FELINE NUTRITION
R. Roger Breton
Nancy J Creek
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Basic Needs
Above all it is important to remember that your cat is a carnivore and
requires a meat diet. This apparently self-obvious fact is all too
often overlooked by people who, all well meaning, attempt to make an
omnivore or herbivore out of their pet. They are slowly killing the
animal with love.
Dogs, while carnivores in the strictest sense, are omnivorous to a
large degree, and have the ability to break down and digest vegetable
as well as animal protein. A dog can survive quite successfully on
the same foods humans eat, hence can live on table scraps, or even a
carefully balanced vegetarian diet, especially if supplements are
used.
Cats, despite 5000 years of domestication, remain strictly
carnivorous. They are incapable of digesting and receiving nutrition
from the majority of vegetable proteins. There are no and can be no
vegetarian cats. In addition, cats in the wild are equal-opportunity
carnivores and devour the whole of their prey: muscles, organs,
viscera, bones, offal, skin, etc. In this manner, cats ingest not
only the flesh and organs of their prey but also the partially and
wholly digested vegetable foods the prey had eaten. With the assist-
ance of the prey’s own digestive processes, the cat then is able to
derive nutrition from various vegetable sources.
This evolved approach to eating means that the cat has lost the
ability to manufacture various vitamins, enzymes and other substances
necessary to life, receiving these substances directly from its food.
This “laziness” has caused the nutritional requirements of the cat to
be radically different from that of the dog, which in turn has caused
cat food to be considerably more expensive than dog food.
Food as Fuel
Food is fuel. The object of food is first and foremost to provide the
body with the energy it needs to keep functioning. The greater
portion of this energy is utilized to keep the body functioning as a
machine. All processes in the body, movement, digestion, breathing,
circulating blood, even thinking, require energy, all of which must be
derived from the food consumed. This energy is measured in calories.
To a scientist, a calorie is a unit of thermal energy: specifically,
the amount of thermal energy necessary to raise the temperature of one
cubic centimeter of water one degree Celsius. This is a distinct and
definite amount.
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To a dietitian, a “calorie” is a unit of the potential thermal energy
of a foodstuff: specifically, the amount of potential thermal energy
that would raise the temperature of one liter of water one degree
Celsius. Since one liter is equivalent to 1000 cubic centimeters, the
dietitian’s “calorie” is the scientist’s “kilocalorie” (the prefix
“kilo” means 1000). Dietitian’s calories are sometimes called “big
calories” to differentiate them from the scientist’s “true calories”
or “small calories.” To us, they will simply be “calories.”
The Exchange of Energy
Energy is derived from food and used by the body via a series of
chemical reactions. All chemical reactions require the input of
energy to trigger and control them. No input of energy, no reactions.
Some chemical reactions release more energy than was required to
trigger and control them. This surplus of energy is stored by the
body in the form of chemicals such as proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates, and is available for future use. Other chemical
reactions release less energy than was required to trigger and control
them. This energy deficiency must be made up from the body’s energy
reserves by breaking down the storage chemicals and releasing their
energy. The waste products of this breakdown are passed into the
bloodstream and filtered out by the kidneys.
Other Nutrients
Besides basic energy in the form of calories, it is the task of food
to provide all essential nutrients, the chemicals necessary for life.
The vast majority of those chemicals required for life are derived by
breaking down and rearranging the molecular structures of the
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the foods consumed. This process
is known as synthesis, and is technically defined as the forming or
building of a more complex compound from elements or simpler
compounds.
It is important to note that virtually all organic molecules are
synthesized. A glucose molecule synthesized by a cat is identical to
one synthesized by an apple tree and is identical to one synthesized
by a chemical laboratory. All molecules of a given type are
identical: advertising claims aside, there is absolutely no
difference between “natural” vitamin C and “synthetic” vitamin C.
They are identical, and the terms “natural” and “synthetic” in this
context are null words, without meaning.
Like most higher organisms, the cat has lost the ability to synthesize
some of the chemicals it requires for life, obtaining those chemicals
ready-made from the food it eats. Obviously, those chemicals must be
present in the food, or the cat will fall ill and eventually die. In
humans, for example, a lack of the chemical ascorbic acid, vitamin C,
will result in the condition known as scurvy.
