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THE BASICS OF FELINE NUTRITIONCats Need Animal-Based ProteinCats are obligate (strict) carnivores and are very different from dogs in their nutritional needs. What does it mean to be an `obligate carnivore'? It means that your cat was built by Mother Nature to get her nutritional needs met by the consumption of a large amount of animal-based proteins (meat) and derives much less nutritional support from plant-based proteins (grains). It means that cats lack specific metabolic (enzymatic) pathways and cannot utilize plant proteins as efficiently as animal proteins. It is very important to remember that not all proteins are created equal. The protein in dry food, which is heavily plant-based, is not equal in quality to the protein in canned food or a raw diet, which is meat-based. The protein in dry food is, therefore, less bioavailable to your cat. Do not be confused by the listing of the protein percentages in dry food compared to canned food. At first glance, it might appear that the dry food has a higher amount of protein than the canned food - but this is not true on a dry matter basis which is the accurate way to compare the two foods. Most canned foods, when figured on a dry matter basis, have more protein than dry food. And remember, even if this were not the case, the percentage numbers do not tell the whole story. It is the protein's bioavailability that is critical.We Are Feeding Cats Too Many CarbohydratesIn their natural setting, cats-whose unique biology makes them true carnivores--would not consume the high level of carbohydrates (grains) that are in the dry foods that we routinely feed them. You would never see a wild cat chasing down a herd of biscuits running across the plains of Africa or dehydrating her mouse and topping it off with corn meal gluten soufflé! In the wild, your cat would be eating a high protein, high-moisture content, meat-based diet, with a moderate level of fat and with only ~6-9% of her diet consisting of carbohydrates. The average dry food contains 35-50% This is NOT the diet that Mother Nature intended for your cat to eat! A high quality canned food or a raw diet, on the other hand, contains ~3-6% carbohydrates. Cats have a physiological decrease in the ability to utilize carbohydrates due to the lack of specific enzymatic pathways that are present in other mammals, and the lack a salivary enzyme called amylase. Cats not only have no dietary need for carbohydrates, but too many carbohydrates can actually be detrimental to their health, as outlined below. With this in mind, it would be as illogical to feed a carnivore a steady diet of meat-flavored cereals as it would be to feed meat to a vegetarian like a horse or a cow, right? So why are we continuing to feed our carnivores like herbivores? Why are we feeding such a species-inappropriate diet? The answers are simple. Grains are cheap. Dry food is convenient. Affordability and convenience sells. But is a carbohydrate-laden, plant-based, water-depleted dry food the best diet for our cats? Absolutely not. They are designed to eat meat - not grains.Cats Need Plenty of Water With Their FoodAnother extremely important nutrient with respect to overall health is water. It is very important for a cat to ingest water with its food, as the cat does not have a very strong thirst drive. This is a critical point. This lack of a strong thirst drive leads to low-level, chronic dehydration when dry food makes up the bulk of their diet. Cats are designed to obtain most of their water with their diet since their normal prey contains ~70% water.Dry foods only contain ~10% water whereas a raw diet or canned foods contain ~68% to 78% water. Canned foods therefore more closely approximate the natural diet of the cat and are better suited to meet the cat's water needs. A cat consuming a predominantly dry-food diet does drink more water than a cat consuming a canned food diet, but in the end, when water from all sources is added together (what's in their diet plus what they drink), the cat on dry food consumes approximately HALF the amount of water compared with a cat eating canned foods. This is a crucial point when one considers how common kidney and bladder problems are in the cat. Learn How To Read a Pet Food Ingredients LabelThe words "natural" or "premium" are not necessarily indicative of high quality. Look for meat as the first ingredient. This will be listed as "chicken", "chicken meal", "turkey", or "turkey meal", etc. NOT "chicken by-product meal" or "chicken by-products", or "chicken broth". By-products can include feet, intestines, feathers, egg shells, etc. and are less nutritious than meat. Grains should be absent or, at least, minimal in amount. This means if they are present, they should not be among the first three ingredients. Wheat and Soy are thought to be common