Do dogs poop less on wet food

Do Cats Poop Less on Wet Food? Vet Approved Feline Digestion Facts

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

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If youve switched your cat to a wet food to help with hydration, you may be concerned if you notice that they have been pooping less. After all, our pets bathroom habits are an indicator of health and something that we monitor as dedicated pet owners.

Cat poop can be incredibly informative. If your cat isnt pooping as much, it could indicate that their food is satisfying their nutritional needs with less waste. As a result, less of it ends up as poop.

Wet Food and Digestion

If you think your cat is pooping less, youre smart to be concerned. Your cats poop habits can give you clues about their health, such as whether theyre constipated, have a litter box issue, or may have a medical condition thats making toileting uncomfortable.

Cats typically poop at least once a day. If you clean your cats litter box every day, you may notice that they may go a large amount one day and not at all another day. Generally, this is normal and perfectly healthy.

If your cat is on wet food, you can expect less-frequent poop. Wet food more closely mimics the type of prey your cat would have in a wild environment, which is filled with moisture. Dry food not only takes away the moisture, but it may also have preservatives and fillers that contribute to its consistency. Dry food also has more carbohydrates than wet food.

When your cat eats dry food, it has more waste that isnt absorbed. With wet food, your cat may be absorbing nutrients more efficiently, leading to less waste and less poop.

Should I Feed Wet or Dry Food?

Both wet food and dry food have their pros and cons for your cat.

Wet Food Pros and Cons

Wet food has a huge benefit for your catnamely, more water. Cats are prone to conditions like urinary tract disease and kidney disease, so they may benefit from having the additional water content. Wet food is also more palatable for some picky cats, ensuring that they get the nutrients they need.

The downside of wet food is that its more expensive than dry food, so you have to consider if you can afford it. In addition, wet food usually comes in cans and doesnt have a long shelf life: 24 hours once opened and refrigerated. If your cat doesnt eat all its food, you must either store it or discard it. This can lead to a lot of waste.

Dry Food Pros and Cons

Dry cat food is cheaper than wet food, so many people choose it as the bulk of their cats diets. If youre on a budget or feeding a whole houseful of cats, this may be the better choice for you. Dry cat food also has a longer shelf life, so you can buy a big bag to save money and make fewer trips to the pet store. Its also suitable for puzzle toys and interactive toys.

That said, theres a strong correlation between obesity and feeding dry cat food to your cat, which might be because of the feeding habits more than the food itself. Dry food lasts longer, so many people just feed their cats freely. The food is put out for cats to eat whenever they want, so you cant track how much your cat has eaten. Dry food is also a harder consistency for cats with dental problems or missing teeth.

Mixing Wet Food and Dry Food

If you want the balance of both, you can mix wet and dry cat food. Many people take this approach and feed their cats dry food with a wet topper, ensuring they have plenty of food (at a reasonable cost) and all the moisture and nutrients they need.

Be sure to speak to your veterinarian about your cats specific dietary needs and to find the best solution.

Make sure youre feeding your cat the right amount, check out our cat foodcalculatorhere:

The exact amount of calories an individual animal needs to maintain a healthy weight is variable and influenced by many factors including genetics, age, breed, and activity level. This tool is meant to be used only as a guideline for healthy individuals and does not substitute veterinary advice

Summary

Wet cat food has many benefits for your cat (and you!), including more nutrient absorption, more moisture, and less-frequent poop. If you noticed your cat poops less on wet food, no worriesthats expected. If your cat seems uncomfortable or goes prolonged periods without pooping, however, its best to consult with your vet to ensure that there isnt a health problem.

Featured Image Credit: thodonal88, Shutterstock

Do Cats Poop Less on Wet Food? Vet-Approved Digestive Facts

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

Learn more

Maybe your cat eats dry food and youre having to clean the litter box way too often. Or maybe youve just recently switched to feeding your cat wet food and are wondering what to expect. Either way, you may be wondering if feeding your cat wet food will cause him to poop less.

The answer may surprise you. Cats do tend to poop less when they are given wet food. This has mostly to do with the nutrients found in wet food vs. dry food and the way your cats body absorbs and digests them.

If youve just recently switched to wet food and have noticed your cat pooping less, this is normal. Feeding your cat wet food can also reduce how often you clean the litter box. Continue reading to learn how wet food affects your cats pooping habits as well as find the answers to any other questions you may have.

Why Does Wet Food Cause Cats to Poop Less?

Essentially, wet food causes cats to poop less due to the type of ingredients and nutrients that are found in it versus that of dry food. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that over 70% of their diet should consist of meat.

In the wild, cats primarily eat rodents and other small animals such as birds and lizards. The meat from these animals contains mostly protein and fat, both of which are essential for keeping your cats muscles and organs functioning properly.

Unlike other animals, even dogs, cats very rarely eat plants. However, dry cat food contains lots of plant ingredients, while wet cat food does not. But what does this have to do with how much your cat poops? For a better understanding of how the two types of foods compare, lets look at each one separately.

1. Dry Food

If your cat has always eaten mostly dry food, youve probably noticed that he produced a lot of poop. Thats not to mention the amount of poop produced if you have more than one cat. The reason why dry food causes cats to poop so much is that it contains a mixture of meat and plant-based ingredients.

