More Internet Myths About Feline Nutrition

Many articles online regarding feline nutrition seem to cluster around the question of whether commercial canned diets or dry food products are "better" for cats. Many authors use the existence of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (NAAFCO) as proof positive that commercially prepared diets are not only adequate, but something above that. After all, if the product is prepared according to this entity's standards, it must be good, right? Of course, as covered here previously in other posts on feline nutrition, the NAAFCO is nothing more than an industry trade group, whose main raison d'etre is to create a product that sells well. If this means that the product must not cause death or illness in the pets of the consumers that buy it (it does), then, of course, that becomes a primary goal. They have learned from past fiascos such as the taurine deficiency and tuna-vitamin E incidents that they must be a bit more careful with their product, but only because of the dire results that ensued. They did not use science to improve their product; the scramble to fix the problem resulted from economics, i.e., a loss of market share. Where were their "guidelines" when manufacturers were adding melamine to cat food to raise the protein content?

Other writers suggest that a homemade diet is healthier for cats than the commercial stuff. So far, so good. Unfortunately, instead of pointing the reader in the direction of research and fact-finding, some of these authors attempt to give advice about making cat food at home. This advice mainly consists of cooking many types of meat thoroughly, mixing them together in a blender or food processor, and feeding the resultant mixture to your cat. While these authors usually note that cats are carnivores, they obviously believe that this means that cats can eat only meat, and thrive. Hopefully, these articles will merely encourage those who are interested in homemade diets to look further, not actually follow the advice offered.

Many of these articles suggest making some of portion of your cat's diet and using this to augment a commercial diet. This, of course, is better than nothing, but one still needs to learn the basics of feline nutrition before setting out on this journey. While many of these authors caution against feeding only a homemade diet, they say this not because they necessarily believe that a commercial diet is healthier, but because they feel that the average cat owner cannot possibly figure out how to formulate such a diet. This is nonsense. Even pet owners with no background in nutrition or physiology can read books by those that do. There are many good books out there that even give sample recipes and menus, and many are written by veterinarians.

Don't discontinue your online research when it comes to caring for your cat. Just be discerning about what you read (this goes for any subject, really!). And remember the old research standby: Borrow a few books on cat nutrition from your local library and read them. When you find a couple that you really like, buy them and refer to them often. Sometimes, the old-fashioned way is still best!
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More Advantages to a Homemade Diet

Whenever I take care of someone else's cats, I am always reminded of how yucky commercial cat food is. Despite the inconvenience of having to make your cat's food from scratch, there are many advantages to doing so. Regular readers already know the health and nutritional pluses of a homemade diet. As if those were not enough, I have a few more for you!

For one thing, the mess associated with leaving cat food out all the time is astounding. Since cats aren't really built to chew on dry cat food pellets, they wind up turning their heads this way and that trying to grind this junk-food product with a carnivore's teeth. This, as I remember well, winds up spreading bits of dry cat food here and yon. And that's not even counting the pieces of food that get batted around the house!

Canned cat food is another matter altogether. I had almost forgotten how gross it smells! Unless you clean those cans out really, really well, your trash (or, hopefully, your recycling bin) will stink. Re-hydrating the leftover cement-food in the bowl by soaking it in the sink is also an adventure, since adding water seems to renew the smell, too. Then, there's the "cat-food breath". Cats on homemade diets have sweet-smelling breath, unlike those who eat commercial food. And, if you are like me and like to snuggle with your cats, waiting a while after mealtimes is a must if you don't want to smell Fluffy's canned cat food dinner in her fur!

There is also the other end of the smell issue: The litter box. Cats on commercial diets tend to have bowel movements that are a bit stinky. There's a reason there are so many cat-litter box deodorizers and and scented cat litter brands on the market! Because there are so many fillers in the food, the stool is also much larger than it would be if the cat was hunting for itself. Homemade food produces small, nearly neutral smelling stool. Since the animal is extracting almost everything from the food, there is little waste to pass out of the other end. I certainly don't miss the days of smelly cat boxes, that's for sure.

All the above reasons are selfish, really, since they address our concerns as pet owners rather than the needs of our companions. But making homemade cat food is work, and we should get some extra benefits for this additional effort (besides healthy, long-lived cats). So, during the dog days of summer when the garbage is smelling up the house and/or attracting wildlife on the back deck, remember this article. You may just decide to cook up a treat for Fluffy after all.
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