First of all, catnip is an herb. Not necessarily an herb that you want to mix into the spaghetti sauce, but its usefulness in the human world is exactly what made it quite so obvious that it also had a usefulness in the feline world. A perennial, which means it pops up year after year for all you brown thumbs out there, which is technically known by its Latin name, Nepeta cataria and produces an aroma that cats are strongly attracted to. It can be quite the source of entertainment to watch a kitten with their first ball of catnip. However, don’t be too disappointed if your kitty just treats their specially designed catnip toy like all his other toys. Not all cats lose their minds. In fact, only about 30% of all the kitties in the United States and Canada completely forget their manners in the face of catnip.

Catnip has been proven useful in the human world. It has some interesting health properties that are unique and some say overwhelmingly remarkable. Soft tissue infections caused by specific agents such as Staphylococcus aureus have been proven to respond to catnip. Toxic Shock Syndrome, a serious illness caused by leaving a tampon in for too long causing a serious infection, has also been known to respond well to catnip as a treatment. It can double as a sleep aid or an antifungal agent. Scientists and experimental herbalists are now trying it out as a natural insect repellant with some success.

Catnip is a hairy plant that is related to mint. Enthusiasts of the herb can grow it in their windowsills in little herb pots if they wish, purchase it from the store in a dried form, or of course, buy the toys stuffed with it to be discovered in a sudden moment of euphoric serendipity. The herb was originally native to Eurasia, and what makes cats so bitey for the nip is actually an oil secreted by the plant. This is why cats seem to go a little more ga—ga over the fresh version as opposed to the dry version. Technically speaking, there is enough of this precious oil remaining in the dried version to have an impact until the cat experiences the fresh stuff. Then watch out.

So, what is catnip to cats? For some, it’s really not much. But for those who find it intoxicating, it is the equivalent to chocolate made from real chocolate or a bottle of the world’s best ranked wine for the connoisseur. It is completely and totally that absolute most precious delight that makes your cat dream pleasant dreams and make nice with the entire family. It is that one moment of absolute bliss amidst an otherwise ordinary day. For cats who respond to catnip, there is little else that can compete with it. In fact, a few informal studies were conducted that proved a cat’s preference to catnip over just about anything. Cats were given choices between catnip and their food, catnip and broiled fish, and even catnip and chicken livers. 93% of the cats involved chose the catnip over everything else. This in itself is a pretty strong testimony straight from the mouths of kitties.

Despite its association with marijuana, which was dubbed by people with a particular fondness for the drug by the way, catnip is not a drug. In fact, it doesn’t affect a cat the way a drug would. Drugs work through receptors in the brain while catnip stimulates olfactory responses in cats. When Fluffy is hurtling himself about and acting as though you just injected him with a Super Steroid, he is really just a bit…aroused. Catnip gives off a synthetic pheromone that some cats just find completely dandy. Not all cats will respond to this particular pheromone, just like not all people respond to the same pheromones. Some cats will find it relaxing, which is why people decide that cats can become “stoned” from catnip. They are not stoned. They are satiated and calm, like their mother just paid them a visit and rocked them into a comforting state with her sweet perfume providing the best comfort in the world, despite the fact that they are in fact 36 years old.

Catnip can elicit a grand response from some cats, but just like all other primal sexual urges, cats can not maintain this level of excitement indefinitely. After about 5 to 15 minutes, the cat will begin to lose interest, and their arousal can not be once again piqued for at least an hour, sometimes 24.

So, what is catnip? It’s just an herb. It’s an absolutely wonderfully amusing herb delight for kitties who are in need of a little jousting in their day. It is not habit forming, addictive, mind altering, or otherwise related to controlled substances. Catnip can be used by humans for specific ailments and illnesses, and it is also used in certain spells of practicing witches. However, those spells are guarded rather heavily and we are not clear on which ones they are used.

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Fortunately, through careful treatment and management, cats with diabetes can go on to live happy, normal lives. Quick diagnosis, aggressive early management, and especially the use of special diets for diabetic cats mean that many diagnosed with diabetes can be easily managed, and in some cases, may even go into diabetic remission.

