Fresh Food Diet for Cats

You might not be aware of the contents of commercial cat food. Cats are carnivores who require a steady diet of meat for proper health. No national standards regulate the manufacture of commercial cat food, however. Regulations ban the human consumption of "4D" (dead, dying, diseased, and disabled) animals, but these products are still legitimate ingredients for pet food. Try fresh food for for an alternative approach to a cat's nutrition.

  1. Contaminants

    • The Association of American Feed Control Officials Incorporated creates model standards but does not regulate pet food manufacture: "Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered 'unfit for human consumption,' and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts." Pentobarbital, a euthanasia drug, endotoxins, mold, fungi, pesticides, fertilizers and carcinogens survive the cooking process.

    Fresh Food Diet Benefits

    • Cats suffer urinary tract infections, kidney disease, heart disease, hyperthyroidism, obesity and bloat stemming from a commercial cat food diet. Cats lack the metabolic means to rid their bodies of toxic by-products often found in commercial foods.

      Cats need taurine, an amino acid, for metabolic health, but taurine is often missing from processed cat foods. Taurine is available in all meats, especially organs; raw food diets including organs provide adequate levels for cats. Cats are natural carnivores, and thus a raw meat diet, including bones, affords all needed nutrients to cats of all ages. Cats do not require vegetables or grains for proper nutrition.

    Older Cats

    • Cats are notoriously picky eaters. Their sense of smell and taste evolved to prevent them from eating anything that is not fresh. Thus, all raw food diets must include extremely fresh meats (defrosted frozen meats are acceptable).

      Older cats may be addicted to commercial foods and their additives. Cats who eat at regular times, rather than "free-eaters," switch more easily to raw diets. Allow cats to eat for 15 minutes, two to three times per day. Begin by giving bits of raw, boneless chicken breast as a treat. If he accepts this, begin a raw diet of boneless meats immediately. If your cat does not agree to chicken bits as a treat, add a bit of tuna juice. Add raw meat, on the bone, to each meal, eventually replacing all commercial foods with raw. Chicken, pork, rabbit, lamb, venison and beef are suitable meats. Introduce organ meat as soon as possible.

    Kittens

    • Introduce kittens to a raw diet the same way. Supervise kittens while they learn to eat bone-in meats so they do not ingest large bone pieces. Never microwave bones, as they may become brittle and heating will cook the meat. If full pieces of raw meat are too difficult for her to chew, introduce ground meats. Oxidation of taurine diminishes its potency, so phase out ground meat as quickly as possible. Your kitten should eat approximately 2 to 3 percent of her weight, but feed hungry kittens more if necessary.