Protein
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The primary source of food energy is protein. Like all animals, a
cat’s body is primarily protein, and vast amounts of food protein are
required to maintain it. Typically, the energy content of a cat’s
diet should be derived at least 25 to 30 per cent from protein, almost
all of which must be animal protein. The major sources of animal
protein in commercial foods are meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products.
Vegetable protein is typically obtained from beans and peas, nuts, and
cereals.
Proteins, while providing the basic amino acids for muscle and organ
tissue, do contain a high percentage of waste, which must be purged
from the cat’s system by the kidneys. An all-protein diet, such as a
raw meat diet, will not only lack other important and even critical
nutrients, but will overtax the kidneys, and may lead to urinary
problems or premature renal failure.
Fats
The secondary source of food energy is fats. Fats have received much
unwarranted bad press, mostly due to the public’s preoccupation with
being slim and total misunderstanding of what constitutes a good,
well-balanced diet. This preoccupation and misunderstanding are both
vigorously perpetuated by the advertising industry (the same people
who define a Twinkie (R) as “wholesome,” and who define “wholesome” as
“not causing death within 48 hours”). While this tendency is bad
enough for our own collective health, it can be disastrous when the
same philosophies are applied to our cats. We at least have some
choice in the matter.
The cat requires a diet containing a lot of fat, far more than either
the human or the dog. From 15 to 40 per cent of the energy content of
your cat’s diet should be derived from fat.
Unlike proteins, fat is little wasted by the cat’s metabolism, and
hence does not provide a burden to the kidneys. Because of this, as a
cat reaches old age, the fat content of its diet should be increased
somewhat while the protein content is decreased proportionately. In
this manner, the proper overall energy content may be maintained while
easing the burden on the older kidneys. The key here is moderation in
both rate and amount of dietary change. Sudden or rapid changes in
diet are especially hard on an older cat, while an all-fat diet is as
bad as a no-fat diet.
Carbohydrates
The tertiary source of food energy is carbohydrates, primarily
starches and sugars. Like fats, carbohydrates too have received
unwarranted bad press. Neither we nor our cats can live without
carbohydrates: they are as essential to life as water.
Only a small amount of carbohydrates is required in the cat’s diet,
with only about 5 percent of the total food energy being in this form.
The simple carbohydrates, the sugars, are more easily assimilated into
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the cat’s system, while the complex carbohydrates, the starches, pass
through virtually untouched. Cooking complex carbohydrates such as
potatoes, corn, pasta, etc., start the conversion from starch to sugar
and aid in the digestion process.
Fiber
Vegetable matter provides another important function besides energy
content: it helps to keep the bowel functioning smoothly through the
mildly abrasive and water-absorbing actions of its cellulose content,
commonly referred to as “fiber.” Note that two seemingly opposite
conditions may arise from a lack of fiber: constipation, from a lack
of abrasive action, or diarrhea, from a lack of water-absorbing
action. While fiber is not a nutrient per se, a “regular” cat needs
some fiber in his diet.
As with so many other things, fiber requirements and types have been
completely distorted almost beyond recognition by the advertising
industry. Fiber is simply cellulose, which is the basic material from
which the cellular walls (membranes) of plants are made. Cellulose is
cellulose, regardless of it’s source, be it from oat bran or grass.
In the wild, a cat derives all the cellulose it requires from the
stomach and intestines of its prey. The pampered cat, too, should
receive all the cellulose it needs from its normal diet.
As an interesting aside, many of the smaller wild cats subsist chiefly
on insects and insectivores (lizards, etc.). At first glance, one
would think that such cats would have insufficient cellulose and
carbohydrates in their diet. This is not the case, as insects and
other arthropods are exoskeletal creatures with a covering of chitin,
a polysaccaride compound consisting of a simple cellulose-like base
molecule (chitin and cellulose are chemically related) coupled with
various simple sugars, thus providing both fiber and carbohydrates
simultaneously. Good things, those bugs!
Vitamins
Vitamins and related compounds are complex organic molecules used as
catalysts or agents in various metabolic processes. In the wild, the
cat derives all the vitamins it requires from its prey and from
sunlight. The domestic cat must receive all its vitamins in its diet.
