Is a Wet Food Diet Healthy For Your Cat?

When it comes to feeding our feline friends, there are times when it can be quite hard to find something they really like. If you're the proud owner of a fussy eater, you know how frustrating it can be to open a can of cat food because you know your feline friend loved it the day before only to find they turn their noses up and walk away, or worse they try to bury it. This leaves many proud cat owners with a whole lot of opened food their beloved feline friends won't even look at!

A wild cat has to hunt for their food and if your pussycat is a "hunter" and finds lots of little animals to munch on, then you don't have to worry too much when they refuse to eat what you offer them. However, if your moggy is not a hunter, there could be something wrong with them so a trip to the vet might be in order. Like this you have the peace of mind there is no health issue to worry about and that your cat is simply being "fussy".

If you are worried about feeding a "wet food only" diet to your cat and that it might be this that is causing them to be fussy eaters, the answer is a cat does very well on tinned food and it should not make them picky eaters if you only feed them tinned cat food. In fact older cats do better on softer food because quite often their teeth are not as in good shape or maybe they are missing a tooth or two. This often happens in older cats when they reach their senior years.

A lot of people are very "anti" dry cat food because of the fact it's just that "dry" containing no moisture whatsoever. This basically means you can never be sure if a cat is drinking enough water which they need to do, especially if they're being fed dry food only. However, cats must have access to fresh clean water at all times even when they are fed wet food diets.

Unless you own an elderly cat or one that has very few teeth, whether they were involved in an accident and lost them or if they suffered some sort of dental issue, you should ideally feed a diet that contains a little dry food as well as tinned food – making sure you only ever buy good quality cat food that's produced by a reputable pet food company, and preferably one that's been around for a long time. For cats with a dental problem, it is best to feed a wet food diet only because even "moist" dry food can cause them pain when they try to eat it.

Make Sure You Check Pet Food Labels

You may be tempted to buy cheaper tinned cat food which is a mistake because very often less expensive food does not contain enough protein to meet a cat's dietary needs and this means there's not enough taurine in it either. Taurine is crucial to a cat's health and well-being because they cannot produce or store it in their bodies.

When you look at the labels, make sure they do not contain lots of "fillers" like grains, corn or rice which cats really do not need in their diets. These are put in the cheaper products simply to bulk out the ingredients and the bad news is there is not enough nutritional goodness in the food. The result? Your cat will be hungry but they will put on some unwanted weight too! The first ingredient of any tinned cat food has to be "meat".

Offering a Varied Diet Makes Sense

If you've decided to feed your cat a wet food diet only, make sure you only buy good quality tinned cat food and if you can vary it throughout the week, all the better offering a fish based one for a couple of days and then alternating this with a meat one on other days. If you make this a regular routine so your cat gets used to it then it should not cause them any stress. Remember, cats don't like change and this includes anything to do with their diets! A sudden change of diet may well result in your cat refusing to eat anything

You should never store opened tinned cat food in the can, but rather take it out and put it in a plastic container which you can place in the fridge or a cool spot in the house. Tinned cat food goes off quite quickly even when stored in a cool place and if your cat gets a whiff of it being even very slightly off – they won't usually touch it which means it goes completely to waste.

Some owners add a little bit of water to the canned food when they dish it up for their cats, even though it's already moist because it means they know their cats are ingesting more water. It also helps make the cat food go that little bit further which is great if you are on a tight budget.

Consider Making Your Own Cat Food

Of course, if you have the time you could always prepare your pet's food for them and there are some great recipe books out there specifically for cats as well as other pets. You can search online to find the book your looking for and then prepare the food before freezing it ready to be used when you need to. With this said, it's always a good idea to offer your cat a little "fresh food" from time to time. They will really appreciate it and see this as a real treat. However, if you're not planning to put them on a fresh food diet permanently, then make sure you only give them fresh food as an occasional treat – otherwise you may find they will refuse to eat tinned or other cat food altogether!

If you just don't have the time to prepare the food yourself, think about buying it "ready cooked" but frozen. There are plenty of pet food manufactures online that supply frozen pet food for all sorts of animals, including cats. The great thing about ordering frozen cat food online is that it gets delivered straight to your door and it's easly to store in a freezer rather than take up valuable cupboard space in your kitchen!

Conclusion

Cats can be fussy eaters from time to time but if you are worried there may be something wrong with your pet, you need to take them to the vets so if anything untoward is going on it can be ruled out. Cats do very well if they are fed a "wet food" diet only but you have to make sure you only buy good quality tinned food that contains lots of protein in the form of meat or fish and that it contains enough taurine so your cat stays happy and healthy!