Few things are more important for our long term health than the food we eat every day, and the same is true for cats. We feel strongly about feeding cats an appropriate, high-quality diet and have seen countless cases where disease has been treated simply by improving the diet. We recognise that there are many opinions out there about what the best diet for a cat is but in general we acknowledge two well-known feline facts:
- Cats are carnivores
- Cats don’t naturally drink enough water
Taking these two facts into account, we therefore recommend that most cats eat a moist diet rich in meat with minimal to no grains or cereals added. There are hundreds of cat food varieties out there to choose from, so please take the time to read the label and pay attention to the ingredients in your cat’s diet. In general, you get what you pay for so do what you can to provide your cat with the best possible diet. For more information about cat food, check out some of the links below.
- International Cat Carewww.icatcare.org/advice/keeping-your-cat-healthy/feeding-your-cat-or-kitten — some independent advice on feeding your cat.
- CatInfowww.catinfo.org — an interesting website written by an American vet devoted to feline nutrition and campaigning for a wet food diet for all cats. There is a section about making cat food at home which is not something that we recommend in most cases as it is so difficult to do correctly, but the site is good reading. She also has an article about obesity here: www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity
- Pet Food Manufacturers Associationwww.pfma.org.uk/keeping-your-pet-healthy/ — the website of the principal trade body representing the UK pet food industry, there is some good information about body condition scoring and a cat size-o-meter.