Understanding Diabetes in Cats

Approximately 80% of cats that develop diabetes will have type-2 or sugar diabetes. In humans and animals alike, diabetes is characterized by the inability of the hormone insulin to balance glucose levels in the blood.

The food animals ingest is converted into glucose in the body, traveling through the bloodstream to feed cells and create energy. Insulin acts as the vehicle that allows cells to absorb energy from the bloodstream. Under normal circumstances, after glucose enters the body, cells in the pancreas release insulin, which is then distributed to cells throughout the body, allowing them to “capture” glucose for their own use.

The pancreas is responsible for producing just enough insulin to maintain a careful balance of glucose levels in the blood, preventing them from rising too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia). However, in animals with type-2 diabetes, the body’s cells stop responding correctly to insulin. This results in excessively high blood glucose levels, as the body is unable to process the excess glucose.

The early signs of diabetes in cats include weight loss, an increased or even voracious appetite, and increased water consumption and urination. As the inability to process glucose progresses, the brain sends signals to eat more, attempting to take in more glucose. Blood glucose levels rise but cannot be utilized due to the lack of insulin, leading the starved cells to break down fat and muscle protein for conversion into sugars by the liver. As this cycle continues, excess glucose leaks into the urinary tract, drawing water from cells and causing frequent urination, which leads to a constant state of dehydration despite increased water intake.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Your veterinarian can diagnose diabetes based on a physical exam and a description of your cat’s recent behavior and clinical signs. Most importantly, blood and urine samples help make a definitive diagnosis and allow treatment to begin.

Treatment for diabetes is multifaceted and often relies on a combination of long-lasting insulin injections, specially prepared diets for diabetic cats, and careful monitoring of blood levels.

Diets for diabetic cats are the cornerstone of managing feline diabetes. Research has shown a link between the development of diabetes in cats and regular commercially prepared dry-food diets. Dry food typically contains high levels of carbohydrates, which can flood the pancreas over time with a constant high-sugar intake. By feeding a low-carbohydrate diet, the amount of insulin needed is reduced, and blood-sugar level variations are kept small and predictable.

Your veterinarian can help you select an appropriate low-carbohydrate diet for your cat. While canned, low-carbohydrate preparations are preferable (canned foods naturally have lower levels of carbs than dry foods and higher levels of digestible protein), cats that refuse wet food can be fed specially prepared prescription dry food diets. Diets containing between 3% and 9% of their calories from carbohydrates are recommended as the best choice for managing diabetic cats.

In addition to helping regulate blood sugar levels and reduce insulin requirements, lower-carb diets will aid overweight cats in losing weight. Many diabetic cats are overweight, and reducing their weight to a more normal level can have numerous health benefits, both directly and indirectly related to diabetes.

Diabetic cats should be fed only their prescribed diet, without additional treats or food changes. Once a diabetic cat is regulated on a specific food, changing that food can completely alter their insulin requirements. Therefore, it is essential that a management program ensures the diet of a diabetic cat is the only one fed.

A stable diet is especially important for the second phase of treatment—insulin injections. While a small number of cats may be controlled with diet changes alone, most require supplemental insulin to regulate their blood levels. Typically, a single slow-acting dose of insulin, administered via injection twice daily along with the special diet, will help maintain optimal blood sugar levels throughout the day.

While the prospect of giving insulin injections to your cat can be daunting, your veterinarian will demonstrate the proper method and location for the injection, helping you feel comfortable with the procedure before doing it at home. Most cats do not even notice the tiny insulin needle, making drug administration relatively easy.

Finding a balance between diet and insulin dosages can be the trickiest part of managing a newly diagnosed diabetic. Your veterinarian may run several “glucose curve” tests, where blood sugar levels are monitored at various points throughout the day to ensure they are not dipping too low or spiking too high after meals or insulin injections. You may be asked to test your cat’s urine at home periodically with Keto-sticks, which can indicate excessive glucose in the urine, a sign of uncontrolled diabetes.

Often, effective diabetes management can be achieved in just a few weeks. Once the diabetes is well controlled, monitoring blood work may only be needed every six months or so to ensure insulin requirements remain stable and to check for any issues with the cat’s other body systems (kidneys, liver, etc.).

