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description= A veterinarian explains the basics on properly feed cats which are strict carnivores, and the link between a poor quality diet and common diseases.;
keywords= cat food, cat health, proper cat diet, homemade cat food, feeding cats, cat food recipes, feline nutrition, cat nutrition, strict carnivore, obligate carnivore, dry cat food, canned cat food, dental diet, healthy cat food, healthy cat, cats and grains, cats and carbohydrates, cat obesity, fat cat, feline obesity, cat urinary tract health, feline urinary tract health, feeding cats, nutrition féline, nutrition pour chat, nourriture pour chat, nourriture vétérinaire pour chat, nourriture pour chat sur ordonnance;
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sition value will answer that question this is why it is important to not just consider the list of ingredients but to also look at the cat food composition chart or call the company for the information a good example of the above issue is a food like canned wellness at first glance this food may be dismissed as inappropriate for a carnivore because it contains several high carbohydrate ingredients in the form of fruits and vegetables including potatoes which are very high in starch carbohydrate however the low carbohydrate level 3 5 tells us that the amount of fruits and vegetables is very low again we would like to stay under 10 of calories coming from carbohydrates grains and potatoes should be absent from a cat s diet but unfortunately they are cheap so they are included in many commercial cat foods think profit margin grains potatoes are cheaper than meat stay away from food with gravy and sauces because they usually use high carbohydrate thickeners soy contains phytoestrogens and soy also negatively influences the thyroid gland given how common hyperthyroidism is in the cat soy has no business being in cat food unfortunately soy is a common ingredient used by many pet food manufacturers especially purina because it enhances their profit margin when considering allergies the ingredient list is useful since we don t care how much of the offending ingredient is in the food the bottom line is that we don t want any of the ingredient to be present fish seafood beef lamb corn wheat and soy tend to be the most hyperallergenic ingredients for the cat especially fish seafood by products are always a controversial subject but it makes much more sense to feed animal based by products to a cat than it does to feed grains or potatoes therefore do not shy away from the more economical foods like friskies or 9 lives if you cannot afford the more expensive canned foods without by products i would much rather see a cat eating an all by product canned food than any dry food this is because even the cheaper canned foods have the big three covered 1 high in water 2 usually low in carbohydrates 3 the protein is from animals not plants by products are not necessarily low quality protein sources in fact they can be extremely nutritious however there is more variability when quality is being considered when compared to muscle meat by products are discussed in more detail on the commercial foods page in this section the higher priced canned foods that i referenced above have a muscle meat listed as the first ingredient a muscle meat will be listed as chicken or turkey etc not chicken by products or chicken by product meal or chicken broth or liver chicken meal is technically a muscle meat but the term meal denotes that it has been rendered cooked for a long time at very high temperatures and is lower in quality than meat that has not been as heavily processed a meal product is more commonly found in dry foods by products can include feet intestines feathers egg shells etc which are less nutritious less biologically valuable digestible than meat avoid foods listing liver as a first ingredient example purina s prescription diet dm canned for feline diabetic patients there are far better options available that are healthier and not as expensive liver is a very nutritious organ meat and should be present in small amounts but it should never be the first ingredient as it is very high in vitamin a and possibly d and you don t want to feed too much of those vitamins liver is cheaper than muscle meat so it will increase a company s profit margin when used in high amounts preservatives are important ingredients that we need to pay attention to bha bht and ethoxyquin are extremely questionable in terms of safety please note that hill s has always used bht and ethoxyquin in many of their products although recently i have noticed that these chemicals have been removed from some of their foods be sure to check the current labels other companies abandoned the practice of using these chemicals as preservatives long ago opting for more natural and safer methods also please take note of a recent deceptive move by hill s whereby they have incorporated into their labeling the word maize as a substitute for the word corn maize is corn and since this company is well aware of the fact that consumers are becoming more savvy about pet food ingredients they have decided to try to disguise the corn in their diets by calling it maize hill s is hoping that consumers stay ignorant regarding the fact that maize is corn i do not use products made by hill s including their over the counter and prescription diets since there are always healthier options available willie marketing labels marketing labels such as natural or premium or veterinarian recommended or prescription are not necessarily indicative of high quality so please be careful not to fall into that trap indoor only is another meaningless marketing label that is nothing more than an enticing gimmick this label originally started out in the dry food market but it has now made its way to canned food labels cats did not stop being obligate carnivores just because we put a roof over their heads if you are thinking about feeding any breed specific food please see this link for some straight forward comments about the utterly absurd claims that these companies make regarding these diets a siamese is no different from persian or a maine coon or an alley cat when considering optimal dietary composition no matter the breed the cat is still an obligate carnivore royal canin was one of the first companies to come out with these breed specific diets as a marketing gimmick the labels on hill s over the counter products contain a statement that says veterinarian recommended unfortunately many of my colleagues do indeed recommend products made by hill s as well as purina iams and royal canin and this is a testament to the fact that most veterinarians are not well versed in proper feline nutrition and simply defer to these large companies that have huge marketing budgets these large budgets include substantial sums of money dedicated to sponsoring including very heavy advertising our professional meetings and infiltrating veterinary schools to get students married to their products keep in mind that a large marketing budget does not equate with the manufacturing of high quality or healthy products back to top prescription therapeutic diets let s move on to the veterinarian prescribed diets which are also known as therapeutic or prescription diets while reading this section keep in mind that carbohydrate and fat sources are cheap animal based versus plant based proteins are expensive the importance of corporate profit is given more weight than the manufacturing of high quality species appropriate diets prescription therapeutic diet is a label that is certainly not indicative of a high quality diet or one that is necessary in all cases that they are prescribed for these diets represent an area of the commercial pet food industry that is very misleading and quite frankly a source of embarrassment for