Three Reasons Your Cat Needs Wet Food in Their Diet | Lola The Rescued Cat
Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Three Reasons Your Cat Needs Wet Food in Their Diet


This post is sponsored by Purina. We received coupons for free 12-packs of Fancy Feast for ourselves and a giveaway to discuss the importance of wet food in a cat's diet. Purina is not responsible for the contents of this post. Lola The Rescued Cat only shares information we feel will be of interest to our readers. 

Cat Writers’ 25th Anniversary Conference

Purina has been a sponsor and supporter of Cat Writers’ Association since its inception in 1992, so I was thrilled that not only would they be presenting at the 25th Anniversary Conference, but they would also have a booth with staff available to speak one-on-one with members.


Purina|fancy feast


Unfortunately,I arrived at the conference a day late, so I missed a fantastic presentation by Purina speakers Dr. Janet Jackson and Dr. Kurt Venator, who spoke about feline nutrition and hydration and Purina’s science-based, nutritional approach to pet food. But when I visited the Purina booth I chatted with Niky Roberts, Purina’s Public Relations Liaison, who shared some of the information with me.

Lola and Lexy’s Food Choices

I started telling Niky a little bit about Lola and Lexy, and that although I like to feed them a variety of food, Fancy Feast is always on our menu. Lola and Lexy insist on the grilled variety, and there absolutely must not be any pate or seafood flavors served!

Purina|fancy feast


I also told her a little bit our history with wet food, as well as Lexy’s weight loss journey. To (try) to make a long story short, I have two cats with two different needs - Lola tends to be underweight and Lexy is overweight. It has been a juggling and balancing act to get them to eat the proper food they each require. If Lola could live on dry food only she would, and if I want her to eat enough to maintain her weight (she was down to just a little over 6 pounds at one point) I must leave some kibble out. Lexy (a petite cat who at one time topped the scales at 12.5 lbs and would only eat dry food when I adopted her) cannot graze on dry food all day. It was a struggle (and a battle of the wills with both), but we finally came to an agreement.

Purina|fancy feast


We’re now at the point where the girls look forward to their breakfast and dinner of wet food. Lexy likes variety and will eat just about any wet food offered to her. Lola, on the other hand, is a very picky eater. She will explore new foods and will enjoy them for a little while until the excitement wears off. Fancy Feast is the only food I can get her to eat on a consistent basis. I was very happy when two veterinarians told me that Fancy Feast is actually a good food to offer Lexy for weight loss and I had a win-win going on!. I still feed a combo diet, but the dry food is carefully measured, and the girls eat a diet of mostly wet food. Yay! I’m happy to announce that Lola is just shy of 8 pounds now, and when Lexy was weighed in March she was down to 11.5 pounds! Trust me…if I can accomplish this, anyone can.


Purina|fancy feast


When Niky asked me if I’d be interested in sharing the benefits of including wet food into a cats’ diet with my readers, I was happy to oblige.

Three Reasons Your Cat Needs Wet Food in Their Diet


Wet Food Promotes Lean Body Mass

According to Purina, “A cat’s total body weight is comprised of lean body mass (LBM) and fat mass.”  Muscles, ligaments, and bones are all considered LBM. A higher LBM is healthier because muscle is more metabolically active which increases the body’s metabolic rate, which in turn helps support many vital functions such as mobility, immunity and more. More muscle mass increases agility and provides greater strength. So a leaner cat is a healthier cat.

We all know that cats are obligate carnivores which means they require nutrients only found in animal products. Indoor cats rely on their people to provide them with the nutrition they need to stay lean and healthy. Making sure your cat has wet food in their diet is a way of ensuring their protein requirements are met. A diet high in protein assists in maintaining strong muscles throughout adulthood and into their senior years, keeping them healthier as they age.




Wet Food Adds More Variety

I learned something interesting from Purina. Did you know that cats are neophiliacs? That means they like new things and have a love of novelty. That is definitely Lexy! Some cats may actually crave variety and get bored with the same food every day. Incorporating more wet food into your cats’ diet helps combat the boredom that a diet of only dry food cannot. There are an abundant variety of textures and flavors in wet food to satisfy your cat’s cravings. As you read above my cats can be picky, so I had to play around with different things to see what they like. I’m often jealous of my friend whose cats will eat anything. She definitely has no problem satisfying their neophiliac tendencies, that’s for sure!