Under some conditions, your veterinarian may prescribe a vitamin
supplement.
A warning is in order here. If the diet is properly balanced and the
cat is young and healthy, vitamin supplements are unnecessary. Giving
vitamin supplements to a healthy cat may actually lead to a condition
of vitamin toxicity, which can be very dangerous, even deadly. In a
like manner, a vitamin deficiency can also be very serious. The best
solution is a well-balanced diet without supplements unless prescribed
by a veterinarian.
Each vitamin plays its role in the health of a cat. Vitamin A is
fundamental to good vision, proper growth, and a healthy skin.
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Vitamin B1 is needed for growth and overall body function. Vitamin C
is important for a healthy skin, coat, and gums, but is not required
in the diet as the cat synthesizes all it needs. Only very small
amounts of vitamin D are required for regulating the use of calcium
and phosphorus, necessary for good bones and teeth. Vitamin E is
required for a healthy skeleton and reproductive system. Vitamin K is
required for proper blood clotting, but like vitamin C is wholly
synthesized by the cat. Vitamin B12 is not required by the cat except
in very small traces.
Minerals
In addition to the proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins,
all of which are complex organic molecules, certain small amounts of
various inorganic substances are required for life. Life is often
though of as being composed of six elements: carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorous; the same elements that make
up DNA. The “big six” are the overwhelming components of life, com-
prising all but a fraction of a percent of all living tissue. That
fraction of a percent is crucial.
The elements iron, sodium, iodine, magnesium, potassium, manganese,
and a host of others are also required in varying amounts. All these
inorganic substances are lumped together under the general term
“minerals.”
Again, atoms are atoms, and there is no such thing as “organic
calcium,” advertising claims notwithstanding. The calcium extracted
from limestone is identical to the calcium extracted from seashells or
bone. Limestone was once seashells, after all. By the same token,
calcium is an element, as are iron, sodium, iodine, etc., and cannot
be artificially produced. All elements, with the exception of a few
short-lived and highly radioactive ones such as plutonium, are found
only in nature (the short-lived ones are also found in nature, but not
on Earth).
Like the vitamins, the minerals are necessary for overall body
function. The three most important minerals are iron, calcium, and
phosphorus. Iron is crucial to proper blood function: it is the
“heme” in hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs throughout
the body (making the blood red as it does so). Calcium and phosphorus
are required by the bones and teeth, which together contain over 99
per cent of the body’s calcium and phosphorus, and for proper muscle
action.
Unclassified Nutrients
Like everything else, there are a few nutrients that do not fall
neatly into the major groups: proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
vitamins, and minerals. These nutrients are nonetheless essential to
life. One such nutrient is linoleic acid, a fatty acid midway between
the fats and the carbohydrates in chemical composition, which is
necessary for healthy skin and fur, among other things. There are
many such unclassified but required nutrients.
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Cat-Peculiar Nutrient Needs
It is important to remember the at cat is a cat, it is not and is
never a dog, or a human, or any other living creature. Cats are
unique, and have unique needs. Just as a cat needs little or none of
some of the nutrients required by us, such as vitamin B12, it has a
definite need for others that we do not, as well as differing
proportions of those nutrients we have in common.
Inositol, one of the B-complex vitamins, for example, is definitely
required by the cat to be present in its diet, but is synthesized by
dogs and humans.
In a similar manner the compound taurine is required for good vision
in certain nocturnal animals, such as cats. It is believed to be
required for a healthy tapetum lucidum, a lining inside the eye that
acts as a sort of “light-amplifier,” greatly increasing night vision
and, incidentally, making the eyes very reflective.
The metabolism of a cat is vastly different from dogs and humans in
its ability to purge various chemicals from the system. It is this
metabolic difference that causes cats to be easily poisoned by things
that a dog or human would shrug off. Common aspirin metabolizes (is
broken down and purged) in a human in about four to six hours, but
requires 38 hours in a cat! This difference makes the cat highly
susceptible to salicylate toxicity.
An overabundance of certain nutrients or substances, or a deficiency
thereof, can and often does lead to various medical conditions and
problems.
