Nutritional Basics - Food and Water

Cats are hunters, by nature, and in the wild, much of their time and energy was devoted to hunting. Cats are carnivorous, meaning meat eaters.

There are several types of food available to us for the feeding and good health of our cat companions. From canned, dry, semi-moist, to raw diets, it is out there and available to us for purchase. Just choose wisely.

Speaking of wise choices, while we are on the subject of such basics as food and water, let's take a moment to discuss what to provide these essentials in. The water bowl, food bowl, and dish for wet/canned food. Please save yourself the headache and concern right now and only purchase stainless steel or clear glass bowls and dishes for feeding and watering. There is just too much written about the risks of long-term exposure to plastics and food or water left sitting in it. Clear glass bowls and dishes can easily be found and very cheaply at a dollar store or thrift store. Just remember that it needs to be clear glass. Plates, bowls, and dishes that have patterns on them can contain lead.

DRY FOOD Always leave some dry food available with clean water. Always. What kind of dry food, you may ask. Since having a cat live for so long after using high-grade foods and skipping annual vaccines, I strongly advocate feeding a better quality dry food such as Petguard, Wellness, or Blue. If you take some time to stand in the aisles and read some labels at Petsmart, Petco, or Pet Supermarket, you will notice a very sharp difference in the ingredients versus ingredients in Friskies, Purina, and the like. More and more, I am leaning toward foods containing cranberries as it would appear that urinary tract infections are so prominent in cats. I haven't personally encountered more than two infections; however, it may be because I am so conscious of this condition that seems to be so frequent in cats of others.

Also, I recommend reading the label on the food and measuring out what the label states is the proper amount to feed each day (usually based on your cat's body weight). In doing this, your cat will maintain a hunger drive, instead of overeating throughout the day and then turning its nose up at its dinner. Keeping a feeding schedule (measuring out dry food on your way out the door to work each day) and then feeding wet food in the evening will meet your cat's need to be on a schedule and reduce finicky behaviors. NOTE: I said measure that dry food out in the AM on your way out the door so that you are not being woken up by a cat who thinks you are late or have forgotten to give them their daily dose of dry food that day. Cats are without fail the best alarm clocks out there. Trust me on this. They know what time it is and when things should happen, such as when you should feed them breakfast or dinner. This is not a lesson that you want to learn for yourself.

For instance, right now, I am feeding a 50-50 mix of Blue dry food (it has cranberries, but so does Wellness - - I haven't read Petguard's label; this brand name of food is becoming harder and harder to find in my area) with a dry food that is geared toward "urinary tract maintenance". Just to be safe.


WET/CANNED FOOD Because I "free feed" dry food (free feed - leaving food out at all times), I feed one serving of wet or canned food at night only. To those of you who have ever had a cat that consistently and persistently woke you up each and every morning - even though your alarm clock did not go off on the weekends or your days off - you will understand the importance of feeding canned or wet cat food not in the morning. Save this feeding ritual for afternoon or evening, and it will save your sanity.

A word about canned or wet cat foods. I have recently taken in a stray cat who appears to have sensitive skin. For those of you who have not encountered a cat or dog with sensitive skin, let me just say that this is a real treat for the cat's owner, and I mean that very sarcastically. It is usually due to food allergies. During the process of eliminating foods highly associated with cat food allergies, I have become even more enlightened concerning cat food labeling. Because I am now on to lamb only for this stray cat, I have been shocked to find that even though the flavor on the front of the can says "lamb" or "lamb and rice", the ingredients clearly indicate chicken, corn, poultry, etc. You get the idea. And it wasn't just one brand of food that did this. So, please read, read, and read the labels -- and ingredients list before putting your pet's food into your cart for purchase. If I weren't so conscious of cat food ingredients -which is why I spend so much time in aisles reading the entire ingredients list - my purchase of "lamb" cat food that also contained chicken or other meat would have been disastrous, as this cat's skin is just about cleared up due to my diligence concerning the ingredients in the canned/wet food AND the switching of her previous dry food containing highly suspected allergens. I switched her to Blue Spa's dry food for sensitive skin.

A WORD ABOUT "BY-PRODUCTS" Since none of the so-called experts seem to agree on just exactly what that is in our pet food, and given the things that some experts allege that these "by-products" are, I recommend skipping any food - dry or wet - that states that it contains "meat by-products", "by-products", or "poultry by-products". All seem to agree that any by-product in its use in animal food is not a meat for human consumption. What most seem to disagree about, especially with regard to "meat by-products" is whether or not it is diseased, ill, and/or euthanized pets - - which would morally be wrong to consume, but so much worse than that, those animals contained the medications and specifically the euthanasia drug that was injected in the end, and then pets whose owners purchase pet foods containing "meat by-products" now consume not just one of their own (be it cat or dog) but also are feeding daily on a mix of medications, euthanasia drugs, and anything else that was left on the pet (collars, plastic body bags, and the like). Right or wrong on these assumptions, you would not want to consume something when you could not know its ingredients, so why feed your beloved pet something of unknown origin?

WATER Always keep a clean glass bowl of fresh water available to your pet at all times, and if you are concerned about the quality of your tap water or worried about the effects of chlorine on your pet's health, this need not mean an expensive solution. Purchase distilled or spring water in bottles and then refill them at a water station. Glacier Water isn't the only one out there, but I offer it as an example. Just be sure to keep the bottles of water in a cool, dark place away from the sunlight (which can have adverse effects on plastic).