Dry vs. Canned food for cats

I was told awhile ago that canned food for cats is bad and now I'm learning that dry food is actually worse b/c of all the extra grains and carbs in it that cats don't need. So....which is it? Does anyone have any good info on this or have cats that eat both or one or the other that can give advice?

Thanks!

 

Grains depend on the brand of food you buy, not the texture. If you buy a premium brand like Felidae or Wellness you won't get all that corn and crap that cats don't need which is just used as a cheap filler (you also won't get all the nasty by-products and other crap which you probably already know about). I feed my cats Innova Evo dry food. They actually don't like the felidae.The dry is better for their teeth and it allows them to free feed which works better for all of us.

Pretty much any food that you will find in a grocery store or chain like Petco is going to be crap.

 

Cat's can't chew dryed food. My cat threw it up one time and it looked almost just like it did when it was in the bowl. If you pay attention to their chewing habits, you'll notice they don't have them...

I've heard dry food dehydrates cats too. It seems to me that wet food is superior, even though it can rancidify(think about it, canned meat? Would you eat it?) and go off very easily. It also contains euthanized animals in some cases... "animal protein". Pet food quality is truly atrocious if it is not organic or super high quality.

Fresh home made real food(i.e free range organic chicken) is really ideal...or raw free range egg yolks, or wild alaskan salmon(mercury free), or even grass fed beef if you can get it at a good price. Or organ meats that you can get for free from many places, that are actually the most nutritious parts of meat...that's ideal food. Canned or processed food is inferior to real whole foods.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HZ89TM?ie=UTF8&tag=myspace0172-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000HZ89TM - This is the only organic canned food I'll feed my cat, and it's the best price on organic cat food I have found.

 

Actually a diet of total wet food isn't all that good for their teeth. I feed a combination. My cats aren't over weight or anything so I give a spoonful of wet in the morning and then let them free feed dry all day. Of course the quality of the cat food has a lot to do with it but I have had good luck with this regimen. Also friends of mine, bona fide cat people, feed the same way. Of course if your cat is fat then you need to limit food but I think a combo is best.

 

I do the same thing. Dry stuff left in the bowl all day, and a little wet stuff in the morning and and night.

I personally think that any pet food for cats and dogs alike is not really the best thing for them. (I've read a few things about how pet food is made.) Sure, they can live on it, but it's like people living on a diet of fast food. It's not the healthiest diet out there. Another problem with packaged pet food is the same problem with fast food for humans -- it's easily accessible, and usually cheaper than the more healthy alternatives.

My dog died of cancer last year, and I really started to wonder about what I was feeding him. Personally, I think the mainstream dog food diet might have had something to do with it. (Pet food = fast food... hmm...) In his final days, my dog actually quit eating dog food and was able to eat people food for a while. That made me think a little too.

 

I've cooked for my "kids" in the past. Also did some raw feeding. More with the dogs than the cats but mostly its the store stuff. My animals usually live long and happy lives. Of course with the recent scare I was going to cook again but the food I was using wasn't affected and chicken, which I usually use, was. If you don't grow it yourself you can never be sure.

 

I feed dry food and she does fine. But during the summer I supplement with wet food because of the extra fat that it has in it. My vet said that dry food if good for cats because it helps keep their teeth clean. I feed my cat all natural science diet. She loves it.

 

I prefer dry food because the canned is stinky and messy. My cats get dry except for special holidays and anniversary of adoption days.

I think it's good for the teeth.

My cats are all rescues that have food deprivation issues. I like to keep food out for them. You can't do that with wet. When they can see the bottom of the bowl they get nervous and upset. LOL.

I do use a high end food because one cat has to eat special food due to allergies. What you put out for one, they are ALL going to eat.

HTH,

Valdis