The Kitty Chef

Finicky Eaters Aren’t Born—They’re Created

As a new cat owner, you are no doubt very concerned with providing the best possible nutrition for your growing youngster. What you put the food in and where you place it can have a surprising impact on whether your cat runs in delight to the bowl at mealtime or sits and stares at it (and you) in disgust. It’s about presentation.

There are several options when choosing your kitty’s food and water bowls. Before you go out and spend big bucks for a jewel-encrusted, personalized dish or dig through the attic for that old water bowl you’ve saved from the German shepherd you had eight years ago, evaluate your cat’s needs.

A bowl is a bowl, you say? This is true, but what you’re looking for is the best bowl for your cat. Bowls are generally made of plastic, glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. The following are some things to consider when making your choice.

Plastic: Probably more bowls are made of plastic than anything else. It’s inexpensive, lightweight, and unbreakable. Some cats can develop allergies from eating out of plastic bowls. The allergy will show up as hair loss or acne on the chin. Some cats can even develop quite serious lesions. No matter how hard you clean it, the dish still retains odors. Plastic bowls are also easily scratched, which can lead to food residue and bacteria collecting in the scratches. A scratched plastic surface can also be abrasive to a cat’s sensitive tongue. A scratched bowl must be replaced, so even though you may initially feel as if plastic is inexpensive, the repeated cost of replacement bowls make them not such a bargain.

Finally, I dislike plastic bowls because they’re too lightweight. My cats don’t enjoy having to follow their bowl all around the kitchen as it slides along the floor. While you may think it’s kind of cute and funny, in hostile multicat households, distance during meals is critical. A food bowl sliding in the enemy’s direction can lead to big trouble.

Glass and Ceramic: A good choice because they’re heavier than plastic, so they won’t go on trips around the kitchen. They’re breakable, though, so you have to take care when washing because chips or cracks can injure a cat’s tongue. Additionally, some ceramic bowls have imperfections that create a rough texture. This can be irritating to the tongue. When choosing ceramic, look for manufacturers who state their products are “lead-free.”

Stainless Steel: Virtually indestructible. This is a great choice. Because they can be lightweight, though, look for bowls that have nonskid rims on the bottom. To maintain cleanliness, if the rubber nonskid rim is removable, don’t forget to wash underneath where bacteria can hide.

Food Bowl Size and Shape

Choose the size appropriate for your cat. With a tiny kitten, if you give him a large bowl, guess what’s going to happen? He’ll end up stepping in his food. You can save the larger bowl for when he has grown a bit more.

Deep, narrow food bowls that severely crowd the cat’s whiskers aren’t a good idea. With long-haired cats, deep bowls will cause the fur around his face to become soiled. This type of bowl is also not recommended for short-nosed breeds such as Persians or Himalayans. They need a wide, shallow dish.

Community Feeding Bowls

If you have two or more cats and you purchase one large bowl, you may be creating a problem. Some cats require a greater space around them as they dine. Making the cats eat so close to each other may encourage the more assertive one to intimidate others. A less assertive cat may be too intimidated to approach the bowl until the first cat has finished eating, and by then, all of the food may be gone. Give them at least a few feet between bowls, if possible. In some cases the food bowls may need to be placed on opposite sides of the room or an additional feeding station may even have to be placed in another room.

Double Feeding Dishes

Some people use a double bowl to hold food on one side and water on the other. There are a couple of reasons why I’d recommend you not do that. Some cats don’t like their food that close to the water. The result may be a cat with a finicky appetite or a cat who gets his water from other sources (such as the toilet bowl). The other reason why I dislike food and water in one double bowl is that pieces of food usually end up falling into the water and contaminating it, which can be very unappealing to a cat.

Automatic Food and Water Dispensers

Automatic gravity-feed water dispensers are a good idea if your cat drinks lots of water and you’re concerned that the bowl will run dry before you get home at the end of the day. They can also be good for multicat homes to ensure adequate water supply. The only thing you have to be careful of is that the water can taste stale if it sits in the gravity-feed bottle for too long. So even if the dispenser has adequate water and you know you filled it a few days ago, empty the container and refill with fresh water often.

Gravity-feed dry-food dispensers are popular in homes where the owners may spend a night or two away or if there is more than one cat in the household. Keep in mind, though, that if you’re using the food dispenser for convenience when you travel, you still need someone to come into the home to check on the cats and scoop the litter.

Automatic food and water dispensers don’t get cleaned as often as they should and that might discourage a cat from eating or drinking. Be sure to thoroughly empty the dispensers and give them a good cleaning on a regular basis.

