Diet Is the Foundation of Feline Health
Among the many decisions that a cat owner faces throughout the life of their pet, few have more impactful long-term effects than the choice of what to feed them. Nutrition is not a background issue in feline health — it affects virtually everything in a cat’s body on a biological level. The skin and coat, the kidneys, the immune system, the joints, and even brain function in elderly cats are all affected over time by the quality and make-up of the diet.
Veterinarians frequently witness the results of poor nutrition. Diet can account for nearly all of feline obesity, which is now estimated to affect 60% of indoor cats in some countries, and is a major cause of diabetes, arthritis, and reduced lifespan. Hydration is an important factor in feline urinary tract disease, one of the top reasons cats are taken to the vet — and also influenced by the mineral balance in your cat’s diet. Several nutritional risk factors for the early onset of kidney disease, common to a large sector of cats over seven years of age, are well known. But with a better understanding of what veterinary science actually does recommend, and the reasons behind the recommendations, cat owners have the information they need to make informed choices that keep their cats healthy at all life stages, not just today, but for the decade or more they have ahead of them.
What Veterinarians Actually Recommend
Veterinarians have been busy updating recommendations for cat nutrition in line with new insights into feline physiology and the implications of feeding various diets over the long term. Although there are specific recommendations for cats in various life stages or with certain health concerns, there are a few core concepts that are reasonably well-established in the vetsphere.
Plus, most vets recommend feeding your cat a vet-approved cat food that contains high-quality animal protein as the first ingredient, is low in carbohydrates, and promotes proper hydration — preferably via the use of wet food as a primary source of nutrition. These are the three pillars underlying the biology of cats as obligate carnivores and why their digestive and metabolic systems are uniquely adapted to a prey-based diet that’s high in moisture, rich in animal protein, moderate in fat, and very low in digestible carbohydrate.
Wet food is particularly recommended by vets for most cats. Cats are desert animals and have a naturally low thirst drive, so they do not make up for moisture loss in dry food by drinking more. The mild chronic dehydration caused by an all-dry diet gradually strains kidneys and bladder over time. Wet food, which is usually about 75 to 80 per cent moisture, mimics the hydration levels of whole prey and delivers passive hydration at every meal.
When feeding dry food, vets recommend quality diets that contain named animal proteins as the first ingredient, limited amounts of starchy fillers, and an appropriate calorie density based upon the cat’s activity level. It’s all about portion control — free-feeding dry kibble is one of the biggest contributors to fat cats.
Special Diets: When Standard Nutrition Isn’t Enough
For many felines, regular commercial diets supply all the nutrition they need for a lifetime. But a sizable percentage of cats either have health issues or sensitivities that demand a more specialized dietary management, and knowing when your cat is one of these is an important part of being a responsible cat owner. Food allergies and intolerance are underestimated in cats. The most common dietary allergens for cats are those they have been exposed to for a long time — chicken, beef, and fish are the most common simply because these ingredients are so prevalent in commercial cat foods. Clinical signs of food allergy in cats can manifest both as GI signs such as chronic vomiting and diarrhea, and as dermatological signs including facial pruritus, alopecia around the head and neck region, and miliary dermatitis.
For cats with confirmed or suspected food allergies, a dietary elimination trial is the veterinary gold standard for diagnosis. This involves feeding a novel protein source that the cat has never encountered before for a minimum of eight to twelve weeks, with strict avoidance of all previous ingredients. For cats with allergies, single-protein cat food can be a safer and more effective option because it removes the diagnostic and immunological complexity of multi-ingredient formulas. Venison, rabbit, duck, and kangaroo are commonly used novel proteins in elimination diets, precisely because most cats have had no prior exposure to them.
Kidney disease is among the most common diseases in older cats, and diet has a significant influence on both its treatment and its progression. Veterinary-recommended diets for cats with chronic kidney disease are unique in that they’re specially formulated to support your cat’s kidneys by limiting the amount of phosphorus and protein, while also being the best-tasting and nourishing enough to ensure calories are taken in. These are prescription products, and the choice to switch a cat to a renal diet should always be made with a vet after diagnosis has been confirmed. Unduly restricting protein in a well-fed cat can cause muscle-wasting for nothing.
Feline diabetes mellitus is now recognized to be highly diet-responsive. High-carbohydrate diets promote insulin resistance and glucose dysregulation in genetically predisposed cats, and many diabetic cats improve and, in some cases, remit on very low-carbohydrate, high-protein wet food diets. Veterinary treatment of feline diabetes has increasingly used dietary management as a primary rather than a generic approach.
Common Feeding Mistakes That Compromise Long-Term Health
Meawhile, CATHYOU’rE WELL-INTENTIONED cat owners, even you end up making dietary choices that silently chip away at your cat’s health as the years roll on. Identifying these habits of thinking is the first step in changing them.
Inappropriate feeding methods such as overfeeding and free-choice feeding are common culprits. Cats also aren’t accurate self-regulators of calories (at least not in the short term), especially when energy-dense dry food is given. If you allow your cat to eat whatever (and whenever) he wants throughout the day, the result is almost always slow and steady weight gain and even mild obesity, which dramatically raises the chances of diabetes, joint disease, and shortened life expectancy.
Feeding all dry without any wet food at all puts many cats into a permanent state of mild dehydration. To those serving dry food with a water dish, it can come as a shock how little their cat drinks. Adding wet food — even just one meal a day — significantly increases hydration and decreases urinary tract risk.
Making choices based on marketing rather than analyzing the ingredients of the food makes owners end up with foods that look like premium foods but are really poor performers. Words like “gourmet,” “natural,” “artisan,” and even “complete and balanced” can be found on products that have very different nutritional values. The ingredient list and guaranteed analysis are better indicators of food quality than the front-of-package marketing claims.
Frequent switching of diets, especially without transition periods, disturbs the gut microbiome and leads to digestive upset in cats, who are generally much more sensitive to diet change than dogs. Introduce all new diets gradually over seven to 10 days.
Practical Tips for Owners Who Want to Get It Right
Establishing a truly good nutritional base for a cat doesn’t require a PhD in animal science — it requires a few simple routines and the willingness to look beyond what is convenient. Feed wet food as the main part of the diet where feasible, particularly for cats at risk of urinary problems, becoming overweight, or who are middle-aged or older. Look for foods that contain a named animal protein as the first ingredient. Limit treats to a maximum of 10% of your daily calories. Weigh or measure your portions instead of guessing. Make an annual appointment with your veterinarian for a wellness check that includes body condition scoring – a trained eye will catch slow weight gain or muscle loss that many owners overlook.
Then develop a rapport with a vet whose nutritional advice you believe in. Diet is a moving target ; your cat’s nutritional needs will change as she gets older, develops health issues, and as we learn more about what nutrition can do to keep her healthy. The cat that is doing well for two years on one diet may well require a substantially different diet at the age of twelve. Keeping up with that evolution, under professional guidance, is the best way to ensure that you are giving your cat the longest, healthiest life possible.