I have recently taken over an adult cat from somebody who could not look after him.

I have no experience in feeding cats so I asked our local pet shop for advice as to whether to feed my cat with wet food from a tin, or dry food from a packet.

The lady there said it did not matter which, but I just wonder why there is a difference, and which is recommended.

Any advice to this novice would be most appreciated.

John

I always think meat is better than dry because that's what they'd eat in the wild but I do feed both. There are loads of foods out there dependent on budgets.

If it is a male cat I would steer clear of cheaper dry foods such as supermarket brands and Go-cat as these can cause cystitis in males (this is what I was told when I brought my rescue cat home) although I do feed whiskas dry food and he seems to do quite well on this. I also feed him Tesco Luxury food pouches (2 per day as well as a bowl full of dried food) as this has a high meat content (50% and he loves it - it doesn't smell bad either). He also has a bit of whatever I'm cooking for dinner but this is entirely me spoiling him and not a necessity lol

Occasionally he has a bit of raw food for the added fat and meat content (cheap cuts are the better ones as they have more fat in them) but this is at most once a week and yet again is not a must although you will find a lot of people on here do it. Plus if your cat is going to be allowed outside (mine can't go out unsupervised because of an injury and nervousness) then he will be able to get his own "raw meat" anyway if he is still hunting (people say older cats don't tend to as much but miy old boy was still hunting at age 19!!).

A lot of people slate the cheaper brands because they don't have a high meat content in them but a lot depends on your budget. I can't afford to spend lots of money a month feeding my boy but he's healthy and has a great coat (he's a big 5 year old fluffy tabby) and he's happy with his little "extras" he gets which is what's important.

Felix is one of the better cheaper ones (although only has minimum 4% meat content but I know cats that do very well on this), none of my cats would ever eat Whiskas but its just their preference and your budget at the end of the day.

Tesco Luxury is £3.91 for a box of 12 pouches (Timmy only gets 2 a day with a bowl of dried food but he just lazes around the house all day so doesn't burn it off) a more energetic cat would obviously need more.

Good luck with your new pusscat

I feed both & raw!

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I personally feed both wet and dry. I like to try to encourge them to eat as much dry meal as I can as it is better for their teeth in the long run.
I feed Mani, the big lad, 2 pouches per day. And Lola, the skinny minny, 1 pouch per day.
They have access to dry meal and obviously water all day.

I have tried loads of different brands and flavours but they are quite picky. But I think this is probably my fault as I have given them too much choice in the past...

I have finally settled on Felix wet food, and Whiskers dry meal. Both very reasonably priced for most budgets.
They didnt touch Iams or James Wellbeloved, they have cheap tastes!

Me to i feed wet and dry mixed together

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I'm afraid it's a myth (sadly often perpetrated by vets) that dry food is better for cats' teeth, it is actually very bad for them as it sticks around the teeth and causes plaque and decay. It is far better to feed a good quality wet food.

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Vervain Cats

mine have Trophy dry food down all day, a pouch off high life or feline fayre in the morning each and a pouch off the same about 6 !
They also get raw rabbit and chicken sometimes chicken wings on the weekends.
I wouldnt touch go cat made my cat very ill has has 2 much salt in it and also felix whiskers and most over wet foods only have 4% meat in them, when highlife and feline fayre have 60% and is often not much more expensive

yep i feed wet too with a high meat content (above 50%) all dry foods you can buy in the supermarket are full of crappy fillers (maize/corn) which bloat your cat and cause longterm damage, its not worth it in my opinion.

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