# Do Cats Need To Eat Canned Food?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 29, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260 "2010-11-29T05:58:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/21 "2010-11-29T18:14:19Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#):
>
> Why does the meat have to be raw?
>
> My cats have been having a high time on the turkey leftovers. They get a can of wet every day and “croutons” (Purina One specially formulated for indoor cats) on top or if they beg while I’m in the kitchen. They drink a bowl of water every day too. I didn’t know it wasn’t normal for cats to drink a lot and I really hope that’s not a bad sign for my kitties.
It doesn’t have to be. However, some pet nutritionists claim that raw meat has some enzymes and vitamins destroyed by cooking (which is true). So, on the advice of the breeder, my Bengal gets about 1-2OZ of raw liver every nite as a treat. And of course, come Turkey time, he got the turkey liver & heart raw. Nothing wrong with cooked turkey leftovers.
Excessive water consumption is a minor danger sign, check the internet, and see if the cats have any of the other symptoms or mention it to your Vet next time.
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### Author:  [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/22 "2010-11-29T18:17:38Z")
We free-feed our two cats dry food, and have a water bowl that’s always full out for them. We give them the occassional canned food once a month or so as a treat. Also, whenever I’m cooking up chicken, I cook up the trimmings/and or giblets and they get them. The dogs get the beef and pork trimmings.
We’ve had our cats for 12 and 13 years with no health issues at all. They’re both indoor cats.
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### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/23 "2010-11-29T19:34:40Z")
I’ve fed my 8 year old cat nothing but dried food. (Purina indoor formula). She won’t eat \*anything \*but this. Not raw or cooked meat. Not even tuna fish! She drinks plenty or water, and has a nice fat tummy. Energetic, playful, and in good health.
Go figure cats!
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/24 "2010-11-29T20:17:47Z")
Our male cat had serious issues with crystals in his urine. We’d been feeding him dry food (though a pretty high-end brand of it); the vet switch him to Hills Science Diet C/D kibble. It helped, but he still occasional problems, so we then switched to the canned C/D. We haven’t had a problem since.
That said, he’s never seemed to drink much water on his own volition – he’s far more likely to use the water dish as a toy. Dumb cat. 😛
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/25 "2010-11-29T20:39:09Z")
Why don’t you give him a bit of both? That’s what we did with my cat when I was little. She got dry food and she could eat as much as she wanted. Then she got moist food, either Tender Vittles or canned food once a day.
If you want a cat to drink, try a drip. My cat wasn’t big on water but once she found the bath tub had a slight drip in it, she’d spend hours playing and drinking out of the drip.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/26 "2010-11-29T23:30:49Z")
> [@toofs](#):
>
> I’ve posted a link to [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Your-Cat-Simple-Secrets-Stronger/dp/0312358024/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291034069&sr=8-1) in the past on similar threads. Basically, cats are carnivores and a such are not well equipped to handled lots of carbohydrates. Think about what cats in the wild eat: small rodents, birds, etc. Not a lot of carbs in a mouse.
>
> Read the customer reviews on amazon about the positive effects of switching their cats to a canned food diet. So many cat health problems are a direct result of a high carb dry food diet. Obesity, diabetes, kidney problems, etc. All can be prevented by not feeding dry foods. Remember, cats do not eat grains and carbs. They eat meat.
Cats are obligate carnivores, but they don’t eat just muscle tissue (meat). They eat most of the animal and get fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from the animal. Cats lack the enzyme to help digest carbs. They maintain high gluconeogenic enzyme activity, in which glucose is produced from protein.
You will note that most cat foods advertise that they contain taurine, an essential amino acid. A by-product of protein metabolism is ammonia. In order to convert ammonia to urea, cats require taurine. Moreover, cats cannot synthesize Vitamin A, so they need a dietary source of vitamin Aand betacarotene. Wild cats get both from animal fat and organ meat. Vitamin B is essential for the release of energy and other metabolic activities. Cats cannot synthesize niacin either, so they must get it from their prey.
Fats provide 2.25 times more energy than protein or carbs, so animal fat is very important. Fats also provide the essential fatty acids linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Lineolate structures membranes for proper growth, fat transport, and normal skin and coat condition. Arachidonate is necessary for normal reproduction and blood platelet aggregation. Cats’ richest source of these is organ meat.
