Dry vs Wet food: What our Vet said and do you agree/disagree?

Hi MC lovers,

I would like to get some opinions on cat food/diet..

We have just come home from taking our 14 month Maine Coon to the vets as we were worried she might be deficient in Taurine as the wet food we give doesnt contain it (Applaws).

However, it turns out that not only does the Vet think she will be fine because of her dry food Royal Canin which is a complete food with Taurine, but actually that dry food is best for cats and that wet food isnt really neccessary. You can feed wet in addition if you like, but she really didnt seem that fussed about it. She has been a vet for 20 years and fed her cats aged 13 years a diet of Only dry food. She said that billions of pounds were spent on the industry, and that the main reason why pets are living much longer is down to their diet rather than vaccinations etc. The dry has everything you need.

She positively was horrified at the mention of a raw food diet we had found- completely not needed in her opinion and the product of a few groups/forums which very strong opinions who try to persuade others of their view.

However, my OH disagrees as his reasoning is 'Could you imagine if all we could eat was dry?' I understand him in one regard, I believe the preference to feed wet is probably psychological- we wouldn't feed our human babies only dry food. But I dont want him to just dismiss a vet's opinion just because it might go against what you like to believe.

But what is your opinion on this and have you had vet's advise you of similar/different? What do you feed your cat/s, as my partner and I are having mixed views/a debate on the subject! He's just spent about £150 on wet cat food imported from somewhere :sad2:

As I have said in many threads before I am a wet food believer through & through....... my boss who is a vet of the older school is also a wet food believer,all my animals have been brought up on tinned food with just a small portion of bikkies {RC,Hills or Sanabelle}
What did we feed our animals before biscuits came on the scene,think there was perhaps only two brands of cat food available way back then,I have worked at a vets for 40 years & never had half the problems that we see now before biscuits appeared,lots more cases of cystitis,overweight cats & now something that was very rarely seen diabetic cats too......
I know if you are a raw food feeder that they do recommend added taurine but also believe that it comes from meat & fish anyway so wether it is how it is derived from those sources I have to admit that I don't know,obviously the tinned food contains other parts of the animal involved where as raw food diet tends to be the straight forward flesh part,perhaps someone could come & tell us in easy to understand terms or otherwise it could mean some homework for us but all I know is that I have never had any problems wet feeding in well over 40 years,canine or feline.........x

hey Lollypop, I am also a wet food believer - only dry food as supplement, though Neevie-Coon-the-Pirate disagrees. When I first got her, the breeder's advise was :
1) only wet food for the first year - helps settles kidneys and all that -
2) and also it has to be wet food in jelly at least till the first 6 months because gravy would be too rich for a kitten
3) it's ok to avoid wet food alltoghether - contrarily to what the Iams add suggests, wet food being made of 70% water is a good thing! it keeps your baby hydrated!
(she also advised to feed her boiled chicken breasts and raw salmon as treats... Neevie totally agrees with that...)

Frazer hasnt arrived yet, but i will be feeding him wet food as well as fresh fish and a little biccies, but thats cos I have always fed my moggies that and havent had any problems. But I am a beginner with MC's so I dont know how we will get on, fingers crossed ! lol

As the wet vs dry food war rages on, I will play it safe and feed both. Ginger gets half a can in the am and the pm and all of the grain free dry kibble her heart desires. I have fed dry food for years and never had a problem with my cat's diets or health. One of my vets suggested a raw diet but neither I or the cats were down with that. I tried and they just would not touch it. Oh wells, I think we all have their best interest at heart.

Went to stock up the furries wet food larder this afternoon & although I always used to feed tinned Felix because it has gone up so much over the last 18 months have been feeding Classic,made by Butchers {now there is another pretty old name over here for animal foods} it works out at 45p a tin & there in big writing is "With added taurine" now how good is that...

