Wet v. Dry Cat Food Poll

[tasha99]

My cats eat both. I think dry is better for their teeth and wet is better for their water consumption (just my own thoughts--not sure if it's actually true). If I only had one cat, I do have one who would probably be best with only wet since it's hard to get her to drink, but oh well. She does prefer wet, so she gets that too.

I don't think 24 pounds is ridiculous for a male Maine Coon cat. The Maine Coon I had as a kid was 18 pounds or so--and he was by no means the biggest one in the world; just sort of average.

People who say their Maine Coon is much smaller so the OP's must be obese are being silly--as if their cat is the target for all cats of that breed, and there's no such thing as a larger cat. Males can weigh 10 pounds more than females, and there are cats (like there are people) who are just bigger. To "diagnose" without even seeing the cat, and to question a professional vet who has 1. gone to vet school and perhaps more importantly 2. actually seen the cat is sooooo Disboards.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I've always been told that it is horrible for their teeth and had loads of fat in it. Anyway... every cat is different.

Actually the healthiness of cat food depends upon the brand and the particular product of that brand. There are actually websites that will tell you the %'s and calories of wet food as per the Catkins plan. Also, the idea that wet is bad for cat teeth is an old one, it was based more on "common sense thinking" than established fact. The science that is coming out says that the tooth problems are small compared to the numbers of cats that get feline diabetes.

Google Deborah Greco - it really is sensible science and it does work!

As for cats who won't eat dry, we've discovered that dry food really is cat candy. . .it's mostly carbs and cats really love it, but it might not be the best thing for them. Our own Norweigan Forest mix and our 19 year old kitty get it at will, because we just want them to have weight, but the others get canned with dry for treats. (It is funny how easy it is to bribe our cats with a couple of pieces of kibble these days!)

 

[pixiewings71]

Both, they always have dry food available but we also give them wet food during the day. One of our cats has a problem with blood in her urine because she doesn't drink enough water so the wet food helps with this problem. So they get both.

 

[hedgehog2owl]

I voted dry but in reality, they eat both. Mostly dry but I will pick up cans when I feel like it or when they are on sale (I think brand does matter; Friskies and Whiskas are crap; I am not feeding my cats soy)

Our vet never told us what to feed and we never asked. Our cats are a healthy weight; def not skin and bones but not over weight.

They will run to the bowl when I pour the dry but they absolutely FLIP when they hear a can open.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I didn't vote because my cats get both - canned food in the morning and evening, and crunchies left out for whenever they want to nibble. Both are recommended by our vet - the wet for general health, and the dry for dental health.

 

[surfergirl602]

This was from a while ago, but here's my Maine Coon.

 

[C.Ann]

This was from a while ago, but here's my Maine Coon.

Beautiful!!! A friend of mine used to have a Maine Coon, but it was dark colors.. This is the first one I've seen with the lighter colors.. So pretty!

 

[surfergirl602]

Beautiful!!! A friend of mine used to have a Maine Coon, but it was dark colors.. This is the first one I've seen with the lighter colors.. So pretty!

Thanks - he's a handful. Well, a couple hands full. He's obsessed with the shower, likes to ride on shoulders, which is hard because he's well, big, he attacks anything shiny, and loves to torture my husband's feet. His name is Boo. We rescued him on Halloween. We also have a shorthaired black cat that was born on Halloween, and his name is Binx.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks - he's a handful. Well, a couple hands full. He's obsessed with the shower, likes to ride on shoulders, which is hard because he's well, big, he attacks anything shiny, and loves to torture my husband's feet. His name is Boo. We rescued him on Halloween. We also have a shorthaired black cat that was born on Halloween, and his name is Binx.

Did you just add that second photo?

That cat needs a full size bed of his own!!!!!!!

 

[DMRick]

Funny you should say that We have two hard to adopt cats (both FIV +) that love to come to adoption clinics. We think it's because their foster mom feeds them high quality food, and at the clinic we feed them less expensive food..the equivalent we always say to twinkies. They eat a couple of bowls while at the clinic, and I think they love us for it! It's sort of our bribe for them to show well at clinics.

As for cats who won't eat dry, we've discovered that dry food really is cat candy. . .it's mostly carbs and cats really love it, but it might not be the best thing for them. Our own Norweigan Forest mix and our 19 year old kitty get it at will, because we just want them to have weight, but the others get canned with dry for treats. (It is funny how easy it is to bribe our cats with a couple of pieces of kibble these days!)

 

[surfergirl602]

Did you just add that second photo?

That cat needs a full size bed of his own!!!!!!!

Yes, I thought it went through the first time, but it didn't! Did I mention that he's also the remote hogger?

 

[disney1990]

Wow, the vet I use is highly recommended and affiliated with the local veterinary hospital. I have always had dogs and used a different local vet but he has since closed his practice. I made an appointment with her for two specific reasons : 1) to make sure I wasn't overfeeding Indi because I am a cat newbie and 2) I was concerned about a tick issue and wanted to make sure they weren't deer ticks. At the same time she did all his one year shots.

