(cat) Food for Thought
Diet Choices for Cats By Dawn Price, Registered Dietitian
Owner of The Natural Dog, Newburyport, MA and Hamilton, MA
food for thought
The natural diet of the feline consists of prey animals that are high in protein, have moderate amounts of fat and little if any carbohydrate. The typical prey animal for a housecat, usually a rat or mouse, consists of approximately 50 to 60% protein, 15 to 30% fat on a dry matter basis and 70 to 80% water.
Let’s compare the feline’s natural diet and nutrient needs to diet choices available today.
Protein:
Cats are obligate carnivores and they must consume primarily animal-based proteins coming from meat and organs in order to meet their nutritional needs. Felines lack the ability to digest plant proteins as efficiently as animal proteins. Obligate carnivores are designed to eat meat/organs not grains/ vegetables. Not all protein is created equal. Plant proteins do not contain the full amino acid profile required by an obligate carnivore.
Some dry foods may contain high levels of plant protein compared to meat protein. Canned foods and raw diets which contain more meat and organs is a better choice than dry foods when selecting a diet optimal in protein. A note about kidney disease and protein: Research demonstrates that diets high in protein have no detrimental effect on the kidneys, and animals with mildly decreased kidney function do not benefit from reduced protein diets. There is evidence that restricting protein may actually slow down the filtering action of the kidneys.
Carbohydrates:
Nutritionally speaking, cats have no dietary need for carbohydrates. In addition, they have a physiological decrease in the ability to utilize carbohydrates due to the lack of specific enzymatic pathways that are present in other mammals, and they lack a salivary enzyme called amylase. A diet high in carbohydrates will predispose your cat to diabetes, obesity, and intestinal
disease. Note that “grain-free” does not always mean “low-carb” since potatoes and peas are often used instead of grains. The average dry food contains 35-50 percent carbohydrate calories. Some of the cheaper dry foods contain even higher levels. Many canned foods and raw diets, on the other hand, contain approximately less than 10 percent carbohydrates.
Moisture:
As previously stated, the cat’s diet should be 70%-80% moisture. Feeding a diet low in moisture will predispose your cat to urinary tract diseases. Dry food only contains 8-10% moisture. Therefore, cats are only consuming 12-15% of their daily water intake if fed an exclusively dry food diet. It is important to note that felines have a low thirst drive so they do not make up for lack of moisture through their drinking water. Canned food and raw diets are very moisture rich and contain adequate moisture levels to help support urinary tract health. Interesting fact: A study of the urine of 198 feral cats eating a natural, raw diet found no evidence of urinary stones in any of the cats.
Dental Health:
Contrary to a popular myth, dry food has no beneficial effect on dental health and there is no scientific support for its use in preventing dental disease. It is often swallowed whole but even if it is chewed, it is brittle and easily breaks apart providing no abrasive force against the teeth. Canned food also does not provide any abrasive force and is no better (but no worse) for dental health when compared to dry food. Brushing your cats’ teeth daily is the best way to keep their mouth healthy.
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What is the best choice for feeding your cat?
When choosing the best diet for your cat, consider one that provides high quality protein coming from animal source, minimal carbohydrate and high moisture content. Raw diets and canned food are excellent diet choices for cats. These diets contain adequate moisture as well as appropriate amounts of protein and fat. Never feed an exclusively dry food diet. If feeding dry food, only use it supplemental with the primary diet containing either raw and/or canned food. Transitioning your cat off a dry diet to a moisture rich diet may be challenging at first. Cats are finicky and it takes many attempts to familiarize them with a new type of diet that is different in texture from what they are used to. Be patient and don’t give up. Eventually they will begin accepting the new diet. A helpful tip is to offer them the new food when they are hungriest. Offer the new food by itself. After a couple hours, you may offer their regular meal if they refuse the new food. Never allow a cat to go without eating. It is dangerous for a cat to go too long without food and can quickly lead to dangerous health issues. Dawn Price has a BS in Nutrition & is a Registered Dietitian. She worked for many years as a dietitian at Massachusetts General Hospital & Lawrence General Hospital. She decided to pursue her passion for animal nutrition & joined the sales team of a large pet food distributor. She was promoted to Sales Manager & was responsible for covering New England & Canadian territories providing nutrition seminars to retail stores & veterinarians. Dawn was also the instructor of Canine & Feline Nutrition at North Shore Community College for many years. She opened her store, The Natural Dog, in 2005.
