How to Feed Your Cat

We recommend a whole food diet over processed food. Generally, a biologically appropriate raw food diet is our first choice for cats. In an attempt to make it easier for people who wish to home prepare a diet for their cats I have boiled down the basics to a percentage formula:

80% - animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, raw bones)
10% - organ meats
10%- vegetables and other plants

Animal Products

Meat – beef, lamb, venison, rabbit, turkey, chicken etc. (do not feed fish of any species)
Dairy – yogurt (goat milk yogurt is more digestible), raw milk. Although dairy is not commonly fed to cats I have seen cats benefit from a small addition of raw milk and yogurt.

Organ Meats

Kidney and liver are the most readily available. Our Multiglandular supplement is another easy way to provide organs and glands to the diet.

Vegetables and Other Plants

Try to rotate various vegetables so your cat has a good source of fiber to help move food through the digestive tract and feed beneficial flora in the large intestines that require insoluble fiber to maintain colon health.

*[Important] Calcium – this is a critical nutrient that MUST be added to a home-prepared diet to ensure balancing out the phosphorous in the meat for the proper calcium to phosphorous ratio. If feeding a raw diet then raw bones (bones should not be cooked because they can splinter) will do the trick. If you are cooking the diet (or are a raw feeder uncomfortable with bones) then our Natural Bone Calcium is an easy way to add the nutrient profile found in whole bone to the diet.

Adding additional calcium is not necessaary if feeding a commercially prepared/packaged diet as these companies already add a calcium source.

Daily Multi Plus – Our whole food multi vitamin includes our digestive enzyme & Probiotic blend along with New Zealand glandulars and multi-nutrients from USDA Certified organic plants.

Omega fatty acidsNordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet

For those who home preparing is not an option (although in severe illnesses it might be a good idea even if just for the short term) the following are some companies that make prepared diets in various categories that do an above average job:

Recommended Diets for Cats

For those who home preparing is not an option (although in severe illnesses it might be a good idea even if just for the short term) the following are some companies that make prepared diets in various categories that do an above average job:

Raw Food Diets

Pros

  • Feature whole food nutrients, usually in the form of a biologically appropriate ratio for cats. We do not recommend those “complete” diets with added synthetic vitamins and minerals. If you like, add a high-quality, whole food vitamin supplement such as our Daily Multi Complete that provides enzymes, probiotics with high-quality, natural vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

  • Nutrients are in a form easily recognized and utilized by the body

  • Maintains healthy gastric hydrochloric acid levels for proper digestion

  • No high-glycemic carbohydrates so animals fed these diets usually maintain a healthy weight and avoid disease related to fluctuating blood sugar levels

  • Have appropriate moisture content so animals fed these diets avoid urinary and kidney diseases experienced by cats fed dry kibble and high carbohydrate canned food diets

Cons

  • Some people have a concern with bacteria that may be present in raw pet food. With proper raw meat handling this fear is baseless. The following is my educated response:

    The natural pH level of a cat’s stomach is a pH of 2 or lower. Pathogenic bacteria need a pH above 4 to survive and multiply. So pathogenic bacteria will be killed by gastric secretions in a healthy cat’s stomach. When fed a processed diet a cat’s stomach pH can rise to a pH of 4 and above. This makes pets fed kibble and canned foods much more susceptible to bacteria than raw fed cats. This is shown in the number of animals that have been sickened by kibble and canned food diets and the resulting recalls. When you think back to the number of recalls and the thousands of animals that have died or become sickened, what was responsible? The answer is kibble and canned food diets.

  • These diets can of course be more expensive for obvious reasons – they use real meat and other ingredients – a BIG difference in quality for sure!

Raw, whole food diets can change a cat’s life, we have personally witnessed this numerous times, so the next time you hear the fear mongering from your veterinarian or a friend or neighbor, realize one thing. Their fear of raw food diets for dogs and cats is based in ignorance.

