Is all dry cat food bad for cats?

Paulina

This is what I am beginning to believe. I have looked at several sources of information for this (some right here at Yahoo Answers) and it looks like dry food is essentially unhealthy for your cat. My cat is quite possibly diabetic, and it really looks like he should not have any dry food, and that includes the dry food made specifically for diabetic cats. Now, I have seen cats live a long time eating only dry food. But maybe they would have been even healthier and had greater longevity without it. What do you think?



Clay

HiSince I have been here, I have tried preaching the evils of dry foods. Its probably me you are reading So many health problems stem from dry foods with dabetes at the top to go along with obesity crystals kidney disease ect.. Ask your vet what makes the prescription food for diabetics prescription or good for diabetics and he wont know the anser (I promise) The answer being it was the lowest carn dry food at the time it was developed but still had too many carbs vompared to many canned foods. Innova evo is now the lowest carb dry and even has a semblance of quality, I have said it before and will again. After working on a diabetes board and seeing cats with kidney disease, poancreatis and of course diabetes, I would give the worst quality canned over any dry food out there. Heres another problem for you. Many vets arent up to date with diabetes treatment and you can go to 20 different vets and get 20 different treatments for your cat. You need to be proactive and take control of this with the vet as your backup. I can help you all the way through this so please whatever the vet says, start on a low dose of insulin (1 unit 2x a day at most), have the vet teach you shots and whatever else and email me so I can give you the tools to rake care of your cat. This is published in javma about nutrtion which is the vets bible. http://home. earthlink. net/~jacm2/id1.htm…



Leola

If you want some rationale from veterinarians that conflicts with what is posted here so far you can go to http://www. littlebigcat. com and read Dr. Jean Hovfes article titled "What Cats Should Eat", "Why Cats Need Canned Food", "Does Dry Food Clean the Teeth?", etc. I just read a book by Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM titled "Your Cat - Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life". She worked for a commercial cat food company for 15 years and is totally convinced that 95% of current problems cat are seeing veterinarians for is the result of inappropriate (dry) diet. That book was available through my county library systems.



Darwin

Ive had cats since i was 6 months old.. indoor and outdoor.. and it wasnt until i started having indoor that i fed them wet food..dry food is made specially for cats.. it is healthy and yes there are some cats that dont do well on it.. the only reason my indoor cats get some.. maybe a can a week.. is cause outdoor cats eat mice and critters and need that.. wet food supplies it for my indoor cats.. my vet says that dry food is very healthy.. and most of my cats have lived 10-15 years on dry food.. above average.. i think if your against it.. its your choice.. but that its better than feeding meats and veggies and such



Colleen

When I first got my 2 kittens I fed them only dry food on the advice of a friend. after doing a lot of internet research I came to the same conclusion that you have and I did a complete turnaround and now my cats never ever get dry food, except a couple of those treats to clean their teeth. they eat a raw meat diet with a bit of canned, but majority is raw meat. there are 2 sides to this story and I feel that you just need to pick the one that you believe makes the most sense and I have chosen the "dry food is poison" route. It seems that there is a great deal of info out now about cat nutrition and that dry food contributes to diabetes, obesity, renal disease and other health problems and I do believe it. certainly, others feel that dry is best but it is certainly not what nature intended cats to eat. dry food is not all that great for their teeth either and you can brush their teeth or get them cleaned anyway, so what does that matter. that is usually the only convincing argument the dry food lovers ever come up with.



Ahmad

Good for you for doing research for your cat! More pet owners should. I dont have a cat yet, but will soon. I have also been doing research and have found conflicting information. Based on what I read though, I too am beginning to believe that an all wet food diet is better for cats. One key factor is cats are supposed to get most of their water from their food. Cats have a very low thirst drive so they do not drink the way a dog would. In the wild, cats get about 75% of their water from their food since they eat meat (mostly muscle meat). Dry food has VERY little water in it and in turn doesnt give your cat what it needs. Even the best quality dry food is just plain lacking in terms of what your cat’s body is looking for. Plus, dry food is very high in carbs which cats bodies are not equip to handle. There are many health problems associated with an all dry food diet because of the lack of water and too many carbs. Of course some cats will do fine on an all-dry food diet. A cat I had years ago couldnt eat wet food as it gave her diarrhea. She did great on an all-dry food diet. When I adopt my new cat I am going to feed her an all wet diet. From what I have read, a wet food without gravy is better because the gravy adds more unnecessary carbs. Also a wet food with muscle meat and no grain is the best. I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your kitty.-BritEDIT: I forgot to add that some people believe that dry food is better because it helps prevent tarter build up. Dry food may help with this but with all the cons of dry food it is crazy to feed an all-dry diet for just this reason. When having a cat on an all wet diet, the cat should be given treats and toys to chew on to avoid tarter build up instead of dry kibble. Also having your cats teeth cleaned on a regular basis will also help with that. I have seen some research on feeding cats a mix diet of wet and dry. I am considering this as well. If I do use both, I plan to have her on a mostly wet diet with some dry mixed in some days a week. That way she can have that texture of chewing on something plus the benefit of helping her teeth. The only thing that bugs me about giving the cat some dry food is it would add extra carbs into her diet. I guess this is a personal choice that we all have to make. If I do go the dry food and wet food mix, she will probably only get dry food a couple times a week mixed into the wet food. Just a note, even though cats dont drink water all that often it is still important to have clean fresh water out at all times.



