The Benefits of Adding Wet Food to Your Cat's Diet
While there's a lot of good in feeding your cat wet food, it's important to know that it doesn’t take away from the benefits of dry food. As always, it's best to work with your vet to fine-tune your cat's diet to meet their specific needs.
The Many Benefits of Wet Food
Hydration
Cats naturally have a low thirst drive, which is why the moisture content in wet food is beneficial. Wet or canned foods can also be more attractive as they more closely resemble wild prey. Here are some key hydration benefits of incorporating wet food into your cat's diet:
-
Optimal Water Intake: Wet food contains about 75% to 78% moisture, significantly higher than dry food, helping your cat meet their daily hydration needs.
-
Promotes Kidney and Urinary Health: Adequate hydration is crucial for preventing kidney problems and maintaining urinary tract health. Wet food helps ensure your cat's urine is more diluted, which can prevent the formation of urinary crystals or stones.
-
Helps Prevent Dehydration: Chronic dehydration can lead to serious health issues such as kidney disease, bladder disease, and cystitis. Regular consumption of wet food helps prevent these conditions by maintaining necessary hydration levels.
-
Aids in Digestion and Muscle Function: Proper hydration supports vital bodily functions including circulation, digestion, and muscle movement.
Petlibro’s Veterinary Researcher, Ray Qin (BVM，BVT，PGDip VSc，PGCert VAA with Merit):
For feline patients who have urinary tract disorders, wet diets are almost always suggested by vets. Cats normally drink 20-30 ml of water per kg per day. The less water they drink, the less urine they make. Cats that don’t produce enough urine are at risk of health conditions such as kidney crystals/stones. That is why Increasing water ingestion from wet diets is believed to make an important contribution to these patients’ urinary health.
Nutrition
Cats, as obligate carnivores, have specific dietary needs that are distinct from dogs, requiring a diet rich in specific nutrients that wet food contains. Wet cat food also closely mimics the natural diet of wild prey. Here are the key nutritional benefits of wet food for cats:-
Supports Muscle Health: Wet food's high protein content is vital for supporting strong muscles and maintaining lean body mass in cats.
-
Satisfies Natural Cravings: Cats naturally crave protein, and wet food satisfies this need, helping to prevent nutritional deficiencies that can lead to serious health issues.
-
Rich in Vitamins and Minerals: Wet food provides essential nutrients like iron, zinc, and biotin, which are crucial for healthy blood, a robust immune system, and skin health.
-
Taurine for Heart and Eye Health: Taurine is an essential amino acid that cats cannot synthesize sufficiently on their own. Adequate Taurine is necessary to prevent blindness and promote heart health.
Petlibro’s Veterinary Researcher, Ray Qin: (BVM，BVT，PGDip VSc，PGCert VAA with Merit):
Compared to wet food, dry food normally has higher energy density, which means eating the same amount of dry food will provide a cat with more calories. Extra calories are mainly stored as fat with the assistance of insulin. Cats that consume too many calories have a higher chance of obesity, as well as type II diabetes. This is why it is important to include portion control in your cat’s diet, such as by having a scheduled feeder that can control the amount of food per meal.
Variety and Palatability
Palatability is essential in cat food, especially since cats are known for their selective eating habits. The palatability of cat food largely depends on its odor, taste, texture, and particle size, which can significantly influence a cat's willingness to eat. Here are some of the key benefits related to palatability that wet food provides for cats:
-
Scent and Safety: Wet food typically has a stronger smell than dry food, attracting cats as they use smell to identify foods that fulfill their nutritional needs and to avoid potentially harmful substances.
-
Flavor Enhancers: Flavor enhancers in wet food affect palatability in two ways. Initially, they enhance the food's smell, making it more appealing. Over time, consistent exposure to the same flavors will lead cats to adapt their preferences to the flavor.
-
Texture Preferences: Cats have varying preferences for food textures, which can range from soft minced textures with lots of gravy to chunkier bites. This variability means that offering a range of textures can help maintain interest and prevent finickiness.
From Petlibro’s Veterinary Researcher, Ray Qin (BVM，BVT，PGDip VSc，PGCert VAA with Merit):
Most cats prefer wet diets over dry diets as they have a better sense of smell than humans, which is why prescription wet diets usually have a stronger aroma. As wet food contains more water and lower energy density, pets are more likely to eat wet food more frequently, as they would not be able to ingest as much energy as they do with dry food.
The Petlibro Solution to Wet Food Feeding
Now that we’ve covered the essential benefits of wet food, it is also important to understand that wet food does come with its own barriers and “inconveniences”.For one, wet food spoils much faster than dry food, thus pet parents are not able to leave wet food out for long before it may pose a risk to their pet's health. In addition, wet food is known to be messier to serve and clean-up, and it requires you to be present for each mealtime.
That is why Petlibro makes wet food feeding a breeze with Polar, a first-of-its-kind solution to wet food feeding that is both convenient and effective. Polar not only helps pet owners with feeding, but it also provides pets with smart scheduled feeding and a more varied nutritional diet.
Here are some key benefits of Polar:
- Semiconductor cooling technology - using advanced thermoelectric cooling, Polar can keep canned wet food chilled and serve it at an ideal temperature
- Keeps 3 meals chill for 3 days - as meals are kept fresh and cool for up to 3 days, you’ll enjoy peace of mind as you won’t need to worry if you have to leave home for a long weekend
- All-in-one-app - schedule meals, monitor your pet’s health, and check feeding logs, all on a single app
- Easy to Clean - dish-washer safe food tray makes cleaning up a breeze