Diet

Choosing the right diet for your cat can be a daunting task.  There are many commercially available foods formulated to meet a cat's nutritional needs including  dry,  moist, and semi-moist diets.  Before choosing a diet, we believe it will be helpful to know a few things about your cat and the diets available.

  First,  your cat is an obligate carnivore.  It requires a meat,  or protein,  based diet .  Several attempts to formulate "vegetarian-type" diet have resulted in serious nutritional disorders in cats. In the wild, a cat’s  diet consists mostly of small rodents, insects and the occasional bird.  Although cats living in the southern states will catch and eat crayfish, in general cats are not fish hunters.  The average mouse is about 65% protein, 25% fat and 8% carbohydrate.  Insects are slightly higher in protein, lower in fat. Both are about 70% moisture.  Your cat’s metabolic engine or liver, requires a single fuel source and that is protein.  It is not very good at processing carbohydrate and fats.

Now let's look at commercial diets. Pet food manufacturers are required to list the percentages of protein, fat, fiber and moisture content in each food.  Although protein is listed on the label, it is important to note that it is actually the nitrogen level, and not protein which is being measured. Nitrogen is present in many foods including meats and cereals.  So not all "protein" sources in pet food are necessarily meat.  Grains such as corn, soy, wheat, rice, rice flour and their respective glutens will all contribute to increasing the "protein" analysis, but may not be utilized by your cat as protein.

Manufacturers are also required to list the ingredients in their food. Ingredients are listed in decreasing percentage.   If a diet lists chicken as the first ingredient, then chicken is present in the greatest amount. The next most prevalent ingredient would be listed second and so on.  But all ingredients are not created equal.  When a meat such as chicken or fish is listed, it is referring to the muscle meat of that animal.  By-products usually refer to the internal organs.  Although we may not wish to eat lungs, these organs contain high amounts of meat protein.  By-product listings which are preceded by a specific animal (ie. chicken by products) are much preferred over meat-by-products which may contain diseased parts.  Meal refers to the leftover parts which are generally cooked and dried to produce meal.  Meat meal is a protein source, but it is a more processed and less nutritious form of protein.

Cats lack many of the enzymes to effectively process cereals as a protein source.  In the case of our mouse example, many cats do not eat the grain ladened "guts" of their prey; those that do probably benefit from the mouse's own digestive enzymes which they eat as well.  In addition, cereals are presently thought to contribute to many cats' dietary intolerances and allergies.  So rather than contributing to the protein nutrients of the cat, grains mostly contribute to the carbohydrate level.

Many pet foods contain vegetables and fruits such as carrots, zucchini, blueberries, and cranberries.  These are generally present in small amount and are usually listed near the end of the ingredient list.  In general, vegetables and fruits are not thought to be a dietary requirement of cats although they often contribute to the fiber and antioxidant properties of the food.  The exact fiber requirement of cats is not known, although the mouse/insect diet contains about 6% fiber.  Not infrequently cats eating a commercial diet may require more fiber than is currently available in their diets.

The moisture content of your cat's diet is also a very important component of your cat's health.  Because cats originally came from desert-like environments, their bodies possess an amazing capacity to conserve fluid producing a very concentrated urine in the process.  Most cats are not big water drinkers mostly because their kidneys are so good at reclaiming fluids. However, their natural diet is about 70% moisture.  Dry food is generally 10% moisture; canned food about 78% moisture.  Cats eating an all dry food diet will not drink enough to maintain optimal hydration.  Urinary tract disease and kidney disease are very common in domestic cats and improve when hydration is improved.

In general we recommend a diet which is mostly canned food with dry food being used for supplemental calories and treats.  The following are some brands you may wish to try.  Avoderm Breeder's Choice, Artemis, Back to Basics, Best Feline Friend, By Nature, California Natural, Holistic Select, Evo, Evolve, Felidae, Go-Grain Free, Halo Spot's Stew, Innova, Merrick, Natural Balance, Nature's Logic, Nature's Variety, Pet Guard, Pinnacle, Tiki Cat, Wellness, Wellness Core, Weruva, and Ziwi.  In addition, there are several select flavors of Fancy Feast, Sheba, Wysong, and Whole Foods 365 which are acceptable.