Domestic cats have evolved from their desert-based ancestors. They used to rely on a protein-rich diet comprising birds or rodents hunted down by these felines.
However, domestic cats do not get a chance to hunt their prey, and most dry cat food brands don’t rise to the standards. So, how would you help ensure better health for cats that are sick via good food? The key is to provide them with moist cat food.
| Image | Brand | Price | Prime | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top | Blue Buffalo | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 Top | Purina Fancy Feast | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 Top | TIKI PETS | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 Top | Purina Moist & Meaty | PrimeEligible | Buy Now |
You also can find the best grain free cat food in the moist category in case your cat is sensitive towards the grain.
Why Moist Over Dry Pet Food For Sick Cats?
Although the market does have its fair share of high-quality dry food options, not all brands are fit for your sick cat’s nutritional needs. When your pet is sick, it needs the best diet with surplus moisture to aid faster and easier digestion.
Unfortunately, the dry cat diet is harder to digest as compared to moist ones.
When your pet is sick, they need the best nutrition without pushing the digestive system beyond its limits. Moist food is easier to digest and doesn’t stress your cat’s digestive system. Moreover, the quality of food is also important.
In most cases, moist food has better nutritional content as compared to dry ones.
Moist Diet Provides Your Sick Cat With:
More Healthy Moisture:
Moist food provides a lot of hydration that is important for sick pets. This is especially true if the cat doesn’t like to drink enough water. Most sick cats lose a lot of fluid when they are sick.
A moist diet ensures that your cat isn’t dehydrated while the immune system tackles the infection/disease.
Variety:
If your pet is already a picky eater, they might become more stubborn and agitated. So, they might not like their regular dry diet.
The benefit of choosing moist food is that it comes in a range of assortments ideal for picky eaters.
Texture:
The texture of the edible also matters, especially when your pet is sick. Whether your fur friend nibbles, licks, or gobbles the food, a moist diet would be easy on the palate.
You can select from broths, plates, chunks, or creamy gravies. It would also be ideal for pets that suffer from serious dental problems.
How to Select the Right Moist Food for Sick Cats?
When selecting the best moist food for sick cats, you need to keep certain factors in mind that include:
- A diet that is loaded with high-quality animal protein
- A moderate amount of animal fat content
- Essential minerals, vitamins, amino acids, or fatty acids
Depending on your pet’s ailing, you might need to check in with your veterinarian for a specialized diet. For example, if your pet has a renal disease or diabetes issues, you might have to give them a special formula in a moist diet.
Make sure you check the nutrient content and whether or not the choice of edibles for your pet is breed & age-specific. Apart from that, it would help if you also kept in mind other long-term health conditions like obesity or urinary tract problems.
The right canned, moist, or soft edible should closely mimic a prey that has been freshly hunted. It should be delicious, juicy, and tasty as well.
A sick cat needs fat, protein, & healthy micronutrients to stay frisky and fit while fighting off the disease that has currently taken over its body.
Is Regular Cat Food Fine For A Sick Cat?
For your pet to recover fast, it is important to provide them with enough food & water. A sick pet usually stops eating or/and drinking. In such instances, it is critical to monitor the water & food intake and intervene when necessary. Before you do so, make sure you separate the ill pets from the healthy ones, which stands true for the food.
If your pets prefer a dry diet, it is wiser to shift them to wet food for some time as they heal. You might notice that your cat is resisting consuming this new change in diet.
It is natural as cats are very wary about their surroundings, and an abrupt change in food type might not be something they are looking for.
You can top up the wet food with some dry food as toppers to introduce a familiar scent. However, a wiser option would be to soak the dry kibbles in some water. Doing this ensures that your pet gets surplus nutrition along with enough water.
However, if your cat refrains from eating any food, you might have to feed via a syringe. Before you do this, make sure you consult a veterinarian and enquire if force-feeding is an ideal choice depending on your pet’s health.
Your veterinarian can suggest you the perfect way to help your sick cat heal faster.