OK, I just looked up on Amazon Buchers Classic .... 1 pound a tin! must be quality! where do you get your 45p ones, Jckkerrison!? :koolkat:

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Originally Posted by Alekto

OK, I just looked up on Amazon Buchers Classic .... 1 pound a tin! must be quality! where do you get your 45p ones, Jckkerrison!? :koolkat:

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Today we got it from Waitrose,have to say couldn't believe it as normally we do pay a bit more but it still works out cheaper than the Felix,needless to say we got a few packs....x
Will have to have a look & see if it is a better type....!

Nope same one can't believe that price is right have just checked Pets at Home & it is 48p a tin.....

I'm another 1/2 and 1/2 for quality wet and dry food. Do feed raw fish once every week as a treat though. Don't like the idea of raw food any more after looking into it thoroughly and seeing all the problems with salmonella and E coli. I would prefer to leave it to the experts to guide me, especially with the add ons such as vitamins and taurine.
I have two (nearly) 21 year old moggies brought up on Go Cat until several years ago when they were swamped by the coonies and now they are on a much higher grade food and still going strong, and thoroughly enjoying it ;)
My vet strongly believes in the dry food though.

Wet food all the way. Best quality you can get, grain free if possible. Better still, if you can manage it, raw food. But that's not for everyone.

Dry food is awful stuff full of indigestible grains and carbs. As Jckkerison says, in the long term it can lead to a lot of health problems, because of the low protein content and lack of moisture. Unfortunately a lot of vets recommend it because they make money out of a) selling it and b) treating the health problems it causes.

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Originally Posted by Howlinbob

Wet food all the way. Best quality you can get, grain free if possible. Better still, if you can manage it, raw food. But that's not for everyone.

Dry food is awful stuff full of indigestible grains and carbs. As Jckkerison says, in the long term it can lead to a lot of health problems, because of the low protein content and lack of moisture. Unfortunately a lot of vets recommend it because they make money out of a) selling it and b) treating the health problems it causes.

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The dry kibble I buy (Pure Vita) is grain free, all natural food, no added junk. It costs a little more but it is worth it in the long run. I do not buy any thing from my vet unless she needs drugs and long term meds are cheaper from 1800petmeds. I agree that dry food does not provide enough water, that is why I also feed mine a can of high grade cat food also.

Our vets always recommend wet food as the water content ups the water intake and as Jackie says it reduces the risk of kidney /bladder problems

Google... Dr. Karen Becker on this topic!! Cats have a low thirst drive and therefore, most are living in a constant state of dehydration from eating kibble!! They end up with kidney problems as a result of this! Wet food is a "species appropriate" diet for your cat!! Think about what cats eat in the wild..it's not dry kibble! No offense, but your Vet is living in the dark ages! Educate yourself on this topic and see what you think! Do your cat a favor and buy high quality, grain free, human grade food. Start reading labels, you don't want to see, by products, corn wheat or gluten!

A Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) eating a prey and watching around wary. - 3605471 | Shutterstock Footage that is what cats eat in the wild.

Hello all,

I have always fed my babies dry Iams (hairball & weight control) I had four now I have three very healthy cats, Paco is 16yrs old and weights in at 13.5 pounds only eats the dry, will not touch the wet at all. Chole 8yrs and Paddy 5yrs both weight in at 10 pounds and eat wet and dry. I like the dry because it is more conveinant and it has all the needed nutriants our babies need, plus it keeps their teeth tarter free...(vet is always impressed that they don't need teeth cleaning) I only started to used the wet food when my oldest girl Sissy 21yrs was ill and was given a prescrition deit of the wet food a/d critical care. She ate that for the last 4yrs of her life. (she was 25yrs old when she passed away) Before that she only ate dry. Anyway while Sissy was being feed this wet food the other 2 (Chole and Paddy) also ate this and got used to it so now I feed them "Friskies" turkey kibbles and bits....AS to what is the proper/best food to feed our babies, I believe that is up to each individual parent, the main thing is not to over feed or over treat our babies and let them choose for themselves what type of food they want...as I say my Paco will not for the life of him eat wet/canned food. I have tried to make him eat it and he won't, yet Chole and Paddy just love both kinds wet and dry...as far as water is concerned my babies have a water fountain that they drink from so no worries there..anyway it is just my two cent.....

