Cat people: Wet, dry, or both?

[Writer]

Let me first introduce you to Gandalf the Grey. He's the Grey Pilgrim. Stormcrow. Mithrandir. Sarumon would say, "Gandalf the Fool."

He's quite a rambunctious creature - enough energy to go nuclear on your curtains. And he has. On mine. Twice.

He's about 10 lbs. of fluff right now, but when I pick him up, he feels like skin and bones. He eats maybe a 1/4 cup of dry food a day, if even that much. I'm concerned that may be too little and that he is rather underweight. When he was 1 year old, he took it upon himself to swallow a small plastic tube that we had to remove from his stomach by surgery. He's almost 3 now, and I hope the surgery didn't curb his appetite.

Do you feed your cats wet food, dry food, or both? Are there health reasons for feeding a cat either? How much does your cat eat each day?

[BarenakedLady]

1. Both

Mine are on special prescription diets for urinary issues. I feed them wet once a day, but they have access to the dry whenever they want it. Maybe that's why they are so fat!

[catmandu57]

2. Hi Gandalf

I remember him, yes it's best to have combination for a balance, that and plenty of fresh water. :hi:

[JackBeck]

3. Both.

Although one is substantially bigger than the other. Momma Lulu is 16lbs, while Suki can't be more than 10, that skinny, little trouble-maker.

[zanne]

4. That's a good question.

I have two cats who eat only wet food, but they're slim (I think they're skinny). I have one cat who eats only dry, yet outweighs the wet-food eaters by about 7 lbs. All my cats have trained me to feed them not only three times a day, but whenever the spirit moves them. I let them go outside when they want to, but they spend most of their time inside. I don't know what the caloric difference is between wet and dry. I have a feeling that, like humans, it has alot to do with metabolism. I hope we get some factual information.

[Guava Jelly]

5. Both

I give my cats (3) 1 can of wet food in the morning
And they eat dry science diet food the rest of the day

[carly denise pt deux]

26. Anna looks like exactly like my cat

Salem
Carly

[fizzgig]

6. is he an indoor or an outdoor kitty?

do you free-feed or is he on a schedule? ten pounds sounds pretty healthy for a cat (i've got many who are much lighter).

all my cats are indoor/outdoor (except the timid fat one) and i've always free-fed them. with the exception of my timid, fat girl all my cats are a healthy weight. same with the cats at my dad's house, except the girls get some wet mixed with dry in the morning and the boy gets a bit of wet for himself.

i'd say if he's not lethargic and his ribs aren't sticking out, he's probably okay.

eta: one of my roomies kitties ate a small bolt on a leather strap when he was younger and passed it naturally. he's on the skinny side but he's fine.

[Writer]

8. He's an indoor kitty.

Which I free feed about a 1/4 cup of food every morning. He eats maybe 1/2 of that (1/8 cup) every day.

He has an INCREDIBLE amount of energy. He's entertaining to watch. He enjoys chewing on watches and licking the condensation off the windows when it's cold outside.

[WhollyHeretic]

7. Both

They get wet food in the morning and they have dry food available all day.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Dry

Dry food is better for any pet's teeth, as the tartar build up is slowed a whole lot!

We feed three cats with one commuter cup of dry cat food each day. (Probably about 12 ounces.) Some days there is nothing left in the bowl, some days there is still stuff in the morning. (I feed them at about 5am each morning.) So, our take would be that they will stop eating when they're not hungry anymore.

We did notice a difference in our cats' teeth when we switched from a semi-soft to a hard nugget food though.
The Professor

[Patiod]

10. Heard friends yelling about this, so decided on "both"

One friend insisted that dry was the only way to go, because of teeth issues. The other insisted that dry food is crap, and that only wet food provides enough of what cats want and need.

So we opted to go with both -- a spoonful of wet once a day, and California Naturals (dry) on demand!

[mockmonkey]

11. Both

Mostly dry but every 3 or 4 days they get some wet food. They usually lick the gravy from it and then later on they will go back and eat the rest. Our 4 adult cats are all females and the 3 kittens, 2 males and 1 female get dry kitten food.

The two heaviest cats are about 11 pounds each and are older and eat more than the younger ones. Cinnamon used to throw up all the time after eating unless we gave her petromalt. It turned out she was just eating too much. She doesn't eat to excess anymore.

All the cats prefer to graze rather than have a set time for eating. That's probably not the best way to do it but they seem to have their own finicky times and ways to eat. Pie will only eat if the other cats are not around. I don't leave a ton of food there when it's gone it's gone.

