What brand of food is best?

There are three grades of cat food commercially available:

Premium foods 

These foods are “premium” because of the high quality of the ingredients and because of the incorporation of the most up-to-date nutritional research into the diets.  These manufacturers actually test the ingredients prior to using them in the diets.  The premium foods cost more, but you feed less of these foods than the other types because they are so digestible.

Most of these foods can only be purchased in a veterinary clinic or pet store. 

Good foods 

These are foods that are made by well-known pet food manufacturers, but do not necessarily meet the strict standards of the premium foods.  These foods are perfectly adequate for your cat and are good for people and cats on a budget.

These foods are the name brand cat foods found in grocery stores and the large discount stores. 

Poor foods

These are the store brand diets.  They are made from ingredients that the other manufacturers reject.  They are cheap for a reason – they are of poor quality and low digestibility.  We do not recommend these foods for your cat.

Dry vs. Canned

New research suggests that canned food may be better than dry food for cats.  Canned food is more of a “natural” diet for a cat since it has more protein and less carbohydrate than dry food.  We currently recommend feeding your cat both dry and canned food.

It has been shown that if a kitten is raised on a premium quality dry and canned food, then he or she will not be finicky as an adult cat.

Note: Some of the gourmet- type canned foods are addicting to your cat.  This becomes a problem if your cat ever needs a special diet. 

Please see Canned or Dry for more information.

How much should I feed and how often?

The average adult 10-lb cat should eat 1/4 cup of dry food and 3oz. can per day, divided into two equal feedings.  If feeding only dry or canned food, then amounts would be 1/2 cup of dry food or 6 oz. canned food per day. 

- Canned food should be fed at mealtimes and dry food can be left out for the “nibblers”.

- The amount will vary depending on the individual cat and the quality of the food fed.

- Kittens should be fed dry and canned kitten food “free choice” (as much as they want) until 10-12 months of age.

 Try to avoid overfeeding.  Do not feed the recommended amounts on your bag of cat food.  The amounts recommended on bags of cat food are based on young, un-neutered cats who required about 30% more calories than a neutered or spayed adult cat.

Other feeding tips:

- Fresh water should be available at all times.

- Discard uneaten food each day. Discard uneaten canned food after 2 hours or less.

- Wash food and water bowls at least weekly.

- Limit treats to less than 10% of your cat’s total diet.

- Do not feed bones or table scraps to your cat.

- Milk is not necessary and can cause diarrhea, as some cats are lactose-intolerant.

- Cats are carnivores and cannot survive on vegetarian diets!

On the other hand, an exclusive diet of meat or fish is also unhealthy, since it is unbalanced.  In the wild, cats eat the entire carcass of their prey, including all organs, and the plant contents of the gastrointestinal tract, which gives them a balanced diet.

- Raw fish is unhealthy, since it can cause a life-threatening deficiency of the vitamin thiamin.

- Dog food is nutritionally incomplete for your cat.  It is lacking in essential nutrients and is too low in protein and fat.

- Natural diets are probably ok for your cat as long as you buy only enough for one month and store them properly.  These diets have no preservatives and go rancid quickly.

- Hairball diets help many cats who suffer from hairballs.

- When changing diets, switch gradually over the course of 1-2 weeks.

- Be careful about overfeeding!  Some cats that are fed “free choice” will control their intake and not gain weight, but others will overeat and become fat (see our cat Buddy).

 Some cats overeat out of boredom.  You can prevent this by spending at least 15 minutes per day interacting with your cat in ways other than feeding, e.g. playing, brushing, and/or petting.  The website www.indoorcat.org has ideas for keeping your indoor cat healthy and happy.

Ask us for advice on dietary supplements, feeding your senior cat, prescription diets,

or any other nutritional questions you may have.