Nikki,

Wow, I'm a bit baffled by your post and confused on a number of points you've made here. Clearly you think that dry food is fine to feed cats - so let's start with that. Actually, let's start with what would be the cat's natural diet in the wild, as I think we would all agree that this is what the cat has been designed to eat: mice, bugs, baby rabbits, birds, etc. See what they all have in common? Well, for one thing they're around 70% water! Also, they're mostly meat, some organ meat, and some bones, too. Plus some fur, feathers, but that's often left - it's probably too chewy.

Right, so the next logical step is to think.. what can I feed my cat that's as close as possible to that natural diet that they're designed to eat? My first response would be that I would copy that diet and feed my cat a diet of meat, organ meat and bones (and yes, some mice with some fur on). Many people won't have the time or inclination to do this for a pet, which is fair enough.

So, let's think.. what is the next best thing then? I know, cooked meats! But cooking reduces taurine and vitamines in the meat, so I'd then need to add this back in. Too much hassle for regular people to do, definitely!

Right, so the next best thing again? Commercial, wet food - which is basically cooked meat with added taurine, vitamins, minerals etc. Convenient, and contains all that a cat would need (in theory). Now, to ensure the cat gets enough nutrients I'd want to make sure the wet food contains as much meat as possible, because remember right at the start when they were eating mice and birds, meat was the main ingredient. So, I'd like it to be the same for this. Also, I'd want to make sure the food doesn't contain anything else - for some reason, companies like to make money (!) and tend to put less meat in and replace it with cheap fillers such as wheat or corn. Now have a think... how much wheat or corn or any other vegetable do you think there is in a mouse? That's right, close to none! So, rule out any wet food with anything other than meat and added vitamines in it. Apart from being boiled, and having had vitamines and such added back to it, this food is still not horribly far removed from the natural diet we started out with.

Now, assuming you're not happy with feeding wet food for some reason. The only remaining option is then to feed dry food. Dry food consists of meat (so far, so good) but also a lot of fillers such as grains. This is added because it's cheap (see making money above) but also because dry food can't be made without them. Grains are typically classified as carbohydrates and are composed mostly of starch. The main function of carbohydrates in the process of manufacturing dry pet foods is to provide structural integrity to the biscuits. The starch works like a "cement" that holds the biscuits together, preventing crumbling throughout the manufacturing process. So, dry food is highly processed, cooked at very high temperatures, added grains/carbohydrates, close to zero water, low meat protein biscuits with added vitamines and minerals. Now, think back to the natural diet of meat, organs and bone - not very similar is it?

I think so many people these days just take dry food as a given and don't even consider that there may be a better option out there. The sheer amount of marketing telling us that dry food is best for - well, best for everything if you believe the commercials! - is so overwhelming that any dissenting thought seems to go out the window.

I would like everyone with a cat to be aware of the different types of cat food I've described above, and then from that make a decision about what they would like to feed their cat. Some people, like myself, will have the time and inclination to feed a natural diet, while others will choose to feed dry food or a mix of dry and wet. People need to know what they're doing and need to be fully informed - by the vet - of the benefits/drawbacks of each diet. At the moment all I get from my vet is pushing of dry food with no real choice or discussion around options.

I'm tired of vets touting dry food as the end all and be all of food, and it's time we get some factual information on the merits of each type, be it raw, cooked, wet or dry. If that could be achieved, we'd have better informed owners and (hopefully!) more cats on a diet more appropriate for them.

/steps off the soapbox!

Now, to respond to some of your statements:
I'm confused about this statement. You're saying that dry food doesn't clean teeth, but you're saying dry food works the teeth and this working of the teeth helps prevent build up of tartar (isn't that what cleaning the teeth does, prevent tartar?). Also, how can this be based upon wild animals - they don't eat dry food, but they do eat bones. Chewing bones does clean teeth and prevent tartar buildup, hence why you should give your cat some raw bones to chew on a few times a week. There doesn't seem to be any logical link between chewing a tiny biscuit and chewing a whole bone.

Yes, if you think back to the natural diet above, this is great and ensures the cat doesn't get dehydrated. You know, the meat you buy for dinner also contains 70% water, shocking isn't it, you're paying for water!

I wish there was some research on this. It is my strong suspicion that the majority of stomach upsets in cats are caused not by the meats or the variation of meats, but by the various additives and fillers found in most commercial cat foods. It makes more sense to me that a cat would react negatively to something they're not designed to eat, than react to meat which they are designed to eat.

And.. how is this not also true for the vet that sells 'prescription' diets?

I did ask my vet for advice on what to feed my cat, and was told to feed Hills dry as this was the best diet he knew of. I tried suggesting other options such as the natural diet, but he was not even up for a discussion around it. Perhaps I was just unlucky and got a bad vet?

To reiterate my point above - I think vets have a huge responsibility in educating pet owners and promoting species appropriate food for cats. At the moment, sadly they're failing at this.

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