A Healthy Cat Knows What Tastes Good

As all cat owners are familiar with, a feline is more often than not a wonderful addition to any family. One of the most basic responsibilities of being a cat owner is to ensure proper healthcare for your cat. Healthcare for a cat encompasses a wide array of vaccine shots, flea protection, vet visits, medications, and even proper exercise.

However, the most important aspect of taking care of your cat’s health is often overlooked. People spend hundereds of hours and thousands of dollars throughout their pet cat’s lifetime to keep it healthy, but most cat owners don’t pay nearly enough attention to providing their cat with proper nutrition.

The right cat food is absolutely essential for a healthy, happy cat.

But what is the best cat food for your cat? While each cat will have a different nutritional need, there are some general rules that must be considered when looking for cat food.

Quality diet

First of all, cats (like their human owners) require a high quality diet. This means that their food intake should include the best types of protein, carbs, fat. The lesser the amount of preservatives and chemical additives the better. Most of the research available online does not compare specific brands of cat food, specific ingredients to feed your cat, and which items to keep your cat away from.

High in protein

Cats need a high protein diet. While cats from the wild are very carnivorous, house cats, still have many of the same nutritional needs as their wild feline ancestors. Therefore, the most important ingredient for your pet cat’s food should be protein.

Don’t forget carbs

Carbohydrates are also an important part of a cat’s diet. Although cats really should derive a majority of their nutritional needs from protein, carbohydrates may still be necessary. However, you do not need cat food that has high levels of carbohydrates in them as protein should still be the number one ingredient.

Cheap doesn’t mean nutritious

Interestingly enough, many of the premium brands of cat food brands offer exactly what most cats need, and aren’t necessarily more expensive in the long run. This is because high end cat foods need a smaller serving amount than the low end cat foods to give a cat all the nutrients they need to be satisfied and healthy. Take Mikana for example! We know what your cat needs and therefore you just need the right amount to give your cat the right dosage of nutrients.

When comparing a premium brand such as Eukanuba, to a lower cost brand such as Purina, the cost difference for the recommended serving size is only less than a few cents a day. Furthermore, because a cat will eat less of the high end cat food, their waste will be reduced. This can cut down on the frequency of litter replacement and litter box related chores.

Quality of protein

Another aspect of cat food to be considered is the quality of the protein in the food. Because of the way many pet food brands describe the meat in the food, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what the difference between “chicken flavoured”, and “chicken dinner” is.

Food that contains “chicken meal” can only be made from the skin, flesh, and bones only. This is really the best type of protein for a cat. Food that has “meat byproducts” can contain nearly any animal parts, and are of lower quality than “chicken meal”. Food that is “chicken flavoured” only has to taste like chicken, but may not contain any animal meat at all. Also, chicken is generally better than beef for cats.

Avoid preservations and artificial foods

Naturally, preservatives and artificial flavourings and colours should be avoided. Although research is lacking on this subject, we do know that preservatives and artificial colourings can have a negative impact on human health. It is only logical that cats will also be negatively affected by artificial colors and preservatives in their cat food.