Proper Food Choices for a Healthy Cat

If your cat could, she'd make the perfect food choice for herself - a nice, juicy mouse. It has everything she needs: lots of protein, the right balance of fats, plenty of moisture, an ideal blend of vitamins and minerals, and just a smidge of carbohydrates.

Although pet food sections are stocked with everything from popular brands to organic make-your-own mixes, you'll find nary a mouse. So it's up to you to read the ingredient lists, study the nutrition labels and choose the closest-to-mouse food that meets your cat's needs and taste preferences.

Pass the meat, please

Your cat may be many things - smart, cuddly, a real character - but first and foremost, she's an obligate carnivore. Obligate carnivores are meat eaters, plain and simple. They rely entirely on the nutrients in animal tissues for their nutritional needs, which makes them very different from dogs and people.

The first nutritional building block for your cat is protein from meat, followed by a moderate amount of fat and minimal carbs. Next, cats require more than a dozen nutrients including vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids to keep their bodies strong, lithe and purring along in good order.

The final essential in your cat's diet is water. A constant supply of fresh, clean water promotes overall good health.

One diet doesn't fit all

When a first-time cat owner asks Dr. Cathy Sinning, co-owner of Lake Harriet Veterinary, what to feed a cat, here's what she recommends:

• Mostly high quality canned food.

• More poultry than fish, but incorporate variety so your cat learns to like different tastes and textures.

• Steer away from beef, lamb, seafood, corn, soy, milk and wheat gluten because of the potential for allergies.

• Include some dry food for texture.

• Clean, fresh water.

• Feed on a schedule.

"But I also tell them that every cat is different, and they may need to develop a diet that's very specific to their cat," she says. She says that in a perfect world, cats would be fed an organic, raw or home-cooked, well balanced diet. That's what she used to do - until she had a baby. So she understands the line between what's ideal and what's practical.

"Most of us feed our cats from bags and cans," she says. "In general, when choosing foods, you get what you pay for. But that doesn't mean the most expensive foods are the best foods." If you do choose the make-your-own option, Sinning emphasizes using a veterinarian-endorsed, published recipe to ensure your cat is getting the proper balance of calcium and phosphorus, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, like taurine.

Canned vs. dry vs. semi-moist

Sinning says she prefers feeding canned food because of its animal protein and moisture content, which usually runs 70 to 80 percent. "Most dry food is too high in plant protein," she says. "Because it's dry, cats may not get the water they need and may actually suffer from chronic, low-level dehydration, which stresses their kidneys and bladder."

She adds that dry food also contains 35 to 50 percent carbohydrates, while eight percent is preferred. In her view, feeding semi-moist foods is a no-no. "They contain more preservatives and more artificial colors and flavors," Sinning says.

Feeding the food diva

We've all had them: cats who eat only one kind of food - then out of the blue, turn up their prim little noses at it. Call them finicky, picky eaters or food divas. Call you frustrated.

Sinning says patience is your main weapon in these food wars. "I had one client who spent eight months transitioning her cat to a new food," she says. If you're trying to switch her majesty from one dry food to another, Sinning suggests putting one or two of the new kibble in with the old and gradually increasing that number. If you're introducing a new canned food, put one-eighth of a teaspoon next to the bowl so your little princess gets used to the smell. To entice them to eat an old favorite, try adding a splash of chicken broth or a little dollop of yogurt (not milk).

Dinner is served

Sinning is a believer in scheduled feeding, in contrast to free-choice eating throughout the day. "It makes it so much easier to monitor what and how much your cat is eating," she says. "That's a huge factor in weight control." It also helps you spot illness, dental problems or other health issues if kitty's eating habits change. But the easiest time to put your cat on a feeding schedule is when she's little, not a set-in-her ways grown-up.

As you stand before that dizzying array of cat-food choices, keep Sinning's four easy tips in mind: mostly canned, poultry-based, eight-percent carbohydrates, variety of brands. While it's not quite a mouse, it's close.

Patricia Miller is Top Cat at Laughing Cat Communications, a communications planning, writing and editing company based in Minneapolis. Contact her at patty@laughingcatonline.com.