After you get a kitty home, you have a wide range of questions and options lying in front of you. One of the most important questions you would keep on wondering is what kind of food should you feed to your cat? – Wet or Dry Food. But you need worry. It’s not just you. There is a lot of confusion regarding this among pet owners. Also, it becomes difficult as everyone has their own opinion. Moreover, it is not right to answer this in general as each and every furball has its own needs and requirements.
Wet Food or Dry Food for Cats
This is a debatable question to answer. You can’t simply decide that this one is good and the other is not. As we know every coin has two sides. Similarly, both wet and dry foods have their ups and downs. No matter what do you feed your feline with you need to make sure that it is something that suits her the best and enhances her health to the fullest. In this blog, I would highlight the pros and cons of both wet as well as dry food.
Let me start with dry food first.
Dry Cat Food
Dry cat food has about 11% – 25% moisture content. Let us understand the merits and demerits of dry food in depth.
Ups
Many people feel convenience is the most important thing while feeding their cats. And dry food is very convenient when it comes to feeding. After feeding you can leave it for a long period of time and let your feline friend come and nibble it. Moreover, dry foods are shelf stable and so they last pretty long enough which makes it comfortable to feed. Also, you can use puzzle toys while feeding dry food. You just have to put dry food inside the toy and allow your pet cat work for its meal.
Furthermore, dry food is considered better for teeth as it can remove off plaque from your kitties teeth. And it is much cheaper than wet food.
Downs
The biggest demerit of dry food is its lack of water content. This may cause dehydration in cats which may result in serious health issues or may even prove to be fatal. Cats are desert animals. They are not likely to drink water on their own. The lack of water in their diet may cause serious kidney diseases and badly affect their urinary tract.
Also not to mention the ingredients of dry food lack in proteins. Dry food is rich in carbs. Dry food has a very less amount of protein content in it. Cats require protein in much larger proportions than carbs. So, feeding your feline with only dry food will lead to obesity. Cats are more likely to obesity and getting diabetic diseases.
These were the pros and cons of Dry Food. Now let us discuss Wet Cat Food.
Wet Cat Food
Wet Cat Food is believed to have more than 75% of water content. Let us understand the advantages and disadvantages of wet food deeply.
Ups
The plus point of wet food is its moisture content. Wet food has more than 75% moisture content. Cats are not reluctant to drink water on their own. They are not likely to drink water in large proportions. But they have the ability to store water. So, it is beneficial for cats to feed on wet food as their need of water gets satisfied. Getting more water would help cats fight against kidney diseases and keep their urinary tract clean. Additionally, you can consider adding more water to the food to make it more healthy.
Cats are called obligate carnivores. That means they rely solely on meat contents to stay healthy. So, it is important to include meat content in their foods. Wet food has many health benefits over dry food. Wet food is protein-rich and has carbs in very lesser amounts. So, this would keep cats more energized and keep them healthy. Also, as it has fewer carbs it would prevent your feline friend from getting over-weight.
Downs
Wet food has very less shelf life. It won’t last for a long time and has to be consumed within 24 hours as opposed to dry food. Wet food is messy. Also, wet food may get on the whiskers or nose of your feline. Mostly, cats are meticulous-cleaners. It may be unfortunate on your part if you have a lazy kitty who is not willing to self-clean. In order to avoid this, you may consider serving food on a flat plate or purchase wet wipes to clean your kitty.
Also, felines suffering from dental problems would require proper medical attention. Moreover, talking about price, wet food gets much more expensive than the dry food. So, if you are low on the budget it might be troublesome for you.
Possible Solutions
Many cat owners believe in the concept of free choice feeding. They provide free and unlimited access to the dry food to their feline. Your feline could come anytime and nibble the kibble. And, wet food is provided as a supplement to the dry food. But this increases the chances of obesity in your cat. Still, you may consider giving it a try for your feline friend after deciding proper amounts.
The second possible option is of mixed feeding in which you may feed dry food in the morning and throughout the day. And, consider feeding wet food in the evening. Like this, your feline can nibble dry food throughout the day and grab wet food in the evening. This would help you as you can dispose off of wet can along with whatever is left in it once she is done with her meals.
You may consider one more option of directly mixing wet and dry food in one bowl. This will surely help your furball get that additional amount of water content from her meal. If you consider this option it will be important for you to maintain the proportion of the amounts that you add to the bowl. This option comes with a major drawback. After adding water to the kibble, bacterias will grow in larger proportions and thus make your feline sick.
Conclusion
Wet Cat Food or Dry Cat Food is one of the most debatable topics in this regards. This question is not that easy to answer. There is no generalized answer to this. As is the case with the humans, similarly every cat has its own unique requirements and tastes. So, it is important for us to understand our felines and their specific requirements.
There are multiple aspects that may be considered before deciding which food to provide to feline cat – your cat’s age, weight, activity level, metabolism also whether she is pregnant or not.
Do a thorough research before finalizing what to feed to your pet cat. Discuss all the issues, lifestyle, breed, about your feline friend with your vet. I hope this blog would help you choose best for your feline.