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Wet Food Ensures Better Overall Hydration

What is hydration and why is it important? According to Purina, hydration is the physiological state of balanced electrolytes, specific minerals, and fluids within the body. Proper hydration is important because “Water affects everything from circulation to digestion, so it’s evident why keeping your cat hydrated is critical.” Proper hydration regulates your cats’ body temperature, keeps their bones and joints healthy, and helps nutrients move through their body.

I was surprised to learn that a cat requires 20 teaspoons of water daily to maintain proper hydration and that they only get 3/100 of a teaspoon per one lap of their tongue. Isn’t that amazing? This means they need to do a lot of lapping to get 20 teaspoons!

Some people may think that the only way to keep your cat hydrated is through water. However, wet cat food has at least a 65% moisture content (and often more than that.) By ensuring your cat has wet food available to them you’re helping to improve their overall hydration.


Purina|fancy feast


Other Benefits of Wet Food

In addition to the above, there are also other benefits of feeding your cat wet food.
  • Compared to dry food wet food is often higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates, and lower in calories per volume.
  • Wet food in cans provide built-in portion control vs. free feeding with a bowl full of kibble left out.
  • Wet food provides a complete source of nutrition (including iron, zinc, taurine, and biotin.)
  • Wet food is highly digestible
Purina nutritionists recommend feeding a combination of wet and dry food. This will ensure they get plenty of moisture in their diet and add some variety. However, your cat will definitely let you know what they prefer to eat, just like mine do!

Purina|fancy feast


Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Purina, two of our lucky readers will each win five coupons, each for a free 12-pack of Fancy Feast. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents, 18+ years of age, except where prohibited by law. The winners will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter and contacted via email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize, and a new winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter. Please note that to qualify for the prize a comment must be left on this post. Giveaway closes on Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 12:00 am Eastern Time.  


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck to everyone who enters! To stay up to date with Purina, make sure to follow them on social media. 



Introducing wet food into my girls' diets was one of the best decisions I've made for them. As soon as I did, Lexy's coat was so soft and shiny! (And she still feels like silk.) Lola has been able to keep some weight on and she looks amazing. I'm so happy they're both happy and healthy and enjoy their food. 

What do you feed your cat? Are they picky eaters? Tell us in the comments. 

Dawn



Would you like to comment?

  1. I feed them both wet and dry. They will only eat pate in wet food - when I mess up and get other textures, they aren't very happy! Friskies is the usual, flavors may change based on what flavors the youngest won't eat. They do like Fancy Feast when I give it to them for a treat. I leave out a combination of Purina One for sensitive systems and Iams weight and hairball control (one of the seniors is large, both structure and weight). Thank you for the interesting post! I learned something new, as I thought wet food would be more likely to put on weight than dry. I may have to treat them with Fancy Feast more often! jeaniedannheim(at)ymail(dot)com

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  2. We ONLY eat wet food after our Maurice had a urinary blockage and we read about how much better wet food is. I don't really have a favorite flavor (I luv em ALL), but the FF cheesy varieties are a BIG hit!

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  3. I feed Katie wet and dry and her wet is Fancy Feast. She likes pate less than the others. Marinated Morsels is her kinda thing.

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  4. Fancy feast is a favorite choice for special days around here. I can’t afford to feed it all the time to my big horde of furballs

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  5. I feed Jake Fancy Feast gravy lovers. He has access to dry food to eat as he gets hungry, but he prefers the wet food.

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  6. the adults here get canned as a treat but the little kittens get it more often. if a can opens in the foster room though, Daiquiri is sitting up on the shelf near the room looking in and begging to help eat it :)

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  7. we be grazers coz de FSG never haz de same kinda goin a way hourz... & R kibble iz prescrip.....

    our wet food iz purina canned N while we love ther gravee; we pre fur pate over de rest { de gravee getz consoomed while de bitz stay on de plate } ☺☺♥♥

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  8. Fancy Feast is the staple at our house. Glad to hear the wet food and FF is good for them, we were just feeding it to them because they refused to eat anything else!

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  9. My human only gives us canned food... or raw.

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  10. When I first found Dexter and Olive, I didn't know any better and only fed them dry food - with wet food as a treat. Now it's opposite! Only wet food as meals and dry as a treat. With five cats, there's a variety of favorites. But chicken is popular!

