have hydration issues, and for those wet is generally better.
I also said that dry food has some advantages. One of the most noteworthy was the ability to use it in puzzle feeders, which are generally agreed to provide a more natural feeding experience, since there is a degree of hunting activity to obtain the food, and, as an dded bonus, they reduce high speed gorging.

The other advantage was that it can suppliment food for kittens, as it can otherwise be exceedingly difficult to ensure that kittens receive sufficient nutritional input.



If you bulk purchase low to mid range wet foods and happen to have several cats, you might spend a little less than if you buy the absolute best and msot expensive dry foods with far less care.

And if you feel that the hydration advantage is more important for your cats than the better ingredients and nutritional profile, that's okay. It may very well be true for your cats(I'll assume that it is, in fact), it's even true for a lot of other cats, but it isn't a universal truth, and that's all that I am saying.

To be clear, what I’m saying is that wet food is better is for all cats, not just the ones you state have “hydration issues.”

Who are these people that you say have agreed that puzzle feeders provide a natural experience? There is nothing natural about pulling dry pieces of over processed kibble out of a plastic box with holes. What’s natural is chasing down prey, killing it, tearing it into shreds and then crunching on raw meat and bones. Trust me, that’s very different from dry kibble in a box with holes.

I have raised several heathy kittens on all wet or raw food. No kibble necessary.

I wouldn’t argue that any kibble is better than fancy feast or friskies. A lot of FF is very high protein and moisture. I suggest you read the website catinfo.org to learn a bit more about the nutritional needs of cats.

 

[Wreek]

My girl will not eat wet food. I've tried for years. All she will do is suck the juice out.

 

[kmoulus]

W Wreek , I had the same problem with Speedy. She licks the gravy and leaves the chunks of meat behind, or if it is pate she eats a little and licks the rest until its dry.

And then a miracle happened. In another thread, someone suggested the new Weruva pates. They have a new product in a pouch called Slide n Serve. It is the wettest food I have ever seen, they call it a puree but I think it is almost like pudding. The owner of my pet shop said that Weruva designed it specifically to be extra hydrating. Speedy loves it, she cleans her plate. You might give it a shot.

 

[maggie101]

W Wreek , I had the same problem with Speedy. She licks the gravy and leaves the chunks of meat behind, or if it is pate she eats a little and licks the rest until its dry.

And then a miracle happened. In another thread, someone suggested the new Weruva pates. They have a new product in a pouch called Slide n Serve. It is the wettest food I have ever seen, they call it a puree but I think it is almost like pudding. The owner of my pet shop said that Weruva designed it specifically to be extra hydrating. Speedy loves it, she cleans her plate. You might give it a shot.

I got that in a can. She finished up the whole 5.5 oz can so I'm guessing it's not enough to fill her tummy. Interesting texture.

 

[kmoulus]

Yeah it's weird. I fluff it up a bit with a fork. otherwise it's sort of pouch-shaped and weirdly flat.

 

[Tagrendy]

Mix of dry and wet should be fine imo, but it would be better to "sprinkle" dry food into the wet and add a bit of water instead of giving it separate, as the latter relies on the cat to drink enough water on their own which they are not always doing.

As everyone already mentioned all key points, I just wanna add another weird difference I noticed - my cat becomes a much better behaved cat on wet food. It looks similar to how people behave when they eat sugary foods vs low burning food - one makes you all hyper for a short while then you're hungry again, the other takes a while to process and you're calmer.

 

[Wreek]

W Wreek , I had the same problem with Speedy. She licks the gravy and leaves the chunks of meat behind, or if it is pate she eats a little and licks the rest until its dry.

And then a miracle happened. In another thread, someone suggested the new Weruva pates. They have a new product in a pouch called Slide n Serve. It is the wettest food I have ever seen, they call it a puree but I think it is almost like pudding. The owner of my pet shop said that Weruva designed it specifically to be extra hydrating. Speedy loves it, she cleans her plate. You might give it a shot.

I'll try it!