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Canned vs Dry

Please keep discussions fun, friendly, and helpful at all times. Non-informative posts criticizing a particular brand or another poster's choice of food are not allowed in this Forum. References to any brand of food as "junk," "garbage," or other harsh names will be removed.

Gummi Destroyer of- Spiders     Purred: Mon Feb 13, '12 11:15am PST  I'm with Amber, I'd sooner feed Orijen or Blue Wilderness than something as nasty as canned Special Kitty or Meow Mix. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Alex (sweet- angel girl) Angel on a- mission!     Purred: Mon Feb 13, '12 2:13pm PST  I agree with that. I couldn't even begin to guess what's in Special Kitty or other very low grade brands like that. I have to say that my cat before Alex lived 20 years on Tender Vittles. But I do believe that back then, we weren't putting things from China in the food and even though it wasn't a good food, I don't think we put as much toxic junk in it then. I believe as business has gotten bigger and more competitive, they've just plopped any old thing into pet foods just to get it sold. I'd rather give a good dry food like Orijen or Merrick, Evo, etc. than something like Special Kitty. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Noble Everyone loves- an orange tabby.     Purred: Mon Feb 13, '12 9:28pm PST  I couldn't fathom feeding a cat an all dry diet. I saw someone on FB today who said that the moisture was bad. Words cannot describe how horrified I was that someone was passing around such terrible and misleading information. I watch my cat constantly and he does not drink enough water. He drinks from his bowl maybe 1-3 times a day. And it's always small amounts at a time. Whereas my dogs will lap from their water bowl four or so times a day (more or less depending on whether it's Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter). My dogs get the amount of water they need from their water bowls, my cat does not. I feed both my cat and my dogs a combination of kibble and canned, but my cats diet consists mostly of canned. (Whereas my dogs diets are 50% canned, 50% kibble) I have tried switching Noble to a strictly canned diet in the past, but he does like his kibble... so it doesn't always go over well. Now, I'm not sure I'd feed a brand like Special Kitty just so I could afford to feed my cat canned food. I won't touch Special Kitty with a 10 foot pole, the same way I won't touch Ol'Roy. I might feed a higher up low quality canned food (like Iams) before I'd feed a high quality kibble... Either way, if I had to choose between canned or dry and I could not choose to feed both, I would choose canned. There are many brands I will not touch (as they can cause health problems in the long run just the same), but I would rather my cat get the moisture content that he needs than have him be constantly dehydrated and possibly develop UTIs and other health problems related to an all kibble diet in cats. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ramsey Ramsey - The Bedroom Cat- Burglar     Purred: Sat Feb 18, '12 6:46pm PST  While I agree a wet diet is probably best for cats, there is a lot of research out there that will suggest a dry diet is fine for your friendly feline *if* the kitty is getting enough water to hydrate themselves. Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition suggests an 80% wet diet with 20% dry. Kibble does, in many cases, help with dental care and gives the kitty a different texture. Wet of course provides the moisture the cat needs. The downside of an all dry diet are many and can result in obesity (kibble is carb and calorie dense)which can lead to diabetes and a myriad of issues including UTIs if the cat is not getting enough moisture. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Member Since 06/20/2011     Purred: Sat Feb 18, '12 8:14pm PST  But cats have a naturally low thirst drive. IF a cat is drinking what appears to be sufficient water -- in other words, if you see a cat drinking as much as a dog would -- it's a red flag as they are clynically dehydrated on an all dry diet due to the natural low thirst drive of the species. There's NO dry food appropriate for a strict carnivore. None. As far as dental care, they can NOT even chew it. I wish this myth would be put to rest. If only vets would get out of bed with the pet food industry... Edited by author Sat Feb 18, '12 8:16pm PST my posts [notify]

Shadow Education is the- Key     Purred: Sun Feb 19, '12 10:46am PST  Canned food vs. kibble Here are some snippets from this article By Dr. Becker More evidence has emerged linking dry food diets and feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD). A study was conducted at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Koret School of Veterinary Medicine to evaluate urethral obstruction (UO), which is an extremely common, life-threatening condition in cats The Waltham study was published in 1999. The Jerusalem study was published just last year – a dozen years later. Several other studies on the subject of feline lower urinary tract disease have been conducted in the meantime. And yet many in the traditional veterinary community seem unwilling to acknowledge the clear evidence that dietary moisture is incredibly important to urinary tract health in cats. We know how felines are designed and how they live in the wild. And we have multiple studies showing cats with lower urinary tract disease, in particular, benefit from high moisture content diets For example, at a veterinary internal medicine symposium in 2011, an associate professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine presented a paper titled, Risk factors in feline lower urinary tract disease3. She cited both the Waltham and Jerusalem studies (and 19 others). Here is an excerpt from her conclusion/recommendation: "For both cats with urolithiasis and those with FIC, a diet high in moisture may be best, assuming the owner is willing to feed it and the cat is willing to eat it. A high moisture diet is recommended for cats with stones to decrease the urine concentration of mineral precursors and is the cornerstone of therapy for urolithiasis in human … and veterinary medicine. Increasing the water content for cats with FIC may help improve clinical signs by encouraging frequent voidings "Your cat doesn't have a strong thirst drive compared to other species. Kitties are designed to get almost all the water they need from the food they eat'. "Healthy cats don't lap up water like other animals do. Many kitties are obsessed with moving water, of course, but they're more interested in watching it or playing in it than drinking it". "With very few exceptions, only cats with underlying disease will drink a lot of water. Often the disease involves their lower urinary tract, especially if they are suffering from chronic, moderate dehydration thanks to a primarily dry food diet". "Cats in the wild hunt prey, and prey consists of about 75 percent water. Canned cat food contains at least that much moisture. Dry food, on the other hand, contains only about one tenth of that amount". "If you're feeding your kitty mostly dry food, he's probably drinking more water than he would if his diet was high in moisture content. But as a general rule, cats on dry food diets consume only about half the water cats on moisture-rich diets consume" my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

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