Feline Nutrition: Should You Feed Your Cat Dry or Wet Food?

Any animal needs a proper diet and proper nutrition to ensure its longevity. As a responsible cat owner, the duty falls on your shoulders to select the right food for your adorable little tigers. But should you feed your cat dry or wet food? We will answer this question to provide you with the proper guidance in caring for your cats.

It is true that there are many problems with dry food and the three main and most important ones are the type of protein, the carbohydrate content and the water content. Studies have also shown that there are many diseases associated with eating kibble or dry food, including diabetes, hairballs, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, asthma, and dental health. To better understand, let’s take a look at the top three problems with dry food one by one.

protein type

Dry cat food is high in plant-based protein. If you don’t already know, cats are naturally carnivorous. In the wild, cats hunt birds and rats. By natural design, cats are obligate carnivores, and this means that their bodies were designed to obtain protein from other animals. This is why lions, tigers, and other members of the cat family are fed real meat in captivity. Dry cat food, having plant-based protein, does not provide enough of this essential amino acid to your pets.

To top it off, cats are not physically built to effectively digest protein from plants. Their internal organs are designed in such a way that they can better absorb protein if the protein comes from animal meat. Cats also need Taurine. It is an essential amino acid found in protein, but plant protein contains very little compared to animal protein. Without taurine, cats are likely to develop blindness and heart disease. In humans, taurine is essential for babies to develop their brains and cognitive functions.

carbohydrate content

As mentioned above, cats do not eat grass. This means that they have less carbohydrate demand than other animals because plants like grains or wheat are high sources of carbohydrates. The problem with dry food is that it contains too many carbohydrates that our cats don’t need. In the wild, cats eat smaller animals that are high in protein and high in moisture. Dry cat food does not provide this but is high in carbohydrates. Cats do not need carbohydrates and feeding them foods high in carbohydrates is detrimental to their health.

water content

Every living thing needs water. The problem with cats is that they don’t seem to have a natural drive to be thirsty. You will notice that they rarely drink water compared to dogs. This type of defect in its natural design poses a serious risk to your health.

And that is why you need to induce a large amount of fluids in your diet. If you don’t, you risk your cats developing chronic dehydration. It goes without saying that dry foods have a very low moisture content compared to canned wet foods. In nature, a mouse or bird is normally 70% water. With this raw diet, the cat gets enough protein, less carbohydrates and 70% water. Dry food or kibble only contains about 10% water and this is not enough to provide your cat with the right amount of fluid.

So what is the verdict? Feed your cats a canned wet food or raw diet that can meet these three basic dietary requirements. Also, you have to be careful since not all wet foods meet this nutritional value. Read labels carefully and use your best judgment.