The latest statistics are revealing that a great many of America’s pets are obese, from years of being fed table scraps and the wrong kinds of food. Therefore, picking the proper cat food for your feline is not a decision to be considered lightly!
Make no mistake about it, cats, dogs, and other of our favorite pets can suffer from many of the same consequences as humans do from obesity: diabetes, heart problems, strokes, and other debilitating conditions.
Choosing the best cat food can be difficult. There are just so many brands to choose from! It can be intimidating selecting the right meal for your feline. What brand uses natural ingredients? Which brand provides all of the proper nutrients? And, of course, which brand will your cat like the taste of?
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All Natural Ingredients
Selecting a brand with all natural ingredients is very important when picking the best cat food. Would you eat a meal that is filled with artificial ingredients and preservatives? Hopefully the answer is no! Now ask yourself if you would want those substances in your cats food. Choosing a cat food with all the proper ingredients insures you are providing your cat with a meal that will allow them to lead a long and healthy life.
Nutrients
Another important factor to consider when choosing the ideal cat food is the nutrients it provides. In our society we spend hours reading the labels on the back of the container our food came in. Shouldn’t we do the same with the food we provide for our cat?
Taste
And last, but certainly not least, selecting a brand of cat food that your feline will enjoy is the last step in picking the perfect meal. This will be more difficult because each cat has their favorite tastes.
Natural Cat Foods are the Best Cat Food
In today’s society, the overwhelming majority of people feed their cats one variety of commercial cat food or another, whether it comes in the form of dry crackers out of a bag, or moist food from a can. These cat foods have their pros and cons, which we will discuss in a moment.
But first, if we want to understand what kind of food would provide a cat with optimal nutrition, we need to look at Natural Cat Foods — that is, their prey. The fact of the matter is even though your cat may be a cuddly, domesticated animal, its biological requirements, which include its nutritional needs, were shaped over thousands of years of evolution.
Cats, in contrast to humans or even dogs, are pure carnivores — in the wild they feed on small rodents, and the like. About the only exception to this is a few blades of grass a cat may chew on every now and again — which some experts have speculated is for digestion.
The point here is that natural cat foods — the best cat food there is — are fresh meat sources, not processed, refined, or cooked commercial cat food. However, because the majority of cats spend much, if not all, of their time indoors, buying cat food is simply a matter of necessity.
In addition, cats who spend a lot of times indoors tend to live much longer than cats who live totally outdoors because they avoid numerous hazards such as automobile traffic, predators, and hunting traps.
In any case, your goal is to choose the best cat food — that is, one that comes closest to the natural cat foods that felines feast on in the wild.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT
Grain Free Natural Cat Food by Purina Beyond
- This cat food contains 35 % protein.
- No corn, wheat or soy.
- No poultry by product meal.
- No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
- Crafted in the USA.
Wellness Cat Food
Out of all the different choices, canned is generally the best cat food you can buy simply because it usually comes closest to the composition of natural cat foods.
Canned cat food is generally made with a higher degree of animal-protein ingredients (usually organ meats such as kidney and liver). These meat sources will help better supply your cat with nutrients that are crucial for its health, such as the essential amino acid taurine and fatty acids.
In contrast, dry cat foods, such as crackers, are often comprised of more vegetable-based or grain-based matter. Again, cats are not biologically designed to eat vegetable or grain matter, and doing so is not conducive to their optimal health. The drawback of canned cat foods, however, is that they do not stay fresh for long once opened.
So, from a convenience standpoint, dry foods are often the best if you have to leave your cat unattended for long periods of time — moist food from the can would spoil if left out for too long, and possibly cause your cat to fall ill.
Even if you feed your cat canned foods, it’s important to switch brands every once in a while, because the nutritional make up of different brands vary. By occasional switching, therefore, you will help protect your cat from nutritional deficiencies.
Canned Cat Food
Canned cat food normally consist of some kind of meat or fish and gel, dyes, salt, preservatives, sugar, water and sometimes corn. The benefits of buying canned cat food are that it is normally okay nutritious.
The cons are that it is very expensive and cats who only eat canned cat food also build up plaque and tartar quicker, because the food is soft and the cat does not use its teeth then.