Low Moisture

Dry food contains protein and fat that comes from meat ingredients and fiber that comes from plant ingredients. Plus, most dry cat foods contain only a very small percentage of moisture, usually only about 10%12%.

Meat is an essential part of your cats diet and provides most of the nutrients that your cat needs. However, plants are often added to dry food for added nutrients that your cat cant get from meat, but also to make the food more easily digestible since dry food has less moisture than wet food.

Higher in Fiber

But, in addition to providing vitamins and minerals, the main nutrient that plants are high in is fiber. As humans, we need fiber to not only help lower our cholesterol and control our blood sugar but also to help regulate our bowels. Fiber has the same effect on your cats body, but the difference is that, unlike humans, most cats dont need fiber in order to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle.

With that being said, there are some instances in which fiber can be beneficial to cats, including helping with diarrhea, constipation, or other digestive issues as well as certain conditions such as feline diabetes or obesity. You may even notice your cats munching on grass if they go outside. But, in addition to causing them to poop more, too much fiber can also cause problems for cats since they dont really need it in order to survive.

Many Plant-Based Ingredients

Dry cat foods also come in many different varieties with many different ingredients. Ideally, any cat food you buy should have meat listed as at least the first ingredient. But, some less expensive dry cat foods have some type of plant material listed as the first ingredient. Youll notice even more poop if plants are the first ingredient instead of meat.

2. Wet Food

On the other hand, wet cat food is made primarily of meat and contains only a small percentage of plant-based ingredients, if any. That means that the main nutrients provided by wet food are protein and fat, which is more like what a cat would normally eat in the wild.

High Moisture Level

Plus, wet cat foods have a much higher moisture content than dry cat foods. Most wet cat foods have a moisture content that averages around 75%-78%. Having a high moisture content not only better reflects the natural diet of cats, it also helps the food be more easily digested.

More Appropriate Nutrients

The nutrients in wet food are also more easily absorbed by your cats body since it is similar to what they would actually eat. Because the nutrients are more easily absorbed and the high moisture content makes the food more easily digestible, it eliminates the need for high amounts of fiber in wet cat food.

Speaking of nutrients being absorbed, something we didnt mention before is that a cats body isnt set up to absorb all of the nutrients that plants provide. Again, this is because plants arent a part of their natural diet. Nutrients that arent absorbed are essentially pooped out since your cat couldnt digest them.

Thats why wet food causes less poop since most of the nutrients are naturally absorbed by your cats body. Dry food causes more poop since a lot of the plant ingredients cant be absorbed and digested properly. You may also notice your cat regurgitating or vomiting more with dry cat food than with wet food.

Can Wet Food Make Cats Constipated?

Since wet food causes cats to poop less, you may be concerned that your cat may become constipated if you make the switch from dry food. Usually, this isnt the case, and giving your cat wet food can actually be a way to prevent constipation in cats because it increases their water intake.

However, its important to remember that any change in diet can affect the digestive system, including constipation and/or diarrhea. Its natural for a cat to poop significantly less or more than normal after changing his diet, but in most cases, this is temporary and will resolve in a few days as your cats body gets used to the new diet.

But if youre wanting to switch to wet food and are concerned about your cat becoming constipated, you can always introduce the wet food to him slowly. For example, you can start by only giving him part of a can along with his dry food.

Then, gradually increase how much wet food your cat gets and decrease how much dry food he gets until he is only eating wet food. Doing this will allow your cats body to adjust to the wet food slowly, so it wont be as dramatic of a change as if you just eliminated dry food all at once.

How Often Should a Cat Poop?

Even if you arent concerned about your cat developing constipation or diarrhea, its still a good idea to monitor his poop especially after switching food. A cats poop can tell a lot about his health, including how often he does poop and what the poop looks like.

Most cats will poop at least once a day, although twice a day is not uncommon, especially with certain types of dry food. In healthy cats, the poop will also be dark brown in color and have a texture that is not hard but not too soft either.

With that being said, any sudden changes to your cats poop, including in frequency, color, and texture, that arent due to a change in diet could signal that something is wrong with your cat. For example, diarrhea could be caused by a food allergy especially if youve recently changed your cats diet. But, it could also mean that your cat has worms or another digestive issue if you havent changed his diet.

Constipation can also be caused by a change in diet, especially if your cat isnt consuming as much fiber as he used to. But, it can also be caused by a kidney problem or a problem with your cats colon, among other things. If you notice a change in your cats poop that isnt due to changing his diet, or you did change his diet but the poop doesnt return to normal in a few days, its a good idea to see your veterinarian just in case something is wrong.

While providing our feline companions with high-quality food is paramount, selecting the right food and water bowl is equally important. The modern yet practical design of our Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl combines cat-catered features, like whisker-friendly shallow dishes and slight elevation, with a contemporary style aimed at protecting your floors from messy eating and drinking. The NomNom is entirely dishwasher safe and was thoughtfully created with your cats health and well-being in mind.

Conclusion

Wet food mimics a cats natural diet, so it is more easily absorbed by your cats body. It also contains less fiber than dry food does, which means less pooping will occur as well. If you think your cat poops too much, you can try making the switch to wet food. If you did switch to wet food already and notice that your cat is pooping less, dont worry as this phenomenon is totally normal.

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Featured Image Credit: Svetlana Rey, Shutterstock