True Carnivores

The first and most crucial ingredient in maintaining your cat’s well-being is, of course, her diet. To that end, you must give her the best food you can, in the correct quantities. Too much and she’ll suffer from obesity, a major problem with cats today. Too little, and she could develop malnutrition leading to illness or disease. The same goes for food quality; feed her a poor quality food and she will suffer, and fail to reach the age she could if fed properly.

Feed a high quality, meat-based food. Cats are true carnivores and as such, do not fare well with the substantial amounts of carbohydrates, which can, over time, contribute to the development of diabetes, kidney problems, or both. You may wish to consider feeding a balanced raw diet, available at many good pet stores today. If you decide to make your own, speak to your veterinarian first, to ensure you include all the essential ingredients. Taurine, for example, an amino acid vital to a cat’s health, cannot be made in the cat’s body, and must therefore be in her food. Though this important nutrient is present in meat, most owners who feed a raw diet add taurine supplements, as well as vitamin/mineral supplements, to ensure good health.