Wet Food for Cats
Why Is Wet Food Important for Cats?
We highly recommend feeding wet foods to your feline friends for optimal nutrition. Here are some of the key reasons why a wet food diet matters so much:
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Cats are strict carnivores.
- This means that they have zero nutritional requirements for carbohydrates or starches, rather, they require a diet high in protein and fat. In the wild, their diet would consist of the prey they were able to catch, such as rodents, lizards, insects and birds. In order to be baked into kibble, all dry foods must include much more starch than cats require or can efficiently metabolize.
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Cats require moisture in their food to fulfill their hydration requirements.
- Domesticated cats are descendants of the desert dwelling African wildcats. Their ancestors developed highly efficient kidneys due to limited water sources. They fulfill the majority of their hydration requirements through the consumption of their prey which consist of 65-70% moisture. As a result, cats developed a very low thirst drive.
- Dry food diets consist of around 10% moisture and cats eating a strictly dry food diet consume only half the amount of moisture of those eating a strictly wet food diet. The resulting dehydration can lead to such issues as hairballs, urinary tract infections, crystals, and kidney malfunction. A high thirst drive in a cat indicates chronic dehydration, at best, or can be a warning sign of the development of one of these issues.
- Other health issues that have been linked to dry food diets include diabetes, joint issues and obesity. The costs range from a poor quality of life for our pets to high vet bills and medications. Oftentimes, these issues and the associated costs can be averted by feeding a high-quality and species appropriate diet.
- Not only is moisture removed in the cooking of dry food diets, but a great deal of the nutrients a cat requires to naturally thrive is also depleted. As one example, cats require taurine, an essential amino acid, to function and thrive. Taurine is found in meat, but once the meat is cooked, the taurine is greatly diminished. Therefore, synthetic taurine and other necessary vitamins and minerals must be added back into the food after cooking. Since this is true for all cooked foods, a raw food diet is one of the best and most biologically appropriate options for cats.
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Frozen Raw Food and Canned Foods are the best diets for health and longevity in cats.
- At The Wild, we offer a variety of biologically appropriate diets for your cat’s optimal health. Steve’s Real Raw Food, Answers, Primal, Tucker’s or Stella & Chewy’s Raw Diet are frozen raw food diets that are the closest to your cat’s natural, ancestral diet. Freeze-Dried raw diets are also species appropriate for cats by re-hydrating them with filtered water. Our selection of high-quality canned foods, such as Koha, Fromm, Weruva, Dave’s, Lotus, and Open Farm, offers another option to meet your cat’s specific dietary requirements: High protein and high fat contents that are grain-free and rich in moisture. Supplementing with taurine-rich raw goat’s milk, like Primal Raw Goat’s Milk, Steve’s Raw Goat’s Milk Yogurt, Answer’s Raw Fermented Goat or Cow’s Kefir, is another excellent way to add some moisture and raw nutrition to your cat’s diet.
- All of these diets are complete and balanced for long term health and wellness, but we highly recommend offering a variety of proteins and flavors. Variety not only contributes to complete nutrition, but it helps to curb addictive behaviors in our feline companions and reduce finicky eating habits.
