Is dry food or canned food better for a kitten?

Question

I have a kitten, i got him yesterday.
I've been searching online what to feed this kitten.
As of right now, I'm mixing dry food with canned food [because he won't eat dry food alone]
And I'm planning on making the amount of canned food less over time, so the kitten can convert to dry food alone.

I've heard canned food is unhealthy for a kitten, or any cat for that matter.
But I've also heard that dry food is worse?
This left me a little stuck. Any help?
Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi there,



ConCATulations on your new kitten. How exciting for you.



Folks who do not understand proper feline nutrition will of course advise dry food, as it is convenient for the owner. Saying that moist food is bad for cats is simply not true, and is a huge piece of misinformation. In fact, high quality moist foodi s a far superior way of feeding. Most of the dry foods available at supermarkets are "junk food" as far as quality. They contain grain, meat by-products and are not healthy for them. Also dry food contains very little liquids and cats need water in their diets. Since generally they are not big water drinkers, that extra fluid is very important. Moist foods contain a good percentage of water which is necessary for them.



Cats need meat protein and not plant protein. Corn, wheat, and rice are the main "fillers" that the majority of the dry food manufacturers use to bulk up their products. The same is true for commercial cat foods available in supermarkets. Cats need grainless food, with pure meat as the first ingredient, and not meat meal, or by products. There is one good dry food for cats that is grainless and has meat as a first ingredient. It is available at many high quality pet stores. Evo Cat and Kitten food is the brand.



Read this article about what cats require in their diet, as obligate carnivores. It is written by a veterinarian who is an expert in the field.



http://www.catinfo.org/



So if you are searching online, go to http://www.petfooddirect.com and check out Wellness brand kitten food. This is an excellent food which has always been a favorite with my kittens. You can get Evo also at that site. Once you order a couple of times, you will be on their mailing list. They have frequent discount sales, where the cost of shipping is basically wiped out by the savings they offer.. 20-22% are often available.



By the way, since cats do not thoroughly chew their food, "it is good for dental care" is a total myth. Pieces of dry food get stuck between their teeth and are ripe for the formation of cavities. The way to keep cat's teeth clean is brushing them and regular veterinary dental care.



Hope this helps, and please feed moist food to your kitten. He will be a lot healthier and happier, and your vet bills will be far lower.



Troublesniffer

Owned by cats for over 40 years

Member: Cat Writer's Association

Former CFA registered breeder of Siamese, Oriental Shorthairs, Burmese and Russian Blues

Answer 2

Stefania, congratulations on your new baby.



You didn't say how old the kitten was, but when I rescue them, I always give them wet food, either turkey or chicken, because it's easier on their tummies. I also keep a bowl of dry food handy at all times so they can snack whenever they like. They are babies and can get hungry at various times.



After a few days I mix the dry and wet food, but still keep the dry food available at all times. Even with my adult cats they get a little wet food mixed with the dry and are free-fed dry food.



Make sure he has plenty of fresh water and NO milk, as it can give a kitten the runs.



Some people like to feed only dry food because it is specially formulated for a cat's needs and the crunchiness promotes better dental health.



Others prefer wet food because cats are meat eaters and they don't want their cat eating some of the fillers found in dry cat food. Some cat owners advocate a raw diet, since that is what cats eat in the wild; what their kitties get is fresh and uncooked. The choice is up to you, but your vet can offer some guidelines.



Get your baby to the vet so he can have a check-up, age-appropriate vaccinations, deworming, etc. He will need (by law) a rabies shot at four months old and he should get neutered before he's six months old. If you don't get him fixed you will have a stinky tom cat on your hands who will start spraying!

Answer 3

This is for all cats of all ages but especially for young and old





Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health

Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.

Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?

http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/InterpretingLabels.htm

Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Male cats are especially prone to blockages

from dry food. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. ( Have a fat cat?)

Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food

You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.

THE BEST CAT FOODS CONTAIN NO GRAINS NO BYPRODUCTS

Cats are meat eaters not cereal or rice eaters

Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.

Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php



Please read about cat nutrition.

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall



Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm

Nutritional Education Program website page for the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Notice who they are receiving grants from for this program

http://mypetcarnivore.com/educational_grant.htm

Answer 4

Try Science Diet Kitten Formula. It is dry food and just wet it down with a little bit of water. I have a kitten right now and that is what I do. Then if he ever gets sick, and needs that type of food he will already be used to it.

