A Guide to Nutritional Catfood

Just about everyone will agree, you want to feed your new family member a NUTRITIONAL food. This means you need to know how to read ingredient labels! The first ingredient listed is supposed to be what is MOST in the food, but, look again! If, for instance, corn is listed 3 times, in 3 different forms, it COULD outweigh the first ingredient, which SHOULD be MEAT(Specified!) , POULTRY, OR FISH, or meat(specified!), poultry or fish MEAL, NOT by-products (which may include beaks, feathers, hair etc.) or digest, (which may contain manure!) Look for NATURAL, HIGH quality ingredients, look for 100% nutritionally complete and balanced with high percent digestability. Often soybean meal is an ingredient used to increase protein levels, but is not highly digestible. Not all expensive or big-name brands are best, you have to read the label. Generally speaking a true high quality food will NOT Be Cheap.

Cost is minimal when you consider unnecessary vet bills because of urinary tract infections, diarrhea, allergies, or long-term illnesses which may be caused by food with low digestibility, poor quality and nutrition, or foods containing toxins! (many catfoods are made with diseased carcasses- MEAT could mean euthanised dogs & cats!)

SECONDLY- but first and most important to your new kitten's health is adequate water consumption! Fresh, CLEAN water is a TOP PRIORITY! It is important not only to change water often, but to wipe the dish out before refilling. A good water consumption is imprtant to a healthy diet.

Though dry kibble is the best for your kitten's dental health, many experts now agree that a once a day good quality canned food can be an important factor in your kitten's growth and your adult cat's mainenance. Treats such as greenies and other nutritious dental treats help remove tartar, though you may wish to brush kitty's teeth weekly or have your vet routinely check for tartar buildup. Because many vitamins are cooked out at high processing temperatures, here we add 1 teaspoon of a healthpowder mix (recipe at article's end) to each adult's canned food daily, and 1/2 teaspoon per kitten.

The most nutritious food, of course, is one you make yourself (sample recipe included end of this article). Also one must weigh the time and cost of making your own vs. expensive, but high quality premium foods, and make an informed decision.

A few fresh ingredients to add to your cat's diet (mix into dry or wet, use ONE only) are:

* teaspoon plain yogurt (not non-fat) or cottage cheese

*teaspoon finely grated carrot

*teaspoon flaxseed meal

*1/8-1/4 teaspoon cod liver oil

*soft-boiled egg yolk

*t. grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese

A simple recipe for homemade catfood...

Kitty Stew Recipe

1 lb. ground chicken or turkey

1/2 c. brown rice (not instant)

1/4 c. dried peas

1 grated carrot

2 c. water

Mash together meat and water, add rice and peas, bring to a boil, simmer low covered 45 min. or till rice & peas are tender

-store in frig- freezing in serving-size packets after 3 days

add when cooled to EACH serving (once per day):

pinch of taurine (optional unless feeding homemade as steady diet)

1 teaspoon health powder

1/8-1/4 t. cod liver oil (vitamin A & D source)

2 t. cottage cheese or plain yogurt

Health Powder Recipe:

1 c. Nutritional Yeast (Mulitiple benefits too numerous to list)

1 c. Flaxseed meal (omega 3 source)

1/2 c. wheatgerm (vitamin E,Thiamin and Phosphorous source)

1/4 c. kelp granules or powder (contains over 60 minerals and elements, 21 amino acids)

1 crushed 1000 mg. vitamin C tab ( antioxidant)

Mix well, store in frig. May also use in commercial food

at 1 t. per day for more nutritional feeding.