Although a diagnosis of diabetes in your cat can be intimidating, by working closely with your vet to establish a treatment plan, your cat can continue to live a long and virtually normal life, unaffected by diabetes. With the right insulin and diets for diabetic cats, diabetes can be managed and, in some cases, even reversed.

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Just as there are benefits to people when they eat a nutritious diet full of quality foods, there are benefits to cats when they are fed a high quality diet. Some foods that claim to be of premium quality are actually just low quality food in a pretty package. Therefore, being knowledgeable about what makes a great quality cat food is the second step in making sure your cat has a healthy diet. The first is understanding your cat’s nutritional needs.

What a Cat Needs

Cats, like people, have certain nutritional requirements. While any food that tastes reasonably good may be enough to satisfy hunger, that doesn’t mean that those foods offer proper nutrition. Some cat foods should be considered an equivalent to the fast food that so many people eat. Yes, it will fill you up. Yes, it tastes good. But it does NOTHING for you in the way of benefiting your health – or your waistline.

Cats need several things to be present in their food in order to have a proper diet. There are certain amino acids that are necessary for good health that cats do not produce on their own. Because these amino acids are not produced naturally, they must be included in the diet. High quality proteins, such as those found in fish and meat, provide all of the necessary amino acids. A deficiency in essential amino acids can lead to health problems in your cat including heart problems, deficient immune system, blindness and a host of other health issues.

One of the essential amino acids required by cats is taurine. Taurine is found in only tiny amounts in plants, but is abundant in many fish and birds. This is one reason that a vegetarian diet is not appropriate for a cat.

Fats and fatty acids are another requirement for a healthy feline diet. A cat’s diet can include a higher percentage of fat than a human’s diet without any known negative effects. For maximum health benefits, a cat food should contain a minimum of around 10% fat. The omega-3 fats that are so important to a human diet are also necessary in a cat’s diet. A lack of these fatty acids can cause problem with a cat’s nervous system, vision and lead to a host of other problems.

While not essential to a feline diet, carbohydrates provide fuel for the energy that your cat requires to complete normal daily activities. Kittens and cats that are pregnant or nursing have different energy requirements. Check with your vet about the best diet for kittens and pregnant or nursing cats.

Several vitamins and minerals are needed for the good health for your cat. All of the required vitamins and minerals will be present in a quality cat food. Keep in mind that too much of a certain vitamin can also be harmful, so gross overfeeding is also detrimental to the health of your cat. One advantage of buying premium cat food is that all of the items required for a healthy feline diet will be found in one place.

Even if you use the best cat food available, under or over feeding your cat can lead to health problems. An underweight cat is more likely to get certain bacterial infections and could suffer damage to their organs. An overweight cat is susceptible to diabetes and heart problems.

If you can feel your cat’s bones, the cat is likely underweight. You should feel a thin layer of fat over the ribs in a cat of ideal weight.

Now that you are familiar with the dietary needs of your cat, you are better prepared to select a well-balanced nutritionally appropriate food.

How to Select a Premium Cat Food

Learning to read the label on a bag or can of cat food is the key to choosing the best food for your cat. While cheap cat food can be found at any supermarket, what you are often paying for is a bag of empty calories that will not provide your cat with a balanced diet. Here is what you need to look for on the label of a cat food product.

• Look for the words “complete and balanced”. These words can only appear when the food meets certain criteria established by AAFCO (The American Associate of Feed Control Officials).
• A protein source that is named (i.e. chicken, beef) rather than just “meat”.
• Ideally, the protein source will be the first listed ingredient.

You want to avoid fillers, so if you see the words “animal by-products” “bone meal” or “animal digest” on the ingredient list, you should choose a different food. Preservatives should also be avoided, so do not select foods that contain BHT, BHA or propyl gallate. Excessive fillers, especially corn meal fillers, should be avoided as well.

Below is a list of some of the benefits of purchasing a high quality food.

