Cats & Dry Food

This morning I received a call from a dear friend who was quite upset because his sweet 5 year old cat had just been diagnosed with cat diabetes. His vet told him that the carbohydrates in cat dry foods have been shown in studies to have detrimental effects on the health of cats and increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is an endocrine (glandular) disorder in which cats either do not produce insulin or are unable to respond to its effects.  As a result, there is too much sugar in the bloodstream, which can damage the kidneys, eyes, skin, and cardiovascular and nervous systems. My friend was following the trend of dry food only for cats without any clue that such a diet could lead to health problems.

Diet plays an important role in pets’ well-being, just as it does ours. For years studies and reports are made on the diet and health of cats. In 1994, an epidemiological investigation reported evidence for an increased risk of obesity in cats fed commercially available, high-carbohydrate, dry-expanded diets as opposed to commercially available, canned, high-fat diets.

Many cat guardians simply feed their cat companions the cheapest or easiest food on the shelf, but is it really safe and cost efficient?   When I started to feed my cat companions a more natural diet, their vet visits decreased. The small amount of time and cost of improving their diets was actually a savings since I was no longer paying high vet bills and lab tests. Their fur has more shine, their bathroom schedule and output is normal and their energy levels are still a lot of fun.

If you are going to feed a commercial cat food, the product name says a lot: “Chicken Cat Food” is far different from “Cat Food with Chicken” in terms of how much chicken the product actually contains.
If the product name reads “Chicken Cat Food,” then it must contain at least 95% of the named ingredient, not including moisture content.  If the product name contains two ingredients (for example “Chicken and Fish Cat Food”), the food has to contain more of whichever one is named first, but together they must add up to 95%.

If the product has "Dinner", “entrée,” “formula,” or similar in the name, then the product contains less than 95% meat or fish, but more than 25%

Check the ingredients list closely in these cases to make sure you’re feeding your cat what you think you are. The ingredient in the product name may only make up a quarter of the product.

Know what the label means when is says "Meat". You may be surprised to learn what the most common ingredients really are:

Meat: Cleaned flesh from chicken, lamb, turkey, cattle, and related animals that have been slaughtered specifically for animal feed purposes. However, flesh means more than skin. It may include muscle, fat, nerves, blood vessels from the skin, the heart, esophagus, and the tongue.

Meat by-product: Clean, nonflesh parts from the same animals mentioned above. This can include the blood, bone, brain, liver, lungs, liver, kidneys, and emptied stomach and intestines. There are no hooves, hair, horns, or teeth in meat byproducts. Chicken by-products are feather-free.

Beef tallow: A fat made from beef.

Meal: Finely ground tissue.

Bone meal: Finely ground bone from slaughtered feed animals.

Fish meal: Clean, ground undecomposed whole fish or fish pieces. The fish may or may not still contain fish oil.

Ground corn: Chopped or ground corn kernels.

Corn gluten meal: A product that forms after corn syrup or starch is made.

When it comes to pet foods, there are no official definitions for the terms "natural" and "organic." But the two are not the same. "Organic" is about how a food source is grown and processed. The FDA says cat foods flaunting terms such as "premium" or "ultra-premium" are not required to be made of any better or healthier ingredients than a regular complete and balanced cat food.

If your cat is obese or has developed health problems work with your Veterinarian or Animal Naturopath to regain your cat's best health.

California
Featured Adoptable Pet:

A121560
Yuba County Animal Care Services
Olivehurst, CA
compliments of Petfinder.com

SOURCES:

ASPCA web site, “Cat Care”.

HealthyPet.com web site, “Your Cat’s Eating Habits”.

The Pet Food Institute web site, “Pet Nutrition”.

Web Vet web site, "Understanding Pet Food Labels".

Defend Our Pets web site, “Home Page”.