Pet Food News

I have fed my cat dry cat food all his life, he is an indoor cat and health if a little over weight. He is now 13 years old and starting to have trouble with hairballs and puking in my room. I want to switch him to healthier canned indoor cat food for old cats. He has always been able to eat whenever and how much he wants with the open food bucket but now i closed the dry food. My question is how often do i feed him a day from the canned food?

This is going to be long, but this is stuff you need to know, so read up.

First, I’m amazed nobody has asked how big the cans are!
Average store-bought canned cat food ranges between 3oz per can, up to approximately 5.5oz per can. Obviously that’s a huge difference, so this isn’t a question of "how many cans", but rather of "how much volume".

However! There’s the QUALITY of food to consider as well, which is what really counts. High-quality canned cat food with real meat as the primary ingredient will require less volume because the cat is able to more efficiently process the moisture and nutrients contained therein without having to pass through filler and grains. This means they will start to feel satisfied sooner, and eat less per sitting.

High-quality canned food is invariably more expensive than low-grade foods with lots of filler, but if health and longevity are you primary concerns, you want cat food with REAL meat (not byproduct) as the 2nd or 3rd ingredient listed at the absolute least.
First ingredient if you can get it.

Now the important part: as a rule of thumb, it’s recommended that for every pound your cat weighs, you should allow 20 to 30 calories of wet food intake. Pay attention to each food’s nutrition information, and you’ll notice that high-quality food actually provides more calories per ounce (you may need to check nutritional details online, as not all manufacturers list the caloric content on their cans), so you cat will have to eat even less again to satisfy his body’ needs.

As an example, take a cat who weighs approximately 10 pounds. If you want to MAINTAIN that weight, feed a solid 25-30 calories per pound, for about 250-300 calories per day. If you want them to lose weight, 20 calories per pound will help, so try to keep it around 200 calories/day.
Bear in mind that kittens, however, are advised to eat approximately twice the amount of calories as compared to adult cats, since they need that extra nutrition and energy to grow.

Lastly - and I cannot stress this enough - contrary to popular consensus, a cat does NOT require dry food. AT ALL. Period.
It does nothing for their health, and can, in fact, cause more harm. A feline’s digestive system is very straightforward and very efficient at extracting nutrients and water from the meat of their prey. This is why high-quality wet food with meat as a primary ingredient is so vitally important…in nature, cats only eat a very, very, VERY small amount of grains, typically less than 1-2% of their daily intake, and they can get that from the minimal grain and meal content present in all canned foods (if you’re an exceptionally dedicated cat owner you can even buy small pads of live pet grass for them to chew, usually for less than 5 bucks at your local pet store).
Excessive grain intake forces the cat to eat more empty calories in order to get the same amount of nutrition (leading to obesity, which can open the door to ailments like feline diabetes). it also makes them drink much more water to compensate for the moisture they are not getting from fresh meats, and this excessive fluid intake can place strain on their urinary system and kidneys, leading to potential renal (kidney) failure.
In short, cats simply are not designed, digestively, to be omnivores.
They are carnivores. Meat-eaters. That is literally all they need, and any vet worth their salt will tell you so. You may have to get your boy’s teeth cleaned about once per year to keep plaque buildup at bay, but that is a recommended yearly practice for ANY pet owner, regardless. Everyone should pay attention to a pet’s oral health, and that’s no different whether they eat dry, wet, or a combination of the two.

Anyway, I know this was a long read but hopefully it all helps a little to point you in the right direction. Calculate how much volume of food your cats needs, portion it out over 2 or 3 servings per day (depending on how much he wants to eat in one sitting), and go for it.
Your cat will be happy you did.

(P.S. - The advice posted by "Dj F" about weaning him off dry food slowly is absolutely true. Start with about 50/50, drop to about 25/75 after a week or so, then go 100% full canned after the 2nd week. This will give your cat plenty of time to get used to the new diet, both psychologically and intestinally.)

My mom feeds my cat human food all the time and now my cat stopped eating cat food at all. He only eats our food. How can I make him eat cat food again. We’ve stopped feeding him food off the table now but he still isn’t eating his food!

if he’s hungry enough, he will eat the cat food

I’d make sure your Mom or someone isn’t still feeding him when your not around.

Price, brand, etc., don’t matter. I want to know what the best, most nutritious, vitamin-filled and beneficial cat food there is. My cat is 3, totally an indoor cat, has problems with hairballs, and will eat whatever (I’ve tried a few different dry and wet foods, all to her liking).

RAW!

Sorry, I get a little excited about raw food.

Cat’s in the wild don’t really have hairballs and it is largely due to their diet. Because raw food is what your cat evolved to eat, it is the healthiest for them. Raw food will help reduce her shedding which will lessen hairballs too.

I really like Primal, Stella and Chewy’s, Nature’s Logic, Bravo and Nature’s Variety raw frozen foods. You can start with something like Sojos dehydrated raw food (it easy to transition to because you can mix it with warm water, whereas raw is usually served thawed but cold). I would find a few different flavors and brands that your cat likes and rotate between them for optimal health.

