Cat Food

We all want to feed our cats the best. But when it comes to choosing cat food - which cat food is the best for our pet? Dry, wet, natural, or packaged - the decision depends on finances available, and what is inside each of these meal forms.

Whilst cats are primarily carnivores in the wild, to keep our cats healthy many of us choose foods that are supplemented with nutrients, minerals, plant matter, and vitamins.

• One thing to make sure your cats food has in it in some form is the amino acid taurine. Cat diets deficient in this (never feed your cat food meant for dogs, for example) - can lead a cat to go blind.

• Dry food is never completely dry. It can contain up to 10% moisture, meaning - given plenty of fresh water - a cat can live happily on purely a dry cat food diet.

• Beware of allowing cats to continually graze on dry cat food. Whilst dry lasts longer than wet cat food, it too can become rancid. Leaving food out also is a major contributor to cat obesity.

• If you use wet (canned) food, beware of leaving food in opened tins in the refrigerator. The metal in the cans can oxidize, and rarely poison animals such as cats.

• If you wish to feed your cat a vegetarian diet, please be sure to research and understand the full dietry needs of a cat, as you would if you were a human vegetarian!

• If you can, limit the amount of fish eaten by your cat. Overfishing due to cat food needs is a major source of ocean degradation. In excess, too much fish can cause a thiamine deficiency in cats. Just like us, cats require a balanced diet.

What does your cat like to eat, and is it good for your cat? How do you solve the wet-versus-dry cat food dilemma?