Patches wants to eat everything (plastic) so we watch her more closely.

Kerry gets all excited when I open up a can of wet cat food but rarely eats it, she just sniffs it and goes away.

We also use two different brands of dry cat food for the adults. They have their own preferences.

[libnnc]

12. I've always thought dry was best

for the teeth. But now that I've read some of the responses, I might try to give my 5 month old a little wet food once she gets a little older. She eats Science Diet dry for kittens and loves it. I'm hesitant to change her diet too dramatically.

Her poops are so neat, I don't want to feed her something that's going to be too messy on the way out.

[grace0418]

25. That's what I was told for years. Then when feline diabetes started getting

really out of control in the last several years, vets started to rethink the dry food recommendation. Humans are omnivores, dogs are omnivores, but cats are carnivores. Dry food has more carbs then their systems can handle. It sure was great to find that out *after* my cat was diagnosed with diabetes. grr.

[Lyric]

13. Writer, I think our cats are long-lost brothers!

This is T.S. Eliot (affectionately known by the undignified name of Twiddlebug). He's being groomed by one of our other cats, Dorian Gray. :)

[skygazer]

54. Triplets

This is Oops - when I opened this thread and saw the photo, it was like I was looking at Oops (except for the fact that Oops weighs 16 pounds and does NOT feel like skin and bones).

[MissMillie]

14. Mostly dry

once a week, my 3 cats share one can of Fancy Feast. Other than that, it's all dry food for them.

[SPKrazy]

15. I Like To Get Them Extra Fat!

so I can eat them and they have more meat!



start em' young eating pu..., I mean cat

[Writer]

29. Ohhhhh myyyyyy

:rofl:

[SPKrazy]

37. ...

Hi writer

I plan to get back with you, haven't had time...


:hug:

[applegrove]

16. I think the big huge dry balls of catfood are the best for their teeth. Wet

Food helps them loose weight as it is mostly water. I've gotten some of the said dry food from my vet's office..the only place it is sold. And all my cats really like it. $20 a bag..and it lasts at least a month.

[Rosemary2205]

17. IMHO your cat isn't eating enough.

Unless your dry food is extremely high quality 1/4 cup of dry is not enough for a 10# cat that used to be heavier. Even then it seems like not enough to me.

With your young cat I wonder if perhaps a bit of scar tissue from the previous surgery is causing a problem. Or perhaps an ulcer along the incision on the stomach? IMHO your best bet is to take him to the vet and have him looked over and go from there.

For a young healthy cat with good teeth, the general thinking is that dry food is better because it encourages the cat to eat what it needs rather than overeat. The dry food also is better on a cat's teeth. Wet foods are used to stimulate appetite in older or special needs cats. Human food is generally not recommended for cats. While the protein might be acceptable, cats need a higher fat diet with special nutrients (like taurine) that are harder to come by in people food. A steady diet of people food will shorten a cat's quality and quantity of life.



I have an older cat that has wanted to cut back on eating. This is the 3rd time I've been through this with a cat, and here is what has worked.

#1 - go to the vet. My current cat had cut back on eating becuase she had developed a heart condition and obviously she just felt too poopy overall to give a crap anymore. The right heart meds along with a change in food solved the problem and she stopped losing weight. (she has not gained any) -- a previous male cat had developed a kidney problem and was not eating well. A change in feeding helped.

IMHO if your cat has a health problem the proper solution will come from your vet. For instance with our old male with the kidney ailment we started with the wet food, adding a little salt to it to stimulate drinking (to help keep kidneys flushed) and also giving him 1/4 cup tomato juice every day (our's liked the V8 kind better though). The acidic quality helped his kidneys. He got wet and dry food in separate bowls and was able to pick and choose at his whim. Over time he did gain just a little weight but mostly stayed stable.

Our current female with the heart problem is quite old. She got down to 6 pounds before we managed to get her to maintain her weight. We basically give her anything and everything she wants at this point. She gets some wet, some dry, some milk and specially filtered COLD brita water. When she stops eating one thing we bring home something new to excite her over her food again. If she begs for people food I give her some. She's a very old cat. The cat version of McD's isn't going to make any difference now.

For me, trying everything and anything food wise is what has helped.

