I was reading a book on cats called Your Cat: Simple new secrets to a longer, stronger life, by Elizabeth M. Hodgkins. It gave me a brand new 360 degree view on how much nutrition (or how much not) our cats are really getting from dry food and some canned foods. It completely took me by surprise, especially on the dry food.
To sum it up cause this post could be pages long....
for cat food to as closely replicate what cats eat in the wild nutrition wise (ideally) (for canned food I think) cat food should have high protein amounts ideally above 40%, moderate amounts of fat at 25-35%, and low carbohydrate amount at below 10%. Beef is the best choice ingredient followed by rabbit then chicken.
Dry food usually has 20-35% protein at most, 10-20% fat, and 25-50% carbohydrates. Most average dry food foods have even less fat and protein than listed here unless you pay quite a bit for them.
I checked my can of beef flavor Friskies canned food my cats eat and the Protein was at 9%, and Fat at a measly 2%. So basically my cats are severely lacking enough amounts of protein and with such low fat the food doesnt really fill them up much so they have to eat a lot to feel full.
The Author is 100% against feeding ANY dry food, stating it's the equivalent of feeding your kids sugary cereal like Lucky Charms all day with a few vitamins/minerals added. The Carbohydrates are the main ingredient like corn and rice and that breaks down to sugar not to mention doesnt fill your cat up very well, with chicken and beef and fish in very low quantities, focusing mainly on the beef which is great in protein. It's no wonder diabetes and overweight cats are so common! Not to mention cats, being mainly descendents of a desert dwelling species, get most of there water from their prey, and yet there is salt added in the dry cat food, which makes your cat drink more water than usual. And the greens, really no purpose than to add to the marketing price, though IMO SOME greens are good to replicate the food cats prey would eat, just not in huge quantities.
The Author suggests to feed raw/cooked beef/chicken, and ONLY canned cat food, to look for ones with the most protein and fair amount of fat, but not too much of fat. Meat baby food works good too as a treat or with canned food. And as treats, suggests freeze-dried meat treats. (Me personally, i've heard of them but never bought them.)
Nutrition charts of various foods (average listing)
"regular" dry food- protein-34% fat-22% carbohydrate-38%
premium canned food- protein- 42% fat-24% carbohydrate-28%
raw rabbit- protein-66% fat-4.5% carbohydrate-3.8%
raw chicken- protein-53% fat-27% carbohydrate-1% or less
turkey organ meat- protein-66% fat-11% carbohydrate-16%
beef heart- protein-66% fat-14.4% carbohydrate-9%
rat carcass- protein-55% fat-38% carbohydrate-2-3% average (in other words healthiest meal and nutrition to wild diet!)
So, with all this said, what should cats really be eating?
One of my cats is 5 pounds overweight, loves canned food and dry food equally. The other seldom eats canned food so mostly eats dry food, is slightly overweight, and drinks a TON of water.
To sum it up cause this post could be pages long....
for cat food to as closely replicate what cats eat in the wild nutrition wise (ideally) (for canned food I think) cat food should have high protein amounts ideally above 40%, moderate amounts of fat at 25-35%, and low carbohydrate amount at below 10%. Beef is the best choice ingredient followed by rabbit then chicken.
Dry food usually has 20-35% protein at most, 10-20% fat, and 25-50% carbohydrates. Most average dry food foods have even less fat and protein than listed here unless you pay quite a bit for them.
I checked my can of beef flavor Friskies canned food my cats eat and the Protein was at 9%, and Fat at a measly 2%. So basically my cats are severely lacking enough amounts of protein and with such low fat the food doesnt really fill them up much so they have to eat a lot to feel full.
The Author is 100% against feeding ANY dry food, stating it's the equivalent of feeding your kids sugary cereal like Lucky Charms all day with a few vitamins/minerals added. The Carbohydrates are the main ingredient like corn and rice and that breaks down to sugar not to mention doesnt fill your cat up very well, with chicken and beef and fish in very low quantities, focusing mainly on the beef which is great in protein. It's no wonder diabetes and overweight cats are so common! Not to mention cats, being mainly descendents of a desert dwelling species, get most of there water from their prey, and yet there is salt added in the dry cat food, which makes your cat drink more water than usual. And the greens, really no purpose than to add to the marketing price, though IMO SOME greens are good to replicate the food cats prey would eat, just not in huge quantities.
The Author suggests to feed raw/cooked beef/chicken, and ONLY canned cat food, to look for ones with the most protein and fair amount of fat, but not too much of fat. Meat baby food works good too as a treat or with canned food. And as treats, suggests freeze-dried meat treats. (Me personally, i've heard of them but never bought them.)
Nutrition charts of various foods (average listing)
"regular" dry food- protein-34% fat-22% carbohydrate-38%
premium canned food- protein- 42% fat-24% carbohydrate-28%
raw rabbit- protein-66% fat-4.5% carbohydrate-3.8%
raw chicken- protein-53% fat-27% carbohydrate-1% or less
turkey organ meat- protein-66% fat-11% carbohydrate-16%
beef heart- protein-66% fat-14.4% carbohydrate-9%
rat carcass- protein-55% fat-38% carbohydrate-2-3% average (in other words healthiest meal and nutrition to wild diet!)
So, with all this said, what should cats really be eating?
One of my cats is 5 pounds overweight, loves canned food and dry food equally. The other seldom eats canned food so mostly eats dry food, is slightly overweight, and drinks a TON of water.
