Question
My cat is a two-year-old Maine Coon. He's very lean and in good health.
He has all-day free access to his dry food and he eats a small quantity a few times a day. As everything is going well I don't try to keep track of how much he's eating. I just know that everyday I have to add some fresh dry pellets.
However our other cat got sick at some point and the only we found to have him take his medications was to mix it with wet food. We then allowed the Maine Coon to have some as well.
Now it has become a habit and both cats get some (about 80 grams) of wet food every day. They seem to really enjoy it and they will make sure to remind us if we are late !
So the question is: Should my cat be allowed some wet food every day? (potential disadvantages to this, in term of health or unwanted interaction between the two foods?)
Answer
Well first, bear in mind that a cats natural diet is carnivorous and that type of diet is seldom dried pellets. :)
In general, dry and wet food options are, these days, quite on par in terms of nutritional quality. In the past, there could be complications from some varieties of foods containing high quantities of ash that could lead to kidney failure (we lost a cat as a consequence of that), but good quality food sources these days have removed that risk. In any event, why you might want to feed wet foods:
- Closer to their natural foods.
- Provides a source of moisture. Cats are often light drinkers and many will get their moisture only from food.
- Allows you to control the food volume better to avoid overeating.
Why you might want to feed dry foods:
- Convenient, allows the cat to graze as desired.
- Dental health, crunchy bits gives some teeth cleaning benefits.
I've found no evidence to suggest that there's any adverse issues with feeding both forms of food to your cats as a part of a regular diet and it can be recommended (link) in some cases. In general, assuming that they're not overeating and becoming obese, you can get the benefits of both forms of food if the cats are happy to eat them.
I would, however, make every effort to prevent sharing of food if you're still medicating. As with humans, sharing meds is not a good thing to be doing or to allow to happen.
Answered By - Joanne C