There are also automatic feeding dispensers that can release a specified amount of dry food at preselected times on a timer. This is a good way to keep your cat on scheduled meals even when you’re gone all day at work. If your cat eats wet food there are timed dispensers with cooling packs inside to keep the food fresh. At the preselected time, the lid opens to reveal a fresh meal for kitty.

Don’t depend on automatic feeders (or automatic litter boxes for that matter) to do your job if you are going to be away from home for several days. Electronic products malfunction, get knocked over, and their batteries can go dead.

Washing Food and Water Bowls

No matter what type of bowls you decide on, keep them clean on a daily basis. Wash with dishwashing liquid by hand or in the dishwasher, following the bowl manufacturer’s instructions. If washing by hand, be certain to rinse off all traces of soap. Any residue can be irritating to the cat’s mouth and tongue. Sometimes, in homes where cats are free-fed, the bowl gets refilled routinely but not washed.

This causes the food to eventually taste stale and the bowl also becomes covered in bacteria. The same applies to water bowls.

Food and Water Placement

As previously stated in this book, the one place in the house you should never put the food is near the litter box. I can hear the footsteps now as some of you run to the litter box to see just how close . . . uh-oh, there it is—the food bowl and the litter box side by side. Why is this so bad? To understand, let’s go back to the cat’s survival instinct. In an outdoor environment, a cat eliminates away from his nest area to avoid attracting predators back to where he lives. By having the food so close to the litter, the cat feels conflicted. The behavior problem that may develop is that the cat chooses to eat the food at that location, since it’s the only place the food can be found, and then chooses somewhere else to eliminate. I promise you, his choice of location for elimination won’t be one you’ll like very much.

Other bad choices for food placement are areas that are noisy, scary, or unpredictable. If you have a timid, jumpy cat and you put the food in the laundry room, guess what’s going to happen when the washer goes from rinse to spin? Your cat is going to bolt out of there. If you have a dog and the cat’s food is very appealing to him, then placing the bowls on the floor where the dog can get to them may not be the best choice.

The most obvious place for the food and water is in the kitchen, but based on your particular circumstances, that may not be possible. If your cat is timid and the activity in the kitchen is overwhelming, then put his food in a quieter area of the house. Owners can get very creative to meet their cats’ needs. Just remember, mealtime should be a time when the cat feels safe so he can enjoy his dinner.

Once you’ve settled on the best spot for the food, don’t switch locations if the cat is happy. Being such creatures of habit, cats don’t like it when they go to their usual feeding spot only to discover it has disappeared.

Elderly cats may require adjustments in their usual feeding routine or location. If you’ve always kept your cat’s food in an elevated spot, be sure he’s still able to make that leap up and down. You may have to lower his food to the floor or create a way for him to easily climb to the spot, such as a small carpeted stairway or pet ramp.

Pet Place Mats

For seriously messy eaters or cats who love to spill their water bowls, you can find place mats with raised edges that contain the water and prevent damage to your floor or carpet. These place mats are available at pet supply stores and online.

The Confusing World of Pet Food

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably noticed how much shelf space in stores is devoted to pet food. The variety is mind-boggling. Then there are the therapeutic and prescription foods sold through veterinarians, specialty and organic foods sold in organic food stores and the Internet, and finally, there’s raw food as well.

The pet-food industry is a big, big business. Pet-food advertising can be very misleading by appealing to our impression of food. Some companies create food that looks as if we ourselves could eat it—slices of beef, smooth gravy, peas, tiny carrots, etc. Do you think those things really matter to a cat? If your kitty took over the duties of chef at your house, you’d be sitting down to a plate of one small mouse with a side dish of butterflies and grasshoppers. Tomorrow’s menu would probably include Bird a la Felix, seasoned to perfection with a hint of catnip. Oh, and one other important ingredient in both of the menus . . . the main dish would still be breathing. Hungry yet? Me neither, but cats would be lined up for miles.

This chapter will help guide you toward understanding what your cat’s nutritional requirements are and how to supply them. I don’t want you paying more than you should for food just because it’s well advertised, but I also don’t want you loading up the trunk of your car with forty pounds of some economy brand that won’t help your kitty grow and thrive. Sound nutrition will give your cat optimal health, a glorious coat, and increased energy. He’ll have higher resistance to disease, fewer behavior problems, and will be more likely to live to a ripe old age.

Understanding the Basics

Your Cat Isn’t a Dog, so Don’t Feed Him Dog Food

Sounds pretty basic, right? Yet many owners are under the misconception that dog and cat foods are interchangeable. How many times have you seen the cat with his nose in Fido’s food or the dog pushing the kitty out of the way to steal a few of his tasty morsels? This practice, unfortunately, can cause serious health complications for both pets.