Edit to add - stay away from "Greenies" brand ANYTHING. Dogs and cats are dying when the fiber in the food item swells up in their digestive tracts. Other "indoor" foods can be OK for indoor cats (cats need some fiber to flush out the hair balls). Outdoor cats will eat grass while outside so you don't need to worry about that unless hairballs become a big problem.

[LynneSin]

18. Evita won't touch dry food unless I mix some wet in it

And Abbott wants whatever Evita has. Their bowls almost need to be identical in size and content of food or they'll fight for the one with more food.

So they get about 1/2 cup of dry food and half a can each of wet food mixed into it. Usually I leave a little extra dry food in a special dish made that helps keeps bugs out of it

[radfringe]

19. in general

our 5 cats get both

they range in age from 1.5 yrs to 21 years old.

the 3 youngest are tubbies and are on diets, the 2 older ones are on thyroid meds and get to eat as much as they want.

we use to leave a bowl of dry food out for them to "free feed", and they would get 1/4 small can of wet food twice a day.

however, because of the tubby-three, we no longer leave the dry food out. they do get a small bit of dry mixed in with their wet foor twice a day.

the two older cats get 1/3 can each, twice a day with dry food, and any other goodies they can sneak off of my dinner plate. at 21 and 18 years old, we indulge them

[DixieBlue]

20. Dry and more than a 1/4 a cup ...

They get fed about 1/2 to 3/4 cup morning and night.

They get wet only for special occasions. They like to puke up the wet stuff; I think because they inhale it.

[deucemagnet]

21. Both, especialy since Gandalf is a male.

Cats' voluntary water intake is not enough to compensate for the dryness of dry cat food, and that can lead to painful and dangerous urine crystals, especially in males. Some canned food in Gandalf's diet would be a good thing, and I'm sure he'll appreciate the variety. :)

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

[Arkansas Granny]

22. I feed both. I keep her dish full of dry cat food at all times and give

her a small can of wet from time to time just because she loves it. I don't know how much dry food she eats each day. She is a spayed female who only weighs about 7 lbs. despite being a little chubby, but not obviously overweight. She's an indoor/outdoor cat who gets plenty of fresh air and exercise.

[carly denise pt deux]

23. I have 2 cats

They eat one of those small fancy feast cans a couple of times a week, they get 1/2 of the can each...they eat purina hairball formula dry food the rest of the time, and they get some kind of cat treats made with grass/greens I bought from Petco every day.

[grace0418]

24. Vets are discovering that dry food contributes to feline diabetes. Cats are

carnivores, and all the carbs that go into dry food is more than they need. They also used to think that dry food helped keep their teeth cleaner, but again the carbs convert to sugar and actually do more damage to their teeth over the long run.

Both my cats became diabetic. One died a few years back (from a number of different health issues). The other has now reverted back to normal (YAY!) and is on a low-carb wet food that keeps his blood sugar much more regulated. You don't even have to use prescription food. I just found him a canned food that is very low in carbs/fiber with no filler ingredients (no corn, rice, etc.). I had to try a few before I found one he liked, but now he and the vet are very happy. And I'm thrilled because he's healthy again AND I no longer have to administer insulin! YAY!

[sammythecat]

27. Both. I keep a good quality dry food available

at all times. Cats are snackers and like to eat several times a day if it's available. I've yet to have a fat cat, although the fact they have access to the outdoors no doubt helps a lot with that. Cats, unlike some dogs, are pretty good at self regulating their intake. I let them eat whenever they want.

I also try to keep wet food available and that is kind of self-limiting in that after an hour or so, if any is left, they usually won't eat it. I don't blame them. It can get kinda funky after a bit.

My dog gets fed once a day plus a snack here and there. Plus she also satisfies herself with an occasional raid on the cat's dishes after I'm in bed. I can always tell when this happens because the cat's dishes will be absolutely immaculate.

[SoyCat]

28. Dry and additional raw items like chunks of fish and de-veined shrimp--

edit: I forgot to add that he also consumes large amounts of fresh catnip and nibbles wheat grass.

[Blue-Jay]

30. Wet cats smell funny, and they're usually pissed off.

Wait....What are we talking about?

[hatredisnotavalue]

31. Dry Little Friskies

I couldn't kill a cat if I ran over one. Our last three cats died at the age of 16, 15 and 18. Before that, both cats died when they were 15. All were fed Little Friskies with a can of wet cat food at Christmas. We've got two cats now, one ten and the other five, and I feed them the same thing. Never, ever had a health problem with any of my cats. Beautiful coats, shiny eyes and good teeth.

