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Canned Cat Food Versus Dry Cat Food

Cats > Diet and Nutrition > Canned Cat Food Versus Dry Cat Food

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A well formulated pet food, whether a canned cat food or dry food, is one that possesses an adequate amount of proteins, nutrients and fatty acids. The most important goal is to provide your cat with food that appeals to her and is also nutritious. However, there are cats with specific dietary needs due to certain health conditions.

Here are some details to help you make the best food choices for your cat.

Explore Canned Cat Food

The benefits of canned food:

Cats may eat canned foods more willingly than other foods. In some cases, canned foods are more aromatic and appealing to a cat's senses.
Canned food has a high percentage of water. A can of food contains all the water a cat needs to eat during one meal.
Canned food typically has more protein and superior fat sources than dried food.
Cats with certain health conditions benefit from eating canned foods. If your cat has UTI or kidney disease, canned food helps bring more water into her system.
Canned food contains fewer carbohydrates than dry foods.

Some drawbacks of wet cat food:

Semi-moist cat food is usually high in sugar and salt. They also tend to get very soggy and spoil easily.
A wet food source offers little to no dental benefits for a cat.

The Pros and Cons of Dry Food

Benefits of feeding your cat dry food:

Dried food has substantial dental benefits. It reduces the buildup of tartar and plaque on a cat's teeth.
Dry food is high in fiber and may help control the hunger pangs of cats on special diets.
Lasts longer in the bowl than canned cat food.
A brand like Science diet dry cat food has natural vegetable fibers that can help control hairball problems.

Drawbacks of dry cat food diet:

Some dry foods contain large amounts of carbohydrates, which is unhealthy for a cat's diet. A product that has over 40 percent filler ingredients is considered low-grade cat food.
If a cat eats primarily unhealthy dried food, she can become overweight and possibly diabetic.
The water content in dry food is very low. When a cat eats a lot of dried food, she can become dehydrated.

Transition to the New Food Source

When you find a nutritious food that your cat finds appealing, make the switch away from her old food gradually.
Transition her slowly over a week to 10-day period.
A sudden change in her diet could upset her digestive process.
Don't let canned food sit out for over two hours. A cat is likely to reject canned food that is not fresh.
Serve a diet of both canned and dry food to your cat. Feed her a small amount of canned food twice a day, and then leave her small amounts of dry food as well.

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