Do Cats Need Wet Food?
Should I feed my cat wet food?
This article is written by Pet Circle veterinarian,
In the past, feeding a kibble-only diet has been the simple, convenient and preferred option for many pet parents. After all, dry food is complete and balanced, no fuss and no mess- why add anything else?
Over time, the benefits of wet food have become more apparent and go far beyond just providing some variety for your kitty. Read on to find out why you should consider including some wet food in your furry friend's diet.
Contents:
- What are the benefits of wet food for cats?
- How popular is wet food?
- How much wet food should I feed my cat?
- What do I do if my cat doesn't eat wet food?
- Should I feed dry food as well?
- The bottom line
What are the benefits of wet food for cats?
1. Increases hydration and supports urinary health
In general cats have a lower thirst drive than dogs, which means they don't feel the need to drink water as often. Wet food naturally has a much higher moisture content than kibble. Offering wet food as part of the diet is an easy and direct way to increase your cat's water intake and therefore improve their hydration.
Adequate water intake boosts overall wellness and can even help to prevent and manage certain medical conditions.
Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is a relatively common condition in cats. The increase in hydration provided by wet food helps to reduce urine concentration. Diluting urine creates an environment that is less favourable to the formation of urinary crystals. Other causes of FLUTD are also managed by increasing water intake.
Improving hydration is also an important component in the management of kidney disease.
Looking for more ways to increase your cats hydration? Read our article How To Increase Your Cat's Water Intake.
2. Highly palatable
You may have noticed that your feline friend goes crazy over their wet food and is a bit less enthusiastic about their kibble. This is very common! In fact, there may be an instinctual reason for this preference.
While domestic cats have adapted to their modern dry food diets, wet food is considered to share more similarities with the raw meat that made up the diet of their ancestors.
The rich textures, flavours and aromas of wet food are often in a league of their own and generally cannot be matched by kibble. These stronger aromas can help encourage fussy cats, unwell cats, or older kitties with weakened smell and taste senses to eat.
3. Provides variety and indulgence
Just like us, many cats enjoy having variety in their diet. As you can imagine, eating the exact same meal day in, day out would get a little boring after a while!
While there are a range of kibble types and flavours available, wet food offers a complete change in texture. There are even multiple different textures of wet food to tempt your kitty with, including gravy, jelly, and pâté.
While chicken and fish have historically been the most popular flavours, more and more alternative protein sources are coming to the market including turkey, duck, lamb and venison. These offer a little extra indulgence and are also great choices for pets with food allergies or digestive sensitivities.
Best Wet Cat Foods for Variety and Indulgence
4. Complete and balanced alternative to home-prepared food
For many pet parents, home-prepared food is considered a great way to provide some variety in your pet's diet. However, did you know that it's very difficult to ensure that home-made food is nutritionally balanced?
While you can engage the services of a veterinary nutritionist to ensure your pet has the correct proportion of nutrients in their diet, a much easier way to provide a complete and balanced (but still exciting!) diet is to add in some wet food.
Wet food shares many of the benefits of home-prepared meals, such as palatability and increased moisture content, but eliminates the chance of nutritional deficiencies or risks linked to feeding raw meat. Not to mention, it's a lot less time-consuming to prepare!
How popular is wet food?
While the Australian pet food industry as a whole is undergoing a rapid growth phase, wet food in particular is experiencing a boost of popularity.
A recent analysis of pet food trends showed that from 2016-2021, total sales of wet cat food in Australia increased by 16%, with premium quality wet food sales jumping by 33%. These figures suggest an ongoing rise in popularity of premium foods as well as mixed feeding.
Best Premium Wet Cat Foods
How much wet food should I feed my cat?
The feeding requirements for each individual type of wet food will vary, and we recommend checking the feeding guide for your chosen food. You can find this on the packaging of the food and (in most cases) online.
An initial wet/dry ratio that works well for many pet owners is a 50% wet food, 50% dry food diet. The feeding amount for each type of food can be calculated by halving the total recommended amount for each food. This ratio can then be adjusted up or down as needed, depending on your and your cat's preferences.
Some owners choose to feed wet food only on certain days of the week. Always remember to adjust the feeding amount of any other type of food given on these days accordingly.
If your cat needs to lose weight, you should base the feeding amount on your cat's ideal body weight.
What do I do if my cat doesn't eat wet food?
For cats that are used to eating a dry food diet, or those that are a bit fussy, it may take some time to adjust to having wet food in their diet. Fortunately there are a huge array of flavours and textures of wet food on the market and you're bound to find something that will suit your pet.
Always remember to introduce a new food slowly and check out our guide on fussy eating for some tips on making the transition easier.
If your cat simply refuses to eat wet food, luckily there are other ways to increase their water intake. Consider investing in a water fountain or adding some flavour to their water as a treat.
Recommendations For Increasing Water Intake
Should I feed dry food as well?
While there are multiple benefits to feeding wet food, kibble definitely has its place too!
1. Dental health benefits
Dental care is perhaps the most notable health benefit of dry food. Feeding a wet food only diet can lead to an increased build-up of food between the teeth, which progresses to plaque and tartar and then gingivitis and periodontitis over time.
Having your cat on a wet food only diet with no dental home care would be the equivalent of us eating nothing but sticky, chewy food every day- and never brushing our teeth! Cavities galore, right?!
While tooth brushing is a viable option for many cats and is the gold standard of preventative dental care, it isn't always possible for those with spicy kitties or busy home lives. If this is the case, rest assured knowing that dry food can do some of the work for you.
When chewing kibble, the dry food pieces scrape against teeth, which can help to remove built up plaque and tartar. While any dry kibble can help, specially formulated dental diets are available for pets prone to dental disease.
Looking for more information on Dental Health? Read our article Dental Care For Cats.
2. Cost
From a cost perspective, dry food is generally more economical than wet food. The easier storage and transport of dry food means lower costs for the manufacturers and distributors, and these savings are generally passed on to the consumer.
Dry food is also the more calorie-dense option, meaning a smaller volume needs to be fed each day compared to wet food.
3. What about palatability?
Since cats are known to be a bit fussy, many premium food manufacturers place great importance on the palatability of their kibble. In addition, more and more alternative protein options are becoming available, offering a variety of flavours to tempt even the fussiest feline. For particularly fussy cats, dry food can be mixed with wet food, or moistened with water to improve scent and taste.
Best Dry Cat Foods
The bottom line
While cats don't need wet food, and can do well on a complete and balanced dry food only diet, there are many good reasons to mix things up a bit. While you should always check with your vet regarding the best food type for your pet- particularly if they have any health conditions- the ideal diet for most cats will be a combination of both wet and dry food.
Mixed feeding really does offer the best of both worlds: wet food to improve hydration and increase palatability; dry kibble to keep down the costs while boosting oral hygiene. It can also discourage your cat from developing strict diet preferences, as they are more accustomed to having a variety of different textures and flavours in their diet. This can help them to be able to adapt to any future diet changes more readily.
Further Reading
Ways to increase your cat's water intake
Tips for Feeding your Fussy Cat
How to introduce a new food to your pet
The real cost of supermarket food
Want to know more? Check out our Discover Page for more tips from our expert vets on keeping your pets happy and healthy.