PSA: Cats and Wet Food
For some reason, clients all think wet food is bad to feed your cats. I ask what they're feeding, and they shuffle around guiltily when they admit they give canned food along with the dry.
It completely baffles me why this happens. I guess pet owners go around telling each other about how wet food is bad for the teeth. Kind of like how they tell each other grain-free will fix all your pets problems. Well, here's a tip for you:
Wet food is really good for cat kidneys and bladders. Feed them both.
Teeth, I can fix. If I can't clean them, I can take them right out. Kidneys, on the other hand? 50% of all cats die of kidney failure. There's an adage that any cat who lives long enough will get kidney disease.
Because my stack of vet school notes was about as tall as I am, you may not be surprised to learn I didn't ship them all back with me when I left New Zealand. Therefore, I no longer have access to the names and dates of the key studies regarding feline kidney disease to share with you. There is a whole organization dedicated specifically to the research and education surrounding it: The International Renal Interest Society, which developed the staging and treatment recommendations that I currently use.
One of the lectures that really stuck with me was a nutrition lecture citing a study about hydration status on wet food vs dry food. The question is whether cats who eat dry food simply drink enough water to balance it out. It turns out that cats who regularly eat wet food have lower production of water-retention hormones in a way that proves they are overall better hydrated in the long term. That's a fancy way of saying yes, there is a physiological difference, and we think there is a kidney-protectant effect. I do apologize for not having the graph anymore, or I would show it to you.
On a side note, there's no substantive evidence that grain-free has any effect in animals whatsoever. It won't hurt, but it primarily exists so the food companies can charge you more for it.
It completely baffles me why this happens. I guess pet owners go around telling each other about how wet food is bad for the teeth. Kind of like how they tell each other grain-free will fix all your pets problems. Well, here's a tip for you:
Wet food is really good for cat kidneys and bladders. Feed them both.
Teeth, I can fix. If I can't clean them, I can take them right out. Kidneys, on the other hand? 50% of all cats die of kidney failure. There's an adage that any cat who lives long enough will get kidney disease.
Because my stack of vet school notes was about as tall as I am, you may not be surprised to learn I didn't ship them all back with me when I left New Zealand. Therefore, I no longer have access to the names and dates of the key studies regarding feline kidney disease to share with you. There is a whole organization dedicated specifically to the research and education surrounding it: The International Renal Interest Society, which developed the staging and treatment recommendations that I currently use.
One of the lectures that really stuck with me was a nutrition lecture citing a study about hydration status on wet food vs dry food. The question is whether cats who eat dry food simply drink enough water to balance it out. It turns out that cats who regularly eat wet food have lower production of water-retention hormones in a way that proves they are overall better hydrated in the long term. That's a fancy way of saying yes, there is a physiological difference, and we think there is a kidney-protectant effect. I do apologize for not having the graph anymore, or I would show it to you.
On a side note, there's no substantive evidence that grain-free has any effect in animals whatsoever. It won't hurt, but it primarily exists so the food companies can charge you more for it.
Thank you so much for such an informative piece of information :)
ReplyDeleteIf anyone interested similar one's have a look here
petnorm blog
Thanks