Dry Cat Food: The Verdict
Some dry foods have been proven to reduce plaque and tartar, but not all. If youre going to feed dry for this benefit, youd be better off picking one of the VOHC accepted products. Its easier to portion and leave down for cats that like to graze. However, it doesnt meet cats water intake requirements, which can cause urinary problems in some cats.
Wet Food Is A Natural Source Of Water A Critical Nutrient
Wet food is beneficial for cats because it provides moisture. Cats in the wild get most of their water from the prey they consume, with little or no need for drinking it on the side. In fact, cats have evolved with a very low thirst drive as compared with other species. When eating an all-dry diet, their water intake easily falls short of their actual needs, allowing them to become and more prone to and .
Here is some more information about wet cat food and water content:
Research On Whether Dry Food Improves Cats Dental Health Is Inconclusive
Dental health is a big reason why cats are fed dry food. Here is some information on dental health and cats’ diets.
- Some studies show a small dental benefit when hard food is included in cats diets; others do not.5 One reason hard food may have a limited impact on cats teeth and gums is that cats arent big chewers, so the hard food they eat has little opportunity to do abrasive cleaning.
- Some veterinarians express concern that the higher carbohydrate content and starchy coating of many hard foods could actually contribute to plaque formation.
- Specially formulated dental diets do seem to benefit cats dental health, perhaps because the larger sized kibble forces more chewing.
- For a listing of diets scientifically proven to improve cats’ oral health, visit the Veterinary Oral Health Council .
- By far, the best things you can do for cat’s teeth and gums are frequent brushings and regular veterinary dental exams and professional cleanings as prescribed. Learn more here: “.”
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Wet Food Versus Dry Food
When we discuss feline nutrition, it is important to remember that the type of food is not the only factor to consider. How much food you give to a cat is also a very important part of their dietary requirements. While many cats will self-regulate how much they eat, others will struggle with portion control. Overeating leads to various health problems include gastrointestinal issues, organ problems and obesity.
For Food Safety: Dry Cat Food
Dry cat food can be poured into a bowl and left all day. Since many cats are grazers, this works just fine and makes it easy for cat owners with erratic schedules to feed their pets. Just be careful not to mix water in your pets dry kibble: mixing water with dry food can allow for bacterial contamination.
Dry cat kibble can be stored in the bag it came in, but its best to keep it in an airtight container for optimal freshness. You can also freeze-dry cat food for longer shelf life, though some taste changes will occur.
Wet cat food should not be left out for longer than 4 hours. Cat and dog digestive systems are better able to handle bacteria than humans are, but they are not immune by any means. Clean bowls after every use and store unused portions covered in the refrigerator for no more than 7 days for best food safety.
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Dry Cat Food Consumption Issues
Cats, like people, have trouble eating when they get older. Chewing and swallowing dry food can become a problem, which is why many older cats switch to wet food options. If your cat is used to eating dry food and is a picky eater, then switching to wet food can be difficult. It is easier to turn the dry food into a wet feed that your pet already knows and enjoys.
Dry Cat Food Disadvantages
- Flavor: since many cats enjoy eating wet cat food much more than dry cat food, they can become picky. This may only happen when they first eat wet cat food and realize it is an option for them.
- Moisture: has much less moisture content, meaning the cat will need to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
- Carbohydrates: due to the fact that many commercial dry food products will pack their product with more carbohydrates. This means the cat may need to eat more to get their right nutrition.
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Wet Or Dry Cat Food Or Both
Working Out The Portion Sizes For A Combo Diet
It important to work out the right portions of both the wet food and the dry food you are serving daily to ensure that you are not overfeeding. The totally daily allowance depends on your cats weight. Wellness wet food offer guidelines on combining wet and dry food portions to ensure your cat is being fed the correct amount. Alternatively, you can consult with your veterinarian who is familiar with your cats diet and nutritional needs, or, contact;Wellness to seek advice from a knowledgeable staff member.
A cat on a combo diet will often eat the wet food first. If you are worried about leaving wet food down in case it brings ants or, begins to perish from standing, consider serving it first thing in the morning or, alternatively, at a time when you are home, can monitor the meal and pick up the dish the moment shes licked it clean. Then leave only the dry food out for intermittent nibbling.
Even with a combo diet, always make sure that there is plenty of fresh water available as its essential for your cats overall good health.
Wet Or Dry Cat Food: Which Is Better
QUESTION: Is wet cat food better than dry cat food?
ANSWER: If a cat is eating the appropriate nutrition for their health, by and large, theres no wrong cat food.
