Grain-free food for cats?

We all know to not feed corn, wheat, or soy to your cat or dog.

These three grains can cause:



Fever, ear aches, ear infections, bad bread, dental disease, hair loss, dry and itchy skin, bloat, tumors, warts, moles, abnormal nail growth, arthritis, deafness, blindness, digestive problems, inflamed liver, inflamed kidneys, bladder problems, heart problems, and possibly death.



But what about the rest? Why NO grains, are there any safe ones at all? I know cats cannot digest them properly, but we in fact don't digest most greens well either.



Does one then need just meat and vitamins and minerals in cat food? A small % of fat? Plus taurine, and preservatives to be used should be vitamin C and E?Grain-free food for cats?
Hi there:)



The most extensive piece of sound nutritional information I have yet found which answers most of your questions about plant-based protein vs meat based protein and why cats, as obligate carnivores need the latter, is found at Dr. Lisa Pierson's excellent article. To save space and time, here is the link for you to read. You may even want to print much of the information she provides.



http://www.catinfo.org/



Grains are added to most commercial cat food brands to bulk it up and make it more cost effective to manufacture. I assume that they are betting that folks will appreciate the adding of grains and vegetable protein because we, as humans, are constantly bombarded to be sure to include all of the food groups in our diet. Of course, we are ominvores, and not obligate carnivores, which need meat to sustain their bodies in a healthy manner. So we are fooled into believing we are doing good things for our kitties. So what Lisa Pierson says, ';Do cats survive on these supplemented plant-based diets? Yes, many of them do. Do cats thrive on these diets? No, they do not.'; So we have survival vs thriving, and you are totally correct about some of the dangerous side effects of feeding plant based protein to our cats.



This said, some ';restricted diets'; which are fed to cats with food allergies and digestive problems do contain peas. Venison, duck and lamb are not very common in most cat foods, so are often considered not to trigger allergies that other meats can. I often wonder about why they add peas, so suspect it is one which is not considered that inflammatory as a filler.



According to http://cat-care.suite101.com/article.cfm Cats need 35-50% protein and 40% fat in their diets for proper nutrition. Fat should be derived from meat, and not vegetable fat, however.



Taurine is an essential amino acid that is needed to maintain healthy vision ( eye health) and heart health as well. Deficiencies in this substance can cause feline retinal atrophpy and cardiac conditions.



Hope that this helps and answers your questions. Both of the cited articles are excellent and contain all that one requires to understand excellent feline nutrition.



Troublesniffer

Owned by cats for over 40 years

Member: Cat Writer's AssociationGrain-free food for cats?
Why no grains? Because cats are carnivores and their bodies don't need them. Dogs and humans, however, are omnivores and can live on foods than have grains in them.



If you want a good example of what should be in a cat food read the label on a bag of Innova Evo.
Cats are very strict carnivores. For them to thrive and maintain proper body function ALL or at least MOST of their diet should be animal proteins, and they do not benefit from plants. Although dogs are technically carnivores too, they have omnivorous tendencies and are able to utilize nutrients in plants better than cats, therefore, stuff like brown rice,fruits,and veggies are good things to add to dog food, as long as meat is the main thing in the food. Like you mentioned, cats cannot easily digest rice,oats,corn,and other grains. Veggies and fruit isn't much of a benefit if put in cat's food, it's a tolerable ingredient, not harmful but for them it's just empty calories that will just pass right through theres system and into the litter box, untouched.