This is our first MC and the breeder told us to feed her chicken or beef mince and cat biccies till her adult teeth come in and then raw chicken necks and cat biccies from there on. Also canned fish only once a week through her whole life. Our vet agrees with this diet, but said if Pumpkin slows down on the cat biccies to withhold the mince till she eats more biccies. Previously with moggies we have owned we have fed tinned food and cat biccies with a few treats of roast lamb or roast chicken and two of those lived to nineteen years of age.

Wow I had no idea what cat biccies were! I had to look that one up, thank God for Google. I feed Ginger a can of high quality food and all of the grain free dry cat food she wants and she is doing great! She is getting to be a big girl! 13# and growing!

hi Bohemiannic - the only reason why I would feed Neevie differently from any other cat is because I regret not having enquired about feeding my previous cat properly before, not because she is a MC.
to my opinion, MCs feed exactly the same way as other cats - only more...

it is the first time I see the advise to give them raw chicken neck - the only reason I can see for this is that it is hard to eat, they have to go at it for hours to get the meat out, and therefore it might be best for their stomach because they eat more slowly? I don't know.... but that seems to be just for a treat? predominantly cat biccies is what the breeder says?
as per above, cats in general don't drink enough for their own good, they don't get thirsty when they get dehydrated, their body doesn't tell them - if they were fed predominantly on cat biccies they would become dehydrated... kidney problems could ensue...

Personally I try to not allow Neevie too much cat biccies - she prefers cat biccies but I try to not allow her biccies unless she's had some moisture in her during the day. Be it, if I've seen her drink - she likes to drink from the tap so that allows me to keep an eye - or I know she's eaten wet food from a can, or even chicken or fish, raw or cooked whatever I have at hand...

you'll see in the forum, some people prefer to feed their cats raw meat exclusively - it does look like a good way to do it, the concensius being that's what they'd eat in the wild - however my take on this is: in the wild, they don't have a choice. The first humans also ate whatever they could find, it doesn't mean that's what's good for them. It doesn't mean raw meat is bad for cats, I just mean I don't know what's best.

I only have 2 rules: as much moisture as possible, and as natural food as possible (no starch, no ash, and a minimum of processed)

Hi Alekto, the idea of the chicken necks is that they keep the cats teeth clean, the bones give them calcium and being uncooked are good with the digestion, the bones in chicken necks are also of the type that dont shatter and become sharp, so no danger of bone lodgement in any part of the digestion system. Chicken necks are also fairly lean, so they arent getting a lot of fat. It does take longer to eat which can be good. These of course are not given to the cat until they have adult teeth. Raw chicken necks are also recommended by dog breeders of many pure breed dogs.

I used to feed mine on whiskers, but have switched to Butcher's as the meat content was much higher and whisker's play a part in making gingivitis worse. We also stopped giving him Whiskers kibble as it did not agree with his stomach. He is doing great on butcher's / wet only diet with the weekly boiled fresh chicken.

In any case it is better to use the wet seeds for food. Since the quality of grain is grain that is well moistened. For the germination of seeds also has its own scheme.

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Originally Posted by DennyAfstand

In any case it is better to use the wet seeds for food. Since the quality of grain is grain that is well moistened. For the germination of seeds also has its own scheme.

