Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat, feline nutrition, food, kitten on August 26, 2010| 1 Comment »
A friend recently adopted a kitten from a local rescue organization. (Yay! Adopt don’t buy!) She’s been listening to my lectures on feline nutrition for years now, but checked in to make sure there wasn’t anything “else” she needed to know regarding feeding a kitten.
In short, there isn’t.
All cats need high protein wet diets, including kittens.
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, dry food, feline nutrition, Hills, nutrition, pet food on June 24, 2009| 4 Comments »
Apparently they are giving out free samples of Hills’ “Nature’s Best” dry dog and cat food somewhere near work. Someone left a sample on the table at work yesterday and today there was a woman on the elevator holding three samples. I could NOT hold my tongue in the elevator – and simply told her “You know, that is NOT very good pet food.” She said “it’s not?” and I said “No, read the ingredients. Mostly grains, little meat. I used that exact pet food as an example of BAD pet foods in a recent talk I gave on the subject, and why reading labels is important.”
If you’ve read anything on my blog, you probably know I do NOT think feeding dry pet food is a good idea. I also DETEST Hills’ pet foods – they use horrible quality ingredients and were among the last to stop using carcinogens as preservatives… all under the guise of being “veterinarian recommended”. Recommended by vets because they give free food to vet students and fund vet courses on animal nutrition and market themselves HEAVILY to vets! NOT because they make good pet food!
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, cats, fat, feline nutrition, obesity on June 15, 2009| 5 Comments »
Is your tabby too tubby? Is your cat extra-fluffy and not in a good way?
Omaha in 2002 - over 20 pounds
Well, if you haven’t already, start by eliminating ALL DRY FOOD. ALL OF IT. Attempting to get a cat to lose weight on dry food is a losing battle. I know, I tried it for over a year with my cat Omaha. We tried cutting portions again and again until he got only 1/8 cup dry food daily and lay by the bowl crying – and still not losing weight. “Lite” (lower calorie) dry foods DO NOT WORK, they are too high in carbohydrates. Low-carb grain-free high-protein dry foods DO NOT WORK, they are too high in calories. Your cat needs to eat only WET food – not only to achieve an ideal weight, but to avoid a lot of other serious health issues (like diabetes, urinary tract disease, etc.)
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, cat nutrition, cats, dry food, feline nutrition, IBD, pancreatitis, raw food on December 11, 2008| 4 Comments »
This post has actually been a work-in-progress for some time, but a phone call today pushed me to try and finish it. That phone call took place with the internal medicine specialist treating Studley. The specialist has diagnosed Studley with pancreatitis and IBD, based on an ultrasound performed Tuesday. Today he got back the results of Studley’s GI lab, and expressed some confusion that while he KNOWS Studley has IBD (based on the ultrasound results), his GI lab results (cobalamin and folate) were normal.
I do NOT generally openly disagree with most vets (to their face). I’ll express my opinions to my regular vet, who acts very open to my ideas and thoughts – but I’ve learned not to waste my time and breath on many vets who really don’t care what I think about anything. They just want me to do what I’m told. However, today for whatever reason I felt the need to tell this specialist my suspicions on why Studley’s results were normal. I told him I had worked with many cats with IBD, adopted and fostered, and I fed all my cats an “IBD friendly” diet. This diet had eliminated symptoms and normalized GI lab results for the other cats I’d worked with – and my thinking was, if Studley was fed this “IBD diet”, and it’s treated these other cats with IBD, it made sense to me that it’d also treated Studley, without my knowing he even had IBD.
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged canned food, cat food, cats, feline nutrition, IBD on December 10, 2008| 13 Comments »
Another of the “frequently asked questions” I get is *which* canned food to feed. Well, in general the answer is simple – look for one with little-to-no grains, fruits, or vegetables. You want something as close to “mouse in a can” as possible. Poultry and/or rabbit is best – as these are closest to a cat’s natural prey. (Cats don’t naturally hunt, kill, and eat cows, sheep, fish, or swine – they do consume birds and rodents.)