allergens when compared to other grains such as rice, oats or barley so it is best to choose a food that does not contain wheat or soy.Common Feline Health Problems and Their Ties to DietThere is a very strong and extremely logical connection between the way that we are currently feeding our obligate carnivores and many of the life-threatening diseases that afflict them.DiabetesDiabetes is a very serious - and difficult to manage - disease that is very common in cats. Why is it so common? The species-inappropriate high level of carbohydrates in dry food wreaks havoc on the blood sugar level of an obligate carnivore. The blood sugar level rises significantly upon ingestion of dry food. With chronic hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) the insulin producing cells in the pancreas down-regulate, or "burn out", leading to diabetes. ( click on this link for more information ) -> Diabetes and ObesityKidney FailureKidney disease is probably the Number One cause of mortality in the cat. It is troubling to think about the role that chronic dehydration plays in feline kidney failure. And remember, cats are chronically dehydrated when they are on a diet of predominantly dry food.Cystitis (bladder inflammation) and Bladder/Kidney StonesCystitis and stones are extremely common in the cat. The concentration (specific gravity) of the urine is a critical factor in contributing to, or preventing, these serious health issues. Some cats have a higher tendency to form crystals in their urine. Cats on dry food have more highly concentrated urine (higher specific gravity) which means that a higher concentration of stone-forming crystals will be present in the urine. This increases the chance of producing life-threatening stones. Also, a very concentrated level of crystals acts like 60-grit sandpaper on the delicate bladder wall, which can lead to painful cystitis. Cystitis can lead to inappropriate urination (urinating outside of the litter box) and stones can cause a fatal rupture of the bladder. (Any cat that is repeatedly entering the litter box but not voiding any urine is in need of IMMEDIATE medical attention!) Cats eating canned food are more appropriately hydrated, and therefore, have more dilute urine (lower specific gravity). This greatly decreases their chance for urinary tract problems. ( for more information ) -> Magnesium and FUSInflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)IBD is thought to be a common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in the cat. There are many unanswered questions with respect to this disease process, but it seems logical to start to "treat" a gastrointestinal problem in the cat with a species-appropriate diet. Too often these cats are treated with a high level of steroids and a so-called "prescription" DRY diet. I feel very strongly that this common therapeutic regimen needs to be re-evaluated. There are an impressive number of anecdotal reports of cats that were terribly ill with IBD exhibiting dramatic improvement when ALL dry food was removed from their diet. Taking it even one step further, there are many reports of cats with IBD that improved tremendously on a balanced, grainless, raw diet.ObesityObligate carnivores are designed to meet their energy needs with a high protein, moderate fat diet. Carbohydrates are minimally used. Those that are not used for energy are converted to and stored as fat. The so-called "light" diets that are on the market have targeted the fat content as the nutrient to be decreased, but in doing so, the pet food manufacturers have increased the grain fraction, leading to a higher level of carbohydrates. Hence, many overweight cats eating these "light" diets are still obese. These products are among the most species-inappropriate diets available to cat caretakers. ( click on this link for more information ) -> Diabetes and ObesityHepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver Disease):This is the most common metabolic liver disease of cats. Overweight cats that go longer than 48 hours without eating, for any reason, are in danger of developing this serious, and often fatal, disease. Feeding a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet helps keep cats at an optimal, healthy body weight.Dental DiseaseLong-standing claims that cats have less dental disease when they are fed dry food versus canned food are grossly overrated, inaccurate, and are not supported by recent studies. First, dry food is hard, but brittle, and merely shatters with little so no abrasive effect on the teeth. Second, the high carbohydrate (read: sugar) level in dry foods has been shown to cause dental decay. Third, many cats swallow the majority of their dry food whole and thus receive minimal benefit from chewing motion. Finally, a meat-based diet results in an acidic oral environment which may actually prevent some forms of dental disease. There are many factors that contribute to dental disease in the cat such as genetics, viruses, and diet. There remain many unanswered questions concerning the impact of diet on dental health, but feeding a high starch, species-inappropriate dry diet is a negative factor.Perhaps, a more natural way to promote dental health is to feed large chunks of raw meat. (See below for `Home Prepared Diets'.) Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned FoodThis is the hard part! Cats, like children, often resist what is best for them. The key is to do it slowly and with patience. Some cats that have been on dry food their entire lives will be quite resistant to the diet change. These cats may take several weeks or longer to make the transition to a healthier diet. Others will take to it with the attitude of "finally - an appropriate diet for my species!!". For some cats, you will need to use hunger to help with the transition. However, I would not let them go longer than 24 hours without eating and some of you may `weaken' sooner..like I did. At that point, you may want to give them only half of what they would normally eat, just to keep hunger as an incentive. I prefer to try to 'convince' them that a high quality canned food really is good for them, rather than to starve them into it. Here are some tricks for the stubborn ones:
Switching Your Cat to a Raw DietCats are imprinted in their first year of life as to the types of foods to eat. This makes some cats seem finicky when they are simply doing what nature taught them to do. Cats that have eaten nothing but dry food or even canned food are often a challenge to switch to a raw diet. But it can be done. Cats that eat other foods (meat, fruits, vegetables, cheese) will be much less of a project. It might take days, weeks or even months. It’s worth the effort! Cats will starve themselves, and they are not good candidates for the tough love approach. Some very serious conditions can occur if cats do not eat for an extended period of time.That first bag of raw food may last a long time: so put it in an air tight freezer container to protect it. Slow successful method: move away from a dry food diet and toward more canned foods. Consider dry food to be a snack only, not left out all the time. Mix a small amount (1tsp to 1 Tbs) of thawed raw food into an entire can of canned food. Work your way up slowly to add more raw food to that canned. Offer bits of other kinds of fresh food that you are eating too. They may be refused, but one day they won’t. Some cats take to a raw diet right off, some take 3 to 6 months and some take a year to welcome raw food to their diet. This method may also be used with dry food: in that case use an even smaller amount of raw food to a small amount of dry. The canned approach works better, but if your cat absolutely refuses canned food it will be a better way to start. I have even started some with freeze-dried raw first, and then switch them over to fresh raw. Serving tips: Serve food in a flat dish, cats whiskers are sensitive and a bowl will interfere with the whiskers and may keep the cat from considering the food. Trickery has been known to work with cats: put the food on YOUR plate, or hide it in a location cats know to be forbidden ... creativity helps!(for more information -> ) www.felinefuture.com Home-Prepared DietsThese diets can be the absolute best or the very worst thing that you can do for your cat. You must do your homework and educate yourself with regard to preparing a balanced diet for a cat. A cat cannot live on meat alone. There is not enough calcium, taurine, essential fatty acids, etc. in just plain meat. You must be careful to prepare the diet using the necessary ingredients-and always remember that calcium is not an optional "supplement", but a very critical component of the diet.Personally, I use high quality prepaired raw diets by Natures Variety, Happy Pet, and Raw Advantage. I would advise against using cheap non human or non organic raw pre-ground meat as it is much more likely to be contaminated with high levels of bacteria, and from very poor sources of meat. (4D meat is found in Grayhound raw diets) Many people have a strong negative reaction to feeding a raw meat diet but in reality, a properly handled and prepared raw diet has much less bacteria in it than many commercial pet foods. Commercial pet foods also may contain high levels of mold toxins from grains which is never a danger in a raw diet or a grainless diet. Cats are very different from humans with respect their susceptibility to `food poisoning'. Cats have a much shorter digestive tract, transit time through their intestinal tract is much faster that of a humans. (~12 hours for the cat versus ~35-55 hours for the human.) This is a very important point because the more time bacteria spend in the intestines, the