Do Cats Need Wet Food?

Ever wonder what kind of cat food is better for your feline friend? The following article provides great information. Enjoy:)

Cats Need Wet Food

by Dr. Joseph Mercola

By Beth Taylor and Steve BrownThe natural diet of cats is meat.Cats are meat eaters, designed to thrive on a wide variety of small prey animals, eaten fresh and whole. Their natural diet is high in water and protein, with a moderate amount of fat, and a very low percentage of carbohydrate.Dry cat food is high in grain.A diet of dry food is high in carbohydrate, between 35 and 50 percent. "Diet" and "Lite" foods have even more. Dry food contains almost no water. Dry cat food is convenient to feed, and relatively inexpensive, but its the opposite of the natural diet of cats. Cats have no dietary need for any carbohydrate.Cats need to get water from their food.Cats are descended from feline desert dwellers. They couldnt stroll over to the watering hole for a drink, and cat tongues are not very well designed for drinking water. Cats are adapted to obtain most of their water from their prey, which contains more than 75 percent water. Cats who eat dry food consume only half the water they need, compared to those that eat wet food, and live in a state of chronic dehydration.The common health problems of cats are related to diet.There is increasing evidence, published in peer-reviewed veterinary journals, that many of the health problems seen in cats are the result of diets inappropriate for a feline. Dry, grain-based foods fed to a meat eater, over time, result in both chronic and life-threatening diseases, like these:Obesity: Since cats are designed for a high-protein, moderate-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, it is not surprising that obesity is often seen in cats. Diet cat foods have even more carbohydrate than regular ones, and less fat, so they depart even further from the natural diet of cats, making it harder for them to lose weight.Diabetes: The high level of carbohydrate in dry cat food contributes directly to the development of diabetes in cats. Blood sugar levels rise when cats eat dry food. When this is an ongoing event, insulin-producing cells "downregulate," which leads to diabetes.Kidney disease: Kidney disease is the most common cause of death for cats. The kidneys require an abundant supply of water to do their job. Without water to process the byproducts of the digestion process, the kidneys are overloaded, become damaged over time and unable to do their job.Bladder Problems: Cystitis, bladder irritation and bladder/kidney stone formation are also strongly connected to dehydration. If the body is well hydrated, these problems are minimized.Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome and Disease: These problems are often characterized by vomiting and diarrhea and are very common in cats. Cats who eat a species-appropriate diet rarely suffer from these issues.Dental disease: Dry food has a high sugar (carbohydrate) content, which has been shown to cause dental decay.For cats to derive any supposed abrasive benefit from dry foods to be seen, they would have to actually chew their dry food. Since dry food shatters in their mouths and they then swallow the pieces, theres no abrasive action from chewing something hard. Cats who eat dry food often have very severe dental problems. Many factors contribute to dental health, but it is clear that a high-carbohydrate diet is not beneficial!The Solution: An Appropriate Diet for the SpeciesIts simple: Cats need to eat a diet that is high in protein and water, with a moderate amount of fat, and almost no carbohydrate.Most of the health problems weve discussed here are either radically improved or eliminated by eating a diet that meets the needs of a carnivore -- one which closely resembles the nutritional balance provided by a mouse. For example, many veterinarians now treat diabetes in cats with a meat-based canned diet.Wed like to go a step further, and prevent these diseases.Feed your cat a meat-based diet!We suggest you buy canned food that is designed to be complete, or complete frozen diets that have very little vegetable content. No grain sources should be listed in the ingredient panel. There are grain-free canned cat foods that have some vegetables in them, but vegetables should not be a major component (read our article on how to compute these percentages). "All meat" diets are just that, and they will not meet your cats nutritional needs alone.Make the switch successful!It sounds simple to just switch your cats food. After all, meat tastes better than dry food, but your cat may disagree. Dry foods are designed to be tasty, and many cats are addicted to them. Often, cats are not open to the idea of variety, especially if they have only been fed one food (as we have been advised by pet food companies for decades). Creativity and patience may be needed to switch your cat.Cats will starve themselves, and they are not good candidates for the tough love approach. Some very serious conditions can occur if cats do