Tigers live in mangrove forests which have little free water; however, they obtain water from their prey. Lions and leopards drink every day when free water is available. Lions and leopards living in the Kalahari Desert eat tsama melons, and lions lick the dew off other pride members. Lions, as well as sand cats and black-footed cats, living in deserts, apparently get all the water they need from their prey. Black-footed cats, however, eat puzzling quantities of grass, which may be a source of preformed grass.
[source: _Cats: Smithsonian Answer Book_ Seidensticker and Lumpkin, 2004.]
I have two lovely cats and encourage them to eat canned food as well as dry. One I got from the shelter; she will eat only a little wet. The other I got from a friend who never fed him wet food. At first, he was puzzled over what it was, but now really enjoys the wet. They like Medley and will hardly eat anything else, except for some other Fancy Feast products. I also feed a neighborhood cat who prefers the wet. I’ve seem all of them eating grass and other vegetation, which I thought was for the fiber, but could be the water. My cats will drink water freely, but not the neighborhood cat, who prefers the pond water.
As for grains, I’ve read mixed comments on this. Some highly-priced dry cat food advertise no grains. However, I belong to a Yahoo group: Cats behavior and nutrition, which has a well-read member and cites scientific sources. She said that cats need grains. When I asked her in the forum about these foods that advertise no grain, and about a local pet store whose owner told me that grain is just fill, she asked me in turn, what are their sources. She cites numerous scientific articles contra.
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### Author:  [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/27 "2010-11-30T00:16:27Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> My cat was 21 before he started getting the wet stuff.
> He grew to like it before he died at 22.
Well, see, there’s counter-evidence now. Your cat survived and thrived for over two decades on dry food. Then you switched to canned food, and within a year, he was dead. Looks pretty clear to me!
(This, BTW, is why I will never, ever get dentures.)
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/28 "2010-11-30T01:21:56Z")
There’s nothing wrong with dry food provided that the cat drinks enough water. Good dry food (by “good” I mean that the first ingredient is meat (chicken, fish, etc.) or a meat product, not corn, which is the first ingredient in the cheaper dry foods) contains the essential nutrients a cat needs. 21 is a good ripe age. I’m really aghast at those people (my former neighbor, who owned the neighborhood cat, is one) that their cats lived to the ripe old age of 12 or 14 on dry food only. If maintained on a good diet, provided proper vet care, etc., a cat should live to around 18-20.
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### Author:  [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/29 "2010-11-30T15:57:59Z")
I have one cat who will not touch wet food. She will eat only dry. She does drink plenty of water, though. I’ve had her 3 years and has never touched wet food, won’t even sniff at it. The foster mom told me she never tried it at her house and just assumed she didn’t like it. She is only 5, but is a pretty active and healthy cat.
The younger cat has food allergies and so both get grain-free Duck and Pea from Natural Balance. The baby cat will eat wet food, so she gets Duck and Pea wet food along with her dry food. She gets pretty bad gas and diarrhea if given anything else, so we are pretty strict with them. No people food or treats, just their diet.
I have found that the one advantage to going grain-free is that their stools are smaller and less stinky. Whenever anyone asks about cat diets, I always recommend the Duck and Pea from Natural Balance. I know it has helped my cats and it has helped a couple of fosters I have had that had chronic soft stools or other intestinal issues. My cats both have lustrous coats and no other health problems as far as I can tell.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/30 "2010-11-30T16:11:37Z")
> [@barbitu8](#):
>
> As for grains, I’ve read mixed comments on this. Some highly-priced dry cat food advertise no grains. However, I belong to a Yahoo group: Cats behavior and nutrition, which has a well-read member and cites scientific sources. She said that cats need grains. When I asked her in the forum about these foods that advertise no grain, and about a local pet store whose owner told me that grain is just fill, she asked me in turn, what are their sources. She cites numerous scientific articles contra.
Although I know cats can digest grains to a degree\*, and certainly some _greens_ are good for them, I have never seen any scientific study which shows they NEED grain. Greens, maybe, grain no (cats eat no grain in the wild). I’d like to see those sources.