It is a very healthy food and it works. I still use the adult kind on my 1 year old cat and he is very healthy and is springy. lol I hope I helped.



You can find this at Target and maybe Wal-Mart. Ask your vet.



edit:

Canned food made my other cat sick and she got cancer and passed. I would ask your vet or just call for an answer!



Canned food is REALLY bad don't listen to the things the other people tell you. Science diet is tested by scienctists that know what they are doing. I hope you believe me because if you give him canned food, you will regret it. Maybe everyonce in a while give her half a can of canned food. Ok, I have had 7 cats in my life so I know. Thanks!



Oh and if you don't want completly dry food, then just wet it down..

Answer 5

Canned foods are much better for kittens and adult cats. All dry can cause problems over time (especially with males and UTI's).



I would feed one meal of canned food and give dry on the side. Free feed till about 5 months old, then start giving one meal of canned, one meal of dry.

Answer 6

Both are okay but do as you said and get him used to dry food but every now and then like once a week or something give him a half a can of canned food just to change it up a bit. Good luck!

Answer 7

Canned food is by far the better food to feed your kitten. That myth about dry food cleaning their teeth really needs to be stopped.



I have three cats, two of them eat kibble for breakfast and wet food for supper and the third one eats only wet food because she can't metabolize kibble properly and she gains weight on it. The one who eats only wet food has extremely clean, bright white teeth with NO plaque, the ones who eat kibble have fairly clean teeth but they do have alot more plaque primarily on their back teeth then my other girl and I have to brush their teeth which they hate.



If I could afford to feed them all on wet food only I would do it in a heart beat but I'm only a student and that would cost me a fortune right now. Saying kibble cleans their teeth is simply not true, its like telling a human that eating pretzels will clean their teeth. What actually happens its bits of the hard food stick to your teeth causing a build up of plaque and tarter.



If you can give your cat wet food twice a day and leave out a small bowl of kibble for nibbling on that would be the very best thing you could do for your kitten.



Cats evolved from desert cats and should obtain about 95% of required water and liquids from the food they eat and as such have a very low thirst drive. Cats fed on kibble only diets are very prone to diabetes, kidney failure, dehydration and other things.



Wet food is the way to go



And FYI to the answerer who said their cat lost weight on wet food that's because kibble is full of carbs that turn into fat in the cats body causing them to gain wait, wet food is what they SHOULD be eating so if they aren't fed enough they will lose weight as it is low in carbs and sugars. You can't feed the same amount of wet food as you would kibble, you need to increase the amounts to compensate for liquids.

Answer 8

I think either is okay. What you really want to be looking at is the meat content of the food. Unfortunately foods like Whiskas and Felix only have a meat content of around 4%.



There are conflicting views on whether dry or wet food is better but really I think you need to go what is best for you and you cat.



Foods that have a good high meat content of 60% and above are one like Wet: Applaws, Hilife & Natures Menu and dry foods like Applaws & Orijen. You can get most of those foods here; http://www.mutleyandmog.co.uk/cat/cat-food/



I have gotten samples of food from Mutley & Mog also. They have been really helpful in helping me choose the best food for my cats.



Good on you for wanting the best for your new kitten!

Answer 9

I have a cat, and I've asked him about this before. What we do is feed our cat dry food all the time- there is always some available to her. Dry food should be a cat's main diet. It helps clean their teeth and is a lot less messy than wet food is! But you can't go on a totally dry diet. Feed your cat/kitten wet food once a week. It helps keep her hydrated and is also good for them. We used to just give my cat Izzy dry food, but she had some urinary tract issues, which can happen to any cats who do not take in enough water, so we talked to our vet, and we were told to give her wet food once a week to help the hydration issues.



So both are good, but in different amounts. Hope that helped!



Meg



~i <3 sage~

Answer 10

dont listen to the crap they tell you, i have three kittens on dry food, we had 4 and gave that 1 away, it came back for the weekend and he lost weight in 3 days living off of canned food.



Canned food is wet and runs there their system faster so they get less nutrients, it gives them diarhea and cleaning out the litter box is much worse



dry food is healthier, more fattening, cleans there teeth, and is good for there teeth



give your kitten dry food or you will regret it, but you can give it wet food every once in a while for a treat

Answer 11

believe it or not, canned food is better!

our cat can now only eat canned food because he became diabetic

canned food is lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein.

it is more expensive but, ultimately, better for your cat!