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An all too frequent situation and question; "My cat is fat. What food is best?" Some recent studies indicate that overweight cats range from 30% to over 50% of the pet cat population.
Americans love cats. Cats are the second most popular pet in the United States, only after dogs. The reason many people like cats, is that they represent the life that we all want to live: No worries, no obligations, and a completely carefree existence. However, they do represent us in another way; they reflect our growing waistlines. Much like us, too many are becoming to fat to quickly.
The problem is that cats do not stop eating when they have enough food, they stop eating when they are full. Additionally all mammals require vitamins, minerals, fats and protein along with a long list of micro-nutrients. Cats will eat until the nutrients their bodies require are ingested. Free feeding a high carbohydrate (grains) dry cat food with a very low concentration of micro-nutrients can be one reason your cat eats, nibbles and eats some more. She will eat until the required nutrients are ingested; regardless of the calories also consumed. A nutritionally unbalanced cat food leads straight to a pet cat being overweight, then obese, then morbidly obese.
1. Give your pet "wet" or "canned" foods. Dry foods often have more fat and calories from grains than wet foods do. In addition, most dry foods contain a high percentage of grains, which contain carbohydrates that your cat's digestive system simply cannot break down. The fewer carbs you offer your cat, the better off she will be.
2. Don't give your cat grains. This is related to the previous point, but slightly different. The best thing you can do for your cat is to give it "raw" foods, which are processed as little as possible, contain no grains and more closely mimic the natural wild prey of cats.
Another benefit to wet cat food is the moisture content. Many dry cat foods contain 10% or less moisture, basically water, while wet, canned foods frequently contain 70 - 85% moisture. Again, wet, canned food closely mimics the natural moisture content of a wild cat's prey.
3. Watch your cat's calorie intake. Regardless of what you offer your cat, don't give her too much. The proper number of calories your cat is supposed to eat is 30 * (weight in kilograms) + 70. So if you have a 16 pound cat (a morbidly obese cat), that's 7.25 kilograms. Multiply by 30 to get 218, and then add 70 to have 288 calories. This may seem a low amount, considering the average North American eats 2000 calories a day, but remember that your cat is about a one-twentieth to one-tenth of your weight.
What food is best? The best food for your overweight cat is nutritionally balanced, probably wet food, without grains, but only the right caloric amount. With apologies to the great Michael Pollan, you should remember a simple rule when feeding your cat: "Eat food. Mostly meats. Not too much."
I have two overweight cats that I love dearly. One has developed a chronic urinary condition that requires special food. The other is progressively getting arthritis. I do not wish anyone to experience the distress, or the vet bills that I am going through. I wish I had the plain and simple reasons and solutions years ago that I found right here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Martinbach
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