You are what you eat, and this is equally true for the cats that depend on us for "room and board."
Indeed, cat food is one of the most important expenses of feline guardianship, next to veterinary care.
It is important also to note that proper diet can eliminate or delay veterinary expense for a number of serious medical conditions.
Cats' Basic Nutritional Needs
Protein from a meat, fish, or poultry source
Taurine, an essential amino acid
Certain other vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fatty acids
Water
That's it, basically.
Cats do not need carbohydrates, although corn, wheat, and/or rice are used as fillers for both canned and dry cat foods.
Other ingredients, such as binders, flavoring, and coloring, are added by cat food manufacturers to satisfy the aesthetic wants of the consumer.
Although preservatives are necessary, to keep foods fresh for our cats, canned food should not be allowed to remain out for any length of time, in any case.
Canned food or Kibble?
Many nutritionists agree that cats should get a variety of food, both dry and canned, for several reasons:
While dry food is convenient, and can be left out for "free feeding,"
Canned food contains water, and many cats do not drink water regularly
To ensure that your cat gets the right amount of nutrients. That "near-perfect" food you've selected might be adding too little (or too much) of certain minerals and/or vitamins.
Cats may actually become bored with the same food day in and day out, and simply quit eating. Face it, would you enjoy pizza morning, noon, and night, for years?
To head off possible allergies to certain ingredients. Cats (like humans) develop allergies over a period of time. Although the incidence of food allergies in cats is rare, cat owners might want to err on the side of caution, particularly if their cats have shown evidence of allergies in the past.
To prevent "food addictions." The Whole Cat Journal, in its October, 2001 issue, cites the case of a cat that was addicted to a particular flavor of a particular brand of cat food, right down to a specific factory and lot number! This kind of addiction can be difficult to deal with when that last can is gone, but can be easily avoided by feeding a variety of foods from the start.
This doesn't mean that Fred should get a different food every day, but a high-quality dry food, supplemented with two or three varieties of canned food will add spice to his diet and keep him from becoming "Finicky Fred."