Water
People don’t often think of water as a part of the diet, but without
water there is no life. About 70 per cent of a cat’s body is water.
A cat requires about one fluid ounce of water per pound of body weight
per day. In the wild, the majority of this water comes from the cat’s
prey. In the home, this may also be true if the diet consists of
canned food, but with semi-moist or dry foods this is not the case.
Fresh water must always be available to your cat, regardless of its
diet.
Do not substitute milk or other liquids for water. To a cat, milk is
a food, not a beverage. The only cat beverage is water.
Many people are distressed when their cat will drink from a scummy
puddle, the gutter, a pond, even the toilet, but won’t touch its nice,
clean water dish. There is a simple cause for this behavior: the
water dish tastes bad to the cat, or used to taste bad (cats have good
memories). If we think in cat terms for a moment, algae, mud, fish-
bits, even feces are all natural, normal things it rather expects in
the wild. But chlorine! Feh! Remember that your cat has a sensitive
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sense of smell and taste (plus another sense midway between the two)
and can readily detect odors and flavors lost on us, while even we can
taste the chlorine in our tap water. This foul taste is what makes
the sale of bottled water profitable.
You may find that your cat will also appreciate bottled water.
Barring that, you may try boiling your pet’s water first, as boiling
will drive out the highly-volatile chlorine. Even letting it stand
out a few hours before serving will allow the majority of the chlorine
to evaporate. Often, adding an ounce of club soda (carbonated water)
to 16 ounces of ordinary water will do the trick. Cats love car-
bonation.
The Natural Diet
There is always controversy as to what establishes an ideal diet.
Putting aside such controversies, at least for the moment, we may
safely say that an ideal diet would be one which meets all the evolved
criteria of the cat. In other words, a wild diet: whole mouse,
sparrow, cricket, lizard, etc. It is unlikely that Purina or anyone
else will be producing canned chopped whole mouse in the near future
(the government would probably prohibit sale because of excessive
mouse hairs), so we must look to actual wild cats and actual wild prey
for the ideal diet.
The actual long-term diet of a wild or feral domestic cat breaks down
as follows:
Total Dry Fuel Energy
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Water 70.0% —– —– —–
Protein 14.0% 46.7% 50.0% 35.7%
Fats 9.0% 30.0% 32.1% 51.5%
Carbohydrates 5.0% 16.7% 17.9% 12.8%
Ash 1.0% 3.3% —– —–
Calcium 0.6% 2.0% —– —–
Other 0.4% 1.3% —– —–
The “total” column indicates the percentage breakdown of the diet with
water included among the nutrients, while the “dry” column indicates
the percentage breakdown excluding water.
The “fuel” column indicates the percentage relationship of the fuel
foods to each other: protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
The “energy” column indicates the percentage of total food energy
(caloric) intake among the three fuel foods. Note that while fats
account for only 9% of the total diet, 30.0% of the dry diet, and
32.1% of the fuel diet, they account for 51.5% of the total energy
input. This is because fats contain 9 calories per gram, while
protein and carbohydrates each contain 4 calories per gram.
The Natural Kitten Diet
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The natural diet for a kitten is its mother’s milk. Cat’s milk is
radically different than that of most other mammals, especially cows.
The basic components of cat’s milk per deciliter, compared against an
equivalent adult cat diet, dog’s milk, cow’s milk, and 20% liquid
reconstituted evaporated cow’s milk (canned milk) is as follows:
Adult Cat Dog Cow Canned
Diet Milk Milk Milk Milk
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Water 70% 72% 77% 87% 80%
Solids 30% 28% 23% 13% 20%
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Calories 187.2 147.9 119.5 68.7 115.4
Protein 16.8 11.4 7.5 3.5 5.8
Fats 11.6 7.9 8.3 3.9 6.6
Carbohydrates 3.9 7.8 3.7 4.9 8.2
Calories are per deciliter of milk or equivalent adult diet. Protein,
fats, and carbohydrates are in grams per deciliter (one deciliter is
1/10 of a liter or 100 milliliters: about 3.38 fluid ounces). The
carbohydrate content of milk is virtually all lactose, commonly called
milk sugar.