• A healthy, shiny coat
• All of your cat’s nutritional needs will be met without the need for supplements
• It will be easier for your cat to maintain a healthy weight
• Your cat will have a higher energy level
• Your cat will be hungry less often, because all of his nutritional needs will be met
• Just like a human who eats a healthy diet, your cat will have fewer problems with illness and will be an overall healthier pet.

While a high quality cat food may cost a bit more, the advantages of buying premium cat food are well worth it for the health of your pet.

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There are varying opinions regarding the ideal diet for cats, including all-canned food, raw food, dry food diets, and combinations of dry and canned food. Your choice may depend on personal preference or your cat’s specific needs. Cats with chronic digestive or other health issues may benefit from dietary changes. This could be an easy solution to a difficult problem, but ultimately, the decision is yours.

Understanding Different Diets for Cats

Most domesticated cats are introduced to commercially prepared dry kibble. Although dry food is unnatural for cats due to its high carbohydrate content, high plant protein levels, and lack of moisture, it is common in the United States. Many cats tolerate dry food well, and there are now more options to suit their needs. If your cat is experiencing issues, a change in diet might be beneficial. In fact, even healthy cats can thrive and live longer when their diet is altered.

An all-canned food diet is growing in popularity. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they are designed to meet their nutritional needs with animal-based proteins. Cats lack the ability to derive nutrition from plant-based proteins. Canned foods specifically formulated for cats contain higher quality protein than dry foods, which often rely on plant-based proteins that cats cannot digest. In the wild, cats would consume a high-protein, high-moisture, meat-based diet, with moderate fat and very low carbohydrates. Canned food mimics this diet more closely, containing fewer carbohydrates and more water, which is beneficial since most wild prey contains around 75% water.

Canned foods also help prevent kidney and bladder problems, which are common in cats. A diet with high water content can alleviate these issues.

Another growing trend among cat owners is feeding an all-raw meat diet. This can be done with pre-made raw food or by preparing meals at home. Raw meat diets are similar to canned foods in meeting a cat’s nutritional needs but are free from the grains and toxins found in many commercial dry and canned foods. While raw meat can contain bacteria, cats’ short intestinal transit time helps prevent bacterial growth.

If you choose a raw food diet, it’s essential to do your research. Cats need more than just meat to thrive, so it’s important to include supplements or bone meal for calcium. Be cautious of pre-made raw foods, ensuring they contain no more than 10% vegetable matter, and check the meat sources, as organs like liver may not provide enough nutrition.

If you’re unsure about your cat’s diet, consult your veterinarian, who can help guide your decision. Experimenting with different diets can also help you find the best option for your cat.

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In early 2007, several major brands were found to contain tainted ingredients in their cat foods. These contaminations led to the illness and death of thousands of dogs and cats, causing widespread panic and distrust toward the pet food industry. The culprit was wheat gluten imported from China, tainted with melamine, a poisonous fertilizer. Millions of bags and cans of pet food were eventually found to be contaminated, affecting nearly every major pet food manufacturer.

Although the panic from the pet food recall has subsided, the event highlighted significant concerns about the content and ingredients in cat food. Now, more than ever, determining what constitutes a healthy diet for your cat is a confusing and daunting task.

Nutritional Needs and Label Insights

Cats have specific nutritional needs, and ignoring these can adversely affect their health. Unlike dogs, cats require a much higher amount of protein in their diet due to their inability to regulate the breakdown of liver enzymes. Insufficient dietary protein can lead the body to utilize and break down protein in the cat’s own muscles.

The amino acid taurine is essential for bile formation, as well as eye and heart health, but the feline body produces very little taurine on its own. Arginine, another essential amino acid, is critical for eliminating ammonia from the body. Cats require diets high in both taurine and arginine for proper bodily functions.

An average cat diet should contain at least 30% protein, compared to 22% for dogs. Taurine is not typically present in dog foods, and the amount of arginine needed in cat food is more than double that in dog food. Due to these unique nutritional requirements, feeding your cat a proper, balanced diet is essential.

Understanding the label on your cat food is crucial. Labels can be confusing, but by breaking them down, you can decipher the nutritional value of your cat’s food.

