Is it possible to feed a cat with dry and wet food at the same time?

It does not matter what breed you have a cat, the most popular "ordinary home" or some more rare. When choosing food, any owner has a choice: what to feed your pet? There are a few points to keep in mind:

• features of your pet's breed, what is good for its health and what is not;
• what age and sex of your kitten or already adult cat, because in the future it will probably bring posterity or, on the contrary, you will sterilize your cat;
• what is the daily routine of your family, how often you are or are absent from home and which of the household will be responsible for the animal;
• how much money you are willing to give for his diet.

In addition, when choosing a diet of an animal, it is necessary to consult with a veterinarian, or at least with its previous owners. And always remember that a cat, like any predator, needs meat every day, it is also connected with the fact that the animal organism cannot divide food into fatty and amino acids.

Today the market offers a wide variety of dry and wet cat food. They can be economy and premium class, and include those or other vitamin and mineral supplements. It should be borne in mind that the lower the price of the finished feed, the lower its quality.

Especially for their cats they buy fish or meat residues on the market. There are also those who try to diversify the diet of their pet as much as possible by mixing different types of feed.

It is necessary to clarify the definition of dry, wet and natural food.

• Dry food. The composition of dry feed includes meat and vegetable residues, if it is cheap feed. Expensive can be made from whole meat and vegetables and contain vitamin and mineral supplements. The main feature of dry fodder is that in the process of their production, pieces of food are dried and then watered with fat to give it shine and aroma.

In their composition not more than ten percent of water, so they retain all their taste and properties for a long time. Dry food has two advantages: first, during their use the cat “brushes its teeth”, cleans and strengthens the enamel of the teeth. The second advantage is that it is convenient to use them; in the morning you can pour a sufficient amount into the bowl and add more in the evening.

• Wet food - This is a balanced set of meat, vegetables and offal, seasoned with sauce or jelly, but can also be found in the form of pastes. This set of products is pasteurized and packaged in plastic bags or rolled up in canned goods. This type of feed is more similar to natural products and you can store it after opening for one or two days, not more. Their other disadvantage is that they can be harmful to the health of pets. When leftover food remains between the teeth, they can start to rot, besides, cats get used to this kind of food more often and quickly.

• Under the natural food understand not just food from the table of the owners, but above all a balanced diet. In drawing up the correct daily menu, you need to take into account that the cat's diet consists of 70% protein, 20% fat and 10% carbohydrate. You can not give cats fatty meats, river fish raw, sweets and spices.Also very important is the use of vegetables, various types of cereals and dairy products. With regards to milk, contrary to the general opinion, milk should not be given to cats, better kefir or yogurt. And of course, in the second bowl of the animal must always be clean water.

You can combine for your pet dry and wet food from the same manufacturer - this is acceptable. When adding natural food, you should be careful and first consult with experts. After all, the cat's body, like any other animal, reacts differently and digests what it eats. The digestive system gets used to recycle certain foods in a certain way, and when an animal eats something unusual, a malfunction may occur in the body.

Mixing different types of food is necessary for those pets who have weak immunity or who do not gain weight. Such a diet is especially suitable for kittens not younger than six months. With the help of dry food, you can strengthen the jaws and teeth, and wet foods will be a source of nutrients and saturate the animal.

To properly combine feed, you need to alternate them two or three times during the day. The number of meals depends on the age and each individual pet. Adults are fed twice a day, kittens and sick animals three or four times a day. You can choose one of two feeding options and constantly stick to it.

• First option. Alternating dry and wet food two or three times a day, depending on the cat. For example, an adult cat can be given wet food in the morning and dry in the evening. If you have a kitten, then in the morning and in the evening give wet food, pour dry during the day and night. In both cases, be sure to place a bowl with clean water next to it.
• The second option. One day - one type of feed, the so-called rule of one day. For example, yesterday you gave your pet dry food, today you can offer him only wet food, and tomorrow you can boil fish or cook dairy products, then dry food again, and so on, in a circle without disturbing the order.

If the animal refuses this or that type of food, show patience and a little perseverance. For example, if you gave wet food in the morning, and in the evening she refuses to dry, try offering dry food again the next morning.

Even when you mix different foods of the same producer and the same quality, this should be done gradually, observing how the animal feels. If you see that he has become pale wool, sluggish behavior, dull eyes and any other signs, it is better to stop combining feed. These signs are evidence that the animal's body could not adapt to the innovation and it is better to return to the previous diet.

If you still intend to diversify the diet of your pet in this way, then you need to consider some points:

• control the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates;
• maintain the weight and volume of each portion;
• maintain the time interval between each meal so that the animal does not overeat and is not hungry;
• as noted above, use feed from one manufacturer and not below the premium class;
• not to give two kinds of food at the same time, even if it is a wet room and natural food.
• time to clean the bowl of the animal, leaving no residue from previous products.

In the combined diet there is nothing bad if you do it with caution and constantly monitor the state of health of the animal. The most obvious advantages in such a diet can be identified.

• The animal's body learns and gets used to recycle a variety of foods. If there are any unforeseen moments (for example, your usual food has ended, and you and your pet are visiting the parents in the village), your animal will not starve;
• It has a positive effect on the health of the animal and prevents the appearance of various diseases, for example, urolithiasis or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• With compliance with this regime, you can control the amount of water in the body of the animal, as well as the amount of protein, fat and vitamins.

But you can select a number of drawbacks and try to avoid them.

• If it is wrong to calculate the daily diet or the number of meals, do not control the portions, the animal may have overeating.
• Wet food cats prefer more. If the diet is not followed, there is a high probability that it will not eat dry food, but will go only to the wet one.
• The animal may be allergic to one of the components and it will be difficult to determine what it is. The more varied the food, the higher the risk of allergy to one of the nutritional ingredients.

If you decide to transfer your pet to a combination of feeding, then you will need to do it gradually and step by step.

But there is another opinion that it is impossible to combine wet and dry food, because it leads to animal digestion problems.

See whether the cat can feed dry and wet food at the same time in the next video.