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  11. We only eat that kind of wet food but I haven’t found that lean body mass yet.

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  12. Great post. I am glad that vets recommend Fancy Feast. I have tried more expensive foods, but they never seem to like them. My Emmy is a pate lover while most of the others like the gravy kind. XO

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  13. It's nice to see a major pet food company support the fact that cats need wet food.

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  14. My cats get both wet and dry - with the weather heating up, they eat less (but have plenty of access to water).

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  15. Gracie and Ava get wet food twice per day, but they do love their crunchies, too.

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  16. Bear's a grazer - so wet food isn't really practical for him. And Ellie's weird - she loves wet food as a treat - but she'll only eat a certain amount. At least they both get wet food treats everyday.

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  17. Thanks for the wonderful. At home I feed half wet and half dry. They love their wet food and they come running in when I crack the can open. Have a wonderful day.
    World of Animals

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  18. I feed my cat both. My Lucy was a stray, like all my other pets. She prefers seafood flavored food. Thanks.

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  19. Manna and Dexter love Fancy Feast too. Their favorite (at the moment) is the chicken with milk and cheese. They are super spoiled when it comes to the variety of flavors I pick up for them. I agree that wet food is a better choice for cats than dry food.

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  20. i dont have cats but i always buy the fish flavors when i get them to donate to Safe Haven for Cats. i know they would love these coupons.

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  21. Your cats sure do look like they are enjoying the food! I don't have cats myself, but I know how important it is for them to stay hydrated. I feed my dogs a combination of raw and what I guess you could call a wet dog food. Dogs seem to generally be better at keeping themselves hydrated, but my younger boy had some kidney issues when he was younger so I like to really make sure to keep him especially well hydrated.

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  22. I thought it was all about the kidneys. So my three reasons would have been kidneys, kidneys, and kidneys :-)

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  23. I am a firm believer of wet food for both dogs and cats. My cats in Israel where I once lived all ate only wet food and lately after reading everything I am happy I did it

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  24. I totally agree wet food is totally necessary for proper nutrition. My Cats only get wet food. Fancy feast is their wet food of choice. All of our Rescued Kittens get fancy feast as well. It is the first food given to them when they are eating on their own.

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  25. The kitties here love Fancy Feast and get it every morning. It's so funny how some cats are very picky about texture. Annie and Pierrot like the Classic and Grilled versions.

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  26. My cats do not have a favorite flavor, it's more of a flavor of the day!

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  27. Ours get both. They like tinned and enjoy locally made brands too.

    Harvey (senior) is a kidney cat and needs every drop of water he can get - so wet food it is!

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  28. Skeeters favorite flavor is chicken. I for a long time stayed away from the fish flavors since for some reason my oldest kitty Sassy would get urine crystals when she ate it. She passed away and Skeeter just is so use to the chicken. I try saving times she gets the fish flavors as a treat since I learned that if they get sick the fish flavor is so strong smelling they will eat it when they will turn down chicken. So figure between that and it being a goody treat if she was to for reason get sick I can keep her eating.

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  29. Our vet always stressed the importance of feeding cats wet food. My mom's cat didn't like switching from kibble to canned food, but our cat loved eating wet food.

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  30. I've learned the importance of wet food. Truffle and Brulee still have their dry kibble, but I vary the recipe/brand/protein with their wet food each day. I haven't tried any of the Fancy Feast, but look forward to seeing if the girls like it.

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  31. My cats like variety in their food. I get them a new kind/flavor every time i buy them a case of wet food. One of my cats has had urinary problems in the past and feeding him more wet food helps with that so he gets more hydration and is less likely to develop crystals again. I would love to win this for my kitties!

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  32. I like Fancy Feast and eat the grilled tuna for dinner. TW just started buying the Elegant Medleys for me cos they stopped making them with carageenan. We'd like to know from Purina why all the new FF recipes have added carageenan again like the Naturals and the ones with coconut oil.

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  33. Well, my senior cat, Moko, who has been dealing with medical issues for going on four years now, will ONLY eat canned cat food (no dry). She also loves when I cook chicken for her or pick up a piece from the local deli. Her favorite flavor of canned food has chicken in it, although she likes other flavors, too.

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  34. Great review, Lola and Lexy. I get also the best of both and I have to say this food looks very delicious *licks paws* Pawkisses for a Happy Day🐾😽💞

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