If your cat eats dog food, he’s at serious risk of developing health problems because of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. On the other hand, a dog who is allowed to eat cat food will be consuming far more protein than he requires, which can cause health problems for him. Additionally, the higher fat content in cat food can lead to obesity in your dog. I know it’s difficult to play referee at mealtime to make sure everyone keeps their nose in their own bowl, but the consequences of not monitoring it are far too great. Unfortunately for dogs, the high fat content in cat food tends to make it taste more appealing, so once Fido gets a taste of Fluffy’s dinner, he’ll become even more determined to switch the bowls when you’re not looking.

Which Foods Are Right for Your Cat

There are a frightening number of choices out there. Every company, from the small mom-and-pop ones to the large well-known corporations, claim to meet your cat’s nutritional needs. How do you decide? Organic? Supermarket brand? Frozen? Raw? Premium? Homemade? It’s enough to give an owner a headache.

Here are some basic guidelines to help you:

• Learn to read labels. Although you won’t be able to identify every last ingredient, you’ ll at least be better able to make comparisons between brands. You’ll learn more about this later in this chapter. Labels can be misleading, though, so if you’re unsure of a brand’s nutritional claims, call the company and talk to your veterinarian.

• Feed your cat the diet that’s intended for his stage of life. Growing kittens need a growth formula food. Pregnant or lactating cats are generally put on a growth formula as well due to the increased nutritional demands placed on them. Be aware of what dietary adjustments may be needed as your cat goes through life. Consult your veterinarian if you’re uncertain about whether your cat needs to be on a specific formula. For example, your overweight cat may need to be placed on a calorie-restricted formula. There are many different formulas out there that can address specific issues such as dull haircoat, hair balls, weight control, sensitive stomach, food allergy, etc.

• Whether to feed one food exclusively will depend on what type of food your cat is eating. If he’s on a diet for a specific issue, he’ll need to stay exclusively on that. For a cat with no health issues, feed a variety of foods so you don’t end up with a finicky eater. Vary the diet with different flavors. You may also want to alternate between a couple of manufacturers. If you vary the diet from the beginning, you’re more likely to raise a cat who won’t become addicted to one kind of food. When you first begin alternating, mix in the new food with the old gradually. This way, you’ll avoid rejection of the food and potential intestinal trouble. If you switch between more than one flavor and more than one manufacturer, you avoid going into sheer panic should a flavor be discontinued or your regular brand out of stock.

• Follow your veterinarian’s instructions concerning prescription food. If your cat needs to eat a special food, make sure you understand why and how long he should stay on it. Many times, I’ve found that owners don’t really understand the reason why their veterinarian has prescribed a specific food, so they don’t understand the risks of not complying with the diet. If your cat is on a diet for renal failure, it won’t help if you’re supplementing his meals with leftover ham. Don’t leave the veterinarian’s office with those cans or that bag of food until you understand your instructions completely.

• If you decide to feed a homemade diet, follow a recipe approved by your veterinarian.

Wet Food (canned and pouch)

Canned food has a longer shelf life than dry food. Cats usually love the taste of wet food and, depending upon the manufacturer, the flavor combinations are almost endless.

Wet food is lower in carbohydrates than dry food and much higher in water content. On the average, wet food contains about 70–76 percent water. The lowcarb diet of wet food is beneficial to a cat as a carnivore. The cat gets more bang for the buck, so to speak.

Wet food is often more expensive than dry food. If you have several cats, the large cans are more economical as long as everyone agrees on the same flavor.

Catwise Clue

Your cat needs a diet that:

1. Is high in protein (animal based)

2. Has a moderate amount of fat

3. Has a low amount of carbs

If you decide on free-choice feeding then wet food isn’t a good idea. It’ll dry up and become extremely unappetizing in about twenty minutes. I’m sure the last thing you want to do when you come home from work is scrape rock-hard cat food out of the bowl.

Allow leftover canned food that has been refrigerated to come to room temperature before serving it to your kitty. Not only could the chilled food upset his stomach, but a lump of cold, dayold food stands a good chance of feline rejection. Always keep food tightly covered when storing. Once opened, a can of food should be used within a couple of days.

Dry Food

Dry food is higher in carbohydrates than canned food. The moisture content of dry food is somewhere around 10 percent.

Dry food is a better choice if you’re going to feed free-choice. You can fill the bowl in the morning and it’ll still be appetizing by evening. However, the high carbohydrate content of dry food can sometimes lead to obesity and other health issues. Don’t feed a particular type of food based on convenience; choose a type of food because it’s what’s best for your cat.

Usually less expensive than canned, dry food comes in various sized bags and boxes. Once opened, if stored in an airtight container, a bag will stay fresh for several months.

