From the July 18th edition of the Woodford Sun:
Crunchy vs. Squishy:
The pet food debate
By Beth Oleson, Education Coordinator
If you feed your pet a raw diet or cook for him every night, you can feel free to skip right over this article if you wish. But, for those of us who can’t pull that off, one pet-food related question that comes up time and again is the crunchy vs. squishy debate; which is better, canned food or dry?
The short, enigmatic answer is both. Need some explanation on that one? Good, here we go!
The truth of the matter is that there’s no single correct answer; both canned food and dry kibble have their benefits and detriments. Dry kibble is easier to store and feed, since it has a long shelf life; it’s also lower-calorie and the crunchiness helps chip a little tartar off the teeth. Canned food contains much more moisture (obviously), which is beneficial for pets who are bad drinkers; it’s also more enticing (AKA “stinky”) for picky eaters and can help underweight pets put on a pound or two.
So…canned food or dry? For healthy adult pets, we typically recommend a little of both – just not mixed together. A premium quality dry food makes a good basis for a pet’s diet, particularly if you’re trying to manage weight or if you have a pet who likes to graze at the food bowl throughout the day. But it’s a good idea to keep a little canned food in their diet, too; the extra moisture and omegas keep skin, coat, heart, and digestive tract happy and healthy. We don’t recommend mixing canned and dry together, though, because it can encourage pets to eat too fast, resulting in vomiting or bloat; instead, just keep a separate dish handy for canned food goodies.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, of course. One is male cats, or cats of either gender prone to urinary tract infections. Cats are often in the “bad drinker” category, and if they don’t get enough moisture their diet it can throw off the composition of their urine – sometimes enough to cause crystals or blockages in the urinary tract, which can become a deadly problem in a hurry. Feeding a canned food diet ups your cat’s moisture intake and helps keep things working properly.
Another exception can be made for pets with bad or missing teeth. As most pets age, there will come a time when those teeth just aren’t what they used to be, and that typically leads to weight loss when eating becomes painful. Canned food is easier to eat, and makes a great alternative diet for pets who struggle to eat hard kibble.
By Beth Oleson, Education Coordinator
If you feed your pet a raw diet or cook for him every night, you can feel free to skip right over this article if you wish. But, for those of us who can’t pull that off, one pet-food related question that comes up time and again is the crunchy vs. squishy debate; which is better, canned food or dry?
The short, enigmatic answer is both. Need some explanation on that one? Good, here we go!
The truth of the matter is that there’s no single correct answer; both canned food and dry kibble have their benefits and detriments. Dry kibble is easier to store and feed, since it has a long shelf life; it’s also lower-calorie and the crunchiness helps chip a little tartar off the teeth. Canned food contains much more moisture (obviously), which is beneficial for pets who are bad drinkers; it’s also more enticing (AKA “stinky”) for picky eaters and can help underweight pets put on a pound or two.
So…canned food or dry? For healthy adult pets, we typically recommend a little of both – just not mixed together. A premium quality dry food makes a good basis for a pet’s diet, particularly if you’re trying to manage weight or if you have a pet who likes to graze at the food bowl throughout the day. But it’s a good idea to keep a little canned food in their diet, too; the extra moisture and omegas keep skin, coat, heart, and digestive tract happy and healthy. We don’t recommend mixing canned and dry together, though, because it can encourage pets to eat too fast, resulting in vomiting or bloat; instead, just keep a separate dish handy for canned food goodies.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, of course. One is male cats, or cats of either gender prone to urinary tract infections. Cats are often in the “bad drinker” category, and if they don’t get enough moisture their diet it can throw off the composition of their urine – sometimes enough to cause crystals or blockages in the urinary tract, which can become a deadly problem in a hurry. Feeding a canned food diet ups your cat’s moisture intake and helps keep things working properly.
Another exception can be made for pets with bad or missing teeth. As most pets age, there will come a time when those teeth just aren’t what they used to be, and that typically leads to weight loss when eating becomes painful. Canned food is easier to eat, and makes a great alternative diet for pets who struggle to eat hard kibble.
If you still have questions in the crunchy vs. squishy
debate, or you want to know more about what goes into a healthy pet food, drop
us a line! You can reach us at manager@woodfordhumane.org
or 859.873.5491.
No comments:
Post a Comment