Recently, many studies have suggested that canned cat food has many nutritional benefits over dry cat foods. Canned food has been subsequently increasing in popularity among cat owners, with more people deciding that choosing canned cat food is the best choice for their cat's nutrition. To decide if canned cat food is best for your cat, it's best to first understand the basic ingredients in canned cat food.
HOW IS CANNED CAT FOOD MADE?
The ingredients for making canned cat food are basically the same as in dry cat food: meat/meat byproducts, feed grains, and soybean meal. The meat products are rendered (which involves processing over high heat to rupture the fat cells), dried, and mixed with the other ingredients. The difference, however, is that canned cat food does not require the cereal grains that are added to dry cat food in order for it to retain its shape. Also, canned cat food has a much higher moisture content formula. Generally, canned cat food has between a 70-80% moisture content. The ingredients of canned cat food are usually “farm fresh” meat products, which adds to nutritional content of the food.
IS CANNED CAT FOOD BEST FOR MY CAT?
It's been suggested that a low-carbohydrate, high protein cat food is far superior to any dry food formula. Though this is still hotly debated among many pet food companies, it is important to note that canned cat food is able to provide a better source of protein than dry cat food, because less grains are needed in comparison to dry cat food. This is, of course, only a general statement, and some canned cat food formulas, such as a “chicken and rice” formula, contain a higher percentage of carbohydrates.
It's very important to be sure that the majority of the protein in a canned cat food formula comes from animal sources. Plant-based proteins are deficient in many of the important amino acids required by your cat, and are not an efficient way for your cat to receive their daily protein requirement.
ADVANTAGES OF CANNED CAT FOOD
A cat's body is designed so that your cat is able to gain much of their required liquid from the moisture content of their food. This is because in the wild, a feline's diet consists mainly of raw, high-moisture meat products. Canned cat food also requires less ingredients, since many of the additives in dry cat food are thickeners, fillers, and caking agents. Canned cat food does not require as many additives in order to reach a consumable form. Because of the higher nutrient density of canned cat food, it also requires your cat to eat less food to become satisfied. The nutritional requirements of your cat are unique, and many high-quality canned cat food brands are able to provide the nutrients that your cat needs. However, it's important to choose a canned cat food that has a proper moisture ratio. A moisture ratio over 80% should be avoided, since the nutritional content is no longer balanced with the amount of moisture. A proper moisture ratio for canned cat food should be between 70-80%.
May 17th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I have recently been switching my cats from dry cat food to canned food for the reasons that you listed in your informative article. Thanks!
June 8th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
If you feed your cat, canned cat food, the best to give him/her is CANIDAE for felines. http://www.canidae.com
All Natural and is good for your cats/dogs health
January 6th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I heard that canned cat food doesnt have enough vitamins and nutrience so I use one can every other day for my cat so that they recieve high protien as well as moisture but still get the dry kibble for day to day nutrience needed for good health. Alot of dry kibble is bad because of what they put into it but if you look for the good quality ones you will have optimal benefits!!
PS: what is the good kind of canned food everyone uses? I switch alot between certain brands aslong as they are pure meat but my cat seems to like Almo Nature
May 10th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I feed my 18 Year old cat Canned food exclusively because he has had most of his Molars removed for health reasons. He currently eats Nutro Natural Choice Senior Lamb and Rice. He is picky about this food as he prefers fish flavors. I usually mix in a lesser quality fish flavor food or Canned Sardines to get him to eat. My younger cats eat By Nature Naturals canned food. It’s pricey but Very good quality. It’s primary ingredients are Meat and only meat. It actually smells like canned meats that we would eat ourselves. They like it VERY much, although I must say I have stopped buying the Salmon, sardine and Mackerel flavor because it smells so exceptionally fishy.
January 18th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
IMPORTANT: Never buy any pet food on the basis of one or two online reviews. Read as many reviews and decide which ones are the most honest and logical. Too many reviews, especially by pet owners, base their choices and ratings on “affordability” (worst reason–always buy the best quality you can afford), “my pets love it” (unreliable reason–similar to asking your kids what quality food to buy when all that they prefer or are used to eating is junk food; it’s a fact that pets, and people as well, will eat far more low-quality food because “it tastes good” and because they need to to get the nutrition in quantity from nutritionally-starved food), or “my vet recommended it” (questionable reason–most vets recommend/sell Hill’s Science Diet or Purina because these two companies contribute the most money to veterinary colleges, and because their food is tested and rated as high-quality pet food which it’s now widely known that their pet food is not because of their use of grains and meat-by-products). For your pet’s health and your peace of mind, choose your pet’s food (and yours) wisely. And, remember that cats and dogs are carnivores (meat-eaters).