more they multiply, eventually leading to intestinal upset. Purchasing free-range, antibiotic- and hormone-free whole meats from a reputable butcher such as Whole Foods Market or high quality pre-ground diets and adhering to safe meat handling practices are important steps to take when preparing a raw food diet. Good choices include dark poultry meats (such as thighs and drumsticks which are more nutritious than white meats if you choose to not grind a whole carcass) or rabbit. (See Resource List for more information on recipes for home-prepared diets.) Congratulations! If you have made it to this point in the article! You must really care about feeding your cat a healthy diet and are open to new ideas regarding their nutritional needs. The most common complaint that I hear from people is that their cat will NOT eat canned or raw food and will ONLY eat dry food. My cats fell into this category which was not surprising since they had been on a 100% dry food diet their entire lives and range in age from 5-10 years. For the past three months, I have been patiently convincing them that they are carnivores and need meat - and not in a dry, overly processed form. It has been a little rough, at times, since two of my cats get very crabby with their housemates when they are hungry. These boys were then taken in a separate room and fed some dry food. I do not like unrest in my home! Surprisingly, one of my most stubborn dry food addicts is now happily eating a home-prepared raw food diet that he actually likes better than the canned food. To be very honest, it does my heart good to see my little carnivores gnawing on raw meat - eating a diet that was meant for their species! My personal goal is to have my cats eating a species-appropriate diet consisting of raw and cooked meats and organs using a properly balanced recipe, plus a high quality canned food - for variety and convenience. When I first started the diet transition, I was going to be satisfied with 'giving in' to my dry food addicts and letting their diet comprise 10-20% dry food, but I have seen their addiction slowly wane to the point that it is no longer an issue. However, I certainly don't feel like I would have been a horrible 'cat mom' if I had chosen to continue feeding a little dry food. Everyone's lives are different and the goal of this article is to arm you with knowledge about the special dietary needs of your cat so you can strike a balance that works for both of you. ~Dr. Pierson, DVM Information for the above was gathered from Dr. Lisa A. Pierson, DVM, Dr. Henry Pasternak DVM, The Feline Future web site and my personal experience and study. Below is a list of some of the higher quality commercial canned cat foods and some resources for further information on feline nutrition. Commercial Canned Foods For Your Feline CarnivoreNo commercial cat food you buy is without some drawbacks, but listed below are some canned foods made by companies that have gone the extra mile to minimize grains and other plant-based "fillers" in their foods and use a high quality meat as the primary ingredient. The listed foods are also void of any questionable preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin and do not contain any byproducts. This list is not comprehensive. Companies also have variations in ingredients within their own product line. Remember to always read the ingredient list and bear in mind that just because a label says "premium" or "natural", this does not necessarily mean that the food inside the can is appropriate for your carnivore. Websites are listed for your convenience in order to find the stores nearest you that carry the company's products.Eagle Pack: www.eaglepack.com (Check web site for a store location near you) Natures Varitey: www.naturesvariety.com (Check web site for a store location near you) Raw Advantage: www.rawadvantagepetfood.com (Check web site for store locations) Precise: www.precisepet.com (Sold at Whole Foods Markets) Some Relevent Resources And Suggested Reading#1 - Feline Future: Information on How to feed a true carnivore, The Origin of the Cat, Home made diets, The dry Cat Food Crisis and much more www.felinefuture.com#2 - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, December 1st, 2002 (Volume 221, number 11), Timely Topics in Nutrition, "The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats", by Debra L. Zoran, DVM, PhD, DACVIM. home.earthlink.net/~jacm2/_wsn/page2.html #3 - FDA guidance on "Interpreting Pet Food Labels", available online at www.fda.gov/cvm/index/consumer/petlabel.htm Above provided by: Traci Jones of Rocquoone Cattery's Maine Coon Cats. You can access their site at www.rocquoone.com |
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Teresa Schroeder ~ Houston, TX ~ USA email: newdestinycats@yahoo.com |
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