After the recent Wellness cat food recall, many cat owners wonder if it is safe to feed canned cat food to their furry family members. There is no clear-cut answer, but here common statements about canned cat food will be outlined and discussed, as to whether these statements hold any truth. This way pet parents can decide if canned food is right for their cat.
Canned Cat Food is not Nutritious Enough to be Fed Exclusively to a Feline
This is not true. There are many canned cat foods on the market that are grain-free, and made from 95% meat. Since cats are obligate carnivores, a can of cat food containing 95% meat provides better nutrition than most bags of kibble.
The trick is to pick a can of cat food that is made from high quality ingredients. Canned cat food that contains (or dry cat food for that matter) meat by-products, too much corn, wheat, or soy (too much as in these ingredients appear at the top of the list) or any dyes, colorants, or added sugar, is definitely not nutritious. The fact that cat food comes in a can does not make it bad for a feline, but the ingredients listed on the side of the can will tell how good a can of cat food it really is.
A cat can eat only canned food, as long as it is high quality. That being said, it never hurts to to introduce the cat to good quality dry kibble or raw food for variety. The more variety of foods that a cat is exposed to usually has a correlation to the quality of life of the feline, and how long it will live.
Cats Need Dry Kibble to Clean Their Teeth
This is a gray area. Anything hard and crunchy definitely helps scrape tartar off of the teeth of a cat, but this does not mean it has to be a dry kibble food. Many veterinarian prescribed foods for tartar control do the job, but do not always contain ingredients that coincide with optimal feline nutrition.
Many crunchy treats will help remove tartar from a cat's teeth, as well as raw diets that contain bone, dental chew toys, and nutritional supplements. If the cat allows it, the best way to clean a cat's teeth is to simply brush them.
The point here is that there are many ways to care for the oral health of a cat. Not feeding a cat canned food for the fear that the animal will develop dental problems is an unfounded fear, as long as something is being done to keep the cat's teeth clean.
Feeding a Cat Canned Food will Cause Digestive Problems, and Cause the Cat to Become Picky
Once again, as mentioned above, this has to deal with the quality of food fed, not whether the food comes in a can or not. High quality cat food will not cause digestive upsets to any greater degree than anything else. Low quality cans of cat food, on the other hand, most certainly will. The lack of proper nutrition coupled with horrible ingredients like dyes and colorants can definitely do harm to the digestive tract of a cat over time.
As far as cans of cat food making the cat picky, cats are picky no matter what you feed them. Cats have evolved over thousands of years to become finicky eaters. The natural instinct of the cat is to second guess every food placed in front of them. Feeding a cat many different flavors of canned food so that they eat a wide variety of flavors appeals to the natural instinct of being picky in a cat, but does not cause it.
Cats do have a long memory as to which foods made them sick, even if they were sick due to something other than the food. This means that a cat who was sick while eating a certain food may go off the food, even if the illness had nothing to do with it. Again, this is instinct, not the food. Switching the food, or even type of food (canned to dry for a bit) will probably get the cat eating again.
Canned Food Will Help Prevent Urinary Tract Infections and Difficulties
This statement is completely true. The biggest problem other than obesity facing felines and their pet parents today is urinary tract problems. This is due to the fact that cats often do not consume enough water. Since canned cat food is usually at least 75% water, feeding a feline wet food is a great way to prevent urinary tract illnesses.
The recent recalls in the pet food industry have caused many pet parents to take a second look at what they are feeding their cat. This, and the fact that there are so many different cat foods on the market today, have made choosing a good cat food difficult. Hopefully this article helps separate fact from fiction, and helps cat owners choose a food for their pet with confidence.
Ian Shoust - With a degree in Communications and a certificate in Digital Video Editing, Ian Shoust has worked as a freelance videographer, editor, and ...
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