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Denny, Say what? I have no idea what this means "wet seeds", please explain? Thanks Donnad

PS My Beagle is getting tweaky (seizures) so I started making him some holistic home made dog food, brown rice, vegetables and poultry. Needles to say I am the best doggy momma ever! in their eyes hahaha I have two beagles

i didnt realise we had a choice of foods. my cats wont touch tinned food at all, dont like wet food pouches in jelly and love wet food in gravy (and the newer things like marinated, chunks etc etc etc) although they change their minds on which brand the will eat. one week they like gourmet, the next week they like tiger. the result being a large selection of wet food pouches of various brands plus dry food for Gizmo who does eat a lot
the point is that they will eat what they want to eat and they will not eat what they dont want to eat. this will change every few days although i am not sure if this is for variety or to make sure you know who is really the head of your household

yup - agreed - mine is on Gourmet Perle at the moment - once she's gone through that phase I am not sure what else to give her, she's gone through them all!!!

I have had all kinds of cats including my current 2 cooners and one 1/2 Bengal. I have owned these wonderful creatures for over 35 years and I have yet to have ANY problems with dry foods. I used to use Purina cat chow for all their meals, yet I changed last year when I got my 2 cooners.. Now I use Blue Wilderness Chicken and Duck.. They are all healthy and beautiful.. To me it is all a matter of choice.. BTW all my cats have lived well into their last teens and even a couple in the mid 20s. Its a choice.. Make one and be happy with it!

My cats like both. We usually do dry food all day long and then as a meal will do wet food.

I've spent a lot of time reading up on this.

The best diet - raw food. Beaks, feathers, gristle, the lot.
Second best food - wet food with no grain and the proper mix of animal proteins e.g Lily's Kitchen
Third best food - dry food with no grain at all
Fourth best - all the other foods - IAMS, Hills, Royal Canin, Felix, Whiskas etc

What I actually feed my MC: Orijen dry food with 1/3 portion of Almo Nature tuna and whitebait in jelly a day. Any more wet food and he gets diarrhoea (and I have tried, I think, every wet food on the market). He won't eat raw food or Lily's kitchen and anything with grain in means a trip back to the vet for more steroids for his poor colon. I have discussed this with three different vets and we all feel that Sidney is healthier on this mix than any other that has been tried over the last 18 months, so I suggest you try things and see what works.

Our last cat died at 16 having eaten nothing but IAMS all his life. Up till the last 6 months he was in fantastic shape, but if I knew then what I know now I would never have gone anywhere near kibble with grain in - at the time I saw the adverts and thought I was doing the best for him. Basically, cats need to eat other animals, not wheat.

whiskas is the worst food which you can give to your cat. There is no meat inside, grain only. RC, Felix, Hills based on chicken meat with the extras like grain, spinach etc. It's mean, this kind of food is better than whiskas. Dry food without grain can be no tolerated by cat's in many cases and it's a big shame. I face with this problem all the time, because after no grain food my cats have a diarrhea always:( i decided on RC dry food have no problem in this time.

it seems I have finally managed to find a wet food my cooners can keep down. I started giving them a teaspoon full of Applaws chicken breast mixed in with purina sensitive a few weeks ago and they've now built up to 2 cans a day (the cans are tuna sized, not whiskas sized, and between 3 cats) and no sickness, yay! Hoping to see some results soon, Morris has definitely gained weight and I hope Mia will soon too.

here they are all scoffing..

Goldie have you tried to give a Animonda Carny as a wet food? It's in good price and high quality ingredients. My cat who had a stomach problem all the time, tolerates this kind of wet food.

Thanks for the suggestion, Berike, I've had a look and can get it online at zooplus but nowhere local. I had a stack of chicken to get through but will keep your suggestion in mind when I;m running low. Thanks again!

just a quick update.
I stopped feeding my MC's wet food and now just feed them Royal Canin MC food. I was talking to a lady at the pet shop about them sicking up food and it seems my boy MC is a pig and scoffs food down too quickly. This problem has now been eradicated completely by feeding this food as the kibbles are much bigger meaning he has to crunch them and can't eat as fast. Genius. No sick for 3 weeks!

I've now inherited my other half's moggie too bringing the total household to 4 cats - all of which eat the MC food.
Happy days.