How do I get my cat to eat wet cat food instead of dry cat food?

ELLE: How do I get my cat to eat wet cat food instead of dry cat food?
I have heard that dry cat food is bad for your cats health. My cat loves dry cat food and only eats a small amount of the wet cat food. I used to give her dry food in the mornings but now I have started to give her wet cat food as that would be the time when she is the most hungry. This morning she woke me up meowing becuase she was hungry and I fed her one of those small tins of cat food and she only ate half. An hour later she still didn’t finish it. I gave her a small pile of dry cat food and she ran straight over and ate it. I don’t think it is enough food for her to be eating only one small tin of cat food a day (half in the morning, half at night). She is already small and although her weight is okay, she really doesn’t need to be any thinner.

Answers and Views:

Answer by mrs.mom
Dry cat food is better for your cat. The dry cat food helps to keep her teeth clean. Talk to your vet they will explain all the good things that dry cat food will do.

Answer by Tim
Cats are meat eaters. Wet meaty food is better for them. Dry food can cause intestinal and constipation and kidney problems.

Slowly start adding canned food to the dry food and introduce it to him gradually.

Answer by Jessica
Cats really only need the wet food if they aren’t drinking a lot of water. My cats get as much dry as they want and they get a can of wet every other day.

Answer by sweet sue
Who ever told you dry catfood was bad for your cats health is wrong. Even the vets who sell “special” cat and dog food sell the dry stuff. Dry cat food helps to keep the teeth clean, helps with fiber in diet, has all the essential vitimans and minerals. As long as your cat is healthy it can eat dry foor. There are also special types of dry food, for older cats, for kittens, for cats who need to lose weight. I have had cats for over 40 years and have always used dry food.

Answer by SureKat
Don’t know who told you that, but dry food is better. My 17 year old cat has eaten dry food all his life. He is very healthy and never had a tooth problem. Or you could just go with both…Take care;^)

Answer by bob
only put out the wet cat food and not the dry cat food and once she gets really hungry she will eat it

Answer by MICHAEL S
I don’t think you can change your cats preference or choice of food. Cats are very picky and very particular about thev foods they eat. That changes as the cat matures and gets older, much like humans. Good luck though.

Answer by Eazy E
well…YOU POUR WET CAT FOOD IN HER BOWL INSTEAD OF DRY CATFOOD..DURRRRRRR..why even ask a question like that?

Answer by Spike
My cat’s been eating dry cat food all her life. She WON’T eat canned food. I can barely even get her to eat a cat treat. lol. I don’t think not eating wet food would harm your cat. They’re kinda like small humans. They like some food and others don’t eat all kinds of stuff….anyways. I used to have this cat that would just eat anything. Twinkies was his favorite. lol. Go figure.

Answer by blick
put the dry food in the bathtub. after the cat starts to eat , turn on the shower..if you have a glass door enclosure , KEWL, otherwise close the bathroom door ..good luck.. food and bath at the same time!

Answer by slkeysling
My cats think they are getting spoiled if they get wet food. Dry food isn’t really bad for your cat, it actually helps their teeth stay clean and healthy. If your cat only likes dry cat food I stay stick with it, it is cheaper then wet also.

Answer by old cat lady
Cats usually like the canned food when they get used to it. Kibble is quite addictive. Just give her the canned food and no kibble. As long as she eats a little every day she will not be harmed and eventually she will just eat the meat and finish what is on her plate.

If she is an adult cat she should eventually eat a 5.5 oz can a day. Use some quality canned food that is mostly meat. Natural Balance has about five different “flavors”. I also use CA Natural, Avoderm, Lick Your Chops, Innova, Felidae. By cans of all of those if you can find them so she gets used to variety. Blue Buffalo is high quality too. We just don’t have it around here so I have never used it with my cats.

Stay away from Whiskas, Friskies, Science Diet, Max etc which use by-product meat.

When you open a 5.5 oz can in the morning always put the remainder in a pyrex dish for the evening meal. Meat that stays in the can can develop an “off” taste. Unless you are experiencing extremely high temperatures you can just cover it and leave it in a cupboard for her dinner. If you do refrigerate it you must warm it in a pan of hot water. Cold meat may cause her to throw up.

Answer by cc_det
If your cat loves dry food, great! Let it eat it! Its cheaper anyway! Plus It helps keep teeth cleaner. But no reason your cat can’t eat both. Another option is those Tender Vittles or whatever they are called. Its a softer dry style. Comes in little pouches. My grandma gives her cat wet food in morning and evening just like you said you are doing, and leaves the dry food out all the time as snack whenever she needs it. Plus If you were ever unable to get home at your normal time, your cat would atleast have that to eat till you make it back home. I advise both. PLus if you are worried about health then buy a better brand of food. It will have better nuitriants. Plus that will also give your cat softer shinier fur too.

Answer by tinkerbellnjk
Dry food is so much better than wet for your cat. It is good, though, if you can get her to eat a little bit of wet. Get some that is high in protein. She should be on a mostly dry diet, though. If she doesn’t want the wet, don’t worry.

Answer by David s
mix the wet and dry together.

Answer by emoticons
u should give ur cat dry food the only time in the cats life that u need to give the cat soft food is when their small kittens because their teeth aren’t strong enough for dry food until their older but u shouldn’t give them wet food because it can cause diaria.. but sometimes kittens can eat dry food but i recomend dry food

Answer by violet_dreamscape
have you ever noticed that cats don’t chew very much…yeah so dry cat food is not good for their teeth. and wet food may not be better if the brand is the same. Most cat food brands cook the crap out of their food along with all the nutrients. Check out Dr. Pitcairns book for the real deal.

Answer by RuneAmok
Good for you! You’re doing the right thing.

I went through this myself, and it took me two weeks.

First, be prepared to waste a bit of money. And to be patient.

Buy several different brands of food, and get different varieties of each. Offer a bit of that, and if your cat responds to any, make note of the brand and flavor. It may be that he’ll like venison or turkey, or perhaps he’ll like any flavor from a certain manufacturer.

You are right to switch gradually. I think you could continue what you’re doing – offer the dry food once per day – give him 1/2 to 3/4 of what he would usually get. You could even break that into two meals although I don’t think that really matters.

By reducing the amount of food, your cat still is getting food but will also still be hungry. And hunger can be a great inducer to try new things!

You could also try mixing some dry in with the canned.

Basically, you’re doing the right thing. Just be patient and try other foods too.

EDIT: Whoever told you this was on the mark! Don’t worry about the uninformed opinions out here. And dry food doesn’t clean their teeth; you don’t have to worry about that myth either.

Answer by James H
Try Sheba cat food. She might like it.