Cat Feeding Recommendations

2012-01-01T20:56:25Z

posted: December 02, 2011 by: McClintock Animal Care Center

The general public, scientists and veterinarians have recommended for years to feed cats like dogs; free choice dry food or meals of dry with some wet. Finally after years of this misaligned thinking, food standards for cats have changed. To understand why our standards have changed, we must understand cats.

Cats are “obligate” carnivores which means they depend on nutrients solely from animal flesh for their survival. They are hunters of meat and would eat small rodents and birds multiple times daily if they were not domesticated. A cat’s stomach is designed for these small frequent meals. Cats get their water from the animals they eat and do not drink much in the wild. They also lack specific digestive enzymes which make them less able to digest and absorb energy from carbohydrates compared to proteins. Due to these facts, we recommend a canned grain free diet with protein as the number one ingredient and that they should eat many small meals throughout the day. Cats can eat dry food, but should get most of their water from wet food rather than drinking.

Our recommendations for feeding cats are as follows:

Feed small frequent meals throughout the day.
Ideally 3+ meals of a GRAIN-FREE canned food.

If it is not possible to do only canned food multiple times throughout the day,
then we recommend keeping a dry grain free food out for your cat at all times.
This allows them to have so they snacks or small meals along with their 2 canned meals a day.

In order for cats to get enough essential fatty acids in their diet
we recommend feeding them 1 can of wild caught canned salmon per week
OR supplementing their diet with pure DHA
(omega 3 fatty acids—we carry a couple of quality products here).

How to Choose the Right Pet Food

2012-01-01T20:41:14Z

posted: December 01, 2011 by: Doctors at McClintock Animal Care Center

4,000 Pet Food Options and Counting

Choosing the Most Appropriate Diet for Your Pet

With over 4,000 pet food options on the market, pet owners need a sensible way to weed through all the crazy amount of information out there. Pet food companies use marketing ploys to convince consumers to buy a product. Unfortunately, advertising is not always truthful, and most commercial diets out there are not safe for our pets. Diet related health issues may not show up immediately, but they can become very serious over time.

Most of the 4,000 foods are ‘AAFCO approved’ (Association of American Feed Control Officials) by following AAFCO guidelines and passing stringent testing. This may sound good, but they are actually very basic guidelines. The stringent testing is required to be performed on only 8 animals over a 6 month period. The guidelines require that “the animal must not die of nutritional related causes or lose more than 15% of their body weight”. As long as 6 of the 8 animals did not die they pass or finish the study, the food is ‘AAFCO approved’. Sadly, this is a pretty arbitrary test for a food that you feed your pet every day for the rest of it’s life. The pet food industry standards do not watch out for your pet’s overall health and well-being.

However, without this testing we actually do know what has worked for hundreds of years of evolutionary trial and error for many similar species. Dogs, cats and their close relatives have been eating carnivore/scavenger food for hundreds of years. Over time, we have not bred our domesticated pets to become wheat or corn-eating animals. We need to remember that their ancestors and current wild relatives live well on carnivorous diets and that they have essentially the same inner workings and gastrointestinal tracts that our domesticated pets have.

In most pet foods, there are too many grains and many unhealthy ingredients, including onions and garlic that are known to be toxic to dogs and cats. Instead of meat-based proteins, many foods have inappropriate protein sources, such as soy. In most maintenance dry foods, 70% of ingredients in the non-protein portion are all carbohydrates. It is true that dogs, cats and other carnivores can eat other foods; they can survive, but they can not thrive on inadequate foods. Animals are suffering from the same maladies as people – obesity, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, and seizures. Our own bad habits of supersized, processed foods and foods high in carbohydrates are creating the same problems in our pets. Just like us, their lives are shortened by the foods they are eating.

In conclusion, carnivore, grain free to low grain diets make animals healthier.

CARNIVORE FOODS FOR DOGS & CATS

NO Corn, NO Wheat, NO Soy

Read ALL the ingredients on the label of pet food, treats, and anything that goes in your pet’s mouth

No wheat or corn in ANY form in food or treats = glutens, spelt, maize, high fructose corn syrup, pasta, etc.

AVOID white potato, garlic and onion, molasses and sugars, alfalfa, and sorghum

Peas, sweet potatoes, beets and other vegetables are good carbs

Try to avoid preservatives, especially BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin that have been shown to have detrimental health effects and possibly cause cancer in people

Avoid foods with large amounts of additives, food colorings, etc.

Avoid foods made in CHINA

Foods with higher protein percentages and GRAIN FREE labels are ideal*

Good options include Wellness, Natural Balance, California Naturals, Evo, Call of the Wild, Solid Gold, Wysong, Merrick, Orijen, Newman’s Own and many others. *Read the labels.

Try Canned Foods:

Prefer wet or canned food over dry food, if tolerated by your pets

Easier to eat and digest

Include an appropriate amount of water already in the food

Beneficial in pets with kidney or other chronic diseases that would benefit from increased hydration

Many canned foods are available without corn or wheat

Treat Guidelines:

Avoid baked and other treats with corn, wheat, and sugars in them

Protein content is not as crucial, unless there are a large number of treats in the diet

Consider freeze-dried chicken, beef, liver, or other meats

Avoid treats made in China

Plain rice cakes and low salt canned or frozen green beans are great low calorie and fun treats

Useful Supplements:

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (high concentrations of DHA & EPA)

From Algae (Algal-source) or purified fish oil to remove Mercury and other heavy metals

Excellent anti-inflammatory functions that can help the skin, liver, kidneys, joints, and heart

Unsweetened canned pumpkin and Metamucil are terrific ‘stool regulators’

Good for constipation & diarrhea

Pumpkin – use 1 Tbsp per 30 pounds 1-2 times a day in food or as a treat

Metamucil – use 1 tsp per meal per 50 pounds

Dental Information:

Dry food is not better for the teeth – it does not ‘chip off tartar’ and can actually contribute to tartar production by sticking to the teeth.

Canned food is not worse for the teeth – animals lick their teeth clean after eating canned food.

Foods & treats low in sticky carbs are best – avoid wheat, corn, soy, and peanut butter.

Brushing the teeth at least 3 times a week, (even with a piece of gauze with pet toothpaste) will help prevent tartar build-up. Daily is best if possible.

Diet Change Recommendations:

When changing foods, be sure to do it SLOWLY – over 10-14 days, a little at a time

i.e. 1st day 10% new food with 90% old food and by the 10th day 90% new food with 10% old food

Unsweetened canned pumpkin (1 Tbsp per 30 pounds) can help to keep stools firm.

Over-cooked white rice (not Minute Rice) that is gloppy (extra water added while cooking) can help firm up stools and encourage eating.

Probiotic to maintain normal/’good’ bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract during the food transition.

We carry Prostora for dogs that contains dehydrated intestinal bacteria in a ‘treat’ form and Forti-Flora for Cats that is in a powder form to mix with the food

Monitor for vomiting, diarrhea, or other GI signs

If a new diet is not working for your pet, go to a bland diet (boiled meat, meat baby food, or overcooked gloppy rice for a few feedings to help to get stools back to normal).

Mesa/Tempe Pet Sitting Expert

Cat Feeding Recommendations

How to Choose the Right Pet Food