QUESTION: Do cats prefer food served at body or room temperature over colder food?
ANSWER: Yes, and for this reason, warm the wet or the dry food with a little water in the microwave before serving. If, on the other hand, your cat prefers their food cold, so be it.
QUESTION: Is wet or dry food for cats up to the specific preference of the cat?
ANSWER: A cats perference truly all comes down to a felines independent nature. In particular, some cats have a definitive choice for dry food. While others, for one thing, prefer their cat food moistened, rather others, on the whole, prefer it from a can.
QUESTION: To be sure, is dry cat food rougher on a cats mouth than wet food?
ANSWER: Unless a cat has sensitive gums or dental problems, dry cat food is soft enough to chew without issue. To put it differently, dry cat food actually offers teeth-cleaning benefits. In general, the consistency of dry cat food is still soft enough to chew.
QUESTION: If a dietary change is necessary for my cat, can I do so suddenly?
ANSWER: By all means, introduce new food over 3-5 days. In this case, its better to offer slightly less than the calculated food amount. With this in mind, the cat can obviously adjust. For this reason, your cat particularly wont encounter overindulgence issues.
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Commercial Raw Cat Food Vs Homemade Raw Food For Cats
Raw cat foods come in many different forms. Some pet parents prepare raw foods for their cats at home. Others choose commercially available raw cat food diets, which are usually sold as raw frozen or raw freeze-dried formulas.
Other options are also available, like premixes of vegetables, vitamins, and minerals that you add raw meat to, or there are ready-made, raw pet diets that can be purchased from local butchers. Which option is best?
Do Cats Prefer Wet Food
With wet foods cats tend to eat more in one sitting rather than going back and forth, and will drink less as there is higher water content in wet food than in dry food.. Serve the food at room temperature to ensure your cat can taste and smell it properly.
Warming up an opened can may take up to two hours from being taken out of the fridge, microwaving canned foods for a short time is always an option,;but ensure a consistent temperature throughout and be careful of hot spots.;In general, avoid serving food for your cat that is either too hot or too cold.
Don’t keep wet food opened for longer than 24 hours as it will go off and cause upset tummies.
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Wet Vs Dry Cat Food For Kittens
While your kittens are growing, They need a crucial nutritional needs. Should they eat dry cat food or wet cat food? Good quality Kitten food will have more protein. They will contain more healthy nutrition, calories compare to foods for adult cats. An opinion, a good quality dry kitten food daily along with a mix of a small portion of quality wet kitten foods.
The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution
The main reason cats benefit from wet food is hydration. Yes they came from the desert and their kidneys are really good at concentrating their urine during times of low water availability, but they no longer live in deserts and there is no need to put that type of stress on their kidneys.
Unfortunately, in Dr. J’s experience, a lot of cats are walking around dehydrated and are at greater risk for developing, or worsening, bladder inflammation, urethral obstruction, urinary obstruction, you name it.
Cats tend to drink as much water as they need in the moment, but this is one of those situations where, within reason, more can be better.
There’s a saying in veterinary surgery, “The solution to pollution is dilution.”
So if a cat has an inflamed bladder, or potentially has higher concentration of minerals that could gather up into stones and cause inflammation or an obstruction, the more water you have passing through their kidneys, bladder, and urinary system, the more often they’ll be flushing that out and decreasing those inflammatory mediators, decreasing those concentrations of minerals, decreasing the grit, and decreasing all of the things that can cause problems.
Just like us humans, water helps flush toxins out of our cats’ systems. Water is vital to all of our bodies, and wet food is an easy way to get it into your cat.
The ideal macronutrient composition for cats is about 50-60% protein, 30-40% fat, and less than 10% carbohydrates.
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Always Consult Your Veterinarian
Your cats diet and nutrition are an important aspect of his or her general health and are part of a complete annual wellness exam. For the best advice on feeding your feline, be sure to consult your veterinarian.
Resources:
- 1. Gaskell C. J. The role of fluid in the feline urological syndrome. In: Burger IH, Rivers JPW, eds. Nutrition of the Dog and Cat. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989; 353-356. “http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?mode2=detail&origin=ibids_references&therow=426490
- 2. Gaskell, C. J. Feline urological syndrome: a United Kingdom perspective. Feline Medicine: Proc. Seminar Eastern States Veterinary Conference, Orlando, pp. 27-32. Veterinary Learning Systems, NJ.
