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One of the most common misconceptions that dog and cat guardians often have when asking about diet in the clinics is the thought that dry food prevents dental disease, and is thus superior than canned food or a proper home made diet for our feline or canine companions. The truth of the matter is that most of the dry formulations out there are overloaded with carbohydrates, which is a major source of weight gain in our pets. Dry food only diets, especially in cats, have been linked with diabetes, as well as urinary tract issues in cats. In fact, we often wait until cats develop these chronic diseases before recommending a more species appropriate “Catkins” type diet consisting of a high protein/high fat wet food based diet. |
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Given that most veterinarians are not well trained on the topic of nutrition while in medical school, and that we get most of our recommendations from what pet food sales representatives, there is certainly a plethora of misinformation being disseminated by my well-meaning veterinary colleagues. The idea that dry food prevents dental disease has certainly never been demonstrated, and would be the same thing as our dentists telling us to eat dry cereal to chomp on to prevent tartar and gingivitis, rather than with proper brushing and flossing. Any carbohydrate based kibble begins to break down right in the oral cavity into sugar molecules, which in fact can accelerate the growth of unwanted bacteria in the mouth as well as lead to the formation of more tartar.
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