\*Gas and smelly feces often results, esp with corn.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/31 "2010-11-30T16:20:08Z")
> [@](#):
>
> She said that cats need grains.
then why don’t they eat them in the wild? you yourself posted “Cats lack the enzyme to help digest carbs,” so why, pray tell, do cats “need” grains?
why are people so desperate to force our own poor dietary choices on our pets?
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/32 "2010-11-30T17:56:46Z")
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> I used to hear that about dry cat food and cats. I believe that dry foods have been reformulated for many years now to avoid those problems. Some are formulated specifically for cats with urinary problems.
Yes, this is true. It is a good idea to throw in a can of food once in a while, though.
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### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/33 "2010-11-30T20:31:47Z")
Cats in their natural habitat get most of the water they need from their natural diet (raw animals) as well as a perfect balance of macro and micronutrients. Some cats who eat dry kibble only will not drink enough water to keep adequately hydrated, which does put a strain on the organs over time and leads to many chronic conditions. Feeding wet food just ensures they are getting more moisture in their diet. Kidney failure isn’t a given on kibble and water only.
All grain-based foods are terrible for cats. Of course, animals are highly adaptable - just like us they can survive a good long time, and even reproduce, on a crappy diet. However their entire system is equipped for raw animals only, which is what I feed mine. Most cats I know have abdominal obesity (unnatural and unhealthy for a predatory animal), vomit all the time (not normal - I have never seen either of my cats throw up), have unbelievably smelly and disgusting shit, and have advanced periodontal disease by age 5. Most die from complications of preventable degenerative conditions.
I had a wonderful cat when I was younger who refused anything but kibble (wouldn’t even eat tuna). We put him down when he was 7 years old due to idiopathic lower urinary tract disease and recurring painful bouts of urethral blockage.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/34 "2010-11-30T21:42:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Although I know cats can digest grains to a degree\*, and certainly some _greens_ are good for them, I have never seen any scientific study which shows they NEED grain. Greens, maybe, grain no (cats eat no grain in the wild). I’d like to see those sources.
>
> \*Gas and smelly feces often results, esp with corn.
This person has posted some well-researched comments in the forum and seems to know much about cats. I once sent her email about the grains, and that is what she mailed me back. I did not ask for the sources, but I will start a new post there about grains and ask her for her cites. She can, and does, err. She once stated something which was not legally correct. I emailed her and she replied that she took business law and knows the law. She is such a fount of information on that forum that I did not tell her I was a lawyer (before I retired). I just let the matter drop.
In addition to Natural Balance’s Duck and Pea, there is a dry food called “Core,” which is grain-free. I know there are others.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/35 "2010-12-01T00:55:15Z")
The lady has not given me any cites. She did say this:
> [@](#):
>
> Cats can digest carbohydrates. Although they lack salivary amylase, no need to evolve that talent since they don’t chew, they do produce pancreatic amylase. A mouse is not just protein and fat, there is a carbohydrate content also. The production of pancreatic amylase did not develop once cats met humans, it is an evolutionary adaptation to diet.
I again ask her for cites if indeed grains are benefical. I await her reply.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/36 "2010-12-01T01:52:06Z")
OK. Here are her latest comments:
> [@](#):
>
> I could not give a definite percentage so will just say ‘low’ carbohydrate.
>
> As for grains, no, they’re not necessary, not essential. Though they may (or may
> not) be the best ingredient choice for kibble, depending on the grain choice. I
> think many readers have read that grains are bad or worse without having any
> idea what grains even are. Cat food manufacturers jump on the latest thinking in
> the shoppers world and so advertising ‘grainless’ currently makes sales.
>
> Many cats have been living long healthy lives on kibble with grains, so we have
> evidence to suggest that this trend too will pass. It interests me that cats
> have been eating grains for decades and suddenly grains are off the list. That
> doesn’t mean I’m promoting them, I’m not. What I want to suggest is that we look
> at our own evidence rather than ignore it entirely in favor of reading some
> offhand opinion. Including my opinion:-)
>
> Corn gluten meal, for one, has been studied and studied in the cat diet. Corn
> gluten is the protein portion of corn. That doesn’t mean it’s all protein, it
> means it is high in protein and low in carbohydrates compared to whole corn. It
> has been studied specifically in cats, and cats have been eating corn gluten
> meal in kibble for some time. You can check PubMed to read the research studies.
