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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2005Is dry cat food good enough, or do they need canned food too?
Hi. Is dry cat food good enough, or do they need canned food too? I don't mean the cheap dry food. I mean Science Diet or Iams. Thanks. Lewis Lang > Hi. Is dry cat food good enough, or do they need canned food too? I > don't mean the cheap dry food. I mean Science Diet or Iams. > > Thanks. > > Lewis Lang Your cats would be much better off on the same quality canned food. A little dry food is ok, but canned food should make up most of your cats' diet. Canned food is especially important for male cats since they are susceptible to potentially fatal urinary tract obstructions. Phil > > Your cats would be much better off on the same quality canned food. A [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Phil I can attest to this because of my recent experience with Mingy. I am coming to the conclusion that one of the most important factors is whether our cats eat wet or dried food. The latter seems to be good for teeth, but the former leads to much less concentrated urine, which is a very good thing.  SignatureJean B. > > Your cats would be much better off on the same quality canned food. A > > little dry food is ok, but canned food should make up most of your cats' [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > seems to be good for teeth, but the former leads to much less > concentrated urine, which is a very good thing. Jean, Very few dry foods are beneficial for a cats teeth. The few that are, do very little. The individual cat's oral chemistry plays a larger role. Most dry foods are small pellets or small nuggets which most are swallowed whole. For a dry food to have any benefit, the nuggets must be large so the cat's teeth can sink all the way down into them. Also, the nuggets should be soft enough so they don't shatter when the cat sinks her teeth into them. Since cats don't (can't) chew as in mastication, dry food doesn't have the same effect in cats as it does in dogs - whose jaws are capable of lateral and rotary motion. The cats jaw hinge (condyloid process) is shaped like a bar (like a door hinge) precisely to limit lateral motion when a cat is holding struggling prey. http://maxshouse.com/anatomy/Dentary/Mandible-right-medial_view.jpg Humans' and dogs' condyloid processes are oval-shaped so they can rotate. When cats close their mouth, the upper and lower carnassial teeth slide across each other like a scissor to *cut* meat into smaller pieces. That's why cats have pointed teeth and not fissured crowns. In nature, cats keep their teeth clean by sinking them into meat. Ever see a picture of a tiger, leopard, lion, or cheetah with dirty teeth!? Its also possible for little pieces of dry food to get driven into the gums at the gumline between the gum and the teeth. You can keep your cats teeth clean by feeding chunks of chicken and turkey breast and by wiping the teeth with a gauze sponge dipped in saline and wrapped around your finger - or a Q-Tip. hth, Phil > > > Your cats would be much better off on the same quality canned food. A > > > little dry food is ok, but canned food should make up most of your cats' [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Phil REALLY! I do hear Mingy crunching on dry food, but then his old dry food (Nutro) was much bigger than the Wellness, Wysong, Hill's etc. that I have seen more recently. Speaking o' such, dare I ask whether Persian-type cats have particular trouble with some kinds of food? I began to wonder whether Mingy was having trouble eating the c/d, which comes in little round balls. I am not sure whether he has an easier time eating the Wysong Uretic formula. Also, he was eating some canned Wellness Chicken today (which he seems to like!), but it seemed pretty laborious for him. Maybe it's just me though.... SignatureJean B. Jean, What kind of dishes do you use? I used to use Melmac soup dishes but the raised sides seemed to "tickle" the whiskers so I switched to flat butter dishes. Maybe Mingy has trouble eating the canned food if you are using soup dishes. For dental, I give Tiger six pieces of Friskies Dental Diet in the evening (Amber won't eat it). The pieces are round and quite large so the cat has to break them apart. Phil once mentioned that the Friskies Dental Diet was one of the few foods that might be beneficial. ---MIKE--- > Jean, > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > ---MIKE--- I use Corningware dishes with very low sides. Mingy doesn't seem to mind his whiskers touching the edges of dishes when he eats and drinks, but I do think his flat face may play a role in what he can eat. I haven't heard of the Friskies Dental Diet and will look for that. I wonder whether Mingy would even deign to tackle them? <g> SignatureJean B. You might want to check out this very good article on why cats should be fed a wet food diet: http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf Lauren Thanks for that link. There are some other good articles catinfo.org too. The "Carnivore Connection" article raises a few questions: The article describes the foods eaten by wild cats as birds and rodents. Since cats have been living in the company of humans for many millenia now, to what extent (if any) have they evolved to thrive on whatever their human companions have? Based on the article, we see that an *individual* cat's digestive system is not very adaptible, but how much variation is there between breeds, or regions? There is tremendous variability in human diets: Inuits can subsit on seal meat while a west african's diet is based on cassava (although I don't think either of these two example cultures keep cats). What about the indigestibles in the diet of wild cats? Does rodent hair have a role in the digestive process despite its lack of actual nutrition, the way cellulose fiber does in humans? Lastly, why can't I buy canned food that has "squirrel," "sparrow," "meadow vole" or "rock dove" on the label? I know part (most?) of it is marketing: We want to buy food that sounds good to our own tastes, but can't pet food companies use the "wild cat" angle? It's amusing to think of our pet cats downing and devouring a buffalo, or snatching a fat salmon from the air as it leaps up a rapid, but these are not reality. Why so much "fish" and "beef" cat food? > Lastly, why can't I buy canned food that has "squirrel," "sparrow," "meadow > vole" or "rock dove" on the label? I know part (most?) of it is marketing: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > it leaps up a rapid, but these are not reality. Why so much "fish" and > "beef" cat food? I'd suspect that part of it is convenience. Humans already keep cows, salmon, and chickens for slaughter, so it's pretty easy to just raise a few more. In contrast, you'd need special facilities, different diets, etc for the animals you mention. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* I heard that some company (Iams?) tried a mouse flavored canned food. The cats would not eat it! ---MIKE--- >I heard that some company (Iams?) tried a mouse flavored canned food. >The cats would not eat it! I wonder if it really tasted like mice, or if it tasted like "mice" just like some Jolly Ranchers taste like "watermelon" or some energy bars taste like "chocolate." >I'd suspect that part of it is convenience. Humans already keep cows, salmon, >and chickens for slaughter, so it's pretty easy to just raise a few more. In >contrast, you'd need special facilities, different diets, etc for the animals >you mention. Absolutely. The costs of running squirrel farms or bird farms just for cat food is prohibitive. And when the alternatives are so much cheaper, even if one was started it could never be profitable. Just bear in mind that Dr. Zorans work is HYPOTHESIS only, and there is no clinical data to prove the theory at all. Like all hypothesis, it poses interesting questions worthy of future research. The downside to what the carbo-phobic proponents are pushing is that none of them are prepared to talk about the consequences. Like everything else in life, there are positive and negative efects of any action taken. None of the carbo-phobic crowd want to address some real issues that exist and which make the hypothetical theory risky. Deleting carbohydrates from the diet necessarily means other sources of energy must take their place. Since energy only comes from three places, carbs, protein and fats, it means that if carbs decline then protein or fats must increase. Increasing protein always brings with it risks - well documented and well understood risks. Increased protein almost always brings increased levels of phosphorus. Increased levels of phos in the general popualtion of acts wherein a significant number have undetected sub clinical renal failure is a recipe for disaster. Increased levels of proteins also bring in additional minerals that have been directly linked to hyperthyroidism in cats. When the carbophobics begin to address these well understood negative risks they will have a bit more credibility. |
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