- 3. Nutrient Requirements of Cats, Revised Edition, 1986, Committee on Animal Nutrition, National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=910
- 4. Markwell PJ, Buffington CA, Chew DJ, Kendall MS, Harte JG, DiBartola SP. Clinical evaluation of commercially available urinary acidification diets in the management of idiopathic cystitis in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1999 Feb 1;214:361-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10023397
- 5. Logan, et al., Dental Disease, in: Hand et al., eds., Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, Fourth Edition. Topeka, KS: Mark Morris Institute, 2000, p. 487 http://www.amazon.com/Small-Animal-Clinical-Nutrition-Michael/dp/0945837054
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Spend More Time With Your Cat With Free Feeding
Free feeding means that your cat will get small frequent meals all day long. It means that your attitude-goddess/god will get exactly what it wanted but with your supervision.
You just need to know that you will have to keep track of the calorie input so your cat doesnt overfeed or become obese from that. It is excellent if you are free and would love to spend more time with your cat.
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What About Raw Foods
Raw foods have the risk of containing pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and even parasites. The moisture of raw foods allows germs to develop which could really harm your cat. Even though raw food comes frozen and its kept frozen, some bacteria can be in a standby mode and get reactivated once back in a warmer environment.
Cats in the wild have a strong digestive system adapted to digest birds and mice. The stronger immune system of wild cats can handle bacteria and any other microorganism present in birds or mice. On the other hand, domestic indoor cats have been adapted to a different survival condition so their immune system is weaker and not prepared to handle these bacteria that could really harm domestic cats.
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT RAW CAT FOOD
I know there are lots of advocates of raw food but I think its wise to play safe when it comes to choosing what to feed your cat. Why take the chance of feeding your cat raw food that might contain pathogens?
Lets face it, any food that is subject to changes in the temperature poses a risk of bacteria-poisoning.
It Helps With Oral Health And Weight Management
While dry food helps a cat keep her teeth clean, thanks to its crunchy structure that scraps plaque and tartar away, wet food promotes weight loss. Given that dry cat food is more nutrient-dense, mixing it with wet formulas can help you control the calorie intake to prevent obesity in your cat.
A high-moisture diet allows a feline to eat less but increases activity levels compared to those eating dry food only.
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It Promotes A Healthy Metabolism
Often, cats dont drink enough clean water, resulting in dehydration or urinary crystals and stones formation if eating dry food only. While dry cat food formulas contain only about 10% of water, wet ones help increase your felines water intake by 70-80% for better metabolism and urinary tract health.
Wet Food Vs Dry Food How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
When choosing what to feed your cat, one of the biggest decisions you will make is whether to feed them wet or dry cat food. Both of them have their benefits and no matter which you choose, overall the most important thing is that you feed your cat a complete and balanced diet. Use our Greencross Vet approved;Cat Food Finder Tool to discover the best wet and dry diet for your cat based on their age, size, lifestyle and more thats recommended by our network of Vets.
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How To Mix Wet And Dry Food
If you want to give your cat a mix of wet and dry food, the only challenge is figuring out how much of each to provide to keep them happy and healthy. For example, should it be 70% dry and 30% wet? Or wet in the morning and dry in the evening?;
To make sure your cat is getting the right amount of food, you first need to determine the daily recommended amount of dry food they should be eating. This number depends on the size, age and weight of your cat. There’s a handy measurementtable on the side of each bag of kibble. You can choose your own ratio of dry to wet food, but we generally recommend two thirds dry kibble to one third wet food. Wet and dry food have a different number of calories per gram, so you can’t just interchange them. The rule is, take the weight of dry food you’re not feeding your cat, and multiply it by 2.5 to get the right weight of wet food.
Want to check your sums? Feel free to contact us via the chatbutton on our website.;
How To Prepare Raw Cat Food Safely
If you feel strongly that a raw cat food diet is right for you and your cat, protect all the members of your family by closely following the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations guidelines for preventing infections associated with the handling of these products:
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Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw pet food, and after touching surfaces or objects that have come in contact with the raw food. Potential contaminated surfaces include countertops and the inside of refrigerators and microwaves. Potential contaminated objects include kitchen utensils, feeding bowls, and cutting boards.
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Thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces and objects that come in contact with raw pet food. First wash with hot, soapy water, and then follow with a disinfectant. A solution of 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 quart water is an effective disinfectant. For a larger supply of the disinfectant solution, add ¼ cup bleach to 1 gallon water. You can also run items through the dishwasher after each use to clean and disinfect them.
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Freeze raw meat and poultry products until you are ready to use them, and thaw them in your refrigerator or microwave, not on your countertop or in your sink.
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