Nutrition for inside cats

Hi all, 

I'm new here and I've got a six month old male ragdoll who is a completely inside cat. I've been feeding him a diet of predominantly dry food while (very) occasionally he gets raw bones to eat. 

Can anyone give their opinions on this diet, and, also if there's anything I should avoid feeding him as an inside cat? 

Thanks,

From a caring Dad of one.

All healthy cats need the same diet, wet and meaty. Cats do well on a high animal protein, moderate fat, little to no carb diet. Being indoor and neutered changes the number of calories needed, not the diet itself. Activity level also determines the number of calories needed.

The diet you are feeding is a little strange to me. I don't believe that dry food should be a part of a cat's diet. Maybe as supplemental food for growing kittens, or as a snack, but as a major part of the diet? Absolutely not. Dry food is overly processed, too high in carbs and lacks the moisture that cats need. If you would like to learn more about feline nutrition and its role in common health issues, please go to www.catinfo.org.

As for the raw bones, as long as it's less than 15% of his total diet, you don't need to be worried about balancing it, but if he is eating the bones, I would be concerned that he's getting too much calcium in his diet. What is the purpose of the raw bones in his diet?

If he likes the raw bones, would you consider an all raw diet? You will need to learn how to balance it to ensure it's nutritionally complete, but it's not hard. There is a great raw feeding forum on this site.

  Vball and I both feed raw, and so, naturally, we're advocates for that , but, seriously, if you don't want to go that route, canned, preferably grain free, or at the very least, low carb, is the next best thing for any cat, inside or outside either. 

I realize in Australia getting commercially prepared nutritionally complete raw meals is somewhat of a challenge, but if you are the least bit interested, come on over to the raw forum and we'll help you out.  We've got a couple of folks over there from Australia who've already checked out the best places to buy food .  Here's the forum link, if you're interested  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-feeding-for-cats