I heard from one vet that cats should be fed mainly wet food. I have never heard that before. Is this true?

Question

We only fed our first cat dry food and once in a while some wet as a treat but were always told be careful or they'll get diarrhea. One cat vet told me otherwise that dry is high in carbs and cats don't digest them very well. It makes sense but one cat had a lot of diarrhea when I gave them only wet food. Now I'm back to dry but I don't want to be harming them if wet is better.

Answer 1

Cats are obligatory carnivores - their systems are designed to process a diet of meat only(unlike dogs and people!) Canned food contains more of what they need, i.e. meat and moisture. In addition, dry food is usually coated with something acidic to attract the cat to eat what he wouldn't naturally be attracted to, and this can lead to dental issues. Dry food consumption has also been linked to an increase in feline diabetes; some cats have had a remission in their diabetes from switching away from dry!
I have a healthy and happy 17 year old cat thriving on a canned food diet. He also likes the raw and semi-raw diets, which is the ideal food, but requires more effort on the part of the cat parent.
If you want to feed canned food, look for one that is not overly processed and doesn't have a lot of additives, that may help the tummy troubles. Good luck!

Answer 2

I have always given my cats dry food and use the wet only as a treat once in awhile. My fiances mom feeds her cats (all 4 or 5 of them) wet food galore, and you should see how FAT they are! There is one she has, named Chirp, that is so fat it is almost totally round and you can't see where it beings or ends on the sides, front, or back! I know that if she were to stop feeding them so much soft/wet food, they would lose weight. She uses the excuse that once she got fixed, she just ballooned out, and that the vet said there is nothing that can be done. I don't fully believe that. My cats are fixed and none of them ballooned out. One did gain a little weight, and would get even bigger with the wet food if I gave it to her all the time, but I don't do that. I don't want fat, unhealthy cats. None of my cats have ever had any problems on the dry food. I stick to one brand, tho different flavors from time to time, and they are fine with that. I have always learned that dry is best for them. Not only is it good for the plaque on their teeth, but it is also good for kittens so they have something hard for their growing teeth. If they have something soft all the time, then the teeth stay soft and they lose them sooner. All animals need something hard for their teeth (dogs, cats, or any others). My cats are all active, healthy, and only one is a little fat due to being fixed. But, I keep a close eye on that so she won't gain too much. Even our kitten, sho is only 6 months old and is still growing, and the other female are active and skinny.

I have never had a vet tell me to feed the cats wet food all the time and dry food as a treat. It has alwasys been the other way around. Yes, they would recommend Science diet food. They are the ones that basically selll it, so they make some money off of it. It may be a bit better than the other ones, in my personal opinion, but not everyone can afford the super high prices they charge for it. I can understand if your pet has digestion problems, such as gets pancreatitis easily. Then definitely put them on the special Science Diet food for that.

I had a cat live to about 20 years old, or older, on regular dry cat food. I don't think she ever got wet food. If you want to give the cats some human food, that is ok as long as it is certain food (from what I have read in cat books). From what I have read, cooked meat is best for them, and they can have hard cheeses (not soft or it can and probably will cause constipation), and some other foods. Look at some cat books and check with your vet as to what your cat can and can't have as far as human food.

Answer 3

We have always fed our cats a mix - dry food available all day and provided fresh in the morning and two meals of wet cat food. Our cats enjoy the taste, don't have tooth or breath problems and have glossy coats. Our vet advocated this diet because an all dried food diet can activate urinal tract problems - although many cats do very well on the all dried food diet. We wouldn't go all wet food, though, because it can spoil quite easily and cause intestinal problems.

Answer 4

My sister had two cats, a male and female, and she fed them mainly dry food. The male cat developed a urinary tract infection, and the vet told her it had something to do with his diet. He said the male cats especially seem to have a problem with the dry food only diet. She began feeding the cats wet food, and only let them have the dry food as a treat. Her male cat was fine after that. I don't understand why that was so, but that is what she told me.

Answer 5

That's not true - you have to watch with some vets because some push a particular line of cat food they are involved with marketing. Cats should be on dry good, with occasional wet food. Make sure they have lots of clean water all the time.

Answer 6

Go to www.littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article titled "Why Cats Need Canned Food" and "Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food" for reason why canned food or a raw meat diet is best for your cat.

If you feed poor quality canned food such as Friskies, Fancy Feast or Whiskas which are made with by-product meat, artificial flavorings and colorings your cat may well have diarrhea.

I use Natural Balance, Wellness and Lick Your Chops and a home-prepared raw meat diet with my cats and they never have diarrhea, hair balls or other vomiting. They don't eat dry food at all.

Answer 7

My cats cannot eat wet food, and after raising cats for over 30 years, none have been able to after about 6-8 months old. It caused diarrhea everytime we have tried. Dry food has always kept them happy and healthy. Diarrhea is not good for them so if it causes it, I would definately avoid it! I've never heard they should have only wet.

Answer 8

I found dry food much better myself. The cat's litter box stinks WAY more with the wet. Vets are going to have different opinions on this, personally, a Vet I went to gave me dry food...

Answer 9

I have two cats, and we always feed them dry food, however, once in a while we give our cats wet food as treats. We don't give one of the cats wet food because it gets diarrhea from that, only to one, and daily we give them those little 'cat treats'

Answer 10

my cat ate wet for a week and lost A LOT of weight...this was due to a build up of plaque on her teeth...i feed my cats mainly dry then wet every so often as a treat like you do...the dry helps keep plaque down and in turn keeps kidneys functioning properly