Hi
Just realised here's a pet section on here and got all excited!
I am a volunteer for Cats Protection, have close links with several vets, a close friend who is a vet nurse as well as an interest in reading up on behaviour and feline nutrition. Oh and we currently have 4 rescue mogs!
Feline nutrition is a bit of a minefield- I know the facts and I also know that you kind of have to go with what your puds like too.
Many people are fooled into thinking that dry is best but actually it couldn't be further from the truth. Cats are obligitory carnivores and most dry foods are stuffed full of carbs in the forms of cereals, which they struggle to digest. (Rice may be good for dogs but not cats!) Cats metabolise fats in the meat they naturally eat, very effectively but naturally, they wouldn't eat carbs so dry food can lead to feline obesity which is a very big health problem. Therefore, if you feed dry only, make sure you are very strict with the portions.
Dry food (especially cheaper brands) is also coated with a flavoursome coating to hook the cats so they actually become addicted!!!
Another problem with dry food is that used as a sole source of nutrition, you have to be very very careful to ensure they ahve a high fluid intake as statistically, cats who eat just dry are at a much higher risk of bladder disease (crystals, cystitis etc) and then kidney problems.
On the other side of the coin, most cheap brands of wet food are not hugely better (although the moisture content makes them at least better in terms of urinary tract problems.) as anything with a meat content of just 4% is full of cereals and just not natural. Mine love it occasionally but it is like macdonalds for cats!
To give your cats the most natural diet possible, it's important to give them foods with a very high meat/protein content. In terms of dry foods, something like applaws which is 80% meat is the best there is but foods like James Wellbeloved and also the PAH own brand, premium biscuits are also quite good as they are hypoallergenic but I wouldn't feed them as the sole source of nutrition as they are still not close enough to a cat's natural digestive needs.
The best way to feed a cat for good health is actually raw feeding but it is is just too yukky and you need to balance the iron content so must really know what you're doing. Mine do enjoy raw chicken wings every so often though and they are the best for teeth cleaning!
In terms of my own cats, I have found a balance is the best thing as we all like a treat sometimes but I make them eat healthily most days.
They have 2 pouches of high protein wet food each (natures menu or hi life which have a minimum of 60% meat in them) I make sure these are a mixture of meat and fish based as fish is important but too much can be hard for the kidneys to process) and then a very small portion of biscuits to snack on in between the morning and evening meals.
They also have a 'treat meal' of macdonals equivilent once a week which is something like Sheba, gourmet, whiskers or felix- whichever is on offer) most people think brands like sheba or gourmet are better than whiskers, felix or supermarket brands as they cost more but the fact is they are exactly the same nutritionally- usually only 4% quality meat if you look at the ingrediants)
I not am not telling anyone they are not looking after their cats, I have met plenty of cats who have lived their whole lives on go cat or kittecat foods (these 2 are the worst nutritionally!!!) and have been happy and loved- these things come above all else. However, because I have done so much research and have seen so many cases where cats have permanent bladder problems due to dry only, poor skin and teeth etc etc due to poor nutrition, I just want to share what I know so that people can make informed choices.
Pet food companies certainly give us lots of propaganda to boost their sales and don't really always tell the whole story so it's important that people get the facts. Some companies even bend the truth to get their food bought. (Iams ad is a prime example!!!)
HIgh quality foods are expensive so a balance is probably the best thing pet owners can do.
Hope that all makes sense xx