Of course all occasionally indulged in what my husband called the perfect Happy Meal- meat and grains and vegetables-- the poor field mouse or bird.

I can't remember how many cats I have had in my life, probably dozens, and all of them died of old age. And all were fed dry cat food.

Here's Mr. Bubbles who will attack a bowl of salsa if one is left out. I do occasionally sneak him some of Newman's Own because the vet thinks he might have a bit of lynx in him and needs some vegetables in his diet.

[Left Is Write]

32. My cat eats dry food, way more than 1/4 cup per day, and he's big.

He's a big boy.

[ashling]

33. I'd prefer dry!

[Minnesota_Lib]

34. Meet my buddy Guido del Gato. I feed him both and he is very healthy and happy.

[Elidor]

35. Very wet. A nice alfredo sauce really brings out that kitty flavor

:hide:

[mike_c]

36. both for mine....

I feed dry food more or less ad libidum, and give 'em some wet food every morning, mostly as a treat and to keep things interesting. Makes them all check in at least once every 24 hours, LOL.

[WhollyHeretic]

40. If I wake up late there will be two cats sitting in the hallway staring at my door

waiting for their canned food

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

55. Just sitting there?

And not howling like banshees on meth?

[SOteric]

38. I feed StirFry a mixture of both wet and dry each day.

The majority of his food his dry and very crunchy. This adds the benefit of keeping his teeth clean and relatively tartar free. Dental health is an important aspect of caring for a cat. Gum disease and tooth problems cause a cat to eat their food in big gulps rather than small, managable and well-chewed bites. Most of a cat's diet is protein and large chunks of protein are harder to digest and place an unreasonable burden on a feline's already fragile kidneys.

I tend to fill his bowl with dry, crunchy food once a day and he nibbles from it as he feels the need. I also give him small amounts of wet food twice a day. I use a brand formulated with greens and activated charcoal to help aide in his digestion. Poor little dude tends to suffer from hairballs and he needs the greens especially to ease his tummy. I also use two supplement products; The Missing Link for Cats, and a hairball treatment paste.

I will point out that my cat is huge. Not overweight, he's quite lithe under all that fluffy fur. He's tall and he's long and he weighs about 18 pounds, so he eats a fair amount of food. Another cat I had, now deceased, used to get wet food every other day or so. He was smaller and far less active, so needed far less fuel.

[El Fuego]

39. Wet, with dry for in-between-meal snacking.

[Der Blaue Engel]

41. He looks just like my Puncinello

although Punchie is probably gone now. :( He went to live with former roommates when my son was born in '91, so he'd be 20 now if he's still around. But the resemblance is uncanny. :)

My two little brats used to eat only dry, but the male was having urinary tract problems, and the vet suggested he get some wet food since he probably wasn't getting enough fluids. Now they each get about 1/4 cup of dry in the morning and one pouch of wet in the evening (the Iams stuff with "gravy").

Neo also swallowed something that irritated his throat recently, and started losing weight because eating was uncomfortable. The vet gave him something like mylanta to coat his esophagus for about a week, and he went back to eating normally.

My problem is trying to balance the nutritional needs and eating habits of both cats, because Neo is very active (actually runs pell-mell like a frickin' maniac up one end of the house and down the other after he eats) and is underweight despite being a large-framed cat, while Urd is very sedentary, older, and eats like food is going out of style as a defense mechanism against the younger one, who frequently attacks her, and she has gotten astoundingly fat on a very petite frame. She seems to be continuing to gain weight, even though her wet food is diet and I try to watch them to make sure she's not eating his food. When I'm not looking, they both try to eat the other's food. Little cretins.

[astral]

42. Both.

I fill his dry food bowl daily, but it's not so big it'll get stale, he finishes it daily too. Brewers yeast sprinkled on top. In the morning he gets about a heaping tsp. canned food in a separate bowl, and again at night. Used to be only in the mornings til I read that cats are carnivores and don't live well on 'cereal.' So now on my days off if he bugs me for some canned food at lunch too he'll get some, but he gets smaller helpings if I know I'm available to feed him again later.

On his morning food I use an eye-dropper bottle to give him some 'vitamins' on his wet food: very diluted with springwater, some o.g. vinegar, oregano juice, liquid minerals, and green powder aka 'enerfood.' He seems to like the taste just fine.

For snackies or an alternative to extra canned food if I don't think he needs it, he gets kitty crunchies, only about six at a time of Friskies Shrimp, and sometimes the hairball treats too.

