Is dry food harmful for cats: reviews of veterinarians

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Dry food has entered the daily life of busy cat owners. They are easy to use and animals love them. Manufacturers assure the benefits of this product, but numerous reviews claim the negative impact of such a diet. Therefore, before buying, you should find out if dry food is harmful to cats. Veterinarians do not give an unequivocal answer, because a lot depends on the composition of the feed and the characteristics of the animal itself. This article will help answer this and other questions related to cat nutrition.

Benefit or harm?

This way of eating is in great demand among pet owners. The advantages of feeds are their long-term storage and balance. Feed can be poured for a day and not be afraid that the animal will be hungry in the absence of the owner. Cats are happy to eat food, and this is not surprising.

ButIs dry food bad for cats? Many well-known brands contain ingredients that stimulate appetite and improve taste. Thanks to modern technology, poor quality feed seems attractive to animals. The use of such a product is addictive, and the cat begins to refuse other foods.

Many foods are loaded with carbohydrates that are harmful to animals. Such a diet can adversely affect the condition of the stomach and kidneys. 24/7 access to food causes obesity in cats, which is unnatural for animals. It is better to use two meals a day.

Dry food is the leading cause of kidney stones in cats. The reason is insufficient saturation of the body with fluid. Also, a high carbohydrate diet raises sugar levels and can lead to diabetes. To avoid this, you should choose meat-based foods.

Recommendations for the use of dry food

When using this food, you need to follow some rules. First of all, you can not mix ready-made feeds with natural food, because the imbalance of nutrients is disturbed. If there is a problem, it will be difficult to understand the real cause. Also, do not often change the brand of food. This leads to poor absorption of substances and causes disturbances in the body. If you need to change the food, then you should do it gradually over 1-2 weeks, adding a new product, increasing its amount.

Cats byBy nature, they consume little water, and dry food is recommended to be washed down with plenty of liquid. Therefore, for better absorption, you need to make sure that there is always water next to the food bowl. Veterinarians recommend diluting the diet with wet food. When feeding kittens, you should pay attention to the labeling of the package, which should indicate the age from which the product can be consumed.

Which food is better to choose?

When choosing a diet for a cat, you should focus on the composition, which will make it clear whether it is harmful to feed a cat with dry food of this brand. The highest quality food is made from animal meat and ocean fish. They contain all the necessary nutrients and do not contain harmful components.

A quality product will not cause allergies and other unpleasant consequences, but on the contrary, it will help prevent them. Often, special dry food is used to treat diseases. Many are repulsed by the price of such a "cat's joy", but given the cost of fresh products, it is quite justified. And if you calculate the effort and time that will be required to prepare a balanced menu for a pet, then dry food will be a priority.

Is Kitekat and Whiskas dry cat food harmful?

Because cats are carnivores, their digestive system is not adapted to food of plant origin. In meat products, carbohydrates and other vitamins that are necessary are completely absent.animal. But wild cats get what they need from the stomachs of the herbivores they feed on. At the same time, they come to predators already in a processed form, which allows them to assimilate part of the carbohydrates. The resulting dietary fiber helps cleanse the intestines. But residents of apartments can only count on a person. The owner takes responsibility and must know if the dry cat food he feeds to his pet is harmful.

"Kitekat" and "Whiskas" are unbalanced or poorly balanced feeds, do not contain all the necessary nutrients. Their use often leads to various disorders in the cat's body. These feeds belong to the economy class and contain meat waste: skin, intestines, heads, as well as offal with low nutritional value. They contain too much corn, wheat and rice flour. In this case, you can positively answer the question: is dry food harmful for cats and kittens? Daily consumption of such food leads to gastrointestinal disorders, kidney and liver diseases, as well as hair loss. Such a product negatively affects the growth and development of kittens. Carbohydrates are not digested and disrupt the bowels.

Is Royal Canin and Proplan dry cat food harmful?

If they want to save money, manufacturers often add moldy products to the feed, which causes irreparable harm to the animal. Is this dry food bad for cats? Reviews of veterinarians say that it is better to give preference to medium orpremium. These include feed produced by Royal Canin. They are made from muscle meat tissue, without the use of flavor enhancers and flavorings. Such food is saturated with all the necessary nutrients that are necessary for the daily diet of the animal. It improves immunity and makes the animal more resistant to stressful situations. Also, many are interested in whether Proplan dry cat food is harmful? No, because all foods are developed taking into account the age characteristics of the cat and its activity. But even premium food can be harmful to the animal if not properly selected. Any expired product will also negatively affect the he alth of the pet, so you should pay attention to the shelf life.

How to feed a cat?

It is important to take into account the physiological characteristics of the animal and follow some rules when forming a daily diet.

• A he althy cat eats no more than twice a day. For a pregnant and lactating pet, 4-6 meals a day are suitable.
• It is important to monitor drinking, the animal needs to drink 20-30 ml per 1 kg of weight if the diet consists of natural products or wet food. 3 times more liquid - when eating dry food.



• Water bowls should have wide rims because cats don't like whiskers touching the rim. Fluid should always be available to the pet, especially ifhis diet consists of dry food.

Natural food

If the owners decide not to use food, but to prepare food for their pet on their own, then you need to know that it is different from "human food". It should not contain spices, s alt, oils and other components familiar to people. Self-preparation of vitamin-rich food for an animal increases the life expectancy of a pet by 30% when compared with cats eating dry food. The main disadvantage of the method is the complexity of preparation and the fragility of the feed.

To prepare natural food for cats, use: beef, poultry, oatmeal, vegetables. Soups are prepared with meat broth. By-products can be given raw, but they should be pre-treated with boiling water and chopped. So that the cat does not have constipation from natural food, you need to dilute the diet with vegetables and cereals. You should not feed the animal with fish, especially in the presence of urolithiasis. Milk is best mixed with water or removed from the cat's menu, as it can cause diarrhea. Also, do not give foods that contain bones, they can get stuck in the throat or injure the mucous membrane. Chicken skin has a bad effect on the stomach, it can stay in it for a long time without being digested, and fatty pork can cause disorders. Feeding the animal with warm food is less irritating to the mucous membranes compared to cold food.

How to make a diet?

You can feed a cat mixed usingnatural food and feed at the same time. But this method is considered the worst. Natural food should not be mixed with wet or dry food unless the animal is transitioning to a different diet. The body of the animal gets used to a certain feeding option and produces the necessary enzymes for splitting. You can mix dry and wet food, but preferably the same brand.

So, whether dry cat food is harmful depends on the brand and its composition. For the diet of the animal, it is better to use premium products that contain meat, not food waste, or cook your own natural food. You can combine meals, but with extreme caution. In any case, it is not worth saving, as this affects the he alth of the cat.