The Importance of Hydration: Wet vs. Dry Cat Food
Food is the real driving force for all humans and animals. Adequate food rich in nutrients is only helpful to the maximum. With maximum energy entering into the body, it is always a fresh way to kick things off. When people bring pets into their households, they expect the most from them, such as playfulness, excitement, energy, enthusiasm, and activeness. However, all these things are related to the food that they intake that keeps them energized and active for longer.
Serving food to pets is a great activity in itself since it allows for a good bonding network between all parties. And pets such as cats and dogs love their food to the maximum. To have icing on the cake, it is necessary to have a food that is loved by them and also gives them rich nutrients so they remain healthy. But the debates extend to high natures such as the pet food nature and what a particular food type has in store for them. Petco.pk has a wide variety of pet foods available online for you to select from.
Hydration
To begin with, it is necessary to understand why hydration is required for both animals and humans. Both humans and animals rely on food for their growth, health, and activism. However, water is a component that constitutes around 70% of a human’s body. Most people might not know what is the percentage of water that constitutes a cat’s body. It is around 60 to 70%. This shows that cats are equally reliant and structurally based on water as humans. Then why do pet owners take light of this matter?
Dehydration is a serious issue that is taking a toll on pet owners these days. That has sparked a debate about what is the best pet food in town for their cats. It is important to remember that pet foods come in two basic varieties: wet or canned pet food and dry pet food. These pet foods are explained later in the read; however, their difference lies in the moisture content or water presence in their structure. Many people will opt for canned pet food since it is rich in water, which covers the hydration topic, but dry pet food has other benefits that cannot be ignored. But what must not be ignored at all costs is your cat staying hydrated, however healthily you decide to do so.
Pet foods differ from regular foods that a pet consumes since they are specially categorized and constituted based on several nutrients. Different essential nutrients constitute cat food, and all such nutrients are likely present in both wet and dry cat food. Damp and dry pet foods are two distinct and specific pet food types that are commonly present. In essence, it is the wet and dry cat food that is used as the primary distinguisher between pet foods. So, what are dry and wet foods in general?
Between the pet foods, the types of basic nutrients almost remain the same. What differs is their percentage, but what differs significantly is the amount of moisture content present in them. The percentage of moisture content in the food type is what is described as wet or dry pet food. In wet foods or canned pet foods, the water content is around 80%, making it highly moist. Hence, the name goes as moist foods. Wet foods have some straightforward benefits, the key benefit among all being the easiness of these foods of having watery structure, allowing for good hydration. Added benefits are mentioned below.
Wet Pet Food Benefits
The primary benefits of wet or canned pet food derive from their name, wet. Cats are naturally wild animals, and their instinct to live in the wilderness does not go away. Hence, everything that a wild animal exhibits or displays is visible in a cat, though their gentle nature often overshadows this. Wild animals, especially big cats and cats, do not have a good urgency or requirement of staying hydrated. Cats as pets give pet owners a tough time to consume water. For them, canned pet food comes as a respite with a good chunk of moisture content in them. This offers pet owners a sense of relief that their pet cat is getting the right amount of water intake through the food. Another key benefit of wet pet foods is that often, pet cats suffer from medical issues such as diabetes, kidney issues, and lower urinary tract diseases. To counter these, damp pet foods come as a great respite.
Wet Pet Food Drawbacks
Benefits do come with drawbacks and negatives. Canned pet food may be rich in moisture, but it also means that consumption has to be quick and total. For instance, the shelf life of canned pet foods is 24 hours at maximum. This means that once opened, the canned pet food must be either consumed by the pet totally or it should be discarded if the 24-hour period has passed. Another way of prolonging the canned pet food is by storing it in the refrigerator, but its essence may go away shortly afterwards.
Though the purpose of canned pet food is to encourage your cat to eat them to stay hydrated for longer and well, there are certain limitations to this activity. For example, with lower shelf life and a limit in their consumption period makes them either good or bust and nothing in between. To combat this or counter this pet food option comes the dry pet food. Again, we will pick from the basic differentiating factor between the two pet food types, that is, the moisture content. In comparison to the 80% moisture content available in wet or canned food, dry pet food only contains 10% water. This low volume or percentage comes with its benefits, which we highlight below.
Dry Pet Food Benefits
When it comes to pet food wars, you will not find a list of benefits and negatives but one key benefit that will stand out and one key negative aspect that will switch your mind. This is because there is a high level of simplicity involved in pet foods. Dry pet foods are a popular choice since they are economical when it comes to pricing. Hence, everyone can afford them in comparison to canned pet food. In essence, with a minimal amount of water present, they have a greater shelf life. Moreover, the kibble-shaped dry pet food particles allow for good eating and digestive requirements, thus promoting effective eating among pets.
Dry Pet Food Drawbacks
Dry pet foods may be a good choice when considering shelf life and pricing. However, they are not the ideal choice when you run deeper. See, the purpose of this read is to show the perfect difference between dry and canned pet food but also to showcase the role of hydration and its link with any pet food. Dry pet foods contain only 10% moisture content, which gives a worry about hydration lack among cats. Though cats are wild animals and do not rely heavily on water, pet cats do need a considerable amount of water content to stay hydrated.
Conclusion
The last comments are a friendly way of conveying and summarizing the entire read with a suitable recommendation, but the above read requires the attention of all pet owners. Pets are great to have in homes and they offer an atmosphere like no other. While their food availability has to be spot on and of the highest importance, there is no doubt that water and hydration cannot be overlooked. In light of the long-standing debate between canned and dry pet food, canned pet food is the best option since it covers both the nutritional aspects alongside having enough water content to keep your cat hydrated and free from worry. Petco.pk has a wide range of canned pet food available for your consideration.
-
-
₨600
Feline Cats Food
-
-
Frequently Asked Questions
Does wet pet food have enough hydration for a cat?
Wet pet foods are rich in moisture content. They contain around 80% of water and thus are highly suitable to combat dehydration.
How much water content is present in dry pet food?
Dry pet foods have only around 10% of water content in them. Hence, they often risk your cat not getting the right hydration from direct dry food intake.
Is it better to feed canned pet food to cats?
Canned or wet pet foods are a good consideration when hydration is the main concern for you and your pet cat.
Why do some vets recommend dry pet food against wet?
Vets do recommend dry pet foods for the purpose that cats have to chew dry food hard, which improves their teeth’ cleanliness and helps to keep tartar at bay.
Do cats drink more water with dry pet foods?
Yes, cats that have switched to dry food from wet food will show a tendency to drink more water due to thirst. You need to keep them well-hydrated.