Cat Food

Which foods are better for cats – dry or wet?

Both dry and wet cat foods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let us enumerate them first.

The dry foods, known alternatively as kibble, contain all the necessary ingredients that cats need in the form of solid pellets. These are small enough to be put in the cat's mouth several at a time. Kibble is preferred by most people because it is convenient to store and less messy to handle. It lasts longer too. If the cat doesn't eat it, it can be simply put back into the packet for later use. Kibble is definitely cheaper than wet cat food. Some people also say that dry foods are better for the cat's teeth because the biting action helps them to make the teeth stronger and healthier.

Wet cat food is canned food containing things fish like to eat in almost their original forms, in water suspensions. People say that the water content makes it more nutritive, because cats do require a lot of water to remain healthy. But the skepticism is that these wet foods can produce goiter in cats due to the presence of bisphenol-A. Also, wet foods are short lived and expensive. You have to use it up within a few hours of opening the can, after which it will become inedible.

Now that you know the comparisons between the two kinds of foods, you can choose better for your own cat. My tip is that you use kibble predominantly when traveling with your cat because of the convenience of storing it. When at home, you can alternate between a good brand kibble and canned food, as per convenience.

Are vegetarian and vegan diets good for cats?

Cats are predominantly carnivorous creatures. Their digestive system is quite well equipped to digest and assimilate flesh foods, including meat and fish. In the wild, cats will eat only flesh foods. But when domesticated, cats can adapt to eat vegetarian and vegan diets.

However, it must be noted that a pure vegetarian diet will kill the cat. Cats need a substance called taurine supplemented through their diet. Taurine is extremely necessary to facilitate several metabolic processes of the cat. In the absence of this substance, cats can suffer from heart failures, immune disorders, sterility, and if they reproduce, they will pass on congenital defects in their kittens.

Deficiency of taurine can also cause blindness and deafness in the cats. In worst cases, this deficiency could lead to death. Now, taurine is present only in flesh foods, such as in fish, rodents and little birds, all things that cats eat naturally. There are only trace amounts of taurine present in plant foods. That is why, cats cannot thrive on a pure vegetarian diet, unless you supplement it with specific cat requirements, including taurine.

Can cats be fed dog food?

Absolutely not! The digestive system of cats is very different from the digestive system of dogs. There are at least four important reasons why this should not be done:-

• Dogs can make their own taurine, hence their foods do not contain this substance. Cats will perish without taurine.
• Cats require more proteins than dogs do. Hence their foods contain more added proteins.
• Cats cannot prepare vitamin A from beta-carotene as dogs can. Dog foods contain beta-carotene, but cats require other sources to get their supply of vitamin A.
• Cats cannot prepare arachidonic acid from linoleic acid as dogs can do. Arachidonic acid is an essential fatty acid for all mammalian nutrition. Cats that are fed dog food lack this essential acid.

What human foods must never be fed to cats?

There are many foods that cats cannot eat, and in fact, they can be harmful to cats. That is the prime reason why cats must not be fed human foods randomly. Cats cannot eat onions, which is very common in human food. Both onions and garlic can cause a type of anemia, known as Heinz Body Anemia in cats. Chocolates are toxic to cats because of the presence of theobromine in it. Avoid feeding cats coffee, tea and any caffeine containing products. Due to their alkaloid contents, refrain from feeding tomatoes and raw potatoes to your cat too. Cats should also stay away from all kinds of grapes. Mushrooms can be fatal to cats, too.