not eat for an extended period, especially if they are overweight. A slow switch will prevent problems.Here are some ideas to help you along:Establish regular feeding times and put food away in between meals. For many reasons, its best for their bodies not to have food available all the time. If you have dogs, you know what to do with leftovers! Feed multiple cats separately; Consider dry food to be a snack only, not left out all the time. Leave out just a few pieces as a treat. Consider this the equivalent of "kitty junk food." Offer bits of other kinds of fresh food that you are eating. They may be refused, but one day, they wont. Your goal is to get your cat to consider things as food other than dry, crunchy items.Cat whiskers are very sensitive. If food is served in a bowl that interferes with whiskers, it could be enough to keep the cat from considering the food. A flat dish works well.Cats generally prefer their food between room temperature and body temperature. The dry food cats are used to eating is designed to be very smelly. Warming the food releases the flavors and fragrances. Cats choose food by smell, and wet food is a lot less fragrant than a commercial food they have been eating. This is often the reason that the second half of a can of food is refused: The first time it was room temperature!Trickery has been known to work with cats. Put the food on your plate, or hide it in a location cats know to be forbidden. When in doubt, creativity helps!Additions and Considerations. Add sardines for good fats, or use fish oil. A meal of sardines once a week or one small sardine a day adds omega-3 fatty acids in their best form-- whole food. Because cats cant use plant sources of omega-3s at all, animal sources are necessary. If sardines arent appealing to you, use a fresh, high-quality omega-3 fish oil supplemented with vitamin E.Digestive enzymes and a glandular supplement are good additions to replace the parts of prey animals we normally dont feed cats: The stomach contents and smaller glands.We think that the optimum diet for cats is a raw meat-based diet. However, if you feed your cat a canned diet that approximates the balance of his or her natural diet, their diet will be fully hydrated, and you will be much closer to providing your cat with optimum nutrition.If you choose to feed a meat-based canned diet, find a way to simulate components lost in cooking or processing.One way to add live food is with "cat grass," very popular with cats. Its often available in the produce section at the grocery store, or you can grow your own from a kit. This addition often takes the burden off the house plants! Dry "green stuff" is another choice ("Barley Cat" is one product). It takes a very small quantity of a dry product to do the job. Too much can make urine PH too alkaline, and cause some of the problems youre trying to avoid! Tiny pinches of dry green stuff go a long way.For cats, good diet can make the difference between "Old Age" at 12 and 23. Cats who eat dry food are often old and feel quite ill at 9 or 10. Healthy cats can live a very long time, and thats what we hope for your feline carnivore!Contact Steve or Beth for more information at bat31@earthlink.net.Dr. Mercolas Comment:There is indeed a special relationship that exists between pets and their owners that goes far beyond the sharing of a home together. Our happy-go-lucky, four-legged friends also provide us with constant unconditional love, devotion, friendship and something else that might not be at the forefront of most peoples minds -- health benefits.If you have a dog, I highly recommend you read their excellent book, See Spot Live Longer. Using philosophies similar to my own regarding the importance of nutrition, See Spot Live Longer presents solid evidence that a good diet is just as important for dogs as it is for us. When fed a proper raw diet appropriate for their body, hundreds of people, including veterinarians, have witnessed vast health improvements in their dogs.Authors Steve Brown and Beth Taylor, both pet health and nutrition experts, provide an all-inclusive argument for feeding your dog a naturally balanced raw meat, bone and vegetable-based diet that provides much higher quality nutrition than any dry or canned dog or cat food. By convincingly covering all the bases, readers will:Review case studies of dogs and cats with chronic illness that improved after fed a healthy diet of fresh food.Dispel the myths that are sabotaging your dogs health.Learn how the ancestral dogs diet compares to the modern diet dogs eat today.Realize the canine anatomical digest process to better understand why and when our animals are at risk from different types of food and potential toxins.Find out why dry and canned dog foods may be harming your dog.Find out what real fresh foods will protect your dog from cancer and other disease.Discover the importance of exercise and how keeping your dog fit will add years to its life. Learn practical, cost-effective solutions to feeding your dog better for a longer and healthier life.

