In the days when people did not have easy access to the store to buy food for their cats, they fed them from what they had available which was basically, homemade cat food. Did you ever notice those cats were around for a long time? You did not see a different cat every time you went to their house. So maybe there is something to feeding your cat food that is a little healthier than the canned variety.

After all, with all the recalls that have been in the news as of late, for cat food as well as people food, maybe we would all be healthier if we cooked our own food instead of simply opening a can. The truth of the matter is, you can feed your cat either home made cat food or some thing that can be eaten without being cooked and they will eat that far better than the store bought food.

Pet food that is made commercially may not have all the nutritional supplements that cats need in a daily diet. The food is processed using extremely high temperatures and this could cause some loss of vitamins. Another additive is animal fats. When these are added to the commercial cat food to make it more appealing to your pet, you are feeding your cat food that is tantamount to you eating junk food all the time.

The addition of animal fats and other preservatives are enough to make your cat become quite overweight, develop diseases, and lose all their energy. No longer do they feel like jumping and chasing imaginary mice. They become lazy and fat. The number one thing to remember about cats is they were born to be hunters and catch their food. William A

Considering the junk that’s in cat food, it appears to me that many cats who are generally in good health anyway, can do just fine eating crappy foods.

But when they get older, you start seeing the results of their bad diet.

I don’t think it’s worth taking the chance. Feed good from as early an age as possible.

Here’s info from my blog on how to identify a good cat food.

CHOOSING THE BEST CAT FOOD Oct 18, ‘07 11:48 PM
for everyone

If you do nothing else, read this:. This is an eye-opening article. It covers EVERYTHING you’d ever want to know about the cat food industry from a-z. And I mean everything!

I’m attempting to summarize some of it below, but you really need to read the whole thing!

The least you should know:

The use of “All” and “100%” are reserved for foods that contain only one ingredient.

Dinners, recipes, platters, entrees and formulas - cat foods using these names may have less of the named ingredient than you’d expect it to.

“With” means that there’s at least 3% of that item by weight in the product.

“Flavor” means that there’s just enough of an ingredient to provide a discernable flavor.

Ingredients are listed first by WEIGHT. While we do recommend getting foods that have meat listed first, this doesn’t mean that something has more meat than anything else. Take a cup of chicken and a cup of wheat. These are equal amounts but the chicken will weigh more, so it would appear first. But you’ve got just as much wheat as chicken!

When reading labels, keep in mind that you must convert the given numbers to dry matter basis. What this ultimately means is that a wet food claiming 10% protein actually has MORE protein than a dry food claiming 30% protein.

Did you know that rendered animal fat is sprayed on dry cat food to make it taste better? Did you know that rendering means whole animals are boiled to reduce them down to fat? And did you know that these rendered animals may have been laying around for days before being carted off to the rendering plant?

In addition, I gathered the below info from a book I recently checked out from the library: Whole Health for Happy Cats: A Guide to Keeping Your Cat Naturally Healthy, Happy, and Well-Fed (Quarry Book) :: Sandy Arora. So this information can be verified, at least as to the fact that someone actually said this.

Below is a list of ingredients to avoid. But before looking at this list, please keep in mind that while it would be best to feed foods that don’t contain any of these questionable ingredients, you must also consider the quantity in which they’re used, and the pros and cons of feeding an otherwise good food with one questionable ingredient when your only choices are that or something completely crappy.

Avoid:

The preservatives BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin. BHA and BHT are carcinogens. Ethoxyquin is a rubber preservative and pesticide.
Foods that contain Rosemary (may be used as a preservative) shouldn’t be served more than 2-3 times per week.
Carrageenan. This is a food thickener that can cause ulcerative colitis and other stomach problems. However, this ingredient is used in the new EVO canned products (95% meat) (among other products), and the advice I’ve received is that you have to weigh the overall benefits of the great food against a small amount of this ingredient which might cause digestive upsets. If you’re faced with the choice of carageenan or an inferior quality food, go with the carrageenan. The same is true for GARLIC which is (still) present in Wellness.
Mannitol, Xylitol and Sorbitol: Can cause severe digestive upset and possibly kidney problems.
Potassium Sorbate: Can irritate skin and eyes.
Propylene Glycol: Can cause heinz body anemia, a type of damage to red blood cells.
Sodium Benzoate: Can adversely affect the central nervous system and cause allergic reactions as well as stomach irritations.
Propyl Gallate
Artificial colors. Cats don’t care what color their food is! There is no feline Iron Chef who will turn up her nose due to bad presentation!
Byproducts and meal. Byproducts aren’t bad per se, but it would be NICE to know which ones. They can be anything from liver (good) to beaks and feet. If they’re not named, don’t feed them.
Any form of corn, wheat or soy. Corn is the worst of these and may ultimately lead to diabetes.
Avoid special labels such as “indoor” “senior” or “light”. These foods may contain acidifying agents, excessive fiber, and inadequate fats that will result in skin and coat problems.
Don’t buy your food at the grocery store - go to an independently owned pet store or a chain store if they carry good brands.
Butylated hydroxyamisole.
Butylated hydroxytoluene.
Get:

Products containing MEAT, and it’s best if it’s listed first.
Products that are AAFCO certified to be complete. This doesn’t mean the food is good, it just means it’s balanced. Foods that don’t have this or that aren’t balanced aren’t bad necessarily, but then they should perhaps only be used for supplemental feeding.
As you can see, it’s more about avoiding things than looking for things. Yes, look for meat as the first ingredient, and it should be balanced for daily feeding (unless you plan to supplement). But it’s mostly about what you should NOT see on the label!

See also: RuneAmok Souls Eetser

Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be “healthy” really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. I’m not saying that a cat can’t live off them… just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is “best” for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases.

Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.

All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.

So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.

Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.

Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.

It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. It’s an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into people’s heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)

I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it it’s a snap to prepare. It’s something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat!

If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are , , and .

If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it!

Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250597c11908GJS417647E.

If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods:

-”Grocery store” foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, “grocery store” foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.

-Premium foods – (Iams/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of “grocery store” food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and “filler” ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than “grocery store” foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t!

-Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster & Smith) The newest addition to the pet food market - provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers.

With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”! Who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.

The ingredients also should NOT include any by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market.
So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next.

Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap.

You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet:

If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores.

I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!

********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system. Kat

“Dry food does not clean teeth” –> actually the large enough kibble such as t/d can reduce tartar build-up 30-40% It has to be a large enough piece of kibble & the cat has to actually pierce through it with is teeth. The more correct statement is that dry food does not prevent periodontal disease.

Also, this comment by another poster, is not true:
“The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies.”

Although I feel that nutrition classes are lacking in veterinary school, we do have a few full semester nutrition courses, including clinical nutrition. None of our classes are taught by representatives from pet food companies; they are taught by board-certified veterinary nutritionists. Elleleila

Investing in a higher quality food pays off in better health. We as humans can live on so-so food - hot dogs and Kraft macaroni and cheese - but we don’t. It sounds like you already know to feed your dog a better grade of food - why would you do less for your cat? J C

There are many good foods that won’t cost a ton of money. EVO is $17 a bag,which lasts more than a month. The protein level is 50%. Prairie is good, as is Wellness, Wellness Core, Royal Canin Siamese 38 and a slew of others.

You won’t find them at the grocery store or WalMart, these would be at pet supply stores. We have our cats on the Royal Canin Siamese, it’s $11 a bag and lasts a month. They do very well on it, and I supplement with a few other things, but this is their main food.

If you have a cat with kidney issues or who is borderline diabetic (or an aged cat) they should not have the so-so foods, as this will make their conditions worse.

NO onion or garlic should be in cat food. Garlic and onion damages the kidneys and the damage won’t reverse. Also don’t fall for things that sound yummy to humans, cats can’t digest cranberries and have a hard time with carrots, the added fruits and veggies put in on some foods that are fine for dogs just raise blood sugars in cats, and can be a real problem for a borderline diabetic. Also the foods should be low with salt. hudsongray

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don’t use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn’t have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all.
Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.
Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck?

Please read about cat nutrition.

Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. Ken