> [PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed)
>
> Potato is currently being substituted in the ‘grainless’ kibble. I haven’t been
> able to find any studies that support potato as a suitable substitute but it
> surely is making sales.
>
> Those thoughts really don’t answer your question, though, do they? The problem
> with me accepting that grains are somehow toxic is that I’ve known of many cats
> who live long healthy lives eating what is suddenly considered toxic. That just
> wouldn’t be possible if the food were that bad. On the other hand, it certainly
> doesn’t say what the best diet is either.
>
> Carbohydrates typically come from plant foods. I’ve written about what I
> consider suitable ‘carbohydrate’ sources here but that’s not much help since
> they typically aren’t commercial ingredients:
> [http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html](http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html)
>
> As I’ve written before, cats are obligate carnivores but that means must get
> certain essential elements from eating other animals, the term does not mean
> only eats meat. And their gut bacteria are not obligate carnivores or even
> carnivores. That means we need to include some plant material in a cat’s diet
> because they host millions if not billions of gut bacteria who need care and
> keeping also. The gut bacteria make up a considerable percentage of the immune
> system, in all of us, so this is critical. There is evidence (not specifically
> cat related) that neglected gut bacteria play a role in asthma, allergies,
> rhinitis, IBD, you name it.
>
> Rice bran is one fiber source that tested beneficial specifically for cats
> (Buddington, et al). Rice is a grain. So there we go:-)
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### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/37 "2010-12-01T02:40:52Z")
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> I used to hear that about dry cat food and cats. I believe that dry foods have been reformulated for many years now to avoid those problems. Some are formulated specifically for cats with urinary problems.
My cats eat a diet of mostly dry cat food formulated for cats with urinary problems. If I feed them dry food I can use a specific automatic feeder that prevents kitteh manipulation. All other automatic feeders were less smart than the cats so they gained tons of weight scamming the feeder or smacked them around until they broke and didn’t get fed at all. I used to try and feed them myself on a regular schedule but that didn’t work out very well. When they saw me as the Food God they got very demanding, screaming in the middle of the night and knocking stuff off of tables and dressers to try and get me to feed them. It was insane and I wasn’t sleeping much because of it so the automatic feeder has been a godsend. The dry food for urinary problems seems to be working really well and the cats don’t break my stuff in a frantic bid for more food any longer.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/38 "2010-12-01T03:56:45Z")
> [@barbitu8](#):
>
> OK. Here are her latest comments:
OK, I can agree that grains (in moderation) are OK, and cats do need some greens. I don;t think that grain is evil in cat food, but it should be the second or third ingrediant, and not corn. Corn _gluten_ is not so bad, but just “corn” is not good.
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/39 "2010-12-01T04:17:19Z")
People who only feed cats dry food seem so cheap to me. I know it’s usually motivated by a lack of understanding rather than miserliness. But jeez oh petes, cats like to eat mice and birds. They don’t chew on fucking corn cobs. Why doesn’t everyone know this?
A former roommate of mine had a cat that he gave nothing but dry food. The cat was doing the boot scoot for days and kept crying because he couldn’t pee… I suggested that he invest in some wet food and the roomie said the cat didn’t need wet food, it had always eaten dry food and been just fine. Plus dry food was cheaper, don’t you know?
Come ON, dude! You are killing your cat! Do you really want to have to follow him around and try to get him to pee in a medicine bottle?? Do you want to try to give him medication? Do you want to pay vet bills? Spring for the frog damn wet food and we’ll all be happier.
Cats get wet food. Every cat I’ve ever known has eaten wet food every day. Anything else is a complete aberration to me.
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-need-to-eat-canned-food/562260/40 "2010-12-01T11:33:21Z")
I agree that it’s better to give the cats some wet food, but good dry food is fine provided the cat drinks water. Many dry cat foods now are formulated for nutritional balance, plenty of taurine (an essential amino acid absolutely necessary for cats), and with meat products as the main (first) ingredient. If the cat has urinary problems, it is probably not drinking. The good dry food bags cost three or four times what the cheap ones cost (no names given here, but you know what they are) and are infinitely better.
BTW, the lady who I quoted had told me something different before I asked her for specific cites. She did say then that grains were necessary.
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