RAW FEEDING CATS
THE BASICS OF CAT NUTRITION
THE LINK BETWEEN INAPPROPRIATE DIET
& DISEASES THAT AFFECT OUR CATS:
High levels of carbohydrates in the diet of a cat will lead to chronic
high blood sugar. The pancreas has to work hard to deal with this
unnatural situation, leading to burn-out of the insulin-producing
cells - diabetes.
The chronic dehydration caused by feeding dry food to a carnivore
with a low thirst drive plays in role in the development of Feline
Lower Urinary Tract disease. Many cats receive intra-venous fluids
while being maintained on a dry diet. Every attempt should be made
to get these cats eating food with a high moisture content.
Crystals in the urine, bladder stones and cystitis are often
diagnosed in cats. The most important preventive step you can take
to avoid these problems is to feed your cat a high-moisture diet.
Your cat is not motivated to drink enough and will need to get its
water from its food.
IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) often goes unnoticed. It is not
normal for a cat to vomit regularly. Grumpy cats with swollen
tummies and bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea and occasionally
constipation, may be suffering from IBD.
We have an epidemic of overweight cats. Obesity can predispose to
diabetes. Cats on grain-based diets will convert the carbohydrates to
be stored as fat. The so called ‘light’ diets have reduced the fat
content and increased the grain/fibre content of the diet, so an even
higher level of carbohydrate is present. And as we now know, the
cat remains overweight! Cats will lose weight easily on a speciesappropriate raw meaty bones diet.
Dental disease is a huge part of our daily veterinary practise. The
majority of cats swallow their dry diet in whole pieces and receive
no dental benefits. Shearing and tearing at their raw diet
with those carnivorous jaws is the best way to keep the
teeth clean and the gums healthy.
PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE...
Cats appear to do well on commercial pet foods, but just remember
that all cats appear to be well until they are diagnosed with an
illness. Diseases begin to develop long before they are recognised.
Preventive nutrition is the key to keeping your cat healthy.
CATS ARE STRICT CARNIVORES
Cats are designed to get their nutrition
from eating small prey animals. They
need to eat lots of animal proteins in the
form of raw meaty bones. They cannot
utilise plant proteins to satisfy their
nutrient requirements. In the wild, a cat
would be eating a high protein, high
moisture content, meat based diet, with
moderate fat, and minimal carbohydrate
(pre-digested by a herbivore).
Most cats are fed on commercial dry
food, often high in plant proteins (corn,
wheat and soy) because they are
cheaper than animal proteins. Many pet
food manufacturers try to add back the
nutrients that are stripped from the
manufactured diet (hence the long list of
ingredients on your cat food bag). 'The
Carnivore Connection to Cat Nutrition’ is a
must read for anyone concerned about
their cat's diet. The average dry food for
cats contains 35-50% carbohydrates. But
grain is cheap and dry food is
convenient, and so we continue to feed
our cats a very inappropriate diet.
Cats do not have a strong thirst drive.
They are designed to obtain most of
their water from their food. A cat on dry
food alone will consume approximately
half the amount of water that a cat fed
on a raw diet will consume. The raw
food has a high water content (70-75%)
and keeps the cat well hydrated.