Last Updated: 22/12/2025
The Benefits of Feeding Both Wet and Dry Cat Food: a Vet's Guide
Is wet or dry food better for cats? Discover why a combination of both is often the best choice for hydration, dental health, and fussy eaters. Our expert vets explain the benefits of mixed feeding and how to choose the best diet for your cat.
Author: Dr Teagan Lever BVSc (Hons)
Reading Time: 8 minutes - short read
Feeding a balanced diet to your cat is vital for their overall health and wellbeing. A well balanced diet ensures that your cat receives the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals essential for their growth, development, and maintenance of bodily functions. Providing a mixed diet that offers both wet and dry food can help balance your cat's diet, offer variety and diverse flavours, and help tempt fussy eaters.
Both wet and dry cat food offer unique benefits, catering to diverse dietary needs and preferences of different cats. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the nuances of wet and dry cat food, exploring their distinct characteristics, nutritional profiles, and the factors to consider when selecting the optimal diet for your feline friend.
In this article
The benefits of wet cat food
Pros
- Helps to increase moisture intake, which is helpful for maintaining urinary health
- More palatable than dry food, so it can be great for fussy eaters, or older cats with reduced sense of taste and smell
- Easier to chew than dry food, making it ideal for cats with dental disease
Cons
- Generally more expensive per serve than dry food
- Can lead to weight gain due to the higher palatability and consequential higher consumption
Wet food is a fantastic tool for keeping your cat hydrated, as it naturally contains a much higher water content than dry biscuits. Ensuring your kitty gets enough fluids is one of the best ways to prevent feline lower urinary tract disease, a common and often painful condition.
When a cat's urine becomes too concentrated, minerals like magnesium can bond with waste products to form crystals. These crystals can lead to stones or even dangerous blockages. By feeding wet food, you help dilute their urine, making it much harder for these crystals to form.
Why do cats struggle to drink enough?
It might seem strange, but many cats simply aren't "designed" to drink from a bowl. There are a few reasons for this:
- Ancestral habits: Wild cats get most of their hydration from their prey. Our domestic cats have inherited this low thirst drive.
- Whisker fatigue: Cats have highly sensitive whiskers, and many find it uncomfortable to dip their face into a deep bowl.
- Vision: Cats often find it difficult to see the surface of still water, which is why many prefer a water fountain.
The power of palatability
Beyond health, wet food is a winner for fussy eaters. The rich aroma is far more enticing than dry kibble, which is particularly helpful for senior cats whose sense of smell and taste may have faded with age.
Learn more in our articles all about Do Cats Need Wet Food, and What's the Best Wet Food for Cats?
Why dry food is beneficial for dental health and convenience
Pros
- More convenient and practical than wet food - more easily stored, with longer shelf life once opened, and no need for refrigeration.
- Can be left in the bowl longer than wet food for cats who like to graze
- Generally cheaper per serve than wet food
- Beneficial for dental health - the mechanical action of crunching through kibble, particularly specific dental formulations, is helpful in removing plaque from the teeth
Cons
- Less palatable than wet food
- Does not improve hydration like wet food does
While wet food is great for hydration, dry kibble offers some unique advantages that are hard to beat - especially when it comes to keeping those pearly whites clean.
Dental hygiene
Let’s be honest: most cats aren't exactly fans of the toothbrush. If the idea of brushing your cat's teeth feels like a mission impossible, dry food can help do some of the heavy lifting. As your cat crunches through the biscuits, the abrasive texture scrapes against the teeth to help remove plaque and tartar.
For an extra boost, specially formulated dental diets are designed with a specific shape and size. This forces the cat to chew more thoroughly, creating a "scrubbing" effect. Some even contain active ingredients to neutralise the calcium in saliva that causes tartar to build up.
Tempting the "fussy" feline
Don't worry if your cat is a bit of a food critic; dry food has come a long way in the flavour department. Many premium brands offer palatability guarantees. For the truly discerning cat, ranges like Royal Canin Exigent focus on specific triggers like aroma, diverse flavours, or even the way the food feels in the stomach to ensure even the pickiest eater finishes their bowl.
Better for your budget
From a practical perspective, dry food is generally much more cost-effective. Because it is easier to store and has a longer shelf life once opened, it usually works out cheaper per serve than wet food. It’s also the perfect option for "grazers" who like to snack throughout the day, as it can stay in the bowl without spoiling.
Learn more in our article What's the Best Dry Food for Cats?
The rise of fresh cooked commercial cat foods
A growing trend in Australia is the use of fresh, gently cooked commercial diets. These meals are typically made with human-grade ingredients and are lightly processed to retain maximum nutrient integrity.
Pros
- High-quality proteins and natural prebiotics support a healthy gut and can improve stool quality
- The high moisture content (up to 75%) supports kidney health and helps prevent urinary crystals
- The natural aroma and texture of real meat are beneficial for tempting even the fussiest eaters
Cons
- Generally the most expensive option per serve
- Rquire strict storage, as they must be kept refrigerated or frozen
- Lack the dental-cleaning benefits of dry kibble
For more information, read through our guide to The Benefits of Fresh Cat Food.