What’s in a Name? When it comes to cat food, the name matters. If a food is named for its main ingredient, such as “Chicken Cat Food,” the named ingredient (chicken) must constitute at least 70% of the total weight. If a food name includes “dinner” or “formula,” such as “Beef Formula,” the named ingredient must only be at least 25% of the total weight, with fillers often making up the rest.

By-Products: By-products are common in lower-quality cat foods. Meat by-products include parts of the animal left after slaughter, unfit for human consumption, such as feet, intestines, organs, and diseased animals in poultry.

Crude Protein: This often consists of hair, hooves, tendons, beaks, and feathers. Cats may not digest all of this crude protein, potentially leading to a protein deficiency.

Cereal Grains: Referred to as “meal” (e.g., wheat meal, corn meal), these are leftovers from grain processed for human use and offer little nutritional value.

Glutens: Such as the wheat gluten found in tainted pet foods, these are byproducts of human food processing, primarily used as binders.

On ingredient labels, components are listed in order of weight. The first few ingredients are the major components of the food. For example, one food’s first ingredients might be: “Corn meal, ground wheat, meat meal, chicken fat, wheat gluten.” Another might list: “Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, barley, brown rice.” The first food is primarily corn and wheat, with meat as the third-largest ingredient, while the second has a higher proportion of meat. Since protein from meat is the most critical component of a cat’s diet, the second food is clearly of higher nutritional value.

Armed with the knowledge to decipher cat food labels, it’s time to evaluate what you’re feeding your cat. It may be worth researching and possibly switching to a different food. Here are a few considerations when choosing cat food:

Organic Claims: Foods labeled “made with organic ingredients” must contain at least 70% organic ingredients, while true “organic” cat food must have at least 95% organic ingredients.

Vegetarian Diets: While vegetarian dog foods are gaining popularity, they are not suitable for cats. As true carnivores, cats rely on meat protein for survival.

Water Content: In nature, a cat’s diet would consist of up to 70% water, requiring minimal supplemental water intake. Dry cat food typically contains as little as 6% water, and studies show cats do not drink enough to compensate for this lack of moisture. Feeding only dry food may contribute to chronic dehydration, urinary tract disease, and renal failure, as noted in cat health concerns. By contrast, canned food typically contains 40–45% water, a significant improvement over dry food, though still less than a cat’s natural diet.

Providing a healthy diet for your cat depends on understanding their unique nutritional needs. By carefully researching the ingredients in your cat food and consulting with your veterinarian, you can select a food that ensures peace of mind and supports your cat’s long, healthy life.

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When you start feeding cats table scraps, you’re essentially training them to expect food from the table. Of course, you’re going to get frustrated when your sweet kitty jumps up on the Thanksgiving table and helps himself to the turkey that hasn’t even been carved yet, while you’re outside gathering the family for a meal that would have been to die for. At least the cat thought so. More often than not, when you give cats human leftovers, they begin to take liberties you never intended to grant them. Some cats will help themselves even if you never feed them a single morsel that falls on the floor. Others will take their cue from you, determining that if it’s good enough for you to give them, it’s good enough for them to take. Somehow, they miss our human logic that says they can’t help themselves.

The Health Implications of Feeding Cats Table Scraps

Some veterinarians believe that table scraps are the healthiest treat you can give a cat (or a dog, for that matter), while others argue they should only ever be given specific cat treats. Most fall somewhere in between. In some cases, feeding a cat table scraps is healthier than feeding them certain commercially available treats. For example, if you’re offering your cat unprocessed, healthy meat scraps, some vets argue this is healthier than treats with a primary ingredient of wheat or “byproducts” and “meals.” These terms are code for “not the real thing.” Fish byproduct, for instance, refers to a product derived from fish, not the fresh fish we think of as a meal.

Some experts say that it can be okay to feed your cat pieces of fresh meat, provided this isn’t done at the table. This way, you can offer your cat the best sources of protein and crude fats that are healthy for their digestive system and coat, while also regulating their behavior. Cats can be trained to eat only what is served to them in their dish. However, these same experts warn that regularly dishing out table scraps can make your cat fickle, causing them to turn their nose up at their regular cat food.

