Nutrition Consultation

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Have you ever stopped to consider what exactly is in the kibble that you feed to Fluffy every morning?  It’s brown (the color of meat), and it smells vaguely like meat, and there’s a picture of a pretty contented cat on it, but…what is it?

The first 5 ingredients are in 9  lives, a popular dry cat food, are:  ground corn, poultry by-product meal (ground beaks, feathers, eyeballs, and other unusable parts), corn gluten meal, soybean meal, and wheat.  Following is animal digest (a kinder word for feces) and a long list of synthetic vitamins and minerals and “pyridoxine hydrochloride”.

Shocked?  I sure was when I first found out!  Looking at this list of ingredients, it’s no wonder that a poor diet is linked to the majority of chronic conditions that ail your pet. Just like with people, if you feed your pet a junk food diet, your pet will inevitably get sick.  Cats are obligate carnivores and need meat in their diets–not corn, wheat, soy, or “animal digest.”

So why is commercial cat food so popular?  There are four big reasons:

1)  Marketing. Commercial cat food companies have dumped millions upon millions into convincing you that their foods are the only safe and nutritionally balanced way to feed your pet.  And it is technically true that dry kibble can sustain life–it is fortified with a bare minimum of vitamins and minerals–it is missing many of the vital elements found in meat.  Feeding dry kibble is like eating nothing but fortified dry cereal–sure, you’ll survive…but you won’t be healthy.

2) Convenience Unfortunately many caretakers cannot simply let their cats loose and let them hunt for their dinners…modern urban environments are just too dangerous!  We could feed our pets meat from the supermarket, but many of us work long hours and don’t feel comfortable leaving a hunk of meat in the kitchen all day long.  Plus the meat smells…and it’s messy…and it takes time to prepare…what a pain!

3) Cost. Feeding your pet a pure meat diet could be expensive.  Most cats will eat about 4-6 oz of meat a day…which means you’d be spending at least $100/month to feed your cat.  And that’s just for one cat.  When a commercial dry food can cost as little as $25/month, it’s easy to see why many people stick with commercial stuff.

4)  Taste. Commercial cat food manufacturers know that cats are finicky and would normally turn their noses up at anything containing “animal digest.”  So they spray their food with a layer of fat (usually the sort that’s leftover from fast food restaurants).  Unfortunately cats find this concentrated fat very delicious and will refuse to eat anything that isn’t doused with it.  Just like the small child who’d addicted to candy or McDonald’s, natural food starts to taste to taste bad to the cat who has been exposed to commercial cat food…leaving the very frustrated caretaker going back to the unhealthy kibble again and again.

Nutrition Consultation

So how the heck are you supposed to feed your cat a healthy diet when all of the odds are stacked against you?  Let me help!  It is often not as easy as switching your cat from food A to food B.  During my consultation I take the time to learn about your lifestyle (is it practical for you to prepare your own cat food?  how much are you willing to spend?) and your cat’s lifestyle and health conditions (does your cat need to lose weight?  how finicky is she, what does she like and dislike?) to help you determine the best way to feed your cat.  I have an extensive knowledge both of commercial cat foods and home-prepared cat food and can help you make the right choice.

Go ahead and give me a call at (323) 319-2901 or e-mail me at kayla@wholecatcare.com to schedule an appointment.  It can be done via phone or e-mail if you don’t live in the LA area.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Read More:

Why Confused Owners Feed their Pets Ring Dings and Krispy Kremes

Catinfo.org – a veterinarian reviews popular cat food brands and discusses the dangers of kibble