Does dry food clean cats' teeth? (eating, stomach, canned food, liquid)

[maincoon]

Somebody told me dry food cleans cats' teeth during crunching process. Is this true? I thought wet food only diet is the best. Maybe I should start mixing wet with dry food? Any thoughts?

[maggiekate]

I was told feed the dog a dry food and the chew cleans. She will be 8 and will net all the yuck off!
Dogs also chew bones etc., and at times I brush her teeth! Maybe try slowly to do a mix and see!

[Travel'r]

For your answer, just open the critter's mouth & look at how the teeth are shaped -- and read Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi .

This dry-is-good is a merely a myth perpetrated by the pet food manufacturers (who, unfortunately, also influence veterinary universities with their funding, thus the all too common, bad "vet/diet" advice.)

All one has to do is look at the teeth on a cat to see the proof/logic -- a strict carnivore's teeth are not shaped to grind like a horse or cow. Think of it this way: How would humans/any carnivore/omnivore species' teeth be if its teeth ground up nothing but Mickey D's snacks and Potato Chips all its life? (Considering what's in most commercial cat foods, Mickey D's & Chips may be an upgrade! Just my opinion.)

All the facts are @ Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi.

[user_id]

Yeah this is a myth. Most cats don't even seem to chew the dry food much in the first place.

Wet food is not necessarily better than dry, depends on the quality. I'd rather feed my cats something like Natural Balance dry food than Friskies wet food. The cheap wet food is largely indigestible garbage and is not really any cheaper than quality dry food.

[chilaili]

I honestly don't know whether this is true or not. What I do know is that my cat who only eats dry food has way better teeth than the one who eats wet food.

[Maude Kipz]

It does depend on the dry food. Most dry cat food is made of starchy grains, which leaves residue on the teeth, that in turn makes cavities. But wet food does nothing to clean the teeth at all. I give my cat dental treats and am currently trying out a "dental paste" that you just add to their food. If you're really worried about their tooth care, you can learn the adventure of "holding your cat in a death grip while trying to brush its teeth."

I go back and forth between wet and dry food with my cat. Either way, go for a higher quality cat food that uses little to no grain. I use Natural Balance or Halo and I noticed that my cat eats less now, but has more energy. As for his teeth, he's only a couple years old so they're naturally in good condition, but I've gotten no vet complaints either!

[need4Trees]

MYTH!!!

by the pet food industry...

it is like eating crackers all the time...sticks to teeth, Not cleaning them, how can that be!?!? No, No, No!!!

Neither dry or wet food cleans the teeth...

If anything, if there is some type of food that actually does some "good" it would not be cleaning of teeth, but yet if any food somewhat prevents the sticking of food on the teeth, thus creating tater and plaque over time, ...Doesn't it just make more scene that the Wet/soft food will "wash" down the mouth more easily and thus not sticking because it holds liquid...and thus creating "less" of a problem ... but still not saying that it cleans,
Just that I believe wet food creates a lot less of a problem with the teeth and mouth as a whole, than dry, not to mention better for them and their long term health, really!

[maincoon]

Originally Posted by chilaili

I honestly don't know whether this is true or not. What I do know is that my cat who only eats dry food has way better teeth than the one who eats wet food.

Exactly same in mines too. The ones who eat dry food have clean teeth but ont who eats wet food only has some plaques....

[Lola4]

Not true. A good wet food is definitely the best!
Cats don't chew their food in the way that dogs do.

We feed our cats Wellness wet (with added water - they love the "gravy" and it gives them that much more water intake) because there are no garbage ingredients in Wellness and cats NEED the moisture because they don't have strong thirst drives.

The kiddos get Wellness dry as a snack.

Originally Posted by maincoon

Somebody told me dry food cleans cats' teeth during crunching process. Is this true? I thought wet food only diet is the best. Maybe I should start mixing wet with dry food? Any thoughts?

[mainegirl]

Originally Posted by user_id

Yeah this is a myth. Most cats don't even seem to chew the dry food much in the first place.

Wet food is not necessarily better than dry, depends on the quality. I'd rather feed my cats something like Natural Balance dry food than Friskies wet food. The cheap wet food is largely indigestible garbage and is not really any cheaper than quality dry food.

Agreed. I was told by two separate vets that a study was done on the contents of cats' stomachs (I don't want to know how they got the contents out) and found that the majority of the dry food was still in tact.

Cats are carnivores, they need meat as their main diet. Dried food's main ingredients are grains, and most of them have a sprayed meat flavored fat on them, along with food coloring to please the owner's eye. I now buy the more expensive canned food for my kitties, and buy the large dental treats for them once a week. They make the dental treats large enough where the cat doesn't have a choice, they have to chew them to ingest them. So far my 7 year old has great teeth, not sure about my 1 year old yet. Have to take him to his check up and shots update appointment in October.