Healthy Cat Food Recommendations

Cats can live long, healthy lives if fed high-quality cat food. Quality food helps maintain health and can also lead to lower veterinary bills. Although most domestic cats primarily eat dry food, some veterinarians also recommend canned food because cats tend not to drink enough water. Canned foods also tend to have very high-quality protein. Proper dry foods, however, are good for a cat's teeth. By analyzing the contents of your cat's dry food, you can be assured of protein quality.

  1. Life Stage

    • Different cat foods are formulated for different life stages of your cat. Foods for kittens tend to be higher calorie to help with growth in a young and adolescent cat. Foods for older cats are often lower calorie, to help maintain a healthy weight. Formulas for indoor cats are optimized for a cat that doesn't have natural grass and greens available and is also optimized for the amount of exercise experienced by most indoor cats.

    Animal Protein

    • In a high-quality, healthy cat food, the first ingredient should be a high quality animal protein. Cats are carnivores and require good animal protein for optimum health. Common animal proteins in high-quality cat foods include chicken, fish, liver or beef.

    Dry Weight Protein

    • The percentage of dry weight protein in dry food is very important. Dry foods should be at least 26 percent dry weight protein. Kitten formulas are often much higher, especially in premium brand kitten formulas.

    Meat By-products

    • Meat by-products are a much lower quality protein and should be avoided, if possible. Foods that list meat meals, such as chicken meal or beef meal, are often primarily made of meat by-products. Meat by-products include beaks, intestines, feet, hooves, lungs and other organ meats and are not as good for your cat as foods made from high-quality meats.

    Taurine

    • Taurine is a nutritional component that is very important for cats. Taurine is an amino acid that helps a cat's heart muscles and vision. Taurine is only found in animal-based proteins, such as meat protein ingredients in both wet and dry food. Cats cannot manufacture taurine in their bodies, and thus must get it from dietary sources. Cat foods that list taurine as an ingredient often add additional taurine to maintain feline health.