My girlfriend Lynn and I share a chubby 9 year old female cat named Raja. We became worried about her weight after her last vet visit. In one year she gained over 2 pounds! Wow! That's like a 120 lb. person gaining 24 pounds!
When Science Fails...
We promised the vet we would put her on a diet, which consisted of senior and weight-loss formulas from a "scientific" brand of cat food. We continued to feed her dry cat food because she liked it fine and it was convenient for us. One small bowl a day and she and we were satisfied. We also started measuring her food to prevent overeating, according to the vet's instructions.
After a couple of months, we and guests to the house noticed that she seemed even fatter and more lethargic. We became very concerned, but still trusted in our "science" dry food.
Then, I just happened to come across a book at the local library while browsing the new book section. It was called: "Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life." I decided to look up "obesity" in the index and found some very shocking information.
According to the author, Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M., the dry food we were feeding Raja was not only the cause of her weight gain and laziness, but it had the potential to cause more severe problems, like feline diabetes! I was surprised to learn that cats are not like us or even like dogs... they are "obligate carnivores", which means they get their entire nutrition from meat. Unlike us and dogs, who are omnivores, cats can't process grains and other carbohydrates very well. Their bodies just aren't built that way.
Guess what the main ingredients of those "scientific" diet foods we were feeding Raja? Corn, wheat and other grains! She need to go on a "Catkins" diet and fast!
The Ideal Cat Diet
The ideal diet for any cat is protein, fat, moisture and low carbohydrates... just like the makeup of their natural prey: small animals and birds. If left outside, cat's eat what they catch and they don't chase after corn on the cob! They prey on mice, chipmunks, birds, etc.
The only cure for feline obesity according to Dr. Hodgkins, is low carbohydrate, high protein wet cat food. She insists that all cat owners drop dry cat food altogether. So, armed with this new information, I went on a quest to find readily available canned cat food that consisted of decent meat ingredients and that had carbohydrates at the recommended amount: 10% or less.
My Search For Healthy, Low Carbohydrate Cat Food
It took a while, but I found quite a few flavors of Fancy Feast, Petsmart's Sophisticat Supreme, Walmart's Special Kitty, Trader Joe's Tuna Cat Food, and Innova Evo's Cat and Kitten that met the low-carb, high protein, healthy ingredients criteria.
I discovered that it's important to read the labels of the canned foods you feed your pet and not trust any brand totally with your pet's health. Even within the above mentioned brands, there were flavors of canned cat food that were too high in carbohydrates or that had low quality ingredients.
How To Read A Cat Food Label
The key to reading labels is to make sure the food has decent ingredients and low carbs.
Here are some ingredient criteria that you should look for:
* 1st 2 ingredients must be some form of meat, and NOT meat or fish by-products. (by-products are poor sources of protein and should not be the main ingredients in any quality cat food.)
* No corn or corn meal in the list of ingredients. Corn has a high-glycemic index which means it is too readily converted to sugar in the body... VERY high in unnecessary and dangerous carbohydrates.
* No rice, or other grains in the first 5 ingredients. (Same problem... too easily converted to sugar & too high in carbohydrates.)
* No bone meal or bone phosphorous in list of ingredients. (Bone meal and bone phosphorous may contain harmful and poisonous chemicals.)
* Actual carbohydrates 10% or less.
* Limit feeding of canned food with fish ingredients to no more than 3 days per week. (Fish has mercury which is poisonous to your cat.) NOTE: Be vigilant when reading cat food labels. I was surprised to find that some non-fish flavors of canned food contained fish somewhere in the ingredient list. This is ok, but just be sure to limit feeding of fish-containing foods to 3 times per week to be safe.
How To Determine The Carbohydrates In Canned Cat Food
By law, each can of cat food must list the "Guaranteed Analysis" percents for protein, fat, fiber, moisture and ash. There is no requirement to list carbohydrates, so those must be computed from the other guaranteed analysis percentages.
Yikes, math! No sweat, the math is simple enough. Just add up the percentages for protein, fat, fiber, moisture and ash. If the total is 98% or higher, then carbohydrates will be 10% or less, which is what we are looking for. (This assumes the usual moisture content of 75-80%). The carbs will vary somewhat if the moisture % is not in the 75-80% range so you'll have to re-compute.
For More Information...
Please see my blog: http://Help-My-Fat-Cat-Lose-Weight.blogspot.com for complete formula details and a list of healthy cat food brands and flavors that I found.
We were relieved that we had found a way to prevent feline obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related maladies that our cat might have contracted if we had remained with her inappropriate dry food regimen. So if your feline friend is getting lazy and fat in his/her old age, try switching to healthier wet food and put your pet on a "Catkins" diet for the rest of his/her happy life!
About the Author
Tom Thomas is the co-owner of a chubby adult cat named Raja. I've done some research into cat diets and nutrition to solve her weight problem and to make sure she doesn't develop a more serious condition, like feline diabetes.
Visit my Blog at: http://Help-My-Fat-Cat-Lose-Weight.blogspot.com for the complete feline obesity story and a list of healthy cat foods for your feline friend.
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