In most cases, allowing your cat to indulge in small and frequent meals will help better digestion while providing them with enough energy to heal. Some veterinarians might suggest hand-feeding moist edibles.
Top 3 Moist Pet Foods For Sick Cats
1. The Best Moist Cat Food
Available in chicken and salmon flavors, this adult cat food is an ideal choice if your pet is sick and needs added nutrition. The Blue Buffalo Moist pet food has real chicken and doesn’t contain any grain for cats allergic to gluten. The complete nutrition profile provides your feline friend with ample energy for the healing process.
This protein-rich moist cat dietary choice has a palatable texture that is simply irresistible for your pet. In addition, Blue Buffalo is made from the highest-quality natural ingredients enhanced with minerals and vitamins that can aid your sick cat.
The Blue Buffalo doesn’t have any poultry by-products or wheat to ensure zero side effects from the ingredients. The product is also free of corn, soy, artificial preservatives, or artificial flavoring.
With these moist cat edibles, your pet gets access to top-quality and healthy ingredients such as chicken liver, organ meat, along with complex carbohydrates.
Pros:
- It contains flaxseeds for smoother bowel movement
- It contains an abundance of healthy omega-3, 6, and fatty acids
- It doesn’t contain any artificial flavoring or preservatives
- Ensures proper hydration for dehydrated pets
- Savory taste to ensure it is loved even by picky eaters
Cons:
- The salmon-flavored option contains too many bones producing a bad smell
- Once opened, the food spoils very fast
2. The Best Soft Dry Cat Food
The Purina Fancy Feast is another great way to provide nourishment to your sick cats. Its delicate broth recipe has all-natural entrees along with added minerals, vitamins, & nutrients. Ideal for adult cats, this moist food consists of tender flakes comprised of real white chicken meat.
This grain-free moist dietary choice for sick cats is also free of any fillers or poultry by-products.
Instead, Purina Fancy Feast consists of sunflower seed-based oil to ensure your cat gets its fair share of fat to produce energy for faster healing purposes.
The taurine content in the moist broth helps your cat’s immune system and makes them healthier with time.
It also helps nourish the nervous system of the felines. With 82 percent moisture content, this moist food is a top choice for cats that don’t drink much water.
Pros:
- It contains meat as the prime ingredient for optimum protein nourishment
- It doesn’t contain any artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors
- It comes in recyclable packaging, thereby reducing pollution
- Soft texture to please your cat’s palate
- It doesn’t contain any filler ingredients that impart zero nutrition
Cons:
- Some cats might not like the taste of sunflower seed-based oil
- The formula has changed a lot from the original, which some cats might not love
3. The Best Food For Sick Cats
When your cat is sick, it needs a versatile portfolio of nourishing agents that help them heal better. Tiki cat’s grain-free formula is a low-carb diet that offers your pet the goodness of pumpkin. In addition, its gentle fiber content ensures that your pet doesn’t have to strain when pooping or struggling with digestion.
The moist cat food has high moisture content and supplements the need for water in dehydrated felines. Tiki Cat has the right amount of nutrition needed by the pet for different stages of life while promoting growth.
This moist dietary supplement is made for sick cats in 4 different flavors: tuna, shrimp, calamari, and ocean whitefish.
Pros:
- High protein content with easy to digest ingredients
- It doesn’t contain any grains or potato-based carbohydrates
- Ideal for cats with a sensitive stomach and digestive issues
- Loaded with fiber-rich pumpkin along with added vitamins
- Provides additional hydration to sick and dehydrated cats
Cons:
- Opening the can is a tad difficult
- Too runny consistency
As a fur baby parent, you need to take a step further and learn how far can a cat smell food and what to look for in cat food? So you can buy quality cat food and possibly avoid foods with the chicken meal which are low cost but doesn’t have all the necessary nutrients.
Conclusion
Feeding your sick cat could be tricky. Even the slightest misjudgment in the choice of diet could lead to worsening of the health condition.
Therefore, it is ideal to consult your veterinarian before changing the current diet to a new one. However, in most cases, a moist diet is ideal for most health issues.