Why Does Everybody Hate Dry Cat Food?

[MargoLane]

I think the dry food debate isn't just about nutrition and budget. It also touches on a lot of issues about living life with pets and balancing your needs with theirs. I see people talking a lot about how they always put their pets needs above theirs; and frankly, I don't always do that. Sometimes my needs have to come first too. This doesn't mean I don't put a lot of thought, effort and love into the choices I make for her.
70-80% of my cats meals are raw, with the other being made up mostly of wet. I do keep some Ziwi Peak air-dried kibble on hand though, and I give her a meal of it every few weeks to make sure she still likes it. I want to have the convenience of kibble occasionally. Because, look, sometimes I'm going to be out all day/evening and miss dinnertime. Sometimes I have too much work to do to adequately play with my pal, and a puzzle feeder gives her the stimulation I can't provide that day.
I just wish there were more truly high-quality dry foods available so we could make those choices without feeling like we're feeding our pals crap. I'd feel a lot more comfortable; like picking up a salad, instead of McDonalds, when there isn't any time to make dinner.

 

[kittyluv387]

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.

I used to sprinkle in the dry on top of wet (plus water added) but that still surprisingly gave my boy problems. But oh well. No dry in the house for us!

 

[Azazel]

I think the dry food debate isn't just about nutrition and budget. It also touches on a lot of issues about living life with pets and balancing your needs with theirs. I see people talking a lot about how they always put their pets needs above theirs; and frankly, I don't always do that. Sometimes my needs have to come first too. This doesn't mean I don't put a lot of thought, effort and love into the choices I make for her.
70-80% of my cats meals are raw, with the other being made up mostly of wet. I do keep some Ziwi Peak air-dried kibble on hand though, and I give her a meal of it every few weeks to make sure she still likes it. I want to have the convenience of kibble occasionally. Because, look, sometimes I'm going to be out all day/evening and miss dinnertime. Sometimes I have too much work to do to adequately play with my pal, and a puzzle feeder gives her the stimulation I can't provide that day.
I just wish there were more truly high-quality dry foods available so we could make those choices without feeling like we're feeding our pals crap. I'd feel a lot more comfortable; like picking up a salad, instead of McDonalds, when there isn't any time to make dinner.

I don’t think feeding your cat healthy food means putting their needs before yours. The problem that I see is more that some people don’t take the time to really address their cats’ needs at all because it’s inconvenient for them. Doesn’t sounds like you’re one of these people though. You’re doing your best.

 

[Name9335]

They do chew their whole prey. They don't really chew kibble. Its a myth that kibble cleans teeth, it would be more like us eating mc donalds all the time. Cats are obligate carnivores. Kibble is full of carbs and other fillers that cats cant process or need. An all wet diet, or a raw diet is the best that you can do for your furbabies.

 

[sargon]

Cats are obligate carnivores. Kibble is full of carbs and other fillers that cats cant process or need. An all wet diet, or a raw diet is the best that you can do for your furbabies.

Two important factual corrections here.

#1. There is not reliable scientific evidence that a wet food diet is superior. There is one famous vet (the one who started the raw feeding movement, which the American vetreinary society strongly condemns as dangerous for the health of both cats and humans) who has an interesting but entirely unproven hypothesis (as in zero studies to support her belief), who espouses a raw or wet food diet over a kibble based one. It seems to make sense that canned food may, on average, be better for cats than dry (again, on average), but it is a belief supported by faith, not evidence.

#2 it is absolutely untrue that all wet foods are low carb and all dry foods are high carb. It was (mostly) true 20 years ago, but it is not true today. Many wet foods include vegetable protein sources and carb fillers, and there are a handful of dry foods (Dr Elsey's and Young again are 2 that I know of) that have 5% or less carbs.

 

[FrankieNMurphy]

Hi Kitten lovers,

I have a question regarding dry food/ kibble. Everybody seems to heavily dislike it and cat owners are told to feed wet food only.
Now I feed my 5 month old kittens wet food in the morning and evening, and throughout the day they have a full bowl of their favorite dry food (it’s „Perfect Fit Junior”) for free feeding, and of course they always have fresh water available. Occasionally they get a sip of cat milk, they love it and I want them to be perfectly hydrated (but they also drink water from their bowl or a running tap).
From my experience feeding soft wet food only can lead to severe dental health issues in cats, they need the crunch to clean their teeth. And in a cats natural diet, they don’t fillet their meals either... every mouse or bird is being eaten more or less completely (have you ever heard a cat crunching away a mouse’s head? It’s disgusting but perfectly natural).
So why all the hate on dry food?

I’m looking forward to hearing your opinions and thoughts :-)

 

[FrankieNMurphy]

I don't hate dry food - my cat won't eat but a touch of baby food nightly, and it's only to get him to eat more.

 

[Name9335]

Two important factual corrections here.

#1. There is not reliable scientific evidence that a wet food diet is superior. There is one famous vet (the one who started the raw feeding movement, which the American vetreinary society strongly condemns as dangerous for the health of both cats and humans) who has an interesting but entirely unproven hypothesis (as in zero studies to support her belief), who espouses a raw or wet food diet over a kibble based one. It seems to make sense that canned food may, on average, be better for cats than dry (again, on average), but it is a belief supported by faith, not evidence.

#2 it is absolutely untrue that all wet foods are low carb and all dry foods are high carb. It was (mostly) true 20 years ago, but it is not true today. Many wet foods include vegetable protein sources and carb fillers, and there are a handful of dry foods (Dr Elsey's and Young again are 2 that I know of) that have 5% or less carbs.

The only reason that the American Vet society really doesn't recommend is due to the risk of salmonella.... the problem is, there is really no more risk than us preparing our own meat. cats, and dog's stomachs are much different than ours and are prepared to handle raw meat. what do you think they eat in the wild? There is no kibble or wet food for them, they eat mice and such. There are thousands of pet owners that feed a raw diet and can see the amazing difference in their animals. Check out the several raw feeding groups on Facebook

 

[Azazel]

Two important factual corrections here.

#1. There is not reliable scientific evidence that a wet food diet is superior. There is one famous vet (the one who started the raw feeding movement, which the American vetreinary society strongly condemns as dangerous for the health of both cats and humans) who has an interesting but entirely unproven hypothesis (as in zero studies to support her belief), who espouses a raw or wet food diet over a kibble based one. It seems to make sense that canned food may, on average, be better for cats than dry (again, on average), but it is a belief supported by faith, not evidence.

#2 it is absolutely untrue that all wet foods are low carb and all dry foods are high carb. It was (mostly) true 20 years ago, but it is not true today. Many wet foods include vegetable protein sources and carb fillers, and there are a handful of dry foods (Dr Elsey's and Young again are 2 that I know of) that have 5% or less carbs.

Food high in moisture being a necessity for cats isn’t a belief based on faith. We know for a fact that cats are obligate carnivores who obtain moisture in their diet from raw meat. Cats don’t go to water holes to drink. We also know that the feline diet consists of over 50% animal protein and less than 5% carbs.

We also know for a fact that all medical professionals (except vets ) recommend fresh food over processed food for overall health. I prefer to feed my obligate carnivores fresh meat from the freezer/fridge rather than dry processed grains and vegetables.

Where do you get the idea that there is only one vet who advocates raw or canned food for cats? Many vets do, including my own.

Actually, most wet foods are low in carbs and most dry are high. Not all, but most. There are many charts on the internet that show this.