Types of Cat Foods

The three main types of cat foods are dry, soft-moist and canned products. With today's advanced technology, all types of cat food products can be formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition for your cat.

Dry Diets

Dry products consist of crunchy kibbles, which help reduce the build-up of plaque and tartar on a cat’s teeth. Dry foods also have the advantage of staying fresh longer than soft-moist and canned products once the package is opened.

Soft-Moist Diets

Soft-moist cat foods generally offer higher palatability as compared to dry diets, are convenient to serve and store easily.

Canned Diets

These diets generally offer the highest palatability when compared to the dry and soft-moist products. Once a can is opened, unused food should be stored in the refrigerator.

Comparing Label Guarantees

The difference in moisture content among the various types of cat food impacts the nutrient density of the products or the amount of nutrients per ounce or pound of food. As the water content of the diet increases, the amount of protein, fat and other essential nutrients decreases. That means the cat must consume a larger portion of the high moisture products to receive the nutrition they need.

This difference in moisture and energy content also prohibits a direct comparison of the nutrient content of one product type to another. For example, you cannot compare the 12% protein content of a canned cat food to the 21% protein level of a dry cat food and conclude the dry food will supply more protein. You can, however, make a fair comparison of the 21% protein content of one dry cat food to the 30% protein content of another dry cat food and conclude that the cat will receive more protein by eating the higher protein product. The higher protein product, however, is not necessarily superior; that depends on the life stage and lifestyle of the cat to whom the product is fed.

Pet Foods to Meet Special Needs

For more information about individual cat food products, contact the manufacturer.

Nestlé Purina PetCare is the pet food division of Swiss based Nestlé, following a merger in December 12, 2001, between the Nestlé's Friskies PetCare Company and the American Ralston Purina Company.

Purina traces its roots back to 1894, when founder William H. Danforth began producing feed for various farm animals under the name Purina Mills. Later, in 1902, he merged with health guru and visionary Webster Edgerly, founder of Ralstonism, who was at the time producing breakfast cereals, to form the "Ralston-Purina Company".

The Purina name was principally associated with the animal feed business, which included feed for livestock and household pets. The predominant brand for each animal was generally referred to as "Chow"; hence there was "Purina Horse Chow", "Purina Dog Chow", "Purina Cat Chow", and even "Purina Monkey Chow," "Purina Rabbit Chow" and "Purina Pig Chow".

The animal feed business became the subject of a takeover bid by Swiss-based Nestlé, whose "Friskies" brand was the other leading brand of pet food in the U.S. This bid was eventually accepted in 2001. Several brands of pet food (e.g., "Meow Mix") had to be divested separately to meet antitrust concerns. Purina brands are now made and marketed by a division of Nestlé (Nestlé Purina PetCare) which is still headquartered in St. Louis. Purina Mills, Inc., the U.S. animal feed business that was sold by Ralston Purina Company in 1986, was purchased by Koch Industries in 1998, but a U.S. Bankruptcy Court cancelled out all equity held by Koch in order to maintain the company's viability. Purina Mills LLC is now owned by Land O'Lakes.

While primarily a pet food company, Ralston Purina also made some other pet-related products, such as Tidy Cats brand cat litter, purchased from Edward Lowe Industries in 1990. Also, Purina has honoured several Canadian animals every year since 1968 in their Animal Hall of Fame. The latest inductees included a police service dog who "rushed and subdued an armed robber."

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