Cats need regularity in their diet for their digestive tracts to function well. Despite your best efforts, unless you’re eating the same thing every night, giving your cat random scraps can occasionally cause stomach upset, leaving you with an unattractive mess that hopefully makes it to the litter box.

Cats do not digest milk or other dairy products well at all. Despite the cute cartons showing milk as a staple for cats, dairy is one of the quickest ways to cause explosive bowel issues. And cats cannot always make it to their litter box when they’re ill. While it’s true that cats love dairy products and will often break the rules to sneak a few licks of ice cream left in your dish when you’re not looking, dairy is a terrible treat for them. In rare cases, dairy can cause serious health problems, and on even rarer occasions, it can be fatal. As rare as this may be, it won’t matter how often or how little it happens if it happens to your kitty.

For those of us who still live without the convenience of a dishwasher, having a cat around to clean up unattractive leftover meal remnants may seem like a handy idea. And it is handy. Nobody can deny how much easier it is to wash a plate that has been completely cleaned by a cat on a mission. If it weren’t for the telltale “kitty slime” on the plate, you could easily stick it back in the cabinet, and no one would be the wiser—except your cat. Your rather obese cat who can no longer jump onto his favorite perch to watch the birds outside, or the cat you now have to lift onto the bed for a cozy night of cuddling.

The number one health issue facing cats today is obesity. Fat cats are not cute—they are dangerously unhealthy. Fat cats suffer from many of the same issues as obese humans, plus a few extras that we don’t have to contend with. When you allow your cat to become morbidly overweight, you’re robbing him not only of his life expectancy but also of his quality of life. How much fun is life for a cat who can’t creep around his favorite places because he can’t jump anymore? How much enjoyment does he get from sleeping on the floor because you aren’t home to pick him up on command? How heartbreaking is it to watch your cat struggle with back pain, knowing that you had a direct role in his condition?

Feeding your cat table scraps can speed up this process faster than you might think. The best way to protect your cat, whether you’re concerned with his health or behavior, is to regulate his food intake, provide plenty of exercise, and replace that slice of fish with safe, nutritious treats—while offering an abundance of loving attention. Your cat will live a healthier, happier, and longer life, and you’ll be grateful for the lack of kitty paw prints on the kitchen counter.

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The Importance of Quality Ingredients

In their more natural environment, cats are carnivores. Left to their own devices, they make incredible hunters with the stealth of a missile when they find their prey. This is what their bodies are made to thrive on, and it’s what keeps them healthy. In any cat food, the one thing you should be looking for is meat—not a meat by-product. A by-product is just that: a substandard filler that may have come from meat, but isn’t actually meat. It’s like trimming all the fat off of a luscious piece of prime rib and serving only the fat to your family. Certainly not the healthiest meal you could give them, if they could even choke down all that undissolved gristle.

If you don’t see something familiar, something you would eat, at the very top of the list of ingredients, then pass on the food. You should see words like “chicken,” “salmon,” or “turkey” without any additional verbiage. Something simple that you would actually put in your mouth. “Chicken by-product” isn’t going on my plate anytime soon.

Wheat is not healthy for cats. Cats don’t graze. In fact, they don’t get any nutritional value from wheat—it’s just a cost-effective filler that allows for more volume of cat food at a lower price tag for the company. They’ll still charge you $15 for a 5-pound bag.

Wet vs. Dry Cat Food

So, how does this help you solve the debate between serving your kitty wet or dry food? We need to take a closer look at the natural behaviors and dietary needs of felines. Just as they are stealth hunters, cats are also very efficient and thorough eaters. Perhaps it’s a bit unpleasant to think about, but cats really don’t waste much of their prey. The flesh of their prey serves not only to feed their hunger but also provides the natural fluids that help keep them hydrated. Soft cat food most closely resembles this. However, cats will eat the bones (or at least a good portion of them) before considering their prey to be waste material. The crunchiness of the hard texture is great for their teeth. While you should not give your cat chicken bones (despite the fact that they would consider you the best human in the world if you did), you do need to pay attention to how cats rely on their diet to stay nutritionally and hygienically sound.