For canned food, I used to buy whatever brand but lean towards the more expensive health-food store brands, or Iams, or one canned red tuna named 'Figaro's' which he seems to be just crazy about.

He used to puke up Whiskas, always. Then he'd either puke up Friskies or he would sometimes refuse to eat it?! so I decided that brand isn't what it used to be either. He's an older cat, around 14, and weighs 13 lbs because the vet just weighed him a couple weeks ago : ) Runs up and down the house like a kitten sometimes, and also goes in and out of the house as he chooses.

It's tricky, getting the right balance of giving enough of the right kind of food, but not over-feeding them, I see so many really, really FAT cats.

He gets springwater too, and it gets changed every other day so it's nice and clean, and ALWAYS there.

[astral]

43. Oops, I meant to 'edit' not 'reply'

I forgot to mention my cat also, very rarely, gets some real shrimp, chopped up and raw and then later or the next day chopped up and cooked. VERY rarely, a little chopped up raw salmon, and once in a while some canned tuna instead of catfood, although he won't eat it unless it's albacore, I swear to God!

Also, he loves canned asparagus and doesn't mind a little canned green beans once in awhile, so when I have these things he gets some too, but not instead of his regular food, just in addition to it.

And of course, some dried catnip now and then.

[deadparrot]

44. Mostly dry,

but she gets wet every once in a while as a treat. :)

[haf216]

45. My eat dry only.

I do give them wet food as a treat about every 4 or 5 months or so. I have had vets tell me that wet food rots cats teeth and that is too high in fat to feed my babes everyday. But I'm sure if I ask an other vet they would say something different.

[anti-everything]

46. I feed my guy and girl

Nutra dry food. It's a little more expensive, but it's all meat and it's supposed to be goog for them...And they love it.

[MANative]

49. My two also love Nutro...

They each get a generous 1/4 cup each morning,which they munch on throughout the day, and about 2 TBS of wet in the evening while we eat dinner. Cuts down on the begging! Both are very healthy - male about 13 lbs and female about 11 lbs.

[badgerpup]

47. Both dry and canned here...

My owners guys have access to Diamond Maintenance all the time...but I'm thinking of switching to the Adult formula for a while. MacFeegle is a kitten, but won't eat the straight Kitten Formula, so I have to mix it with the big cats' food.
I asked the vet, and he said the Adult formula should be OK if the other two are fairly active.

Diamond is a good brand...up there with IAMS and Science Diet in the quality dept. but a HELLUVA lot easier on the wallet...I pay $19.95 for a 40lb bag.

I split a can of various flavors of Friskies between the boys (Riktor and MacFeegle) daily, but I started doing that mostly so I'd have something in which to put a 1000 mg cap of fish oil and kitty vitamins. Both of those were recommended by my vet, who uses a lot of naturopathic remedies.

MacFeegle is about 4 1/2 months old, so he's GROWING and very active, as well as having a lot of Siamese in his ancestry...I think they tend to be lean cats. He is surprisingly heavy when I pick him up, more than his appearance suggests, so there's a good bit of muscle on that kid.

Riktor is four, but he's outside a good deal and fairly active, quite the Mighty Hunter...and the fish oil and vitamins have given him the most beautiful coat- plush, soft, velvety and shiny.

[Jamastiene]

48. Dry food is better for the longevity of their teeth.

Supposedly, it keep tartar from building up near the gum lines so easily. Otherwise, I can't think of any health benefits either way... unless there is something I don't know. My cats eat mostly dry food and I'll admit whatever table scraps (or right off our plates when we aren't looking) they want. It's occasional. It's not like they live off the table scraps though. It's more of an occasional thing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

50. It depends

on what my employers cats feel like on any given day. Lately they have decided that the only dry food they will eat is Fancy Feast Gold. This could change tomorrow. So for now, until their whims change, they get some of that along with helpings of whatever canned food suits them. Plus anything they can steal off my plate.

[terrya]

51. Both

My cat, Chess, gets both Fancy Feast canned food and Meow Mix dry food. She gets dry food whenever she wants, but a can of Fancy Feast every other day.

[Deja Q]

52. That is the cutest kitty you've shown us!!

I love cats... I'll even spare the crude, predictable joke...

My mum and dad feed their cats dry food. Diet food. Mostly because their cats are a tad overweight, but it doesn't stop them from eating... :(

[begin_within]

53. He might have worms - take him to a vet ASAP