Proper Nutrition for our Feline Friends



Who doesn't want the best for our furry friends? 

Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation about feline diets that can have disastrous consequences for our pets. Most of the incorrect information we cat owners fall victim to seems to stem from corrupt pet food companies that would rather rationalize using low-quality ingredients, fillers, and problematic macronutrient ratios that harm cats in order to make money than release proper information that ensures a healthy, happy life for our feline friends.



Let’s start off by taking a look at the biology and history behind domestic cats:






Anatomy of Felis Catus (Male) (1)



The house cat is one of humanity’s oldest friends.  Characterized by a flexible body, springy hind leg muscles, amazing night vision, sharp, scissor-like teeth, sharp claws, and amazing balance, it is obvious this animal is built to be an obligate carnivore.  Cats differ from most meat-eating creatures in that they are obligated to consume meat to survive.  Part of the reason for this has to do with the diets of their ancestors. Somewhere along the line, obligate carnivores lost the ability to create certain essential compounds: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, and most importantly, taurine.  Cats actually rely on their prey’s digestive system to create these amino acids from plants, which then become part of the flesh of said herbivores.  Although certain unethical companies and organizations, which I will leave unnamed in this post, will try and lead you to believe otherwise, cats who are missing these essential compounds in their diets will begin to have serious, often fatal health problems.  This is why a vegetarian diet is never suitable for a cat.





Need more proof? Take a look at the feline digestive tract.




Carnivores tend to have short, highly efficient digestive tracts while herbivores have longer, more complex ones in order to house a greater range of fermenting digestive flora that will break down plant matter such as fiber in order to create essential compounds like taurine from amino acids such as methionine and cysteine.  As you can see above, the feline a digestive tract is short and therefore built to process meat.


Fiber:
Interestingly enough, fiber is an unnecessary and even harmful component of many cat foods.  In the wild, the feline diet consists of less than 1%.  So why do pet food companies fluff up their cat food with so much of this useless ingredient?  An excess amount has been shown to decrease the absorption of pancreatic enzymes, decreasing the utilization of nutrients in felines.  This is why cats with pancreatic insufficiency do best on low-fiber diets.  Strange, isn’t it?  Fiber is such an essential part of the human and canine diet, you would think it would also be vital for cats. 

Raw bone material in a feline’s digestive tract actually works similar to fiber in an omnivore’s.  On top of that, it contains essential minerals such as calcium and can help keep your cat’s gums and teeth healthy. It has been proven that domestic cats need to use their powerful jaws in order to keep themselves psychologically stimulatedor risk mental distress.  Chewing kibble does not provide the same stimulating experience.  It is also important to note that although cooked bone can splinter and cause painful complications in animals, raw bone does not. 

I do not give my cat "Greenies" treats, which have been linked to horrible health problems and even death in pets, and have started using raw bone-in-meat to keep my cat’s teeth and gums healthy.


Carbohydrates:
Humans tend to find comfort in high-carbohydrate foods, so it is only natural for them to want the same for their feline companions.


Cats actually don’t have the taste buds required to taste sweetness or derive pleasure from carbohydrates, but they do have the capability to taste taurine, which they actually can enjoy like a human enjoys sugar.  Furthermore, felines are simply not built to tolerate insulin spikes, and therefore suffer certain consequences when chronically exposed to carbohydratesWhether or not diseases such as obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, and pancreatitis are a direct result from feline carbohydrate consumption is a matter of hot debate, it is agreed upon that chronic carb consumption promotes an unnaturally large insulin release in cats that can promote excess calorie consumption and fat storage, which can both cause very serious health problems.  


That is not to say that cats don't have a biological need for glucose.  They do not, however, have a dietary need for it.  Felines, like humans, can create glucose through an amazing biological process called gluconeogenesis, where glucose is synthesized from amino acids.  Thanks to this, the feline body produces enough glucose to meet biological requirements without actually needing to consume it.


Any pet food company that tells you that the information above is incorrect is either horribly misinformed or lying to you so they can justify using cheap fruit, vegetable, and grain fillers in their products.  No matter the reason, this is animal abuse.  Absolutely unacceptable, if you ask me.

Here is a small but interesting article about the unique nutritional requirements of cats by J.E Bauer, if you are interested in learning more about it.  

Kitty death sentence, pictured above


Dry food has no place in a cat’s diet.  Besides needing a high carbohydrate content in order to get the kibble shape and consistency, which causes problems on its own, dry food has no moisture in it.  Since cats are desert creatures and have little to no thirst response, they rely heavily on the moisture they get from their food.  

"But my cat drinks a lot of water after eating dry food."

If your cat is drinking a lot of water, it may be sign that something is very wrong.  They may be suffering from chronic, low-level dehydration that can cause a myriad of problems such as kidney stones and even failure in the long run.  

Nobody wants that for their feline friend.

Let's look at chicken and beef muscle as an example for the ideal moisture content for foods in the feline diet.  According to the USDA, moisture content in raw chicken and beef muscle ranges from 66% to 73%.  This is in contrast to the low, <10% moisture content of dry kibble.  You can already see why this is a problem.  This is why any wet cat food is better than even the highest quality kibble.  


You can see why it is very important to not only feed your cat the proper macronutrient profile (high protein, moderate fat, and very low carbohydrate).  For example, a whole rabbit carcass, a meal a cat would hunt for in the wild, contains around 64% crude protein, 15% crude fat, high moisture and a negligible carbohydrate level. 

It is also important to feed your cat the proper amount of calories daily.  Many cat owners believe it is okay to allow their pets free access to food, but the fact is cats have a very hard time properly controlling their own food intake.  Compounded by unnatural insulin spikes from carbohydrate-rich foods, it's no wonder pet obesity is on the rise.




When you begin to understand the dietary causes and health consequences of pet obesity, you will quickly understand why it is neither cute nor funny to have an overweight feline friend.  It is unfortunate, but obesity is quickly becoming the number one threat to pet health in America.  Your cat relies on you, and nobody else, to keep him or her healthy.  Do the right thing:  Do your research and make sure you are feeding your cat the ideal feline diet!



Picture courtesy of epsos.de


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Comments

  1. Yep! Our pets can't speak for themselves. It's our job to do the research so we can do what's right for them. Info out there is simply not complete, not correct and down right misleading ... sad but true! Fantastic article filled with very important info. Gracias!

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  2. Outstanding information, being aware of all the poor nutritional information for humans, one could only imagine the abuse that goes on for pet nutrition. Pets are not able to communication their likes, dislikes or needs. Pets are stuck with what ever their owners decided what is healthy for them based on the misleading marketing information.

    Thank You

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