After switching food, brushing your cat regularly will also help. Try a shedding blade or a Furminator.

My cat Spike was mad!  He is used to eating breakfast around 7:00 a.m., but I did not awake until almost 8:00.  I heard his meowing in the garage and from the sound I knew he was still in his bed, but complaining that breakfast had not been served! He gets loud when he is not fed his Meow Mix on time.

The sight that welcomed me was not pretty.  The vagrant band of raccoons that visit my garage on a regular basis had discovered the buckets of pecans I had picked up during the day.  I had collected more than I had time to process, but this did not bother the raccoons.  They proceeded to crack and shell pecans all over the garage. 

Over the last several years my garage appears to have become a half-way house for raccoons.  They use my cat’s food dish to treat themselves to human food without having to scatter the contents of my garbage can all over the yard.  Spike’s cat food is also more nutritional!

Packed with vitamins and minerals, one of the three raccoons that currently visit almost every night is getting so fat that he can hardly get through the pet door designed for cats.  Spike is partial to the tuna flavor of the cat food, but occasionally he will get the chicken flavor.  It does not matter to the raccoons what the flavor of the day is; they simply devour anything placed in the food dish.

I had not given much thought to leaving the buckets of pecans out in the open, practically inviting any hungry animal to grab as many of the nuts as it could eat. Since our home is near a small woods complete with vegetable gardens on the side, my house is a natural target for a raccoon’s nightly snack. 

In the wild, there’s not much that raccoons won’t eat.  They like grasshoppers, grapes, corn, worms, mice, bird eggs, berries, garden vegetables and walnuts.  I have discovered they also love pecans.  They don’t carry the nuts out of the garage; they just crack them with their teeth and spit the shells all over the floor.

Raccoons are slobs!  If they were standing on the table or the work bench eating a nut, that’s where they would leave their scraps of pecan shells. The tops of the washer and drier were also covered with debris from their midnight scavenging of my pecans.  I can see why Spike ignores the raccoons and tries to sleep through the commotion each night!

Spike has a box, complete with several pillows for comfort, where he sleeps while all this is going on.  The box is on a table in the middle of the garage and he occasionally raises his head over the edge to see what the racket below is all about; that’s the extent of his involvement in the chaos below.

Cats sleep more than humans, about 13 to 16 hours a day.  Spike spends almost two-thirds of his life snoring, without letting hungry varmints disturb that blissful state of relaxation.  When morning comes and his cat food dish is empty from the assault on it from masked bandits, my cat wails almost like a dog.  Unfortunately this is in cat language and sounds really weird.

Normally an early riser, Spike gets impatient when he has to wait on breakfast.  A cup full of cat food, Tuna Surprise, calms him down.  By now the raccoons, like vampires, have retreated from the sun and are peacefully snoozing in their dens.  Once again, all is right with the world.

Bob Alexander
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/midnight-bandits-and-my-cat-spike-750185.html

My cat has irritable bowel syndrome and the vet has suggested Hills dry food for sensitive cats as a way forward to combat his diarrhoea. I just wondered if anyone else had any experience with cats with IBS and what they feed them as im worried my vet may be advising that brand as its the only one they sell! Price isn’t important, it just needs to be super bland! Many thanks!

I have done a raw food diet for my cats for nine years now. In my experience with a number of raw feeding Yahoo groups the problems with IBD in cats frequently resolves in a few days on a raw diet.

It is something you should look into. It is well worth the effort if it "cures" your cat. At the very least try some totally grain-free canned cat food as the grain is what causes the problem with cats. Wellness and Instincts cat food are mostly meat (Instincts has some vegetable matter).

The Hill’s precription diets are poor quality and they all use grains in their formulation as does most any dry food.

It’s unbelievable what you’ll find in commercial cat food these days. In fact, I think it’s ridiculous to call it food at all. Commercial cat food consists mostly of synthetic fillers and grains because they are cheap. As a result of eating such low-quality food, your cat can develop urinary problems because the pH level of his urine is altered and the mineral content in his urine increases. If you want to give your cat food for urinary tract health, steer clear of commercial cat food.

Of all commercial cat food, dry food is the worst. It is grainy and can alter the pH of your cat’s urine, making it easier for bacteria to flourish in the urinary tract. It can also cause the formation of bladder stones because of its high magnesium content. If you want to keep your cat healthy, give him urinary tract health cat food.

You might be wondering what cat food for urinary tract health is. If you want to help your cat have a healthy urinary tract, give him raw, unprocessed food and homemade food. These foods contain no preservatives or artificial ingredients such as flavoring and coloring. You will also want to make sure he gets enough water to drink in order to flush out all of the harmful bacteria and keep his urine from thickening.

