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Diet-Related
Problems
Wild cats eat
primarily protein. Domestic cats eat more
carbohydrate as cereals (cheap) are processed to
make them as digestible as meat (expensive). This
abnormal diet can lead to chronic digestive
problems and inflammatory bowel disease. Dry cat
food produces a hard, low-volume stool which may
lead to constipation. Canned cat food produces a
bulkier stool, but can cause dental problems. Cats
are eating ingredients they would not normally eat
and may develop allergies or food intolerance,
just as the increase in peanut allergy in the UK
has been linked to greater use of peanut oil.
In the US, food
containing lamb or rabbit are often promoted as
allergy free because these are not common
ingredients in cat food. In the UK, these among
the commonest ingredients and venison is allergy
free. There is now a huge market for
hypoallergenic cat food. These are variously
labeled as "selected protein",
"limited antigen" or "novel
protein" They either contain ingredients not
used in regular cat food (e.g. venison in the UK,
lamb/rabbit in the USA) or the ingredients may
have had their proteins "chopped"
(chemically or by extreme pressure cooking) into
fragments smaller than can be recognized by the
cat's immune system.
Owners are often
recommended to feed portions larger than is
actually required. Food is wasted (goes stale) so
the owner buys more food. The cat food company
increases its sales. However, because some cats
eat when bored, feeding larger portions can cause
obesity - a growing health problem for cats. In
contrast, the manufacturer of one dry cat food
claimed it was less expensive to use its food and
recommended an amount which were independently
assessed as being inadequate to maintain health. I
have some of this food and it was supplied with a
novelty scoop showing just how little my cat
needed each day. Unfortunately my cats disagreed
with this amount because they did not "feel
full" after a meal. If given more because
they are still hungry, they will become obese.
Compact cat foods are convenience foods (lighter
to carry, easier to store, less odor, smaller
stools) aimed at the consumer, not at the cat.
To combat the
increasing problem of obesity, there is a wide
range of cat food for "less active"
cats. These contain more fiber. Fiber is a cheap
filler but "weight control" cat foods
are more expensive than regular cat foods. There
are also special formula food for
"senior" or "older" cats.
There are also special "growth" foods
for kittens. These foods are supposedly geared to
the digestive system and nutritional needs of cats
of certain ages. They are more easily digested and
are more expensive. Owners who can't afford them
feel guilty. Until the advent of life-stage cat
foods, most older cats did fine on a good brand of
regular cat food and most regular cat foods are
nutritionally complete for kittens.
Urinary tract
disease has been related to diet. Plugs (soft
plugs of struvite and cellular debris), gravel,
crystals and stones (calcium oxalate) may be
triggered or aggravated by diet and the pH of the
urine. Reformulation has reduced this problem by
containing pH adjusting agents, but as stones have
decreased in frequency, soft urinary plugs are
becoming more common. One early UK brand was
notorious for the urinary problems it caused
before it was reformulated. Inadequate potassium
has caused kidney failure in young cats; potassium
is now added in greater amounts to all cat foods.
A British vet told me that an early dry cat food
was nicknamed "Gone Cat" by members of
his profession.
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