Cats that primarily eat wet food are generally healthier in their protein consumption but may offend their human counterparts with particularly foul breath. You should get their teeth cleaned regularly, but between cleanings, cats need natural ways of keeping their mouths healthier. Kittens especially use the hard crunch to help establish new teeth as their baby teeth disappear.

Cats that live primarily off dry cat food tend to have healthier mouths but are nutritionally lacking, even if the difference is marginal. If you want to offer your cat the healthiest food possible, consider blending both dry and wet food. This gives them the best of both worlds.

Considerations and Convenience

Of course, there are downsides to this. For starters, cats generally don’t eat all of their food in one sitting. They are more nibblers by nature. Some will, but they are the rare sort. Leaving wet cat food at their disposal is not only an attraction for germs but also for bugs and rodents.

One of the most convenient aspects of owning a cat is that a simple weekend away doesn’t entail the same hardships as it does with dogs. There’s no need to find a cat sitter or take them to a kennel. You have the option of leaving extra food down and disappearing for a couple of days. Having to contend with wet food, even a mixture of wet and dry, makes this more difficult.

Ultimately, the choice may not even be yours, especially if you’ve adopted an older cat who is stubborn about keeping their diet the same. A test of wills can be hard to endure when switching a cat’s food to something new, even when you try to adjust them slowly. The upset stomach, the constant mewling, and of course the beady-eyed glare you receive as they wait for their usual food might be more than you can bear, even if it’s for their own good. It often takes several tries to switch a cat from one food to another.

Nutritional Balance is Key
When choosing your cat’s food, the ingredients and nutritional levels are more important than whether you choose wet or dry food. If your lifestyle can handle it, a mix is always preferable. Most cat owners who travel even just a bit opt for dry food. The most important factor is that your cat is offered food that is nutritionally sound, ensuring they live a full and healthy life.

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Over the next couple of weeks, Ken could coax Berkley into taking a few bites of food, but that was it. He kept waiting for her to come around, but it didn’t happen, and Berkley almost died.

The Dangers of Cats Not Eating

While Berkley’s loss of appetite was likely related to the trauma of losing her sister, what Ken didn’t know was that when a cat stops eating—for any reason—it can turn deadly very quickly.

When a person stops eating for a short period, their body can handle it. Yes, there will be some changes, such as the stomach shrinking and blood sugar levels shifting, but generally, a healthy person can go without food for two weeks or even longer with no long-term effects.

But a cat’s body functions differently from a human’s. A human liver is efficient at processing fat, while a cat’s liver is not. When a cat stops eating, the body begins to send fat cells to the liver. Because the cat’s liver cannot process these fat cells, a condition called hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) can develop.

Once a cat has this condition, eating becomes increasingly difficult, and eventually, the cat may not be able to eat at all. This can happen rather quickly. Cats are not known for complaining, so a cat with hepatic lipidosis may not even appear to be ill at first. But there are some signs to look for:

• Cat is not eating
• Excessive and rapid weight loss
• Vomiting
• Lethargy
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or around the eyes or mouth)

Unfortunately, by the time these signs are clearly noticeable, the disease may have been present for some time. While it is treatable if caught early, the best course of action is to notice immediately when your cat stops eating. If your cat stops eating for more than 24 hours, the safest course is to take them to the vet.

In Ken’s case, by the time he took Berkley to the vet, it was almost too late. She had to have a feeding tube inserted, but even with that drastic treatment, Ken was told there was only a 25% chance she would survive.

The low odds were due to the fact that the fatty liver disease had caused liver failure. Because Berkley was on the verge of liver failure, there was a significant chance the treatment wouldn’t work.

Hepatic lipidosis is the result of not eating. Once the disease takes hold, it becomes the reason the cat cannot eat. In Berkley’s case, it was likely trauma that caused her to stop eating. However, there are other common reasons a cat might lose interest in food.

A move to a new house, the addition of a new pet or baby to the household, or any number of medical conditions are some of the more common causes. If the cause is medical, a vet’s assistance will be required to resolve the problem. Even if the cause is psychological, it’s important to find a way to get the cat eating again as quickly as possible, or it can quickly turn into a medical issue like hepatic lipidosis.