Generally, there are compromises to be made. Canned foods that contain higher-quality ingredients generally also contain higher amounts of vegetables and fruit, and are also generally higher in fat than the canned foods that use more byproducts and “meat” of undefined origin. Personally, I don’t object too strongly to byproducts and lower-grade meat. Cats would consume the entire carcass of their prey – they wouldn’t spit out the kidney, for example. However, I do want SOME muscle meat in their food, and for some cats (particularly some with severe IBD), “meat” of undefined origin isn’t an option. “Meat”, when the source isn’t identified, is most often beef or pork – and some cats don’t tolerate beef or pork.
Some people want a more specific list of brands and flavors. I’m always reluctant to do that, as brands and flavors change in ingredients and availability and I’d rather people learn to look at labels and exercise judgement. However, here’s a list of my current “favorites”. These are the canned foods I almost always have at my house, for my own adopted cats and fosters:
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged behavior, cat food, cats, feline nutrition, raw food on December 5, 2008|
People often ask me how I’ve managed to accumulate so much information on feline health and nutrition. The answer is relatively simple – I READ, a LOT. I read a lot of information on the internet, studies in journals, books, etc. So, after sifting through countless websites and books and magazines, I’ve definitely got a few favorites.
My absolute favorite informational websites are listed among the “widgets” in the column to the right on the home page… particularly, FelineOutreach.org, CatInfo.org, CatNutrition.org, YourDiabeticCat.com, and FelineDiabetes.com. (A majority of the resources/references in the Feline Outreach educational section has been collected by me, over time.)
But, if you are interested in real hard copy books made out of paper – I recommend:
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged amino acids, cat food, feeding cats, feline nutrition, homemade cat food, IBD, making cat food, raw food, vitamins on December 4, 2008| 3 Comments »
I feed my cats a homemade raw diet. I think raw diets are the “gold standard” in feline diet. However, I will state loudly and adamantly up front – I THINK CANNED FOODS ARE A PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE CHOICE! However, there is NO DRY (KIBBLE) FOOD I deem acceptable. I will occasionally use a freeze-dried food, freeze-dried treat, or dehydrated treat as a TREAT, but not a meal… and you have to be CERTAIN they are truly freeze-dried, air-dried, or dehydrated, not processed – as many food labels are deceptive. Even if these items were ideal in every other way (low in carbohydrates, little-to-no veggies, fruit, grains, etc.) they are LACKING IN MOISTURE and that moisture is imperative to proper kidney and urinary tract health.
Doing it “right” does not mean it has to be difficult! Personally, I buy a pre-ground meat/bone/organ product (Hare Today) and add a few supplements. It is SIMPLE. See the video below!
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Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, diabetes, feline nutrition, IBD, obesity, raw food on August 25, 2008| 3 Comments »
I’m pleased I’ve had more and more caregivers talk to me about putting their cats on a raw diet. For those new to raw, I often recommend a pre-ground meat/bone product such as Hare Today, supplemented with a multi-vitamin/nutrient for cats such as Platinum Performance, as described in Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins in her book “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer Stronger Life“.
One problem – it seems some of these caregivers view this Hare Today/Platinum Performance combination to be some magical “cure” for what ails their cat (diabetes, IBD or chronic diarrhea, obesity, “allergies”, etc.) In a way, it is a “cure” in that the cat becomes healthier and may no longer show any symptoms of their prior ailment (no more need for insulin, no more anemia, no more diarrhea, etc.) However, in my opinion, it’s not so much that the particular food is a cure in that you’ve eliminated the *problem* (dry food).
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Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, feline nutrition on July 4, 2008| 6 Comments »
Among the miscellaneous junk mail in my mailbox this week, was a bright yellow envelope from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In huge bold print across the envelope it stated:
CAT FOOD ALERT
New findings from America’s most respected veterinary school reveal the ONE food you should feed your cat for optimal health!