The vitamin content of the food will also decrease if the food stand too long, especially in warm places, because vitamins like B-vitamins does not stand warm.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT
Gourmet Naturals Pate Food for Adult Cat from Purina Fancy Feast
- Crafted with real trout and tuna.
- High quality natural ingredients with added vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
- 100% complete and balanced for adult cat.
- Never any artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. No corn, wheat or soy. Poultry by-products or fillers.
Semi-moist Cat Food
This is a semi-moisted variant of canned cat foot, it consist of meat, soya beans, fat, vitamins, preservative, dyes, sugar and often thickener.
The benefits of semi moist is just like canned cat food, that it is very nutritious, and there is not as much water in it, as in canned cat food. And it has a relatively good durability.
The cons are that it is expensive, and has a relatively low fat count.
Dry Cat Food
The small granules consist of corn, fish, meat, yeast, vitamins, fat and dyes. The benefits of dry cat food are that is has a okay energy distribution and it is cheap. It consist less water than canned cat food and is has a much better durability. And your cat won’t get tartar as easy if it eats dry food.
The cons are that the fat count in the dry food often is too low for the cat.
Dry cat food is also suspected for coursing bladder and urinary problems, if the cats diet only consist of dry food. If the cat gets a lot of dry food, make sure that is always have clean water, or even better soften the dry food with water or milk.
The best thing is to give your cat a bit of dry cat food, to prevent tartar.
Wet Cat Food
Wet cat food by the nature of it’s manufacturing process is generally of better quality than the dry variety.
Because wet food contains no rendered bi-product, they usually have higher levels of proteins and other nutrients and far less potentially harmful filler although they still contain many types of animal products that are not deemed safe for human consumption.
Wet cat food is made following a computer monitored recipe that is ” cooked ” often right in the cans where commercial stabilization takes place. The additional moisture in wet food is also better for your cat.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT
Blue Wilderness Natures Evolutionary Diet with Chicken and LifeSource Bits for Adult Cat by Blue Buffalo
- High-quality real chicken with healthy complex carbohydrates like peas, potatoes and carrots.
- Includes Blue’s exclusive lifesource bits to support immune system health.
- Helps healthy muscle development, healthy skin and coat and supports immune system.
Others variants of cat food
Meat – You can give your cat raw ox and lamb meat, but not pig meat. Gill or roast the pig meat and not boil it to keep the nutrition and meat juice. It is okay to give your cat some raw meat or grilled or roasted pig meat sometimes. Your cat will enjoy it.
Poultry – Remains of a chicken such as kidney or the rump are great for the cat. Your should not give your cat bird bones, because they shatter easily. The same goes for rabbits.
Eggs – Eggs is a great protein source, but best to cook and chop them in pieces. Never give your cat raw egg whites, because it contains a substance that neutralize an important b-vitamin. Only give your cat 2 eggs a week.
Milk – Not all cats like milk. Never replace water with milk. Some cats cant digest the milk and gets diarrhea.
Cheese – This is a great protein source, either raw or together with something else.
Fish – Fresh fish is great for the cat, fish that are larger than a herring must be chopped and deboned. Mackerel in tomato or sardines in oil is also great; the oil is good for the intestinal system. The cats diet should not only consist of fish.
Vegetables – Meat or fish can be served with cooked potatoes, or other vegetables, it is good for the cat.
Starchy food – Bread and pasta can be used on the same way as the cooked potatoes. You can also give your cat cornflakes, wheat flakes, oatmeal or baby food together with some milk. It is especially great for kittens.
Fruit – Some cats like a piece of fruit sometimes, but not all cats. It is said that many cats loves sweet grapes.
Remember always give your cat a varied diet.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT
Wopet 7L Automatic Cat Feeder with Voice Recording and Play
- The food dispenser apply advanced infrared detection technology to prevent food from spilling and stuck in the hole.
- Measure and pour precise portions, for consistent meals.
- 7 litre capacity for 4 automated feedings per day.
- Top lock design avoid food sprinkle.
- Dishwasher and hygienic feeding tray removable, safe and easy to clean.