Is raw feeding a safe option for domestic cats?
Pros
- Highly palatable for picky eaters
- Generally uses high-quality, minimally processed ingredients that retain their optimal nutrition through minimal processing
Cons
- Extremely difficult to balance at home, leading to potential growth or immunity issues
- Carries a high risk of bacterial contamination (like Salmonella)
- Requires very strict storage and hygiene protocols
Making raw feeding safer
If you are considering a raw diet, it is vital to avoid "DIY" home-prepared meals, which commonly lack the precise ratio of vitamins and minerals cats need to thrive. Instead, look for commercially prepared raw brands like Proudi or Big Dog, which are formulated to be complete and balanced. For those who want the nutritional benefits of raw without the safety risks of handling raw meat, air-dried or freeze-dried options like Ziwi Peak or Feline Natural are excellent, scientifically-backed alternatives that offer the same high-protein punch in a shelf-stable format.
Learn more in our articles about Raw Feeding for Pets and Air-Dried vs Freeze-Dried Food.
How to manage a fussy eater with texture variety
To equip your cat with a healthy, balanced diet, the ideal method is to provide both wet and dry food - and consider a rotation that alternates between different meat proteins and flavours. This mixed-style feeding program has a number of benefits:
- Cost-effectiveness - feeding both wet and dry, compared to just wet food, will save you money in the long run due to the affordability of dry food 'per meal'
- Increased moisture intake - wet food helps keep your cat hydrated due to its high moisture content
- Variety for enhanced palatability - this is particularly helpful for fussy eaters who don't like to eat the same thing every day
- Promotes dental health - dry food has a crunchy texture which helps remove tartar, and is therefore much better for your cat's teeth than wet food alone
- Customisable nutrition tailored to individual needs - this is useful if your cat has multiple health conditions you'd like to address (for instance, dental disease and arthritis)
Just like us, cats can get bored of eating the same thing every single day - a phenomenon known as "taste fatigue." In the wild, felines are natural hunters that seek out different prey daily to keep their diet interesting and balanced.
By rotating through different flavours and proteins, you provide a more well-rounded nutritional profile, as each meat source offers slightly different vitamins and amino acids. This variety is also a fantastic way to keep finicky eaters engaged with their meals and can prevent them from becoming overly fixated on just one type of food.
Read more about the benefit of alternating and rotational diets in our article: Rotational Diets for Cats.
What to look for in a high quality cat food
Just like our own meals, not all cat foods are created equal. Think of budget, lower-quality pet foods as the "fast food" equivalent for your feline friend. These brands often use cheaper ingredients and may change their recipe from batch to batch depending on what’s available.
When a cat isn't getting the premium nutrition they need, it shows. You might notice:
- Poor coat condition: Their fur may become dull, dry, or lacklustre.
- Digestive issues: Lower-quality fillers often result in larger, smellier stools as their body struggles to absorb nutrients.
- Behavioural changes: Much like "hangry" humans on a strict diet, cats can become anxious or aggressive if their bodies aren't being properly nourished.
Investing in high-quality, complete, and balanced nutrition is one of the best ways to ensure your cat stays happy and healthy for the long term.
Learn more about the benefits of Premium Pet Food, and How to Read Pet Food Labels.
FAQs
The ideal diet for most cats will be a combination of both canned food and dry food.
Wet food to help prevent urinary conditions and increase palatability, whereas dry kibble to keep down the costs while boosting oral hygiene.
Mixed feeding can also discourage your cat from developing strict diet preferences. This way if their favourite food is discontinued you can avoid the disastrous kitty food strike.
Articles recommended for you
Discover the benefits of fresh cat food and why some pet owners are choosing this natural, minimally processed option to support their cat’s health and wellbeing.
Find out the best picks of wet food in Australia from our Vet team
Looking for the best dry food for your cat? Check out our Vet-guide for the best dry cat foods
Is your cat bored of their diet? Check out our Vet-written guide all about rotational diets.
Supermarket pet food may seem budget-friendly, but this article reveals how premium options can offer better nutrition, improved digestibility, and long-term savings. Learn how investing in quality food benefits your pet's health and your wallet.
We want to feed out pet the best possible nutrition. Check out our guide to the best pet food including what is in pet foods and if premium food is worth it.
History
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Tue 23 Dec 2025
Edited by Dr Gillian Hill BVSc (Hons)Dr Teagan Lever BVSc (Hons)
Head Veterinarian, BVSc (Hons)
Pet Circle's Head Veterinarian, Dr Teagan graduated from the University of Queensland in 2010 and went on to work in small animal and mixed practice in various locations around QLD & ACT before joining Pet Circle in early 2016. Dr Teagan has special interests in dermatology, nutrition and preventative health care. She feels privileged to witness the special bond people share with their pets on a daily basis and enjoys forming lasting relationships with pet parents and their fur children.
