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Wet Pet Food: When is it Indicated?
Jess L. P. Benson, Megan L...
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Semi-dry and kibble-based diets have gained in popularity in recent years, but wet pet foods have some unique features and may offer distinct advantages in certain situations. Megan Shepherd and Jess Benson take a brief look at some of the facts behind these diets and discuss why they may be the food of choice for some cats and dogs.
Jess L. P. Benson
DVM
Dr. Benson received her DVM fromVirginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) in 2018. She has a particular interest in nutrition for all species, and is currently pursuing aninternship at Carolina Equine Hospitalin North Carolina.
Megan L. Shepherd
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVN
Dr. Shepherd received her DVM from VMCVM in2006 and spent two years in general equine practice before returning to VMCVM, where she completed her PhD in 2012 and a residency incomparative nutrition in 2013. She is currently Clinical Assistant Professor at VMCVM, where she runs the Nutrition Service and teaches nutrition.
Key Points
- Wet pet foods may offer some advantages over semi-moist and dry pet foods in certain situations.
- Consider feeding wet pet food after evaluating the pet’s health, diet history and the owner’s resources, and always purchase pet food from reputable manufacturers.
Introduction
Most pets are fed a commercially produced pet food. Few pets consume commercially produced wet pet food (wet food) as their primary food ( 1 ), although cats appear to consume more wet food than dogs ( 2). Owners will often seek veterinary advice as to the best food to offer their pet, and this brief article reviews some of the salient points for wet foods.
Some important facts
Wet food (i.e., moist, canned) contains 60-80% moisture, which is in contrast to semi-moist food, at around 25-35% moisture, and kibble (i.e., dry food), which is around 10% moisture ( 3 ). Wet foods include gelling ingredients, such as soluble fibers ( 4 ), starch, wheat gluten and spray-dried animal plasma ( 5 ), for texture. The gelling agents do not appear to impact macronutrient digestibility ( 5 , 6 ). However, micronutrients such as selenium ( 7 ), sodium and potassium ( 8 ) appear to be less bioavailable in wet food, possibly due to the gelling agents ( 5 ). Furthermore, thiamine is a heat-labile essential nutrient reported to be deficient in some pâté-style wet foods, and in wet food produced by some small petfood companies ( 9 ). Additionally, wet food should contain a higher taurine content (as compared to dry food) to balance the enhanced bile acid excretion and subsequent microbial degradation of taurine seen with wet vs. dry food ( 10 ).
What are the advantages of wet foods?
Wet food is often reported to be more palatable than dry foods ( 11 , 12 ). This may partly be because wet foods are typically higher in protein when compared to dry foods ( 13 ), which cats in particular find palatable ( 14 ). Furthermore, wet food is often higher in fat, which generally enhances palatability ( Figure 1 ). Wet food may also be more aromatic and is available in different forms (textures), such as pâté or morsels and gravy ( 15 ). While some pets may show a preference to wet food, some pets express a strong desire for dry food rather than wet food ( 16 ).
The high-moisture content of wet food may reduce the total calories consumed at a meal ( 17 ), and may also decrease the risk of obesity in cats ( 18 ). However, pets have successfully lost weight on dry food with enhanced insoluble fiber. Cost (price per calorie) and the perishable nature of wet food may reduce the incidence of overfeeding, as compared to dry food. However, wet food has a higher fat content than dry food and thus a higher calorie content on a dry matter basis.
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About
Affiliation of the authors at the time of publication
Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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© All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.Related Content
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