Recommended Raw Food Diets

Small Batch Pets (www.smallbatchpets.com)

Feline Natural (www.k9natural.com/about-feline-natural)

Aunt Jeni’s Homemade (www.auntjeni.com/)

Any other raw food diet you may find locally made with high-quality, human-grade ingredients in a biologically appropriate ratio for cats that does not use synthetic vitamins or other additives.

Dehydrated Diets

Pros

  • A high-quality dehydrated diet is the next best alternative for those that absolutely will not feed a raw food diet.

  • Maintain a better, less processed nutrient content than kibble or canned diets.

  • Easier to digest than kibble pet foods.

  • Reconstitutes (absorbs water) better than freeze-dried foods.

Cons

  • They are still processed (the meat is heated to 170 degrees or more) although less so that kibble and canned diets. They are not “like raw” as some marketing has indicated.

  • Many use synthetic vitamins.

  • One that we know of sources all ingredients from China (we do not sell this food), so research the company thoroughly beforehand.

  • Not many varieties for cats

  • Using an enzyme formula is important because heating destroys digestive enzymes

Recommended Dehydrated Diets

The one we are familiar with, and have used, is the Honest Kitchen Prowl. Be aware that it does utilize synthetic vitamins. There may be better options available of which we are not aware.

The Honest Kitchen Prowl (www.thehonestkitchen.com/)

Kibble Diets

Pros

  • Convenience

Cons

  • Moisture content is too low, especially for cats!

  • Usually low in protein and high in carbohydrates. The opposite of what cats need to thrive.

  • The vast majorities don’t use human quality ingredients and are made with Four-D animals.

  • Processed food diets no longer contain digestive enzymes and naturally occurring beneficial bacteria and other important nutrients because of the high heat used

  • Supermarket quality foods are high in grains and other fillers. Many grain free diets must use starches, such as potato, as a binder, that is a high glycemic carbohydrate and some animals may have difficulty digesting it properly

  • Using an enzyme formula is important because cooking destroys digestive enzymes

Recommended Kibble Diets

Take a look at Open Farm for their superior sourcing of ingredients - https://www.openfarmpet.com/

Canned Diets

Pros

  • Convenience

  • High-quality, meat-based, canned diets are an alternative for consumers that don’t wish to feed a raw food diet because of the higher moisture content found in canned diets compared to kibble. But cooked food diets are not optimal for cats – see Pottenger’s study above.

Cons

  • Most commercial brands are grain-based and low in meat content

  • Many can liners contain hormone-disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA)

  • The vast majorities don’t use human quality ingredients and are made with Four-D animals

  • Processed food diets no longer contain digestive enzymes and naturally occurring beneficial bacteria and other important nutrients because of the high heat used

  • Many contain fillers and soy based palatability enhancers (MSG)

  • Many are going to contain synthetic vitamins

  • Using an enzyme formula is important because cooking destroys digestive enzymes

Recommended Canned Diets

There are so many out there. Select the canned foods with the highest meat content, least amount of fillers, no synthetic vitamins (when possible) and all, or the majority of, the nutrition comes from whole food sources. If they are packaged in BPA-free cans then all the better. Two ingredients to avoid or limit - fish and kelp - as both can negatively affect the thyroid gland.

ZiwiPeak - Does not contain liner with BPA (non-fish varieties)

Feline Natural

Nature’s Logic - Does not contain liner with BPA

Freeze Dried Diets

Pros

  • Freeze drying can retain important nutrients close to their original nutritional state. They also offer storage and shipping convenience.

Cons

  • These diets are extremely dry, much more so than even kibble or dehydrated diets. They also do not rehydrate well so even if you mix in water the food will fail to thoroughly absorb the moisture all the way through. This can lead to a chronic low level of dehydration in your cat which can contribute to kidney damage and nutrient malabsorption. If you choose to feed these diets we recommend that you put it through the blender or food processor with water to insure thorough rehydrating prior to feeding.

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