Dry Dog and cat food - Water intake

[katherine93]

Hi guys.. im feed my dogs Dry kibble the brand name is pedigree and i feed my cats dry kibble as well.The brand name is Iams. I have read some stuff on here about controling your pets water intake while eating dry food. For every cup of food i put a cup of water in with it and the food gets soft and expands. Is that a good idea or should i stop doing that? should i just feed htem canned food.. Or a raw diet? they really enjoy eating the food they eat now. what shall i do? The dogs each get half a can of wet food as a treat in the middle of the day. 1 cup of dry food with 1 cup of water in the morning and the same in the eveneing. I have a german shepherd and a german shepherd lab mix. My moms samoyed get the same thing. Her calerveir king charels spaniel get the same only in smaller portions. The cats get half a cup of dry food with half a cup of water in the morning and 1 tb spoon of wet food around dinner time. And they get the same as there breakfast at supper time. Does that sound good or bad to you guys?

[sugarcatmom]

Unfortunately, Pedigree and Iams are not great foods. They have an awful lot of grains, which just aren't necessary and can even be harmful, particularly for cats.

And the problem with adding water to dry food is that it creates a lovely breeding ground for bacteria and mycotoxins. It's not a big deal if they eat it all up within half an hour, but I wouldn't recommend letting it sit out for any length of time.

As far as the cats are concerned, I suggest finding a good quality, meat-based canned food. They don't need any dry. If you want to try raw, even better, but it takes a little more research and planning. Here are some links for you if you want more info:
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php

[katherine93]

As soon as i put out food they eat it. Any that they leave is thrown out or the dogs get to it before me and finish it..lol..thanks for the advice..any suggestions on what kind of canned foods..some arent very good as far as ingrediants go..

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by katherine93

any suggestions on what kind of canned foods..some arent very good as far as ingrediants go..

Here is a good link that talks about picking a quality canned food, with a list of some of the better ones at the end: http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm

I personally think grain-free Wellness, Nature's Variety Instinct, By Nature Organics and Innova EVO 95% meat are some of the best.