Does wet cat food give cats worms?
Does wet cat food give cats worms? I heard this from my mom, and I wondered if it was true.
No. Wet food does not give cats worms.
Fleas can give cats tapeworms though.
Furthermore, cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.
www.catinfo.org
All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.
So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.
Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.
Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.
I recommend varying the diet with a constant rotation of 2 to 4 different brands of canned foods that your cat enjoys. If you do this, and allow your cat the same assortment they would have in nature when eating mice, bugs, birds and rabbits, your cat’s digestive system won’t be so sensitive and you won’t have to run around looking for a specific brand when your store is out. You will have a nice variety to choose from instead.
Canned foods I recommend you consider for your rotation:
Nature’s Variety - http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?r=0829192&page=1172&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250c614143FDKiM2BA9520
Wellness Grain Free Formula’s - http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_index.html
By Nature Organics - http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/catmain.php
Organix - http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix_organic_canned_formulas_for_cats
Evanger’s Holistic Pheasant - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/20089.html
Evanger’s Organic Braised Chicken - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50103.html
Evanger’s Turkey & Butternut Squash - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50111.html
November 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
No it doesn’t give them worms. If fed too often it can however give them the runs. And should not be fed as the only food source as they need the dry food to keep their teeth healthy.
References :
November 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
not at all true and it is much better for cats then dry
Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrediant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/InterpretingLabels.htm
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all.
Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.
Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php
Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall
Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm
References :
November 19th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Not true! Commercial wet cat food is processed and there are no living organisms in it. Worms are sometimes transmitted to cats eating live prey or from contamination from others stools.
References :
November 19th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Not true. Cats get tapeworms by swallowing fleas which are infected with tapeworm larvae. They get roundworms from live prey and from feces that are infected. Most kittens are born with roundworms whose larvae came through the placenta during pregnancy. That’s why it’s so important to worm them on a regular schedule.
References :
November 19th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
not true at all…but don’t believe the myth that eating dry food keeps their teeth clean. Does eating pretzels keep your teeth clean?
Dry food is actually bad for cats.
References :
November 20th, 2008 at 12:00 am
No, it doesn’t. Pet food manufacturers use cooking and rendering processes, parasites won’t survive that.
What DOES give cats worms is eating birds and rodents, who have the worms in their bodies. The cat ingests those and gets worms. Or the cat swallows a flea that’s carrying the tapeworm larvae (fleas are part of tapeworm life cycles). But commercially made foods are not going to be carrying parasites.
References :
November 20th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Not true at all, wet food is actually healthier for cats. The reason is, in the wild, cats normally get most of their water content directly from their prey items and drink very little. Domestic cats are no different, and because of the fact that they are designed to take in water with their meal, they have a very low thirst drive. Cats often just don’t drink enough. This leads to urinary tract infections and crystals. The bit about dry food being better for teeth is a myth and has not been proven in the least. Canned/wet food is better because it more closely mimics the cat’s natural diet. More on why canned food is best:
http://www.catinfo.org/ (Excellent cat nutrition information by a vet)
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canned_food.htm
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=doesdryfoodcleantheteeth
References :
November 20th, 2008 at 12:54 am
No. Wet food does not give cats worms.
Fleas can give cats tapeworms though.
Furthermore, cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.
http://www.catinfo.org
All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.
So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.
Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.
Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.
I recommend varying the diet with a constant rotation of 2 to 4 different brands of canned foods that your cat enjoys. If you do this, and allow your cat the same assortment they would have in nature when eating mice, bugs, birds and rabbits, your cat’s digestive system won’t be so sensitive and you won’t have to run around looking for a specific brand when your store is out. You will have a nice variety to choose from instead.
Canned foods I recommend you consider for your rotation:
Nature’s Variety - http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?r=0829192&page=1172&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250c614143FDKiM2BA9520
Wellness Grain Free Formula’s - http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_index.html
By Nature Organics - http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/catmain.php
Organix - http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix_organic_canned_formulas_for_cats
Evanger’s Holistic Pheasant - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/20089.html
Evanger’s Organic Braised Chicken - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50103.html
Evanger’s Turkey & Butternut Squash - http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50111.html
References :
PetGuard Organics - http://www.petguard.com/cat-products/canned-food
Felidae - http://www.canidae.com/cats/cat_and_kitten/canned.html
EVO 95% Meats - http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1662
California Natural - http://www.californianaturalpet.com/
Merrick Canned - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/canned_cat_food.php
Merrick Before Grain - http://www.beforegrain.com
Natural Balance - http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/catformulas/NB_CatCanned.html
Eagle Pack - http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_CanCat.html