This article is reprinted from Mercola.com, the worlds #1 most visited and trusted natural/alternative health website. For a limited time only, you can take the FREE "Metabolic Type Test" to help you learn the right foods for your particular body type so you can achieve optimal fitness & health. Just go to http://www.mercola.com/forms/mt_test.htm right now to take this quick test!

What The Heck Is A Ragdoll Cat?

That is a question I asked myself when I heard the name Ragdoll cat. From what I've bee reading, the Ragdoll cat is becoming one of the most popular breeds in the world in a relatively short time. Ragdolls are stiring up alot of curiosity. The following article provides great information for those interested in learning more about this fascinating breed of cats. Enjoy:)

Ragdoll Cat History is Stranger Than Fiction

by Louie Latour

The origins of Ragdoll cats are full of myth and controversy. This cats history is often contradictory and confusing; some of the Ragdoll story is just not possible. Other parts we know to be factual. First things first: the Ragdoll cat breed started in California back in the 1960s. It was founded by a woman named Ann Baker. The very first cat of this breed was for all intensive purposes a regular cat named Josephine. Ann Baker noticed something special about Josephine and her offspring. She decided to breed for this characteristic. Ragdoll cats get their name from the fact that they go limp like a Ragdoll when held. Ann Baker went so far to trademark the term Ragdoll; anyone who bred Ragdoll cats had to pay her royalties to use the name.
It is for this characteristic of the Ragdoll cat breed that Ann Baker made her unusual claims. Josephine was once hit by a car. On one account Ann Baker claimed she had taken the injured cat to a local University to have her patched up; she asked the University to give her cat new DNA and this is why Ragdoll cats came to be. Another claim the breeds founder made was that Ragdoll cats feel no pain whatsoever. The reason she gave for this followed suite with her previous claims that the cats were genetically altered and that they were in fact, alien hybrids. Move over x-files, there have been alien-feline hybrids on earth since the 60s.
Other claims made about this breed of cat are that they felt no fear, they are the ideal cat for people with cat allergies, and they do not have cat instincts due to the fact they are alien hybrids. When it comes to myths about Ragdoll Cats , ragdoll history is truly stranger than fiction.

Louie Latour is a Ragdoll cat enthusiast and founder of the site Ragdoll Cats which was established in 2005 to promote the Ragdoll cat breed. For more information about these unusual animals visit http://www.ragdollcats.info

Are My Cats Playing Or Fighting?

Have you ever seen cats engaged in what looked like combat? Where they really fighting? Sometimes, it's not always possible to distinguish playing from fighting. It may be important to observe behaviors before and after such a bout to determine if it was play or something more aggressive. I trust that you'll find the following article useful in determining whether it's playing or fighting. Enjoy :)

Cat Playing or Fighting

by Tony Robinson

With multi, cats can play rough. Outdoor cats that stay outside or can go outside will also play rough with other cats. Biting your ankles or arms can be play for your cat. Cats that have extra energy to play and have difficulty finding ways to release their energy can be a very playful cat.
What is the difference in playing and fighting with the cats?
Cats that are not familiar with each other can be fighting and not playing. Dominant of one cat to another, screaming, hissing continuously during what looks like the playing are signs of fighting. In addition, if a cat gets hurt, this is a signs cats are not playing. This is a sign of your cats are really fighting. This is important to learn and get additional information about especially if your cat is an outdoors cat and encounters another cat. You will be able to tell if fighting or playing is going on. Leaving your cat outside and not know the playing for fighting can have effects on your cats behaviors and stability for going outside again.
Distraction is the best way to separate fighting cats. With any type of interfering can cause pain to both you and the cats. Make a loud noise, firm voice, cats do not like loud noises this is a good way. Have spray bottles handy to use. Cats do not like to be sprayed with water and this will stop them. Once they have stop immediately separate the cats with close doors so they are not able to see each other. This aggression will need to be dealt with carefully. Allowing cats to continue to fight will end up with a cat being hurt and with fighting; this could cause diseases in the cats. This will become expensive with having to take the cat to the veterinarian for medication and some time stays at the vets for care and treatment.
Cat play is a natural for a cat and you should not interfere with the playing. Exposing other actives for the cats can help with the playing, when the playing seem to get to intense. Have plenty of toys for the cats to play with, their own scratch post, or their own area to play in.
With multi cats in a home, you will want to create an environment for each cat to have a place to feel comfortable. Some cats are able to adapt to other cats in the home and share. With different breeds and natures of the cat, will also depend on the cats being able to share one area. There are cat breeds that are just naturally a single pet and will not fit in the home with the presents of other cats or dogs around. These types of cats will have high stress and quick aggression towards other cats. You can get more information on the type of breeds that will live together and those that need their space. There are plenty of books and internet sites for you to check out.
Hitting your cats will not accomplish any thing; this will make your cat fear you, as this will lead to no communication with your cat. Training will be impossible, as communication is the most important thing when training your cat. Physical punishment to any animal is never a good thing to any animal. Remember your cat is a companion and a friend. We, as humans, would never physical or mentally hurt our love ones or friends.
Remember if the cats are not fighting and are just playing with each other, this is a sign of good communication with each other. Allowing the communication to continue will help the relationship with the cats and with you. Communication is a great tool when trying to train your cat.

Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and cat lover. Visit his website at http://www.officialcats.com