Personally I find the smell of wet cat food a bit too much for me so if I had to eat cat food it would have to be the kibble stuff. If I really had to I think I might be able to get that down.

Oh, you mean for the cat?

Well, if you ask almost any cat I’ve ever had they’d say the wet cat food is tops by far. They all seem to go crazy about wet cat food.

The dry cat food to them is ok so they’ll eat it but if they can have a choice they’ll always pick the canned food.

From a human standpoint though the dry cat food is a lot more convenient. You can pour it out in a dish and if the cat doesn’t eat it up immediately then it’s still good at the end of the day so you can give an entire day’s worth of food to the cat at once and since cats are nibblers, then they’ll just go and eat whenever they feel hungry without being a bother.

The wet cat food OTOH seems to spoil quickly, at least from a cat’s PoV so it’s best not to give them any more than they can eat in one sitting, for my cat no more than 1/6 of a regular flat can. The rest I cover and put in the fridge so it will keep. I give my cat wet cat food every morning and that way one can last about 6 days which is about how long the can will keep if well covered too.

Nat gets her wet food in the morning then the dry food for the rest of the day. (Maybe some treats once in a while when the mood strikes either of us.) Nat’s used to that routine and so she doesn’t wind around my legs and ask for food every time I’m in the kitchen like my parent’s cats used to do when they got canned food 3 times a day so I think it helps stop that begging behaviour too.

Nutritionally both wet and dry cat food is good for your cat depending on the brand. Make sure that they get taurine in at least one of their foods, a trace element that they need.

Lastly, I guess the dry cat food is cheaper than the wet food because it can come in big bags which is much more economical. The biggest bag possible is usually cheapest and I just keep mine in a diaper pail which seals to keep it fresh. One bag will last for more than a month and cats seem to be fine on it.

I think it’s best to give your cat both wet and dry cat food in some sort of routine as I use too not only to reduce the ankle rubbing behaviour but also to have a happy cat and to make sure they get all the nutrients they need. As carnivores of course cats are evolved to prefer wet food but the dry food is often good for cleaning their teeth so they don’t get dental problems. It also lets them fill up whenever they need to so they stay satisfied and aren’t tempted (if they go outside) to hunt birds and other prey around the house. (I’ve never found cats are very useful hunting mice inside the house, they only get ones outside for some reason.

The last thing I’d recommend is not to change your cat’s food too frequently. Unlike humans, they don’t seem to mind eating the same flavour all the time but if you’re always switching from one flavour to another then it can become a problem – that’s the way to teach your cat to be finicky. The occasional treat is much better than constantly switching diets to whatever’s on sale or sounds good to you that day. Pick something that’s good for your cat and that your cat likes and stick with it.

Oh, and look for foods that say ‘low ash’. Ash is what’s leftover from calorie testing where they burn the food to see how much it has in it. Cats don’t handle this residue very well and especially in male cats, it can give them kidney problems which will ultimately prove fatal for cats. I had two cats in a row die way too young from kidney failure like this and it was heartbreaking as they got skinnier and skinnier no matter how much they ate. I think the first sign was that they couldn’t pee but by then it’s too late and it was so long ago I remember exactly. What I do remember is that they both ate Purina ‘Meow Mix’ and while I don’t want to berate any particular brand, I’ve never bought my cats that kind of cat food ever since and I’ve never had a cat with kidney failure since. I just won’t risk it for them now.

Batch? wich best