Is it bad to only feed your cat dry cat food?

Question

I only feed my cats dry cat-food. I hate the smell and look of canned food. Is this bad? They do have water to drink as often as they want.

I figured dry cat-food is good for keeping their teeth healthy.

Answer 1

If you are hoping dry food will help with tartar on their teeth, unfortunately that is a myth. Their teeth should be brushed with kitty tooth paste and checked in their yearly check up with their vet.
Dry food can be just as good as wet food, if you buy the best quality available. Price is not the best key for searching for that. Just like with your own family, look at the nutrition content and guaranteed analysis. Not all brands are equal. You want to look at the food label though to make sure it is healthy.
Cats are carnivores, not like dogs, they have to have a meal high in easy to digest protiens to be healthy,happy, and long living (cats and dogs are easily capable of living to 20+).
First you need to know what should never be in any cat foods. That means no :-

-Corn, Soy,Wheat, gluten(cerial grains are highly indigestable protiens, low in nutrition value, but help companys meet protien level guidlines; They also are associated with loose stool,extreme stress on kidneys, gas, kitty inactivity, obiecity, diabetes, and even allergies so bad some cats have to go on steroids)

- Meat By-products
- indigestable protiens such as chicken beaks,intestines, feathers, heads, feet, bones, hides, diseased and contaminated meat and hair...ugh would you put that in your mouth?!?!

- Animal Digest
- that is exactly what it sounds like...stuff that was going to be excreted by the dead animals

- Meat and bone meal
-sounds healthy, but leagaly includes diseased pets and animals that could have been uthanized or died of diseases etc.

- Deadly chemical preservatives such as:-
-BHA and BHT-known to cause kidney and liver disfunction, and are know carcinogins
-Ethoxyquin is a known RUBBER STABILISER!!!
These are being used to keep food from spoiling for 2+ years so companys can keep profits up, after being stored in un-regulated tempratures in warehouses and un-atended semi's for 18+months before your even get them on store shelves)

Artifical flavor and color
-Causes animals to get addicted to foods with low nutritional values(Like eating Mc. Donalds and etc. everyday), and colors just add extra toxins to there fragile system.

Healthypetnet.com sais that what you do want to look for is:-

- Premium All Natural Chicken, Liver, and Turkey Meals, Catfish Meal, and Eggs provide high quality easily digested animal protein sources to support strong muscles, healthy organs, and overall health.

- Chicken Fat, Catfish Meal, Eggs, Flaxseed Meal, and Fish Oil provides a natural balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids to promote healthy skin and shiny coat.

- Whole Brown Rice provides an excellent source of highly digestible carbohydrates for short-term energy and dietary fiber that is gentle on the stomach.

- Green Foods Phytonutrients satisfy your cat's natural craving for plants; such as, wheatgrass and alfalfa sprouts, which fulfill certain nutritional and digestive needs.

- Beet Fiber, Brewers Yeast, and Natural Bacteria Cultures help the digestive system work at peak efficiency, allowing your cat to get even more nutrition from our wholesome food.

- Enhanced with Natural DHA and ARA to support good vision, a strong heart and healthy central nervous system.

- Free from Artificial Colors, Flavors and Preservatives. Contains a blend of natural antioxidants helping to maintain a healthy immune system as well as keeping food stay fresh for longer.

It also says,"FIRST 5 INGREDIENTS - Ingredients in pet food products are listed on the product label in descending order of weight. This can be deceptive because some manufacturers practice "ingredient splitting” in order to give some ingredients more prominence than others. For example, chicken meal can appear as the first ingredient in a food even when there are actually more grains in the product, which can total a higher percentage of protein than the chicken meal. We believe the primary source of protein in all pet foods should come from meat or animal, not vegetable protein or grains. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients may have more vegetable protein than animal protein."

I hope this is informative to all pet owners of dogs and cats. I am not a sales person or anything, but i did my research for months before i chose my two shelter kittens. I am glad i did. I have had multiple cats for over 20 years, and this website has the most nutritionaly sound pet food. It is formulated by a top Vetrinarian, and has the most informative info about pet food out there.
As you can tell, I spoil my kitties to death, and only want the best for them. But i find this pet food is the most cost effective also, think of the decrease of the ammount of food needed since it is so much more nutritious; used throughout all life stages; gives animals the most balanced, quality diet; reduces vet bills later in life;and helps them much happier, longer lives...Oh and their excriment is firmer, and much more compact since the food is much more digestable(meaning alot less to scoop up, clumps faster, and ultimeatly saves you alot of kitty litter...I pearsonally use Feline Pine and only have to toss it out every 3 weeks+1 litter box+2 kittens(3mo,6mo)+4 litter scoops a week= A Very Happy Woman!!!). I know everyone loves their pets, so please, i beg of you, check out lifes Abundance pet food. I know i sound like an add or something...lol...but its just that I love animals beyond words and want the best for them. I hope this helps as many people as I possibly can.

