More economical to feed dry cat food....

Discussion in Pets started by batgirl • Nov 20, 2014.

  1. batgirl

    batgirlMember

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    I have 8 cats and used to feed them a mainly wet food diet, with cat biscuits as an addition. However, following an interesting discussion with a lady I was cat sitting for I decided to try switching my cats to a dry food diet.

    I thought it would be more expensive, but better for their health and general wellbeing - I was right on one point and wrong on the other. The improvement in not only the general health but also behaviour of my cats was remarkable, they seemed more relaxed and pestered for food a lot less. They also adjusted to the new diet with minimal fuss. I still give them the occasional treat of wet food as they do enjoy it, but this is only once a week.

    I was even more surprised to discover that feeding them dry food was actually more economical than wet! The main food I give them is Harringtons dry cat food which had excellent reviews and contains all natural ingredients, in addition to a high protein content. This product costs around £5 for 2kg making it more affordable than the higher profile big brands such as Iams or Purina One.
     
  2. H.C. Heartland

    H.C. HeartlandActive Member

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    Growing up, my mother used to use dry cat food. Over the years as our cat got older, it's teeth began to weaken and it began harder to chew the dry food. So my mother would poor some hot water over and let it cool a bit before giving it to the cat. This softened the food and even created a nice looking broth that the food absorbed. After 20 years, when the cat finally went blind, my mother switched to wet. But for the majority of that cats well lived 21 years, it survived being attacked by a bird, shriveling up veins, and noisy kids, all on dry food. So well posted! :)
     
  3. chiofthenorns

    chiofthenornsActive Member

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    Good luck with that. I hope that the dry food/kibbles that you chose for your pets are grain-free and of the best quality like Orijen. Never feed Whiskas or Friskies or even those very cheap supermarket brands. These are very salty and full of fillers. One of my cats died and another almost died due to renal failure. Cats, by nature, do not drink a lot of water, so the food that they should eat should have a lot of moisture content. Dry food only contains about 10% moisture. I know that dry food has benefits such as keeping the teeth and gums healthy. I hope that your cats will not suffer from kidney disease due to dry food.
     
  4. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    Dry food is actually very bad for animals and a quick search will show you the many reasons why. It's horrible for their kidneys, the risk of bacteria and molding etc etc etc etc etc. I'd say them calming down is a sign of that.. cats should have a lot of energy. And if they aren't asking for food, I'd say it's because they're indifferent. They probably don't prefer it and don't feel very well on it. There are some pretty awful things in both wet and dry foods, but I would go with wet food of the two.. hands down. No matter how bad a brand may be, it will always be better for the animal than dry.
     
  5. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    My thoughts exactly. Our cat suddenly had difficulty peeing after more than a year of feeding him Whiskas. So we took him to the vet, and the vet inserted a cathether in my cat's organ. A month later after being only on a glucolyte diet, he regained his appetite and has survived. So now I am wary of dry or wet cat food.
     
  6. tulosai

    tulosaiActive Member

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    Well, what to feed an animal is certainly a personal decision for everyone to make themselves. I don't think anyone does any good by denigrating one another.

    With that said, while the original poster is absolutely correct that it's cheaper to feed dry food, I've become convinced over the years that it's not as good for the cat. This is chiefly because cats don't drink or get enough water if they are on dry food. This can and does lead to all kinds of health problems. Cats who are free fed dry food are also far more likely to be obese. If anyone is truly interested in reading more on this topic, you can google Lisa A. Pierson who has an extensive and well researched article on this topic online.

    There may be times when feeding all wet food or even mostly wet food is prohibitively expensive, though, and everyone has to use their best judgment on this.
     
  7. mariee

    marieeActive Member

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    I feed mine both a mixture of dry and wet food. Dry food is cheaper, but I know that dry food alone isn't very healthy. I buy Authority dry food, that's a Petsmart brand. It's not the best but it's a whole lot better than the cheaper ones. It has more meat and it doesn't have corn (it has some wheat but meat is the main ingredient). My vet says that's fine.

    But all of my cats are rescued, and this vet works at a shelter and is used to working with rescuers. Most of the cats on the shelter (if they are accepted and not put to sleep) will eat the cheapest possible food, and the ones living on the street are even worse. For most of the rescuers, it comes down to money. If they buy the best food out there, they won't be able to afford more cats. Because there are so many cats that need good homes a sacrifice in the food quality seems like an ok trade off when the alternative is to leave them to die.
     
  8. hayrake

    hayrakeActive Member

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    I tend to give my cats a small portion of wet food in the mornings and later in the day I fill a little bowl I keep on the porch with dry. I don't always buy the same brands, believing, for no special reason that it's probably better to change about. I only have two cats, but I have a lot of other animals to feed so I never buy the high end foods. Probably the brand I buy the most is Paws And Claws--the Tractor Supply brand--in both wet and dry; but, like I say, that's no where near every time.
    My cats also like to beg from the table, so I can't seem to help sharing with them a little bit. They love eggs and little bits of buttered biscuits. And small samplings of about any meat I might fix.
     
  9. LitoLawless

    LitoLawlessActive Member

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    It always seemed as though dry cat food was cheaper. I can get a tub of dry food for about $5-$6 dollars and my cat loves it. It's always quite surprising how much she loves it, considering how picky of an eater she is. I wouldn't think that this would be the case with most cats, I just always thought that dry food was the cheaper option when it comes to feeding your cat.
     
  10. Feneth

    FenethActive Member

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    You also might consider prey model raw diet for your cats. It's remarkably cheap to add a little extra grocery wise for the cat and closer to their natural diet.

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