this profession many of these very expensive products contain corn wheat soy and peas which have no logical place in your cat s diet these diets are often very high in carbohydrates and of course all of the dry versions are water depleted many of them also contain by products as the main and often only source of protein while by products can be very nutritious and this really is the least of my concerns regarding these diets they are cheaper than muscle meat so one would think that as much as these diets cost the companies could include some muscle meat in addition to by products for a more consistent source of high quality protein see by products on the commercial food page for more details study the ingredient list for hill s dry i d while keeping in mind that cats are obligate carnivores designed to eat foods high in animal based protein moderate in fat and with only 2 carbohydrates this dry food is 29 carbohydrates on a dry matter basis and is of course water depleted which is dangerous for the urinary tract system the ingredients are as follows chicken by product meal brewers rice corn gluten meal whole grain corn pork fat preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid powdered cellulose dried chicken chicken liver flavor the base ingredients and composition mirror those of many dry foods found in pet stores and supermarkets also this is a very good example of the ingredient splitting rule this rule states that ingredients have to be listed very specifically which works in the pet food manufacturers favor it allows the grain fractions to be broken up into smaller components which places them lower on the list since ingredients are listed by weight however when all of the grain fractions are added up their contribution to the diet including the protein content often greatly outweighs the first ingredient i have asked many times on vin veterinary information network the who s who of veterinary specialists from all over the world just what makes this diet worthy of being called a prescription diet for feline gastrointestinal health or for that matter what makes it an optimal diet to feed to any cat i have never received an answer and the vin threads have had hill s representatives participating my questions about the quality and composition of their prescription diets are always met with dead silence it is important to note that most of these diets do not have robust clinical feeding studies supporting their safety for long term feeding or even for use in treating the various diseases they target on the contrary we have plenty of evidence to show that feeding water depleted high carbohydrate plant based diets to carnivores does not honor their carnivorous make up but instead promotes disease in this species it is also critical to understand that there is no independent agency overseeing these diets medical claims none zero including the fda the fox is definitely guarding the henhouse and the fda shows no interest in remedying the situation the fda has punted the responsibility of scrutinizing these diets for efficacy safety and suitability to the veterinarian but most veterinarians are very poorly educated in the area of nutrition this field of study is not emphasized in veterinary schools and the minimal course work that is required is often taught by people who have strong ties to the pet food industry these are also usually the same people who are advising general practitioners on all matters of nutrition after recognizing this situation you will see an obvious and very significant conflict of interest in the end the members of my profession allow hill s purina and royal canin to dictate what ends up in our patients food bowls here is an excerpt from the veterinarian prescribed diets otc options paper that i am working on prescription diet trademark marketing tool creates false perception as an example of the serious lack of regulatory oversight hill s secured trademark status for the term prescription diet in 1990 thus reinforcing the perception that like prescription medications their diets are subject to intense scrutiny and testing however nothing could be further from the truth there is a strong argument to be made that no trademark protection should be granted for any marketing label containing the word prescription given the strong potential to seduce the buyers of these products into a false sense of security growing out of the assumption that anything labeled prescription has been put through multiple layers of regulatory and testing paces if any product including food is allowed to carry a prescription label it needs to be held to the same standards as a prescription medication otherwise the word prescription becomes no more than a marketing label and as such should hold no more credibility than any other marketing slogan to quote the fda cvm communications staff deputy director prescription diet is an industry coined term and holds no legal meaning in other words these diets contain no ingredient that actually requires a prescription the trademarked term prescription diet is simply a clever marketing tool between hill s and veterinarians the sale of these diets is restricted by hill s not by law to veterinarians only in return hill s enjoys a boost in perception of quality brought about by this profession s endorsement of their products however this perception of quality is undeserved and this incestuous relationship jeopardizes the integrity of our profession end excerpt i want to make it clear that probably 99 of all veterinarians who prescribe these diets truly feel that they are doing the best for their patients the companies that manufacture the alphabet diets have done a wonderful job marketing their products to veterinarians making it difficult to refrain from falling into the trap of using them these companies make it very easy for us if a cat comes in with kidney disease we can just grab k d or nf or lp without any critical thinking involved if a cat comes in with a urinary tract problem easy take some c d off the shelf given a veterinarian s busy schedule and stressful life one can see just how seductive the use of the alphabet diets are however contrary to what is often believed by both the veterinarian and the client the therapeutic prescription diets sold in veterinary hospitals are not formulated for optimal health of a carnivore and in many cases are actually detrimental to the patient s health add to this the very high price tag on these diets and we have what i consider to be a very big black eye for the profession the only time i ever use a prescription diet canned s d is discussed here on the urinary tract health page canned s d is occasionally used but only temporarily 2 4 weeks pending re evaluation of the patient the only other exception that i will make is the use of a limited ingredient diet if someone is not able to source a novel protein for a homemade diet or is not willing to prepare their cat s food instead of defaulting to the alphabet diets i use an over the counter diet or formulate a homemade recipe for my patients that leaves more money in the client s wallet and much better nutrition in the cat s food bowl regarding making cat food people often overestimate what it takes to make a nutritious meal for their cat and assume that it means slaving away in the kitchen every day i can assure you that it is much easier than that since 2003 i have spent a few hours in the kitchen 4 6 times a year making food for my cats which is a very small price to pay for the control that i have over what goes into their food bowls i would love to see veterinarians stop being so reliant on the diets they reach for every day and learn the basics of optimal feline nutrition and start considering the use of higher quality lower cost over the counter or homemade diets their patients and 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