Should My Kitten Eat Wet Or Dry Food
If you re switching from dry to wet cat food it s completely normal for your cat to drink a little less than usual and eat more food in less time than they usually do.
Should my kitten eat wet or dry food. You can feed your cat on wet or dry food or a combination of both. But kittens have a higher requirement for protein amino acids and minerals as well as for some vitamins. Dry food must however be stored in a dry clean environment. However cats can gain excess weight on either dry or canned food.
Some cats prefer to be fed wet food in the morning for example but have dry food left out during the day to snack on. Cats that eat a consistent diet of wet food should be given daily crunchy treats to help reduce the amount of tartar build up on their teeth. Dry foods are usually more energy dense than wet foods so you may need to give your cat proportionally more wet food to get the same amount of calories. Cats are on dry food only diets are more prone to obesity and diabetes than the cats who eat wet cat food.
Dry food does tend to have a higher carbohydrate content than some canned foods which means that your cat may gain weight easier on dry food than wet if allowed to overeat. For example kittens should get about 30 of their energy from protein. If your cat eats predominantly dry food you may want to invest in a pet water fountainto encourage more water consumption. A recent study showed that switching from dry to wet food decreased the incidence of cystitis or inflammation of the bladder in cats 4make sure your cat has fresh clean waterevery day.
There are many kinds of kibble. If you have a kitten now is the time to start getting them used to eating canned food because kittens will form a preference and associations with the texture of their food. Feeding cats wet food is never as simple as just opening up a can and letting them eat until they re full. Some pet parents also opt to mix a wet food into the dry kibble for both moisture and an extra kick or protein.
So a cat who has never tried canned food before or dry food for that matter may be more difficult to transition. And part is due to it gives a free choice feeding of dry cat food which gives cats 24 hour access to food. Obesity is currently the most common nutritional disease seen in cats. The reason behind it is due to the high carbohydrate levels.