The cat food aisles of the pet store can be incredibly daunting, especially when you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. Do you go with the most expensive, the one that has fresh caught cod, grain-free, the one for healthy joints, or the one with the picture of a panther on it? My cat is basically a small panther, right?! She certainly thinks so! The answer to what you should feed your cat, unfortunately, is that it depends. Every cat is an individual and based on their age, lifestyle and any concurrent issues, their diet is going to change accordingly. Not one brand, type (canned vs. dry), or protein source is going to work for all cats. For the most appropriate choice for you and your cat, we highly recommend consulting with your veterinarian. In general, for a healthy cat, here are some of our thoughts on the issue!
Firstly - canned vs. dry? My answer is why not both?! Dry food helps prevent dental disease by helping remove tartar. Canned food (pate or stew) helps promote a good hydration status and prevent urinary issues - it also is lower in calories and can help with weight loss. Some cats will have a preference and refuse to eat one or the other - which is fine. A variety can be healthy!
What brand should I choose? If the diet is well balanced, and your cat does well on it (is a healthy weight, with a healthy coat and intestinal tract), then I am happy with that diet! That being said, you’ll notice we mostly carry the “big 3” brands in our clinic - Hill’s, Royal Canin and Purina. They are affordable, easily accessible, well balanced, I trust that what they say is in the food is actually what they are putting in it, and they are batch-testing frequently so are able to catch any issues prior to it causing an issue in our furry friends!
What about raw or home-cooking? In our opinion - neither are great options. Home-cooking is difficult to do correctly, is time-consuming, and not feasible for a pet-sitter if you go away. We don’t recommend raw diets for our cats for the same reason we don’t recommend it for people - raw meat can be dangerous! And again, it can be difficult to make it a balanced diet - especially if your little tiger only eats the meat and avoids the vegetables & grains. If still interested in this, we recommend the alternative of home cooked meal services, or using balanceit.com which is a great resource to help create balanced diets.
Ultimately, each cat is an individual, with individual preferences and needs. For more help on choosing the right diet for your cat, please feel free to reach out! We’d love to help.