Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Cat Food, Pt. 1: The Dental Myth

"Wet food rots your kitty's teeth!"

"Dry food is better for kitties because it keeps their teeth healthy!"


Turns out both of these things are just not true. The main reason it was thought that dry food promoted healthy teeth was because the motion of the food against the teeth would help clean the teeth. However, anybody who has ever seen a kitty regurgitate their food soon after eating it can tell you that the mostly comes up whole. Any crunching you hear while your cat is having her dinner is just for show!

As for wet food causing rotting in teeth....well, that's just not true. There is nothing in wet food that causes tooth decay. In fact, it's been found that wet food, in general, is much better for kitties! It has more nutrients than the dry, plus gets extra vital moisture into a cat's system. This moisture is necessary to keep a kitty properly hydrated, help the kidneys do their job better, and flush unwanted toxins out of the system. While all of this doesn't necessarily directly affect the teeth, it just helps to show why we really like to see wet food in a cat's diet.

Every day we are learning more and more new things about food, all of which we are more than willing to share! Please don't hesitate to call at any point if you have questions about your kitty's diet.

Meg