Special Requirements
Some cats require special dietary consideration. The obvious would be
kittens, pregnant and nursing queens, elder statescats, and
convalescent cats. If your cat is or has been ill, you should follow
the dietary guidelines prescribed by your veterinarian. Normal cat
conditions should require only normal dietary variations.
There is a strong tendency these days for people to follow the advice
of others in the matter of diet, even the very strangest of diets have
their adherents. This is not always wise, even for humans. When it
comes to our cats, one rule is very simple: unless the advice giver
is well-schooled in veterinary medicine and/or feline nutrition, take
all such advice (especially if radical) with great hesitation.
Remember that some components of food are critical but not obvious,
and that more is not always better. When in the least doubt concerning
a new cat diet, ask your vet.
The normal diet of any mammal changes with age. Obviously, a nursing
kitten requires milk, whereas an older cat does not: the myth of cats
and milk is just that, some older cats will in fact become ill if they
drink milk.
Less obvious is the fact that the total caloric intake per pound of
body weight and the ratio of protein to fat in the diet changes with
age and other conditions. Following is a simple table giving
requirements versus age and condition:
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Cals Protein Fats Carbs
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Newborn 190 42.1% 29.2% 28.8%
5 weeks 125 47.2% 27.5% 25.3%
10 weeks 100 50.0% 26.1% 23.9%
20 weeks 65 51.9% 30.0% 18.1%
6 months 50 51.3% 33.3% 15.4%
1-10 years 40 52.0% 35.9% 12.1%
15 years 35 44.0% 42.0% 14.0%
20 years 35 43.3% 41.5% 15.2%
Pregnant 125 45.7% 31.8% 22.5%
Nursing 125 44.9% 31.1% 24.0%
Daily Requirements
A good many of us humans are counting calories, the same may be done
for a cat. A healthy adult cat requires approximately 40 calories per
pound of body weight per day (for an 8-pound cat this would be 320
calories per day). Of these 40 calories, about 12-16 should come from
protein, 20-25 from fat, and 3-4 from carbohydrates.
Protein 3600 mg — 14 calories
Fat 2500 mg — 23 calories
Carbohydrate 840 mg — 3.3 calories
Linolic Acid 250 mg
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Vitamin A 250 I.U.
Vitamin D 13 I.U.
Vitamin E 10 I.U.
Choline 25 mg
Niacin (B3) 560 ug
Pantothenic Acid 130 ug
Riboflavin (B2) 63 ug
Pyridoxine (B6) 50 ug
Folic Acid (B9) 13 ug
Thiamin (B1) 7.8 ug
Biotin 0.63 ug
Vitamin B12 0.25 ug
Vitamin C * trace only
Vitamin K * trace only
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Calcium 125 mg
Phosphorus 100 mg
Potassium 38 mg
Sodium Cloride 25 mg
Magnesium 2.5 mg
Iron 1.3 mg
Zinc 380 ug
Manganese 130 ug
Copper 63 ug
Cobalt 25 ug
Iodine 13 ug
Selenium 1.3 ug
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There are, of course, many other subtle and necessary components of
food that are not obvious in these tables.
Commercial Foods
The vast majority of us will be feeding our cats commercial cat foods.
These foods come in four specific types: dry foods, soft-moist foods,
balanced canned foods, and specialty or “gourmet” canned foods. As a
simple rule of thumb, the nutritional content of 3 ounces (one level
cup) of dry food is the same as that of 4 ounces of soft-moist food
and the same as that of 7.5 ounces of canned food.
Specialty or gourmet foods are seldom a balanced diet by themselves,
and must not be fed without supplements or another, balanced food.
They are best used as treats or “Sunday dinner.”
The scientifically-balanced foods available through pet and feed
stores and from your veterinarian usually contain supplements and
additives to guarantee the best nutritional balance possible. Most of
these foods are further classed into pediatric/nursing, maintenance,
and geriatric blends, assuring a proper protein-fats-carbohydrate mix
for the specific cat. Specialized diets (weight loss, low sodium,
etc.) are also available from these same sources and through your
veterinarian for the problem cat.
Commercial supermarket-type cat foods vary little in nutritional
content between brands. Assuming the food is complete in nutrition
and the cat is a young-to-middle-aged healthy adult, almost any of
these foods will suffice.
