Cat food

Different Types of Cat Food

Most cat foods are formulated as dry, semi-moist, and canned. A quality cat food provides the necessary nutrients in a properly balanced proportion.

Dry Cat Food

Dry foods contain 6-10% percent moisture. They contain high quality protein, have the right balance of nutrients and most cats like them. It takes less dry food on an as-is basis than other types of food to satisfy a cat, because dry food has more dry matter and a higher energy content per gram fed. Always make sure that it is described as 'complete' on the label. By the way the crunchy texture also does wonders for our teeth!

The main advantage to dry food is that you can leave it down all day long (even in hot weather) so that your cat always has something to nibble on. Of course you should always make sure that the daily recommended amount is not exceeded (that is good advice but I'm not convinced!). Make sure your cat has lots of water to drink if you are serving dried food.

Moist Cat Food

Moist cat food may be more appealing to some cats than dry cat food. Moisture content is approximately 35% but it dries out pretty quickly once opened. Moist food has meat and meat by-products as the primary ingredients. They are combined with soybean meal, cereals, grain by-products, and preservatives. 

Canned Cat Food

Canned cat food comes in a wide variety of textures and flavours but varies in quality. The cheaper stuff is a false economy as it contains low-grade proteins and a higher proportion of cereal (if you want to give us cereals you would do better to give us a dish of cornflakes!). Best to choose a good quality brand with a protein level of about 8%. The moisture content should be about 80%, so it is a good dietary source of water. Cats would rather not have canned food served straight from the fridge, much better if it is brought up to room temperature first. Feeding two or three different cat foods provides flavor variety. It also prevents them from developing a preference for a food that may not be 100 percent nutritionally balanced.

Fresh Cat Food

Try your cat on raw, minced meat (always cook pork) or lightly cooked fish such as cod. Go a bit careful on liver though, no more than 50g once a week. Always ensure you have removed all the bones from fish or poultry. Of course, canned tuna , sardines are also excellent meals and highly nutritious. Cats have also been known to also enjoy cheese, yogurt, rice, pasta, potatoes and green vegetables (particularly peas).