Wet Food Vs. Dry Food For Cats: Which Is Better?
While canines are omnivores with the innate capacity of digesting or breaking down both animal protein and vegetables, felines are obligate carnivores, meaning that their diets mostly entails muscle-based meats. The digestive system of all carnivorous cats is short; this is because they don’t need to digest the hard cellulose walls present in plants. You are only inviting digestive problems when you introduce cellulose into a cat’s diet. Now, wet feline food, having its major ingredient as fish or meat, offers a meal, which is seen to be better suited to the dietary needs of a cat. However, this is not to say that wet cat food will always be a better choice compared to dry food. Let us just say that your cat will benefit more from the best dry cat food relative to the worst canned food.
Once your kitty consumes premium cat food, it will thrive irrespective of the nature of the food, whether wet or dry. But of course, all cat foods come with their own pros and cons. This then leads to the topic of ‘wet food vs dry food – which is better?’ Continue reading to get all that you need to know to be able to make an informed choice of which one is best for your kitty.
Wet Food for Cats: the Pros
Theoretically, we believe that cats may obtain sufficient protein through plant material, but in order to live a healthy life; they will also require some amino acid taurine. The major place where taurine can be found is in the meat from the muscle of animals. Wet cat foods come packed with taurine and are often realized in cans, or sometimes, we get them in pre-measured bits that the felines love.
Certain medical conditions in cats may call for wet food – in explanation; canned food comes equipped with high moisture content offering kitties with kidney or urinary conditions more water. According to findings, this aids in easier flushing of the cat’s urinary crystals, and as a result, lessens the risk of some crystal formation and also helps in fighting dehydration in kidney conditions. So, feeding your feline with wet food may be a great way of keeping it hydrated, especially if it suffers other health issues.
Check out our guides on Cat Food for Sensitive Stomachs and High Fiber Cat Food.
Wet Food for Cats: the Cons
Even with all its pros, wet cat food also has disadvantages. Wet foods are generally expensive, thus, buying dry food would be more pocket-friendly for cat adopters on a shoestring budget. For the canned foods that are opened, you will need well-fitted lids or caps to store them in the refrigerator – this keeps them looking fresh and stops the odor from seeping into all parts of the fridge. Besides, refrigerating is compulsory to keep the wet food from going bad. This then brings us to the felines that are averse to eating cold foods; thus, you might have to warm the cold canned food for three to five minutes using a microwave before presenting it to your feline.
Another con is that wet food can also be easily wasted – You have probably noticed that whenever your furry friend is not very hungry, some wet food scraps may be abandoned in its bowl – this only leads to waste as you will have to dispose of it after it has been exposed for over four hours. Moreover, pet parents whose cats are the light-colored or long-haired type may be averse to giving them wet food, as it can easily stick to their noses and whiskers. But then, felines are known to be meticulous groomers, and would naturally clean its face up, and with time, the kitty may learn to be less messy with wet food. If your cat is the lazy type that does not engage in regular grooming, you can get its face cleaned with the aid of cat-safe wet wipes, or better still, serve the cat’s food on a flat plate.
Dry Food for Cats: the Pros
The major advantage of dry cat food is convenience; the food comes in some conveniently sized bags and can stay fresh up the date on the bag, provided you clip or reseal it after use. It is also cheaper than wet food, and since you can keep it longer, it is more budget-friendly.
Most felines are perfectly happy with some dry kibble left out for them as free-choice feeding – this entails leaving out a bowl of food for your kitty to eat all through the day. There are still cats that tend to gorge on food and must be feed controlled portions and feeding for gluttonous and overweight cats can be controlled with a standard measuring cup.
You may also like our article on Automatic Cat Feeders.
Dry Food for Cats: the Cons
If your kitty has a health condition, dry food may not be the right choice of food, partly because it is devoid of that water content of canned food that makes for easy digestion. In this kind of situation, you need to consult your vet, who is in a better position to recommend the food that will be more beneficial to your pet cat. Also, remember that older cats may find ingesting dry food more difficult than wet food – this will be more evident if dental, and gum issues have set in. For the older felines, the soft consistency of canned food may be better for them than those crunchy kibbles they enjoyed years ago.
Mixing Wet and Dry Cat Food
The issue of how much wet and dry food to feed a cat can be solved through mixing or blending both dry and wet foods schedules – this can offer your kitty the best of both worlds. If you are going by the blended feeding routine, your cat can get the dry kibble for the mornings, and a wet one for the evenings. By so doing, the cat is at liberty to spend the whole day grazing on the dry kibble if it likes.
Do cats need wet food every day? This is one question that cat adopters keep asking. However, there’s no harm in mixing both wet food and dry food in the same bowl – this aids your kitty in getting extra moisture with the meal. But remember to maintain the standard portion control, ensuring that your feline friend is getting the ideal amount of nutrients for a healthy weight. No matter the choice you decide to make with your cat’s food, the debate on dry vs. wet cat food is never one that can be easily answered. Every cat comes with its own uniqueness; thus, their preferences and tastes must differ.
To help you choose the right cat food, check out our reviews of the best senior cat food, organic cat food, cat food for indoor cats, hypoallergenic cat food and cat food for constipation.
