Dry food only or mixed feeding for your cat: which to choose?
Dry food only or mixed feeding: for most cats, mixed feeding — a limited self-service of kibble plus wet food served as meals — is the best compromise. It combines the convenience and economy of kibble with the hydration of wet food, a key point for the urinary health of the cat, a naturally lazy drinker.
Why does hydration change everything?
Kibble contains about 8% water, wet food around 80%. Yet the cat, descended from a desert feline, compensates poorly by drinking: fed exclusively on kibble, it rarely drinks enough, which concentrates the urine and encourages crystals and cystitis. Adding a daily portion of wet food mechanically increases the water taken in without forcing the animal.
Dry food only or mixed feeding: the criteria that count
- Urinary health: advantage mixed feeding, especially for neutered males.
- Budget: advantage dry only — around 15 to 30 € a month versus 25 to 50 € for mixed.
- Convenience: advantage kibble — opened wet food keeps 24 h in the fridge.
- Palatability: advantage mixed, useful for fussy or ageing cats.
- Teeth: near enough a tie — neither replaces genuine dental care.
How do you organise mixed feeding without dosing errors?
The simple rule: one pouch of wet food in the morning, one in the evening, and a weighed portion of kibble during the day, subtracting the wet food’s calories from the kibble ration stated on the bag. A kitchen scale prevents the drift of the eyeballed scoop, the leading cause of weight gain — a close cousin of our article on free feeding.
When should you stick to dry food only?
Frequent absences of more than 12 h, a cat that flatly refuses wet food, or a tight budget: quality kibble with a water fountain remains a decent option. Work out your envelope with our guide to the monthly cat food budget and find all our comparisons in the cat food category. For any medical condition (kidney, diabetes, urinary), the ration should be decided with your vet.
Frequently asked questions
Can you mix kibble and wet food in the same bowl?
Avoid it: the wet food dries out quickly and many cats then abandon the mixture. Serve them separately, at different times.
What proportion of wet food should you aim for?
A common benchmark: one third to one half of daily calories from wet food, i.e. one to two 85 g pouches for a 4 kg cat, the rest in kibble.
Does mixed feeding cause weight gain?
No, as long as total calories are counted. What causes weight gain is stacking wet food on top of the usual kibble ration.
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Cats universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.