What else can you give your cat besides urinary tract health cat food? Cranberry juice and Vitamin C are very helpful in preventing and treating urinary tract problems. Cranberry juice prevents bacteria from adhering to the lining of the bladder and it acidifies the urine. Vitamin C is a natural anti-inflammatory and it strengthens bladder lining.

You may also want to sprinkle a homeopathic remedy into cat food for urinary tract health. Homeopathic remedies are very effective in treating and preventing urinary problems in cats. They are 100% safe and natural and help your cat maintain a healthy bladder, urinary tract, and urine flow.

When it comes to urinary tract health cat food that is free of artificial ingredients should be given to your cat on a regular basis. Don’t just wait until your cat starts to show symptoms of a problem to help him lead a healthier lifestyle. Make all natural, unprocessed food the centerpiece of his regular diet if you want to prevent problems in the future. The same goes for homeopathic remedies, which are effective as treatment but most effective as a preventive step.

Your goal? Take this information and use it to help you plan a healthy diet and lifestyle for your kitty. The hands down best way to treat and prevent urinary problems in cats is by giving them cat food for urinary tract health along with a homeopathic remedy. Make these steps a regular part of your cat’s routine to help him achieve optimal urinary tract health.

Ann Matthews
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/tips-on-giving-your-cat-food-for-urinary-tract-health-750056.html

In the last decades of the 20th century, people were generally hoodwinked into believing that processed and prepared food was better for your health and that of your pets.

Happily, people are now realising that this isn’t the case. More and more people are looking for a healthy diet for themselves and their pets.

When you search for a healthy diet for your cat, you really can’t go past natural cat food. Nature does know best, despite the clamouring of the pet food manufacturers. Of course they clamour - it’s big business.

But it doesn’t mean that the clamouring is based on fact.

So how do you set about finding a natural cat food? You probably have certain criteria, such as:

• it must be easy as you’re busy
• it must be nutritionally complete
• it must satisfy your cat mentally as well as physically
• it must be realistically priced

As the demand increases, businesses will spring up everywhere that offer natural pet food. Some will indeed do their utmost to fulfil this honestly, but sadly, there will always be others who will cut corners on quality and truly natural cat food.

Who do you trust?

The only person you can really trust, when it comes down to it, is you!

But I don’t have the expertise, I hear you say.

No, you may not now. But you can learn. And learn quite fast. All you need to do is to follow natural laws.

Lets look at a wild cats diet first, as that’s the most natural cat food there is.

A cat will kill and immediately eat small animals up to about their own size. This can tell you five important facts:

• the food is very fresh
• the food is raw
• the food is warm
• the food contains bones
• the food is mostly muscle meat and bones, but there are small amounts of offal

I can hear questions forming in your mind - can you really feed cats raw meat? Doesn’t that contain harmful bacteria or parasites? Won’t the bones splinter and  pierce the intestinal tract?

You know, nature doesn’t get things wrong. It’s had a long time to perfect things. If the raw meat and bones in natural cat food created health problems, cats would have died out long ago. But we all know, that given the right conditions, wild or feral cat populations can grow very large.

So yes, raw meat is the healthiest and best natural cat food you can give your cat.

And no, raw bones won’t create problems. It’s cooked bones which can splinter and create all sorts of health issues. But cooked bones aren’t natural, so it’s logical that they have the potential to create mayhem.

And no, bacteria and worms are not a problem for cats.

So nature has got it right. Raw food is best!

Of course, it’s not that simple - nothing ever is, is it? You need to know the right balance, what to supplement and why, how many meals a day, what sort and size of bones are suitable, how to feed growing kittens and pregnant queens, how much offal and what kind, because you can get it wrong and then your cat can suffer the consequences.

And the big question on how to convert an adult cat to raw food - this can be quite a challenge. It’s not dissimilar to the concept of raising your kids on fast food, then telling them it’s all raw fruit and veggies from now on. You’re likely to have a riot on your hands!

However, once you get the hang of doing it yourself, it’s a doddle. And the best thing about it, is that the health of your cat will steadily improve to the best it’s ever been. And the spin off from that is much lower health professional fees.

Don’t you just love a win-win situation?

Madeleine Innocent
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/natural-cat-food-do-it-yourself-easily-and-quickly-750802.html

cat

Duration : 28 min 29 sec

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Hello,

I have a 7 year old, neutered male cat. Should I start feeding him senior formulated cat food? I also have a 4 year old female. She would be too young to eat senior food. I free feed them by putting their daily amount of food in their bowls and leaving it out all day. So, would it make a difference if I feed him senior food? He will probably snack on her food, and she on his.

Thank you.

I really wouldn’t worry at this stage. If something arises during the annual vet trips, then it can be addressed.

My cats range from over 141/2 years to slightly over 2 years in age. They all get the same food, and they are all doing fine.

When I was at home we had a cat that lived to be over 23 years, and he didn’t have any different diet than when he was young.

cat recovering from infection

Duration : 4 min 33 sec

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