Dierdre

I have 5 cats and all they eat is hard food on thanksgiving the get the giblet or whatever they are called and maybe once a year we get a small can of soft cat food and split it up between the five cats but hard cat food wont hurt your cat



Alleen

My cat will not eat wet food at all and only eats dry and he is very healthy. I feed a high quality food (California Natural). My vet and I have discussed this and he thinks this is fine and better for the cats teeth as well. There is nothing wrong with a well-formulated dry food. I know there are a lot of opinions out there and some will disagree, but I did my own research, checked with my vet and my cat is fine (and wont eat wet anyway).



Allison

I agree. My last cat ate grocery store dry food until she was 14 and was diagnosed with IBD. Because there was no way I could pill her, I started feeding her grocery store canned food until she died at 20.She was certainly an argument that cats can live on dry food - even thrive! However, Im sure that she would have done even better on a good canned food, and may not even have become sick in the first place. Its rather ironic that I switched her to canned food - even though it was crappy food, it may actually have been of some benefit. But anyway - I personally only offer dry food as the occasional treat, and I give them Evo on those occasions.



Alicia

Actually dry food is better for your cats, JUST make sure they always have plenty of water!!!!!!



Donella

My opinion is: the whole key to a good dry Cat feed is simply this:If the first ingredient is listed as Fish; Poultry; or Eggs(dried; or other hi protein) then the formula is good. If the first ingredient listed on the feed-bag is:Corn ; then the formula is not good. Degerminated Corn is not appropriate feed. Purina One lists Salmon or Poultry as #1 ingredient as does Purina Natural Blends. THE NEW NATURAL DRY FEEDS ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO THE OLD DRY FEEDS; Always go for the NATURAL formulas; many have added Omega # and 6 Essential Fatty Acids known to help dry skin; itchy. Puina Naturals even has "Sweet Potato extract; also known to help skin dryness(because Sweet Potato is a phytoestrogen);So Yes Dry high nutrient feed is ok "24/7.Do not skimp with the dry; put out extra H20.Supplement the Dry feed with an egg oten. Just whip an egg up until smooth; hi protein. You can also add canned tuna to dry feed.



Monserrate

Ive read that modern dry cat food has all the acid and digestive properties of wet food, and Ive read that its terrible to give to them and it will kill them or at least make them obese. Actually your best bet is to ask your vet which is right for YOUR cat.



Adan

No not at all. I use Friskies dry cat food for our four cats. They love it and no problems. Good luck.



Emanuel

No. but they do fresh tuna every once in a while



Audria

I leave the dry stuff out all the time and then feed the Monsters twice a day, with canned food, at Breakfast and Dinner. plus - just before everybody is finished, and if im not as vigilant as i should be. .. the dog and cats will switch dishes. i guess thats just their way of getting in some dessert.



Numbers

AT THE MOMENT i HAVE 6 OF THEM, my oldest Paco died 4 months ago at 21 years old, he love dry food the rest is eating dry food and twice a day soft food, I buy the best I can afford but they love Friskies I also buy Max cat but I have to mix it with the other one because they dont like it.



Angelena

I think dry food is the best choice. if you feed canned or semi-moist food primarily, their teeth will have major tartar build-up.



Lucina

1- I am not a cat.2-I do not like cats - they make me remember my mother in law - though she loved me more that her daughter ( my 40 year wife does! ) 3. Dry foods cannot be that dry there must be something watery for any living species for any at organism to function - be such of very little dose.4- Please stop throwing cats questions. why?5- All call me "CAT" since childhood. In fact I am called" SAT" whicjh means" cat "in western language. Do you get me now?



Johnette

Get the Trader Joes food for like 30 cents a canand Science crunchiesold cats cant have any crunchies though



Filomena

Dry cat food is just fine for cats if they are also given canned on occasion. I have raised cats for years this way and most have lived long and healthy lives. The dry helps to keep tarter from building on their teeth. They need the wet forms to help with digestion AND it is now being found that the canned food also makes them feel fuller longer because of the way it breaks down in their digestive tract so they do not eat as much all around. BUT...a diabetic cat requires special food that you have to purchase from your vet. Science Diet D/M is the best one. It is made strictly for diabetic cats and there is a dry and canned form. Feeding both is an excellent diet choice for the cat.



Oren

Dry food is good for your pets teeth. It helps with tartar buildup. Tartar build-up can lead to heart problems. Make sure you get your pets teeth cleaned when necessary.



Benita

I work at a rescue centre for cats and I have not noticed any problems with feeding fry food to the cats there and dry food is what we feed them. I dont have a problem with my cat either, as she wont touch dried food.