Cat Food - wet or dry or does it matter??

crissy11

crissy11

O.G.
Jun 23, 2009
6,412
142
#1
Hi everyone,

When I adopted my 3 year old Siamese in October, he was on dry food. I hadn't had a cat in 20 years (had other pets) I just kept him on the dry food. The vet said he was very healthy, but that I could give him some wet food as a treat occasionally. She seemed to like the idea of wet food better than dry, I'm not sure why. I've wondered since if I should switch him over to wet food or keep him on the dry with the occasional treat of wet food. He sure does love it.

I should also mention that I had him neutered as he was being used for breeding. I definetely think he's put on a bit of weight since then (and has that "pouch" now that he never had before. I'm VERY concerned about him gaining too much weight.

He does have his dry food out all the time, always has, and I don't think he is overeating.

Do you guys think there is any need to switch over to wet food? Nutritionally is it better, worse or the same? The vet said he is very healthy on the Nutrience, and that I could try that brand of wet food - which I have given him as a "treat" on occasion. I would assume that with wet food he would get "feedings" a couple of times a day, and I wonder if that would be weird for him since he's always had access to food and eats regularly in small amounts.

Anyway, I am interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks!!
 
#2
This an area of much debate. Studies have shown that low carb canned food has helped improve or resolve diabetes in cats. Additionally, in male cats, the increased hydration from wet foods can help with preventing urinary blockage. We used to think that dry food helped with dental health...but that has been disproven. I would speak with your vet, and have him/her figure out how many calories your kitty needs per day-just like us, it's the number of calories that determines weight loss or gain! If you do decide on wet food, maybe you could brush his teeth. I assume it's the siamese on your avitar? He's beautiful!
 
#3
His teeth are already in horrid shape according to the vet. She said that many of them have to come out at some point. She said this may not have anything to do with the previous owner doing anything wrong, she said it's really common for Siamese to have bad teeth.

She said I could also try feeding him real chicken and tuna, but he has zero interest in it. He seems to like the smell of tuna, but not the taste.


lizavet8 said:
This an area of much debate. Studies have shown that low carb canned food has helped improve or resolve diabetes in cats. Additionally, in male cats, the increased hydration from wet foods can help with preventing urinary blockage. We used to think that dry food helped with dental health...but that has been disproven. I would speak with your vet, and have him/her figure out how many calories your kitty needs per day-just like us, it's the number of calories that determines weight loss or gain! If you do decide on wet food, maybe you could brush his teeth. I assume it's the siamese on your avitar? He's beautiful!
Click to expand...
 
#4
We have an automatic feeder (Petmate Bistro) that feeds our cats dry food at 5:30 am, noon, and 5:30 pm, and then they each get a quarter can of wet food before we go to bed. They seem to really like the variety. We had to switch to the automatic feeder, because the cats were eating too much if we just let the bowl sit out, plus the younger one liked to dump the bowl and play hockey with the food. The Bistro has been a lifesaver! We also got one of those pet drinking fountains for the same reason, because he thought it was a fun game to dump the water bowl every day while we were at work, and then our other cat wouldn't be able to drink until we got home. Anyway, I digress:smile:
 
#5
3 of my cats looooooooooove wet food. I had bought some because one of my cats had a couple tract blockages so they said wet food would be good for him. well... he's the ONE cat that won't eat the stuff. so i gave it to the others. my one cat who really loves it will now whine at me every time i'm in the kitchen if i open a jar of something. unfortunately for them i don't buy it that often, i don't want them to get in the habit of always expecting it.
 
#6
Siamese do tend to have bad teeth. I had to have 3 teeth removed from mine due to an above the gumline disease. My vet said dry food helps clean the decay off her teeth. I do give wet occasionally, but generally, I stick with dry.

Also, I used to free feed, but suddenly, my cat put on a bunch of weight and the vet said she was probably eating from boredom while I was at work. Now, she gets fed twice a day, and believe me, she knows when! She will talk until you feed her.

I guess it comes down to preference?
 
#10
I don't know what is the best, but Roxy always has two bowls available - one with wet and another with dry food. I tend to give more dry than wet food (she likes it that way too). I noticed that, when she eates too much wet food, she gets a bad smell in the mouth.
For the teeth, she gets dental bites occasionally. She loooooves it!
 
#11
I give the kitties a wet food treat once per day in the morning.....just a packet of whiskas....the rest of the day they only get their innova dry food.....both of them are little porkers and tyler has the "pouch" belly now....I free feed and i think I may need to stop doing that....
 
#12
We give our cats both. The dry food is served buffet-style. The canned food is twice a day but we split 2 small cans between 10 cats so it's really more a treat than a meal. However I did notice that when we were out of town and they were only getting dry food for 10 days, they drank a LOT more water---our pet minder said he had to fill refill the water bowl every day and even put down a couple of extra bowls. It had never occured to me they got so much moisture from the canned food--I found that interesting.

Some of our cats are a bit chubby, some not.
 
#13
^interesting about the water. My cat definitely does not drink as much water when she has wet food. After her dental surgery, i gave her wet food for a week. Even though I refreshed the water daily, the level barely went down. With dry food, she drinks 1/4 to 1/2 the bowl daily.
 
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