Feeding an Active Balinese Cat: Wet vs Dry Food

A vocal, active Balinese on dry food only — that's actually a pretty common mismatch. Balinese are lean, high-energy cats with fast metabolisms, and dry food alone often doesn't give them enough moisture or the calorie density they need to stay satisfied. Wet food is generally better for cats full stop — it hydrates, it's more filling, and it's closer to what they'd eat in the wild — but cost and convenience are real, so a lot of people do a mix. Before I point you somewhere specific: does your cat have any health conditions, and what does your current feeding routine look like — free feeding, set meals, a mix of both?

That tracks. Balinese are chatty by nature, but increased vocalisation around food is usually a hunger signal, not just personality. Free-feeding dry food looks like plenty on paper, but it's low moisture and less satiating gram for gram than wet food — so she could genuinely be telling you she wants more substance. What brand of dry food are you currently using, and do you know roughly what calorie content the wet pouches are?

That combination is fine as a baseline, but Whiskas pouches are on the lower end for protein quality and calorie density — they're padded with gravy and thickeners, which means she's getting less actual nutrition per pouch than the volume suggests. For an active Balinese, I'd swap the evening wet food to Applaws Chicken Breast in Broth. It's a high-meat, low-carb wet food with minimal filler — the chicken content is around 70%, and the broth adds real hydration. You can keep the Royal Canin dry during the day for convenience, but I'd move to two Applaws meals a day rather than one. That shift alone often quietens the evening crying within a week or two.

Good question — the standard Applaws tins and pouches are complementary, not complete, so they're not designed to be the sole food. If you wanted to go fully wet, you'd need to pair them with a complete wet food or switch to the Applaws Complete range, which is formulated to meet full nutritional requirements. For now though, the mixed approach you're already doing is sensible — just upgrading the wet food quality will make a noticeable difference for her without you needing to overhaul everything.

That's the right move. Give it two weeks and you'll likely see her calmer at mealtimes and less vocal in the evenings. If she's still unsettled after that, it might be worth logging how much dry food she's actually eating during the day — some cats graze very lightly and you'd want to adjust portions accordingly. But start there and I think you'll notice the difference quickly.