Dry food vs Wet food

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

My personal opinion is that wet is best, but a little dry (for younger cats at least) can be useful if you need to leave food in auto feeders or in hot weather.  I feed my 3 year old a mixture of wet and dry and my 12 year old gets all wet (he needs the water for his kidneys).

[nutzy]

Great, wet and dry then it is!   

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

My lot enjoy a mixture of both... Applaws or Purely for dry and Hi-life mainly for wet. My cat with CRF has just wet though. Lots of water is also essential

[Feline Costumier]

I have always fed a combination and try to get the best quality of each that I can afford (easier said than done in NZ!). I also give them a meal of raw meat every week or so for their teeth, although Milo isn't so enthusiastic about raw or wet in general, I persevere!

Definitely wouldn't recommend an exclusively dry diet.

[Janeyk]

I've always fed both as well, the benefit is if they don't fancy the wet food, they've got dry down 24/7 to nibble on.  Also in hot weather the wet food can go off quite quickly if you're out all day, so I always give the option of both so they can choose.

100% dry is not advisable if your cat will eat wet, as this exclusively can lead to kidney issues when they're older, and also dry foods tend to be higher in fat sometimes, so can lead to weight issues as well.

I guess it comes down to what your cat likes more than anything, I think any slave knows that whatever our good intentions, they will eat what they want anyway 

I agree with Clare on a mixture but also what the cat likes everything in moderation, feeding has to be enjoyable for them too 

[Gillian Harvey]

I wouldnt feed dry food only, it lacks the moisture a cat needs and if he doesnt actually like it then I'd stick to wet food. Most dry is full of carbs which cats don't need anyway, although some brands are now cottoning on to that fact and introducing high meat/low or no carb dry, like Applaws, but I still wouldnt feed only that. Dry food doesnt clean their teeth as was previously thought either, in fact it can contribute to dental problems, but nor will wet food keep their teeth clean. You can help to keep the teeth clean by giving chunks of meat (raw or cooked) that he has to tear at, or raw chicken wings (note - RAW bones only, never cooked).

[clarenmax]

I've always fed both as well, the benefit is if they don't fancy the wet food, they've got dry down 24/7 to nibble on.  Also in hot weather the wet food can go off quite quickly if you're out all day, so I always give the option of both so they can choose.

100% dry is not advisable if your cat will eat wet, as this exclusively can lead to kidney issues when they're older, and also dry foods tend to be higher in fat sometimes, so can lead to weight issues as well.

I guess it comes down to what your cat likes more than anything, I think any slave knows that whatever our good intentions, they will eat what they want anyway 

[moira]

Personally, I give my cats both wet and dry. Wet for the kidneys and dry for their teeth but my cats are all mature adult cats. Most of them (I have prefer the dry but they all have completely different tastes re: prefered flabour and are very fussy apart from the youngest, Oscar, who is 18 months and he eats anything and everything and whatever the others leave.

[nutzy]

I suspect that this subject has been covered before but can't seem to find it, what are the benefits of dry food over wet food?  Rajah, now 3 months is almost exclusively eating wet food in pouches.  I have started introducing dry food into his wet food to get him used to it, and the idea is to eventually ween him off the wet food completely, but I don't want to do this if it is not advisable.  He will eat the dry food alone, but only if I feed it to him by hand, although yesterday I saw him stick his nose into the dry food bowl and have a nibble, but it was the first time he had ever attempted to eat it by himself.  Also, he doesn't seem to know what to do with the little treats we bought him.  Even though I break them up, he just sniffs, licks and spits out.  Perhaps they are actually disgusting!