Should I feed my cat dry or wet food?

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by Willowy

Cats need animal fat. Humans don't.

It's not really comparable.

It's totally not, Scott.

I'd recommend a look at the Feline-Nutrition.org site. It's chock full of nutritional and health-related information. You mind find the articles, "Your Cat's Nutritional Needs: The Basics" and "Reading a Pet Food Ingredient Label" to be of particular interest.

AC

 

[minka]

Originally Posted by ScottP

Great, does anyone know what the proper %'s are for an "ideal diet"? I still doubt that having less meat based protein and more meat based fat is "better". Once again cats are designed to live off of mice and small birds which seems like both would have very little fat content per protein content. /shrug I am not a mouse nutritionist though.

By-products can't be all bad, I am sure you have eaten hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or some other potted meat which is all made with "by-products". Is that better than lean beef? No. But it is better than eating the fat that was trimmed off of the beef to make it lean. Either way there is a lot of studies that need to be done in pet nutrition and a LOT of work that needs to be done in the pet food industry. Proper labeling would help a lot but without know for sure what the proper amounts of each nutrient would be optimal even good labels would only be marginally helpful.

But I just gave you an example where the canned food Does have more protein than fat. Just because the fat is converted differently doesn't matter.

And just because some of us may have eaten hotdogs before doesn't mean they are good for us. In fact there was a study just posted here that showed eating hotdogs contributed to cancer.

 

[furryfriends50]

Originally Posted by ScottP

Great, does anyone know what the proper %'s are for an "ideal diet"? I still doubt that having less meat based protein and more meat based fat is "better". Once again cats are designed to live off of mice and small birds which seems like both would have very little fat content per protein content. /shrug I am not a mouse nutritionist though.

ScottP, maybe you will find this chart helpful: http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp It has the makeup of many animals, including mice, which is already converted onto a dry matter basis (DMB).

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

ScottP, maybe you will find this chart helpful: http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp It has the makeup of many animals, including mice, which is already converted onto a dry matter basis (DMB).

That's an AWESOME chart, FurryFriends; I used it myself when I first started learning about raw to make sure what I was feeding balanced out where it should. I can't believe I forgot about it!

Great post!

AC

 

[x2006nkg]

I'm just reading this thread now, and wanted to say thank you to everyone for the POVs and information. Very helpful, as I am deciding a feeding plan for my new kitty!