Wet vs Dry Cat Fod

The great debate of cat food: wet food vs. dry food… We plan on going into great depths over time on the topic, but for now we would like to point out a few pros and cons we have researched of both wet (canned) and dry food. We favor a wet cat food diet (as you may notice in our pointers), though we give both sides of the debate for readers to make their own decision.

Wet Cat Food Advantages – Wet cat food diets are a must for developing strong bones and muscles, while mitigating many potential conditions caused or contributed to by an all-dry cat food diet. It provides sufficient water reducing the chance of bladder inflammation or, in some cases, bladder crystals. Bladder crystals are crystals-like substances that form when their is a change in the acidity level of urine.

Wet cat food has more meat, therefore, high in protein and fatty acids. The components are much similar to a natural carnivore diet; that of a cat’s. This also alleviates the strain on their kidneys and digestive systems.

Wet cat food does have its disadvantages. Though instead of jumping into detailed facts and figures about nutrition, lab testing, and news stories, we thought for the first advice posting, we would stick with the obvious and just scratch the surface.

Wet cat food is expensive. Purchasing wet and canned food can cost up to twice as much as feeding your cat dry food. Secondly, it is messy and a lot harder to clean up. Lastly, wet cat food is very pungent. If you have ever gotten wet cat food on your hands, you know how much it stinks. Also disposing the empty cans can stink up your whole trash area.

Dry Cat Food Advantages – Dry cat food is very convenient, meaning not messy. It does not spoil rapidly once opened, where as wet food must either be refrigerated and used within a few days at most. Dry cat food does not have a pungent odor. Most cats enjoy the crunch of dry food satisfying a cat’s natural chewing instinct. This in turn also helps strengthen a pet’s jaw muscles. Dry food is favored by many cat owners for the dental benefits. Many believe it helps to remove some plaque and tarter from their teeth. For those know may not be aware, it is often common for cats to develop dental disease. See our few thoughts on canned food causing dental disease.

Dry cat food does have its disadvantages. Cat’s on a dry food diet miss out on extra nutrition found in wet food. Dry food is packed with starch and carb fillers, such as corn and wheat, that can cause diarrhea. In the wild, cats would not pack in so many carbohydrates. As stated above, their diets would consist primarily of fresh meat. Their source of carbs would originate from the stomach fillings of mice and insects.

As stated, we strayed from health issues in our introductory posting on cat food advice. We feel that it is our obligation to focus carefully and seriously when discussing health implications of the different kinds of cat food.

In closing, we at Free Cat Advice thought we would leave you with something to think about. When debating wet cat food vs. dry cat food, the type is not the only consideration in that you should factor. You should also be conscious of the quantity of food you feed your cat. Stay tuned for more on wet cat food vs dry cat food and related discussions.