One should be wary of non-nutritional additives and fillers used in
commercial foods. Most dry foods, for example, use corn meal as a
bulk filler, while canned foods often use gelatin. Since these
substances effectively pass right on through a cat, there is no harm
in them, but you are paying for them, sometimes dearly. As with
everything else, read those labels.
Several popular brands of catfood use excessive food coloring to
enhance the appearance of the food. One extremely popular brand uses
so much red dye that it will make your cat’s stools orange. The claim
is that the dye is FDA approved and does the cat no harm. Frankly, we
feel that the color of the food is of no interest to the cat (texture,
shape, taste, and smell are different matters). It is put there
solely for the benefit of the cat owner (who is the purchaser, after
all) to make the food appear more like meat. Who needs it! If the
food is good and appeals to the cat, what else matters?
A common misconception about cat foods is that dry foods derive their
protein from cereals and other vegetable sources while canned foods
derive their protein from meat and other animal sources. In reality,
all commercial cat foods derive their protein from both animal and
vegetable sources, with animal sources dominating. Most vegetable
products in commercial foods, however, may be considered as filler.
Please remember that in the wild the cat does consume vegetable
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protein in the stomach and viscera of its prey, and can utilize this
protein with the assistance of its prey’s own digestive processes.
These processes are in part duplicated during the manufacture of
commercial cat food allowing digestion of some vegetable proteins.
Unfortunately, an understanding of the molecular structure of proteins
and the digestive process itself is required to produce the
“partially-digested” vegetable protein used in cat foods, thus making
it virtually impossible for home-kitchen duplication. There are still
no vegetarian cats!
Dry Foods
Dry foods are the least expensive of the four types and, being dry,
have the added advantage of an abrasive action which helps to keep the
teeth and gums clean and healthy and minimize the buildup of dental
tartar. They derive their protein and fat from meat, fish, poultry,
and/or dairy products blended into a cereal base, usually corn meal.
Careful balancing and the addition of vitamin and mineral supplements
have made the modern dry food a good and well-balanced diet.
These foods are typically about 10% water (no matter how dry they
appear), and thus have long shelf and bowl lives. This means the food
may be left out at all times and the cat may help himself to many
small meals rather than one or two large meals. This improves tone
and digestion.
One theoretical disadvantage is a predisposition among male cats,
especially neuters, to develop Feline Urological Syndrome (FUS). This
predisposition has not been substantiated at this time (neither has it
been disproved) and veterinarians are sharply divided on the issue.
If such a predisposition exists, it would probably be due to the low
water content of the dry foods. Providing an adequate source of good-
tasting fresh water will often negate any such problem.
Dry foods tend to lose their nutrition slowly over time, especially
upon exposure to air and light. Avoid using any dry food more than
six months old. If dry food must be stored for long periods (as on
board ship), store the food in air- and light-tight containers.
Soft-Moist Foods
Soft-moist foods have more appeal than dry foods, also more cost.
They are intentionally designed to make the cat think they are meat,
both in texture and taste, and do a fairly good job of it.
Like dry foods, they derive their protein and fat from a variety of
sources. Additionally, one particular source, meat, fish, whatever,
is often emphasized to establish flavor. They run to about 30-35%
water, as contrasted to dry food’s 10% and canned food’s 70%. Unlike
dry foods, they do not inhibit dental tartar.
They also have the advantages of minimal odor and long shelf life.
They are good for about a day in the bowl, and should not be left out
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longer than that. Shelf life is extremely long, as they are usually
packaged in air-tight pouches.
Be aware that most soft-moist foods contain an abundance of
preservatives to prevent spoilage, so labels should be read carefully.
Canned Foods
Canned foods are the most expensive of the three types, but are still
the most popular. Their biggest drawbacks being cost and odor.
Canned foods are primarily protein and fats from meat, fish, dairy and
vegetable sources with added vitamins and minerals. Except for the
specialty or gourmet varieties, most are nutritionally complete.
Many canned foods contain 70% water or more, often gelatin is used as
a filler and literally to trap and hold more water (one brand is 78%
water). The purchaser pays for this water and gelatin, naturally.
Read those labels!