Berkley was hospitalized for two weeks. Once she came home, she had to be fed through a tube for several weeks before she began showing interest in eating on her own. Had she been brought to the vet sooner, the treatment may have been less drastic, and she could have been coaxed into eating through simpler measures.

Getting advice from a vet is always the best course of action when a cat isn’t eating. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, and at the very least, your vet can give you advice on how to stimulate your cat’s appetite. They can also provide follow-up care if your efforts to get your cat to eat fail.

Don’t take any chances. While there’s advice online about how to get your cat to eat, waiting too long to visit the vet means you’re gambling with your pet’s life.

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Dry cat food is the most popular form of food fed to domestic cats today. It’s convenient, clean, easy to feed, inexpensive, and available in high volumes. Until recently, dry food was considered the “best” option for cats. It was heavily advertised and widely recommended by veterinarians.

However, recent studies have shown that dry cat food may not be the best choice, especially when fed exclusively over long periods. In fact, diets based on dry cat food have been linked to chronic dehydration, urinary tract disease, and renal failure.

The Evolutionary Diet of Cats

Cats are descendants of true carnivores. Having evolved in the deserts of Africa, cats adapted to their environment by meeting their moisture needs solely through the moisture found in their prey. This natural diet contained at least 65% water, while commercial dry food contains no more than 10% moisture.

You may be wondering, “But what about supplemental water intake?” We all provide free-choice water to our cats, but how often do you see your cat actually drinking it? Cats drink water, but because drinking is a learned behavior, it cannot be relied on to meet the moisture requirements that dry food fails to provide. For over 40 million years, cats have not needed to rely on supplemental water.

The Impact of Dry Food on Health

As mentioned earlier, the natural diet of cats would contain around 70% water. To consume that much moisture from a dry diet, a cat would need to eat seven times as much food, or it may suffer from chronic dehydration.

By contrast, commercially prepared canned food contains 40-45% water, which, while not equivalent to a wild cat’s diet, is much better than dry food.

In addition to its low moisture content, dry food absorbs moisture from the stomach once ingested, causing further dehydration. Long-term, this chronic dehydration can lead to urinary tract diseases and renal failure.

Urinary Tract Issues and Chronic Dehydration

Although urinary tract problems in cats are not new, they are more frequent in cats fed primarily dry food. Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) occurs when struvite or calcium oxalate crystals form in the urine, leading to bladder blockages. Decreased moisture content in dry food reduces urine volume, which increases the amount of crystals in the bladder.

Treatment often involves increasing urine volume, which can be achieved with prescription diets or simply switching from dry to canned food. Cats that are switched to wet food have a lower incidence of bladder obstructions than those kept on a dry food diet.

Additionally, long-term reduced water intake and chronic dehydration can contribute to chronic renal failure (kidney failure) in cats. Renal failure is a progressive, terminal condition with no cure—only supportive care. The kidneys filter waste from the blood, regulate electrolytes, and concentrate urine. As kidney failure progresses, these functions diminish. Symptoms often don’t appear until 70% of kidney function is already lost.

The Role of Grain Proteins and Obesity

Grain proteins in dry food release more waste during digestion, increasing the workload for the kidneys. Aside from the dehydration and kidney issues, dry cat food is also linked to higher rates of obesity. In the wild, a cat’s natural diet contains only 1-2% carbohydrates. However, carbohydrates in commercial dry foods often make up 45% of the diet. Cats metabolize fats and proteins for energy, so most of these carbohydrates are converted into body fat, leading to obesity and hepatic lipidosis (fat in the liver).

Should You Switch from Dry to Wet Food?

Despite these concerns, does that mean you should throw away your 20lb bag of dry food and stock up on canned food? Not necessarily. Some adjustments to your cat’s feeding plan may go a long way toward promoting long-term health.

If your cat already has kidney or urinary issues, dry food may not be the best option, and canned food could even help manage their condition. For healthy cats, a mix of wet and dry food might strike a good balance between convenience, cost, and health.

Ultimately, if you’re concerned about the use of dry cat food or have any questions about your cat’s nutrition, your veterinarian will be the best resource for selecting the best diet for your cat’s long-term health.

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