They were soliciting subscribers for their newsletter, Cat Watch, but out of curiosity I looked inside to see what this magical food may be. Among other tips inside it stated:
What’s the one food you should feed your cat for optimal health? Wet food. Feeding your cat wet food, and not letting her eat from a dry food dispenser, could be the single greatest thing you do for her health and longevity. (New research shows wet food helps prevent diabetes, heart disease — even feline arthritis!)
Now, this isn’t news to me. I’ve written in the past about the dangers of dry food. I discovered most of the issues with dry food back in 2004, when I was struggling with cats that were obese, diabetic, and had gastro-intestinal disorders (such as IBD). Honestly, I would have liked to hear this cat food alert from Cornell back in 2004 – or earlier. However, I suppose it is “better late than never” and for once I hope a LOT of people were given this piece of “junk mail”.
Now, I wish Cornell would update their brochure on “Feeding Your Cat” to reflect these “new findings”.
Scanned copy of the Cornell mailing:
CatWatch mailing
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, cat nutrition, cats, feline nutrition, IBD on January 18, 2008| 15 Comments »
In my spare time, I often research feline nutrition – yes, I’m THAT much of a super geeky crazy cat lady.
Every so often, I run into an item of information that doesn’t make sense to me. What I love about what I understand about feline nutrition is it makes sense – it’s logical! An obligate (true) carnivore, evolved from a desert species, needs meat and moisture. Even my simplistic mind can get a grip on that! As my nutritional heroes say – this isn’t rocket science!
So, it bugged me when I discovered taurine requirements were lower for dry food than wet food. Why? WHY?
For those that don’t read articles on pet food in their spare time – taurine is an amino acid. (An amino acid is a component of protein.) Most species (including humans and dogs) can manufacture enough taurine on their own, so it’s not an essential amino acid for them. Not cats, one of the facts distinguishing them as true obligate (strict) carnivores rather than an opportunistic carnivore (meaning they’ll eat meat if they can get it – but they can also survive, even thrive, on plant proteins.)
Interesting little sidenote – when cat food was first created, it was basically dog food – made into smaller cans or smaller kibble pieces. In the 1980’s a researcher was studying heart disease in cats when he found that nearly all his patients were deficient in taurine levels. When he supplemented taurine, they improved. Thus, pet food manufacturers began supplementing cat foods with taurine. Turns out taurine, which naturally occurs in raw meat, is easily destroyed by cooking. It also oxidizes quickly once meat is ground – and may be degraded by freezing.
So, back to my ponderable. Why is less taurine needed if cats are on a dry diet? WHY?
Well, in doing some other research – I found a great recent study on carbohydrate malabsorption. The study found that carbohydrate malabsorption was a common feature in IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) in felines. That didn’t surprise me in the least. In my experience (with five cats with IBD so far – either adopted or fostered), foods containing high levels of carbohydrate (such as dry food) were not tolerated well at all. Again, cats are obligate carnivores – they’re not designed to eat carbohydrates, they’re designed to eat protein and fat. They have absolutely no nutritional requirement for ANY carbohydrate.
Then, reading another study, one of the items they noted was that cats on antibiotics required less taurine than cats that weren’t on antibiotics. Through some research, they concluded that taurine was in some way utilized by the healthy gastro-intestinal (GI) bacteria. Antibiotics, as we know, kill off not only unhealthy bacteria, but healthy ones as well. So, by having less GI bacteria, the cats needed less taurine.
LIGHT BULB MOMENT: So… if carbohydrates may affect GI bacteria (as indicated by malabsorption), and dry foods are naturally higher in carbohydrates (as a starch is required to process those little kibbles), and GI bacteria utilize more taurine – then it makes sense that less taurine is needed in dry foods because dry foods are probably damaging the healthy GI bacteria that would otherwise utilize the taurine!
YAY! I think I get it! Or, at least I have a theory – and I’m always happier having a theory, even if it may ultimately be proved incorrect – than I am just being clueless.
Life of the Lintee Bean 