Why do they need dry food?

[Bogburglar99]

Gangly teenage Bogbastardkitten (identity acquired from the 'cat is a bastard' thread) is now 5 months and came from breeders on a couple of pouches a day plus Royal Canin biscuits. He's growing like stink and will be very big.

He wolfs the pouches but roundly disdains the Royal Canin or (so far) any other sort of biscuits I offer. Is it sensible to offer him a bit more wet food and fewer biscuits, or is there a good reason for him having both wet and dry? As DS says 'are the biscuits like his vegetables?'

[MrsLeighHalfpenny]

We give our cat a pouch in the morning and evening, and leave dry food out for her to nibble while we're at work in the day.

[FuzzyOwl]

Both are complete meals but the biscuits tend to be better for their teeth and often (allegedly) a higher quality food. I have a cat who only really likes biscuits and another that would rather go hungry than eat them, but scoffs down wet food. Both are healthy and happy eating the way they do but the wet food eater had almost half of her teeth removed when she was eight and the other one still has all of his and is the same age.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Because no pet food manufacturer has the balls to sell us whole mice to crunch on.

If he doesn't want them just give wet. I'd feed wet on demand. Ours has four pouches a day. He's a bengal and has a lot of muscle.

[Clobbered]

I think the biscuits are supposed to help keep their teeth fairly clean and tartar free. Some cats eat only dry food, partly for this reason. My cats have had bad teeth in the past, and there was definitely a difference between visits to the vet when they had been eating only wet food and when they had a significant amount of biscuits. Perhaps BBK prefers the wet food, but he probably should have some dry too. Maybe try withholding the wet stuff for a day or two? He won't starve himself and might acquire a liking for it!

[Bogburglar99]

Okay, so slightly like his vegetables but maybe giving a bit more wet food while he's growing so fast won't hurt? He won't starve I'm sure but if he was a human his wrists would be hanging out of his shirtsleeves and hed be bursting out of his trousers!

[babyboomersrock]

They don't need dry food. It's highly processed, not good for their kidneys and just means your cat has to drink more water. People use it because it's convenient and clean to serve, not because it's better for cats. I learned this the hard way (diabetic cat).

It's confusing because vets tend to stock/recommend dry food and breeders/rescues often use it for convenience. That doesn't mean it's the best long-term food for your pet. Unfortunately most pet nutrition education is provided by food manufacturers, so their advice is hardly unbiased.

While wet foods aren't all high quality meat (the popular, well-known ones tend to have low levels of protein and even added sugar), some of the better high-protein ones (Applaws etc) are closer to "real" food than "biscuits" can ever be.

[Fluffycloudland77]

There's a cat toothpaste, think its called logic. You can put it on their paw and they lick it off.

It's got enzymes in it to break down plaque. I put it on our cat but the vet hasnt checked his teeth so I dont know if it's working. He wont let me look in his mouth,

[Bogburglar99]

Thank you, a really interesting range of views. No definite right answer is there! BBK and I will continue to work it out.

Never thought of needing to clean their teeth!

[BagelwithButter]

And those who raw feed their cats, say DOC (day old chicks) are as addictive as crack cocaine!

[givemushypeasachance]

I partially raw-feed, and belong to a cat raw feeding group on FB who can be pretty evangelical; their ethos tends to be "the cheapest wet food is better than the most expensive dry food". When you think about it, processed nuggets of dry food couldn't really be less like what cats evolved to eat. And definitely not with wheat in like cheaper biscuits use as filler. Saying that I do give mine some dry food alongside their wet food breakfasts and raw food dinners - admittedly it's a convenience thing, you can leave it down and know it won't go off or dry out and become unappetising and they can snack on it without you having to be there to portion out the next meal.

If you'd be willing to experiment with raw feeding then the scissoring of raw meat and crunching of raw bones is how cats are supposed to use their teeth, and that naturally cleans them. Things like chicken wing tips and ribs or chicken necks can be crunched by even small cats - if they're not an awkward lazy git like one of mine who prefers not to have to chew his meals! Just never offer cooked bones, that's when they can splinter and cause injury.