Do you feed your cat wet food or dry food? Or both? Do you "free food" them too? Which is better?

Answer 1

I have several cats, but since I have two ages 20 and 21, I must be doing something right. Here is my advice.

I feed Royal Canin dry food. I leave bowls out upstairs and downstairs so they can eat whenever they want. Beside each bowl of food, I keep a nice big crock of water that I change twice a day to keep it fresh.

In the morning I divide one can of Friskies three ways among the cats and I repeat that again at bedtime. The canned food is something they enjoy, but not a good idea to feed it exclusively because of dental problem. The dry food helps to keep their teeth clean.

One night a week, we have shrimp. A pound for me and hubby and a pound to treat the cats. They like crab legs a lot too. I suppose chicken is next on their list. Still, these are treats and not their regular diet.

My cats are all large....tall and meaty...the smallest weighs 15 lbs. and that is because she has a small frame. My vet thinks they are in great shape, and obviously in good health to live to be that old.

Whatever you decide to feed your cat, just make sure it is a high quality food with meat of some sort as the first ingredient on the list. They don't have the really good food for pets in the grocery store.

Answer 2

I don't use a lot of dry food anymore. As a matter of fact I buy a bag of food, keep half of it here and give the other half to a friend who feeds outdoor cats. I do have one cat who eats only dry food though. Several other cats have dry food for breakfast and a raw meat mixture I make for dinner. Two cats eat the raw meat for both breakfast and dinner and may have some snacks of dry food. And I use canned foods too. All are served as "meals" twice a day and there is no free feeding.

I don't know whether you are asking if canned is better than dry or if feeding meals is better than free feeding. If you free feed a cat all his bodies energies and blood flow goes to the constant digestion of food and this is not healthy. Blood that should be available to nourish the organs of the body and is constantly being channeled to the stomach.

I feel that a totally dry food diet is much too dehydrating for a cat and puts an undue strain on the kidneys which can bring on "kidney failure" around ten years of age. Cats simply do not drink enough water to process that amount of dry food. Dogs are marathon water drinkers and I do not think dry food is as bad for them as it is for cats.

Answer 3

I tend to use dry food in a plastic shoe storage box (less mess w/ 2 cats), and keep it out all the time for them so they eat when they are hungry and do not fight over the food bowl. Wet food I use as a very RARE treat (such as thanksgiving or Christmas) when there is a lot of food cooking going on in the house and I don't want them "snitching" from people's plates. Not to mention cats also need roughage to keep them regular, and too much soft can lead to runny stool, and bowel problems later in life for the cat. If you prefer to stay with timed feedings, can also just mix the two if you get a finicky cat who only wants the soft, or try putting water on the dry and let it soak for a little bit to make it softer.

Answer 4

I feed my cats "free feeding" with high quality dry food. I make sure that the cats eat all the dry food before I add new food in their bowls because I don't want the old food to stay on the bottom all the time. Sometimes I just add the new dry food on the top of old food and use a fork or spoon to mix it together.


and I fed my cats with wet food exactly at 4:00pm every day (one pouch or small tin each). I also add about 3 TBSP of fresh water in their wet food to ensure they get enough water.

I find it very fair to a healthy cat or many healthy cats. The only time you must resict their feeding is when they're diagnosed with illness like diabetics or other illness. If your cat or dog is fine, just leave the dry food for free feeding.

Answer 5

Last time I took my cat to the vet, I was told that vets had changed their minds. (that was last month) Previously, vets had said that wet food wasnt good for the beasts and their teeth. Now, they a mixture of wet and dry is the best. Just make sure you dont leave wet food out for over 20 mins because it can get bacteria and make kitty sick.

I free feed my cats (3 altogether), but I do it 4-5 times a day. I have a glutton that will gorge herself on the other's food. Because she is lead cat they let her. You can get a self feeder that will feed cats automatically a few times a day, set amounts.

Answer 6

Just dry food, out all of the time. I don't think it matters nutritionally, but it makes things easier if you ever want to go away for the weekend or whatever. You don't have to send someone in to feed the cat wet food twice a day; you can just leave out a huge pan of dry food and several bowls of water and not worry about the cat.

Answer 7

I feed my cat only high quality dry food like Iams. I used to free feed, but my vet said that my cat was a tad overweight, so i've recently started giving him about a cup of food at a time. I do not use wet food, but may start to do a little bit after reading everyone's answers! :)

Answer 8

Hi Sylvasta

you're gonna get tons of answers on this question.

I'm a pet loss grief counselor and I have seen so many pets die of diseases that could have been prevented and helped by better diets. Cats were meant to be feral, wild. We have the small toned down versions of the wild animals. Cats need meat in their diet. Whether it's dried in dry food or wet in cans/pouches they need meat and some vitamins are essential for todays house cats that can't get out to get what they would in the wild.

I've had several sick cats of my own. It's my belief that cats should eat both kinds. My cats at present, I have 4, they have free standing dry food to eat when they want. It's quality dry food, Iams, Hills Science Diet, One and I give them Friskies Chef's Blend, Whiska's and Temptations for dry treats. Dry food helps clean plaque and tartar off their teeth and keep them healthier. If you can actually brush you cats teeth without losing a finger lol, go for it. I add cat oral rinses to my cats water. They have free standing water. I feed them canned food too, Iams and Friskies only, once in a while real tuna for a wet treat, no people food other as that spoils them.

If your cat later in life develops bad teeth or hyperthyroidism, it will become very finicky and with either it's hard to chew and swallow. By the variety of dry and wet, you are helping your cat for later senior life problems. Some cats will only eat 1 food, if they don't make the food anymore, you have a real problem. You also have a problem if your cat eats only dry and suddenly has dental issues and has to be introduced to wet. By introducing wet along with dry, you cat will accept either more readily so it's not a problem later.

I had a beautiful cat die of hyperthyroidism, he ate 1 wet food all his life, they stopped making it, he would not accept anything else other than real meat which was not enough nourishment along with the condition to keep his weight healthy.

If you have a problem with your cat getting fat from free standing food, mix wet and dry together and feed, also feed both sep too so he is used to both but only when you feed him so you can control his weight.

Answer 9

I feed my cats both wet and dry food and we allow them to eat the dry food freely. We put out wet food only when they ask for it in the morning and evening.

Answer 10

Cats should be given dry food daily, along with clean water. Canned food only once in a while as a treat, or table food.