Unlike the dry foods but like the soft-moist foods, canned foods do
nothing to inhibit dental tartar. However, the same argument that
gives dry foods a predisposition towards the development of FUS
implies a lack of predisposition in canned foods. Again, this has not
yet been determined one way or the other.
If a cat has already suffered a bout with FUS, especially repeated
bouts, a low magnesium canned-food diet is often prescribed as the
preventative of choice. We wish to emphasize here that the low
magnesium canned-food diet is for animals who already have an FUS
history, and is not indicated in healthy animals.
Gourmet Foods
Premium or gourmet foods are usually not balanced and must not be used
as the basis of your cat’s diet. Think of them as treat foods.
These foods have two distinguishing characteristics. First, they are
terribly expensive, and second, the tend to be of the “100% beef”
variety, all one substance.
The higher price does not necessarily mean better. Using 100% beef as
an example, the food may contain lung and udder, which have no real
nutritional value but are still beef, and most certainly will contain
hoof, also still beef, in the form of gelatin, also of minimal
nutritional value. What we’re saying here is that if it’s part of a
cow it’s “beef,” but some “beef” is really bull.
With gourmet foods, if you don’t mind the price and your cat likes
them, use them as treats.
Fresh Foods
We in the U.S. have been almost totally brainwashed into the concept
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the “fresh is best.” This holds true if and only if fresh is
balanced, which it often is not.
A well-balanced fresh-food diet for a cat would consist of meat
(muscle tissue) for protein; saturated and unsaturated fats for
protein (polyunsaturated fats, such as those in margarine, are not
usually found in a carnivore’s diet); sugars, starches, and other
carbohydrates; cereals, grass, and certain leafy vegetables for fiber;
various organs for vitamin content; bones for calcium and phosphorous;
blood and vegetables for iron and mineral content; and small amounts
of this and that for trace elements and pleasure. All these
requirements are contained in the average mouse.
Since few of us will raise mice specifically for cat food, we may feed
our pets a varied and well-balanced fresh-food diet with a little
thought. The following foods have the characteristics and effects
listed:
Meat (muscle tissue): this is the basic food of any carnivore. The
meat may be beef, horse, pork, lamb, chicken, whatever (even
mouse). Most meats should be lightly cooked to kill parasites,
especially pork and fresh-water fish. The cheaper, fatty cuts of
meat will also provide the fat the cat requires (buy the cheap
hamburger, it’s better for the cat).
As a special treat, try giving your cat a mouse-sized gobbet of
almost-raw body-temperature rabbit or chicken when he is not
especially hungry and watch the hunter come out. He will probably
stalk it, throw it in the air, pounce on it, and eventually eat
it. This is all part of the natural order of life.
Liver: cats have a weakness for liver. This is an evolved trait to
guarantee that the liver of the prey will be eaten and the cat
will obtain sufficient vitamin A and iron. In the home, the cat
will take all the liver it can get. If too much liver is given,
the cat will succumb to vitamin-A toxicity, which can be fatal.
As in all things, moderation is the key.
The liver (especially beef liver) should be very lightly cooked.
When eaten raw it often causes diarrhea, when overcooked,
constipation.
Kidneys: usually quite inexpensive, kidneys (especially beef kidneys)
provide a good source of iron and several critical vitamins.
Because the uric acid content is high, kidneys should be soaked in
cold water for a hour or two prior to cooking and serving.
Heart: heart in general but especially poultry and rabbit hearts are
a favorite among cats and provide top-notch protein. Do not
remove the fatty tissue and paracardial sack, as they provide a
source of needed fats.
Lung: lung has little food value and should not be served. Most cats
won’t eat lung by itself.
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Udder: like lung, udder has little food value and should not be
served.
Spleen: spleen will often cause diarrhea and should be avoided.
Tripe: fine for dogs and large cats, tripe is usually too tough for
our small cats. Tripe stew, on the other hand, is excellent, as
the meat is softened by stewing and the broth is good all around.
Offal: the offal of small animals, such as rabbits, is fine if cooked
lightly to kill parasites. It is, after all, what they eat in the
wild.
