Dry Food or Wet Food?
Posted by cheryl on Aug 3, 2011 in Nutrition | 6 comments
Written By: Cheryl
Oh, this is a MASSIVE debate.
When I first adopted AJ (pictured here – isn’t he handsome?), I spent countless hours researching food and food options.
I spoke to vets, I emailed vets, I spent hours on discussion forums and I even went to the library and read up on pet nutrition. Yes, I am a crazy cat momma.
Anyway. After all that research and time, here’s what I found:
Pet lovers, professionals and the like are divided when it comes to dry and wet food, with maybe a slight slant towards wet. My current vet (whom I love) swears by wet food, while my friend’s vet recommends prescription dry.
There is one thing that pet professionals seem to agree on, though, and that’s the BARF diet. Yup, BARF. If you own a dog or a cat I’ve been told that the best thing to feed them is NOT wet or dry food, but rather BARF (which is also known as Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods).
But for all that it’s worth, the BARF method can be time consuming and pricey. Many BARF enthusiasts grind up their pet’s food at home to ensure that it is 100% unprocessed. This isn’t a nutrition vehicle that bodes well with a busy lifestyle.
So, if a pet owner were faced with choosing exclusively between dry and wet, what’s the best option?
I honestly don’t know.
I give AJ both. He goes absolutely nuts over Blue Buffalo’s Blue for Cats dry food line. I’ve also got him on Royal Canin’s Preventive in wet food form.
One consensus though, is that you should try to avoid low end brands, which are full of corn and filler. Opt for high end speciality brands or ones that are sold exclusively through veterinarians.
Still confused? Here are some pros of dry and wet food (taken from the web, not my personal opinion).
DRY FOOD
Pros (taken from the Chef website)
- Dry food is convenient. Can’t deny that.
- Dry food has been known to have dental benefits (although take this with a grain of salt. Many vets say that dry food provides little to no dental benefits, as animals don’t chew their food long enough for it to significantly clean teeth or gums).
- Vet info says that dry food tends to be higher in fibre, but speak to a vet about that. I don’t have any evidence to back up that claim.
- Wet food is comprised of mostly water, which helps keep kitty and doggy hydrated
- Wet food tends to be lower in fatty carbs
- The composition of wet food is closer to the food that cats and dogs eat in the wild
So, there you have it. AJ goes nuts over dry food, which is why I keep it in the house. Personally, the winner for me is wet, but you really can’t beat the convenience of dry.
Hope this helps a little 
.
Yuki doesn’t actually like wet food. The only wet food that she licks the bowl clean is Halo’s stew. I found them at Woofstock a few years ago and have had troubles finding their stews in stores. Just found out recently that Halo makes dry food, so she’s on that now – which seems pretty good, there’s dried veggies in there…although Yuki picks them out and leaves them on the floor (doesn’t eat her veggies, like mommy).
As mentioned in your article the BARF diet is ideal for obligate carnivores such as cats.
Cats need a variety of bones meats and fish in order to keep a healthy diet, canned and wet food are a detriment to their oral health.
Also kibble and cans are just FULL of colors and preservatives to extend shelf life…
The barf diet does not have to be difficult. Kibble and cans get stuck around the gums and the tooth and promote tooth decay. Fresh meats containt a large quantity of water thus keeping kitty hydrated and drinking less water!
I’m really excited to learn more about natural pet food from you, Kerry! I hope you can show me the way to an improved nutritional plan for my kitty
Cheryl is pretty much on the money regarding wet and dry. For the past 5 or so years, our hospital has recommended at least 1/4 can of appropriate high quality (Medi-Cal)canned mixed with as much water as your cat will allow. The remainder would be the appropriate dry (Dental formula if they chew definitely helps teeth, Mobility support for older cats – loaded with supplements for arthritis, etc). Start all cats as kittens on the wet, so there are no surprises later in life with refusing the wet. It is ideal for the water content – less lower urinary tract issues up till 10 years or so, and helps with inevitable kidney issues later in life. The number of cases of lower urinary tract disease has fallen dramatically since we instituded this protocol, so I can tell you that it definitely works.
Barf diet, using uncooked meats, absolutely has the potential for food poisoning for pets and people. See http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/promo/services/ for great information from a world class expert.
yes of course uncooked meats carry bacteria and can cause people to get sick. Which is why all my meat come from federally and provincially inspected farms and I use proper hygiene…..Also kibble carries lots of different types of bacteria and mould– check any of the several recalls that happen weekly…