Yes, cats are carnivorous! Don’t feed them like anything else.
Most people know that a domestic cat is a carnivore, an obligate carnivore. Your kitty's diet should resemble the diet of a ferocious tiger, lion, cougar, so on and so forth. They are essentially just that! Their diet consists of mostly meats and some fruits and vegetation. Yet so many people trust the "Big name" pet foods because there is a level of trust, plus that’s what mom probably fed your cats growing up.
Chickens eat corn. Cats eat chickens. Could you also say, chickens eat cats and cats eat corn? No way! The logic is skewed to say the least but you get my point. (I hope)
Corn ingredients in “Big name”, pet foods are essentially used as a binder to make the “Food” into kibble pieces. But why do we see it within the first 3 ingredients?!. OK, forget about the “chicken by-product meal” for now… Corn and tons of it. Any health benefits of eating corn? No not really for us humans and definitely not your little panther. Corn is for the birds!
I have always believed in feeding cats a grain free diet but a year ago I found out something that shocked me. A friend of ours was modifying her own personal diet and I was told that potatoes are considered to be high glycemic. Whoa! What?! Our cats have a potatoes in their grain free food! I have been feeding our cats a grain free diet to avoid things that cause blood sugar spikes and turns out potatoes are a culprit too?! Potatoes are starchy carbohydrates that are quickly converted to sugars then into fat! I continued feeding them the grain free food that was on their rotation but didn’t feel as good as I used to about that brand. It seemed to be that all grain free kibble diets contained potatoes and I was providing the best I could. I’m not against raw diets by any means but at this point it’s not for us. The convenience of dry kibble is second to none. You can couple the benefits of a raw diet with the convenience and price point of kibble when you choose Acana. On the other hand, our cats LOVE freeze dried raw meats and food formulas that we use as treats and food toppers.
I was doing to some research on Champion Pet Food’s website to see if there is anything new going on with their product lines. More specifically their Acana line. All of their ingredients are sourced locally/responsibly. I have fed our cats their products for the first year and a half of their lives and was ready to rotate back onto it. They pride themselves in providing “Biologically Appropriate” food. I have always believed that, and more so when I saw they eliminated potatoes from their cat food recipes! They were replaced by lentils! It’s a binder with health benefits! To boot, lentil’s high fiber content help prevent blood sugar spikes after eating. Check this ingredient list out.
In closing, feed them appropriately. A lot of similar brands including Acana are surprisingly affordable plus you feed less of it since it’s so nutrient dense. I don’t think that food alone is a prevention for disease and health issues but why can’t we give our beloved pets more of a fighting chance? Just think, “An ounce of prevention could be worth a pound of cure”. I’m not a Veterinarian nor do I play one on TV. But, why don’t you break away from the big name pet food before you’re sold on a prescription diet for some health issue. I could go on for another 600+ words and then some, but I think you get my point.
Check out these awesome brands for dogs and cats!