Bones: bones are good food. The bones of larger animals, such as
beef bones, are usually too big for a cat to get a handle on, but
a cartilagineous knuckle or tail bone may be just the ticket. The
bones of small animals may be served lightly cooked to kill
parasites, but do not serve the cooked bones of birds, especially
the long bones, as cooking makes the bones brittle and they may
shatter and become lodged in the throat or puncture the esophagus
or stomach wall.
Bones of any size may be pressure-cooked until soft, but this
destroys the marrow, which the cat considers the best part. Bone
meal may be used to provide needed calcium and phosphorous.
Fish: cooked, boned fish is almost always welcome. Avoid raw fish in
quantity as a vitamin-B toxicity may easily develop, especially
with cod, tuna and other oily fish. Do not feed fish organs,
especially fish livers.
Milk: milk is a food, not a drink (the only cat drink is water).
This food will provide an excellent source of calcium and
phosphorus needed for strong bones and teeth, as well as many
other vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, a large percentage of
cats lose the ability to digest milk as they grow older.
To test your cat for milk tolerance, give it a small bowl of milk,
then watch its stools for the next six hours. If diarrhea
develops, the cat cannot digest milk, if the stool remains normal,
it can.
An acidopholus-enriched milk, available at most large
supermarkets, can often be consumed by cats (or people) that
cannot tolerate normal milk. Acidopholus is the symbiotic
bacterium that lives within the intestine and produces the enzyme
that metabolizes lactose (milk sugar). The most common cause of
milk intolerance is an acidopholus deficiency. Acidopholus-
enriched milk carries its own acidopholus culture with it.
Yogurt: many cats like plain yogurt and, like milk, it is an
excellent source of calcium and phosphorus. Unlike milk, yogurt
is one-step removed from fresh. It has already been consumed by a
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bacterium, and is therefore partially digested. This makes it
very easy for cats and people to finish digesting. Being
sensitive to terms like “digested,” the dairy industry calls
yogurt a “cultured” product.
Butter: an excellent source of fats, good for growth and coat, butter
is a good but somewhat expensive treat upon which a cat will
gladly pig out. We suggest the occasional small pat as a special
treat.
Cream: combining the tastes and benefits of butter and milk, sweet
cream is kitty champagne! Treat it as such.
Cheese: most cheeses will cause constipation if fed in large amounts.
The occasional small piece is healthful and appreciated. Cats
don’t seem to care much for the exotic cheeses, such as limburger,
brie, or bleu, possible they are put off by the smell of the mold
(we humans eat the damnedest things!).
Margarine: since most margarine taste pretty much like butter, cats
will usually treat them like butter and take all they can get.
Unfortunately, margarine is not butter, and does not contain the
calcium and phosphorus that makes butter so beneficial to cats.
The polyunsaturated vegetable fats used in most margarines go
straight through a cat. Think of margarine as a mild and good-
tasting cat laxative (really a lubricant), and use a small pat of
it as a loving treat/preventative/cure for hairballs and
constipation.
Eggs: raw egg yolk is beneficial and tasty, providing protein,
sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, and a host of other vitamins and
minerals. The raw egg white, on the other hand, contains avatin,
which breaks down and destroys the B vitamins.
If you must feed your cat whole eggs, cook them first, which
congeals the white and destroys the avatin.
Vegetables: cats are carnivores, but they do eat the vegetable
contents of their prey’s stomach and viscera. Small amounts of
vegetable matter such as potato or pasta, about 5% of the total
diet, can be consumed providing the vegetables have been cooked
first (cooking breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple
carbohydrates and aids digestion. If you are feeding too much
vegetable matter, or not cooking it enough, it will show up as
constipation or diarrhea, depending upon the vegetable.
Fruits: unlike vegetables, fruits contain primarily simple
carbohydrates and need not be cooked. The author had a calico
cat, Gigi, who loved melon: watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe —
she loved them all!
Like vegetables, be moderate and beware intestinal distress.
Cereals: many cats like cereals. Again, in moderation, cereals such
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as oatmeal, wheat farina, corn-meal mush, etc., are quite
beneficial as providers of carbohydrates. Avoid raw cereals, as
cats cannot digest the starches. Absolutely avoid grits (and
hominy in general), as the residual lye is toxic to a cat.
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