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Posted by PHDrTobin on February 04, 2003 at 12:09:23:

In Reply to: Dry Cat Food posted by judy12 on February 03, 2003 at 12:05:04:

:Dr. Tobin.

:Why are you against it?

:I visit another board and many people are against wet food?

:I don't understand either opinion.

Cats, by nature, are not big drinkers; they get most of their water in the wild from their food. Meat, their natural food, is about 75% water, or about 3 parts water for each one part of solids. Dry food is arond 10% water, so to get an equivalent amount of water, a cat on dry food must drink almost three times as much water as it consumes in dry food. A cat seldom does this. Therefore, its urine, which is pretty concentrated in the best of circumstances, becomes even more concentrated. This leads to crystal formation, leading to irritation in the bladder, allowing bacteria to settle in the bladder. The bacteria split urea, producing ammonia, which raises the urinary pH, which causes more crystals to form from the concentrated urine, etc. We see this as cystitis or FUS in females, and often as urethral blockages in males, which are often fatal. In addition, cats on dry food tend to become overweight and often vomit. All dry foods have a high percentage of grains and carbohydrates. It has recently been shown that carbohydrates in cats can lead to diabetes. Aside from convenience, I can't think of one good reason for feeding a cat dry food.
Canned food can have problems as far as quality and consistancy go. The best food for a cat would be fresh raw meat and bones, which is what cats have evolved to live on.

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