Cat Food Secrets

Dry Food Diet Problems

Too many people feed their cats on a diet of dried food, and in particular biscuits and nibbles because they are convenient and they know that their cats generally like to eat them.

While this might be easy, convenient and a relatively economical way to feed the cat it is certainly not good for it’s health.

Most dry foods are nutritionally deficient no matter what the manufacturers might say, and contrary to the list of nutrients that they list on the back of these packs the best diet that you can give your cat is one that most closely resembles the type of food that they would eat in the wild.

The food that the cat eats in the wild is considerably higher in protein than any of the dry foods on the market. Another problem with dry food is the lack of moisture in the food and it is necessary for the cat to get a sufficient supply of fresh water at any time and in particular when eating these types of dried food diets.

While there are formulations for young and old cats, fur ball formulas, and many of the different combinations that are supposed to boost health of your pet, a diet high in fresh meat, fish and poultry, we’ll do a lot more for your cat health than any of these processed foods.

There are some high quality tinned cat foods on the market that have both high protein and sufficient moisture to keep your cat healthy. Once again you need to consider the ingredients that are put into these tinned cat foods as some of them are still quite high in carbohydrates which can cause your cat to become diabetic due to the imbalance.

There are also a lot of byproducts used in pet foods and some of these are not very high in nutritional value. Many cat foods also contain wheat products, garlic and onion, corn and other ingredients that are not only wrong for your cat, but they can cause it to become quite sick.

Good nutrition for your pet is as important as offering it a safe environment to ensure that you will have the pleasure of enjoying it for many years.

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Good Nutrition for Your Cat

What should you be feeding your cat?

You need to consider what cats will need in the wild to determine the best food sources for them.

In the wild, cats will eat mice and birds, and drink water.

Obviously this is a diet high in protein and it is essential that your cat gets sufficient protein to maintain a good healthy diet.

What many people don’t realize is that cats can get diabetes from having a diet that is too high in carbohydrates.

By constantly feeding your cat carbohydrates it can become insulin resistant and unable to keep its blood glucose levels at a suitable level.

Some signs that your cat is becoming diabetic include drinking a lot of water and eating considerably more than they usually do.

You might also notice a sign of weakness in the back legs as they tend to wobble a bit when walking.

The only way to be sure whether your cat is developing diabetes is to give it a blood test.

This is the best way to determine whether the cat has diabetes or not, although you can do a urine analysis to check blood glucose levels, but this is not as accurate.

Unlike humans and other animals it is possible for cats that have diabetes to go into remission provided their diet has been changed with an elimination of high carbohydrate foods.

More protein will help to stabilize the blood glucose levels.

Dry biscuits are particularly bad for cats as they are generally very high in carbohydrates and even though your cat might love eating them, because of the additives that have been put into these dry foods, it certainly won’t do their health a lot of good.

The reason why these dry biscuits are so popular is because of the convenience and the fact that cats are very fussy eaters, and most cats like dry biscuits except possibly those that have been found straying in the wild.

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Should You Be Feeding Your Cat Supplements?

Provided you are giving your cat a balanced diet there should be no need to give it additional amounts of supplements.

In fact by adding additional vitamins and minerals to your cat’s diet you could actually be upsetting the natural balance of the nutrition and doing more harm than good.

Many of the commercial cat foods are nutritionally complete and balanced and no additional supplements will need to be added if you are feeding your cat these types of foods.

If you are feeding your cat on a raw food diet that represents the types of foods that it would eat in the wild then it should be nutritionally balanced with sufficient protein and the essential vitamins and minerals that it needs to remain healthy.

The only time where you might need to give your cat additional vitamin supplements is during times of illness, or where there are other factors involved such as loss of body fluids or diarrhea.

Even in these circumstances it is wise to check with your vet first to ensure that these additional supplements will not cause any other problems.

If you feel that the nutrition of your cat is not up to par then by all means you will need to consider supplementing its diet, after being sure that you have got good advice on the matter.

There are a lot of good cat vitamin and mineral supplements on the market and they can help improve your cat’s health particularly as your cat ages but it is best to give these to your pet based on sound advice from a good vet.

It is well worth discussing with your vet any changes that need to be made to your cat’s diet during the various stages of its life.

Nutritional needs tend to change somewhat as the cat ages and there are some good commercial products that help with fur balls and other problems that specific breeds of cats might have.

Cats that are well cared for will live a lot longer than what could be expected in the wild and for that reason, as with people, aged cats can require additional supplementation.

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Water is Crucial for a Cat

Water is one of the most important requirements for your cat. As a cat is composed of almost 70% water, a reduction in the level of body fluid levels can cause ill health and cause the cat to die.

Even if the cat loses 10% of its body water, this can cause metabolic problems that will result in illness in a very short time.

If the loss increases to 15% then the cat will die, and for this reason if you are concerned about your cats hydration levels get it to a vet as soon as possible, as the vet will be able to hydrate the cat by injecting water under its skin.

You will then need to discuss with your vet why this has occurred, and what can be done to stop it happening again as it is a life-threatening problem.

While the cat can lose a lot of weight, in fat and glycogen, and even half of its protein stores it can still survive, but a reduction in water by even by such a small amount, might mean that it will not survive.

As cats are terminally dependent on water they do regulate their water supplies themselves and conserve water by concentrating their urine.

Your pet should always have easy access to fresh water that gets changed at least once every day.

In hot weather ensure that there is always enough water available, and always have more water if they are on a dry food diet as they can get a lot of moisture out of canned food.

Most canned food, at least the good quality canned food, consists of approximately 75% water, and cats that are fed a diet of good canned food will not need to drink as much as cats on other diets.

Milk is not a substitute for water and cats have no need for milk beyond being kittens

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