I'm not sure you are qualified to diagnosis my cat, given that you have never seen him nor do you have any information regarding his "parentage". My sister thinks he is half-racoon FWIW, I think I'll stick with my vet's opinion and my own common sense.

Regardless, you have a big cat and large cats are in danger of developing diabetes, just like people are. I would seriously try to bring his weight down some.

 

[tasha99]

Regardless, you have a big cat and large cats are in danger of developing diabetes, just like people are. I would seriously try to bring his weight down some.

So big people who have a normal BMI are more prone to diabetes than smaller people with the same BMI? Is this true? I hadn't heard that before, but wouldn't that mean tall people would have more diabetes than short people?

 

[Planogirl]

I think that people should talk to their vets and definitely not take the advice of people on the Internet. Every case is different and some of this advice might just worry some people needlessly.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow that it a big cat! How old is it?

My cat is the same colour and problaby will big like that too because we fed him table food, wet and dry. We not touch fish of any kind though.

He was about 5 1/2 years old in this picture (now he's 7). The irony is that we found him when he was a few days old, abandoned by his mother, and weighing 5 ounces, weighed on a bird scale at the vet's. At that time he ate neither canned not dry cat food-just formula from a special kitten bottle.

 

[si-am]

Dry food really isn't altogether healthy for cats. It's easier and more convenient, but not what they'd eat in the wild.

We feed our cats an all-canned diet because our male cat 1) had a urinary tract blockage a few years ago that could have killed him, AND it was super expensive to fix! A canned diet provides more water and doesn't form crystals like dry does. 2) He also has diabetes and dry is just too high carb for him.

ETA: He is also a big cat: 18 pounds. He isn't overweight, he's just a big, muscular cat. Our other cat (a female) is on the same diet and is a healthy 9 pounds).

 

[pppiglet]

Wet food that is low in carbs is much better for your cat than dry. Most dry food contains grain and your cat is a carnivore with no use for grain. Most cats don't have much of a thirst drive either so need the water in wet food. I didn't know all of this until my cat became diabetic from being overweight and he'd been fed dry all of his life until then. He still gets some dry but I feed him mostly Friskies canned. I give him a little bit of dry but try to find one without grain listed as the first ingredient. Believe me, you don't want to end up with insulin injections twice a day and blood testing like I've been doing for 5 years now.

You are absolutely correct. Cats need to get water from canned food. Dry food is awful and addictive for them. Diabetes and kidney problems happen more often on dry. As an example.....I have 10 cats. I feed canned. They share one bowl of water and it would last 2-3 days if I didn't give fresh everyday. I had two fosters that only ate dry. The two went through one bowl every day. Licked it dry!

Before my 10, I had two others that ate dry only and both ended up dying from diabetes.

If I could afford it, I would do raw. When we only had three they got rabbit twice a day, but it got too expensive.

 

[pppiglet]

Our last vet recommended wet food, and my husband had a lengthy discussion about how wet food is much healthier and closer to a cat's natural diet. He actually gave my husband many online references and studies related to this...I think it was something he knew a lot about. Before that, we fed our cats dry food, upon doing our own research (and talking with the vet), we switched to wet food.

Studies show that wet food = healthier cats! I couldn't live with myself if I knew that feeding my cat dry food (when I knew better) led to my cat being sick or dying. We have good friends who had one very overweight cat...the cat had some sort of UTI related blockage, they paid about $400? for the cat to have surgery. They told us what was going on, and we recommended wet food...they didn't switch and a few months later, the problem happened again, they decided that they couldn't afford the surgery, and put the cat to sleep. Made me SO angry!

We had some friends that fed theirs dry. We always spoke to them about wet. She called me a few weeks ago about one that was peeing and not using the litter box. I told her to get her tested because 99% of the time it's from a UTI from dry food. She wouldn't do it. She ended up giving her cat to the shelter. Then she called me crying and texing all the next week about how hard it was to get over the cat. I had no sympathy for her.

 

[pppiglet]

I think that people should talk to their vets and definitely not take the advice of people on the Internet. Every case is different and some of this advice might just worry some people needlessly.

Some vets are clueless though and have never studied what is put in food manufactured for cats. You really need to do your own research on the internet. Search on Feline Diabetes and you'll find all kinds of support on raw or canned food to cure or keep away this disease from your cats. If you are worried about their teeth, you can give them dental treats called "Greenies" that are ok for them and take them to get their teeth cleaned every few years.

 

[*Meagan*]

I couldn't vote either!

We leave dry out for the cat all the time. And give her wet throughout the day. she usually goes through 1 can of wet a day. I think she mostly likes the gravy.

She is a siamese and weighs 6 pounds.