Do you know what’s in your cat’s food?
If you’re not sure, there are unfortunately a lot of harmful ingredients that hide in some of the most popular brands. A healthy cat diet is crucial to help your furry friend live a long and healthy life.
What’s the Best Cat Diet?
Not all of us are veterinarians, so we don’t always know if what we’re feeding our cats is good for them. It’s important to do your research on a healthy cat diet before you buy any brand of cat food, especially if you buy pet supplies online.
To make life easier, here are a few things your cat should be eating and a couple things you should always avoid.
Healthy Ingredients Your Cat Should Eat
Quality cat food isn’t always cheap, but it’s a worthwhile investment to keep your cat healthy. Here are three things you should look for in your cat’s food:
1. Meat
Cats are carnivores, so they need a diet that’s heavy in good sources of protein. Meets like chicken, turkey, beef and even eggs are great ingredients to look for in cat food. Make sure these meats come from good sources and are all organic if possible. If you wouldn’t eat it, you shouldn’t feed it to your cat either.
2. Vegetables
Just like humans, a healthy cat diet consists of plenty of vegetables. There are certain vegetables cats shouldn’t have but things like pumpkin, squash, carrots, broccoli, and spinach that have great vitamins and minerals for your pet.
3. Dairy
You might notice some cat food brands contain cheese or yogurt. These can be great sources of added protein for cats. Like meat and vegetables, try to look for clean, whole sources of dairy and go with organic if possible.
Also, some cats can be lactose intolerant (especially as they get older) so make sure to test out a small amount of dairy at a time first, in case it upsets your cat’s stomach
What Should You Avoid?
A lot of companies might use buzzwords and marketing that make them seem like they’re a healthy option when in reality they’re harmful. Here are three things to look out for:
1. Grains
Cat’s stomachs weren’t built to digest carbs such as wheat, rice, and barley. Unfortunately, these are filler ingredients in many name-brand cat foods. A healthy cat diet should be primarily protein-based, followed by some fruits and vegetables.
Even if the grains are organic and high-quality, cats simply weren’t designed to digest these complex carbs.
2. Fish
Cats notoriously love fish, but you should proceed with caution before giving your cat anything that contains seafood. Fish often carries harmful chemicals and toxins. If you are going to include fish in a cat diet, make sure it’s wild and organic not farm-raised.
3. Fillers and By-Products
Some name-brand cat foods want to keep their foods lower in cost, so they fill their food with cheap, filler ingredients and by-products. If you want to invest in a good cat diet, make sure you read every ingredient of the cat food. You’ll want to avoid soy, corn and other common filler ingredients.
Want to Learn More?
It’s to stick with natural ingredients when it comes to finding a healthy cat diet. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t give it to your cat either. To find more information on keeping your cat healthy for years to come, check out the rest of our blog.