Answer 2

Agree, research suggests that dry food leads to a higher risk of diabetes, thyroid issues, and urinary tract issues, among other things. That is because it has lots of carbs and hardly any moisture. A cat's natural diet, if you think about it, is very moist meat. A fresh kill would probably be around 70-80% moisture, more like canned food, and hardly any carbs. Some cats eating only dry food, won't drink enough water to make up for it and will be chronically a wee bit dehydrated. The carbs are a separate problem. Bladder crystals are more likely to form when a cat eats a fair amount of grains, which most dry foods are filled with. Plus a lot of carbs can contribute to irregular blood sugar, and eventually diabetes. If for some reason, a canned food only diet doesn't work for you, a little bit helps. Even a spoonful or two a day will be helpful.

Answer 3

I agree with Jezah. You can lead a cat to water and can you make him drink? Exclusively dry diets cause too many cats to be permanently dehydrated which can result in kidney damage later in life. And that myth about teeth cleaning is just that. Vets have finally come to that conclusion also. You can go to www.littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article, "Does Dry Food Clean the Teeth?".

Dry food is just as sticky and pasty when moistened by the cat's saliva as wet food is. And dry food can take as much as 22 hours to be fully digested in the cat's stomach which means that blood and energy is constantly drawn to the stomach and not available to nourish the cat's other body organs. Meat is digested within three to six hours.

Answer 4

No it's not bad if you buy the natural brands in the pet stores or farm and grain stores. Nutro, Maxi Cat, Natural Balance, Diamond are some. You don't want the ones with soy, wheat and corn or colors and none with meat by products as first ingredients. Purina is not a good brand.

If they are happy then great. My male cat has to have wet food. Dry just doesn't fill him up. My female only likes dry.

Answer 5

A cat's stomach acid adjusts to the type of food you feed it. If you only feed it dry food and then start giving it the canned stuff, it will get sick. The same is true if you only feed it canned and then switch it to dry. As long as you have it on the same diet all the time you will be fine.

Answer 6

If they will eat it. then feed them only dry. They do need water as dry cat food doesn't have the necessary moisture that wet food does.

Also be VERY carefull because if they develop dental problems as some breeds (or mixed breed with those breeds in them) are more prone to, then they may stop eating it as it hurts thier teeth to chew.

If they have had teeth removed, chances are they won't eat dry food. With multiple cats you better watch all of them to make sure they are eating. And when they get older and more finicky you might have to switch to wet food because if they can't smell it it might not be appetizing to them so they won't eat it.

Answer 7

When I was a kid I had a cat that ate only dry food. (Meow Mix) She lived to be 24, and she had great teeth. As long as they have access to water its fine. If they can't chew it, try adding a bit of water to the food. It makes it like wet food. My cat now eats IAMS, cause she is spoiled, and she got really sick when she was a kitten. I tend to look after her diet more carefully. She wont touch wet food anyway, I think she likes the crunch of the dry stuff. Its cheaper too.

Answer 8

Dry cat food is okay as long as you give your cat lots of water. You might want to give it wet food every once in a while as a treat to make your cat feel special :)

Answer 9

Dry cat food is made to be fully nutritionally balanced for your cat, so it is just fine to feed only dry. My cat is 14 years old, still totally healthy, and has been fed on dry food all of his life, wiht just occasional "treats" of moist food. Moist food is fine for your cat, too, and he may like it if you offer, but you don't have to. And yes, you are right that dry food is good for teeth.

Answer 10

I whole heartedly agree with the dry cat food thing. I had a cat for 21 years and made the mistake of feeding her canned. She liked it so much better she wouldn't eat dry and as a result, her oral health was horrible. We had to have teeth pulled and her gums were always inflamed.

Answer 11

Not so long ago i was in a pet store, and the guy said to me to only feed my new kitten dry food, and kept pointing to the range in the shop. To make a really long story short, i said to him that i feed my cat, mince and chicken necks or wings and tins. This guy went off at me, and told me it was like feeding my cat Macdonalds. I then said to him, could you imagine eating the same thing everyday for the rest of your life? How boring!!!! Cats are animals that in the wild will hunt , and when the catch that bird they will eat all of it, the bones the insides and whats in the guts.. everything. and that is how they get the nutrients from. This total idiot started yelling at me and i actually got kicked out of a pet shop.. probally because i am clearly more smarter then that idiot.


I would give them lots of things, if you give them bones it cleans thier teeth and helps the breath, and i cant think of anything more boring then eating the same thing every day!!!