Semimoist Food

This is sort of a cross between canned and dry. This food is shaped like dry food but has a soft consistency. Semimoist food is higher in sugar than other foods. I think these foods were created to appeal to us more than to cats. The kibble comes in cute little shapes, is often multicolored (even though I have yet to meet a cat who chose his food based on color), and has less of an odor than canned food.

Read Labels

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was started to develop and maintain consistent standards in the pet-food industry. An advisory board of feed control officials from every state establishes guidelines regarding the nutritional claims of pet-food manufacturers. AAFCO defines the product labeling guidelines based on their testing requirements.

Although AAFCO has no power to enforce these guidelines, its rules are accepted by the FDA, and the better pet-food companies comply with them. Those companies will state on their labels whether the food has met or surpassed AAFCO standards and by which method. There are two ways a manufacturer can substantiate their claims. They can conduct feeding trials based on AAFCO protocols or they can do it based on nutrient analysis (also based on AAFCO protocols). Feeding trials are preferable because you know that cats were actually fed the food and it met the nutritional claims stated by the manufacturer.

When shopping for cat food, always look for the AAFCO feeding trial statement on the label.

If you want to learn more about AAFCO guidelines, you can contact them directly. See the Resource Guide.

Ash

Ash refers to what’s left of a food’s mineral components after protein, water, fat, fiber, and carbohydrates are burned away to determine the food’s nutritional analysis. The higher the ash content, the less usable food there is, and the more minerals are present. Excessive amounts of minerals are not necessarily good for the cat’s health and may contribute to urinary problems in cats.

Product Name

AAFCO rules dictate how an ingredient can be used in the product’s name. For example, in order for the food to be named “Chicken Cat Food,” chicken must constitute at least 95 percent of the total weight of all ingredients (minus water used for processing). If chicken isn’t at 95 percent, it can still be used in the name, according to AAFCO, providing it constitutes at least 25 percent, but it must then be referred to as dinner, grill, or another descriptive term. So the name of the product might then be “Cat Food Chicken Dinner.” If there’s more than one ingredient in the name, they must appear in order of weight. Also, if a combination of ingredients are used in the name, each ingredient must constitute a minimum of 3 percent of the product weight (less water used for processing).

Ingredient List

Ingredients are listed in order of their proportions. The first few ingredients on the list are the main protein sources. In canned food, water is the first ingredient listed.

As you look at the ingredient list you may see the term by-product. AAFCO guidelines exclude certain ingredients for use as by-products. They include feathers, feet, teeth, heads, hair, hooves, horns, contents of stomach, or intestines.

Vitamin and mineral supplements as well as preservatives are also listed.

Nutritional Adequacy Claim

This tells you what stage of life the food is intended for. The manufacturer must show how the “complete and balanced” statement made on the label can be guaranteed. This is where it’s explained that the claim is based on feeding trials or nutrient analysis using A AFCO protocols. Remember, feeding trials are better than nutrient analysis alone.

Feeding Instructions

The amount to feed per pounds of body weight is usually listed in this format. Remember, these are general guidelines.

Guaranteed Analysis

This is shown as either guaranteed minimum or maximum quantities. For example, minimum guarantee means there’s a limit to how little of that ingredient is in the food but no upper limit to the amount.

Manufacturer’s Name and Contact Information

The label must include this information to identify the company responsible for the product. Most manufacturers include a toll-free number and Web site address for consumer questions or comments. If you have a question, comment, or complaint concerning the product or its ingredients, don’t hesitate to contact them. Manufacturers want to please you, so let them know what you think by contacting them.

Premium, Regular, All-Natural/Organic, and Generic Cat Food

Premium

Premium food is sold in pet supply stores and veterinary clinics and is, in general, of consistent quality, and usually has higher amounts of protein and fat. Premium food is more nutrient dense, meaning the cat won’t have to eat as much as he would of regular or generic food in order to receive the same amount of nutrition. Several formulas are available in canned or dry, and for various life stages, and most cats find the taste of premium food very palatable.

Premium foods make their nutritional claims based on AAFCO feeding trial protocols.

Regular/Standard

Regular or standard cat food is the kind you find in pet supply stores and supermarkets. Manufactured by the major pet-food companies you’re used to seeing in advertisements, these foods also come in several formulas for the various life stages and have seemingly endless flavors. With canned foods, many manufacturers offer choices between the consistencies and textures of entrees such as sliced, in gravy, stewed, shredded, flaked, or bite sized.

Less expensive than premium food, regular/standard cat food still provides the nutrients needed for your cat to live a long, healthy life.

When feeding standard cat food, vary flavors and brands to keep from developing a finicky eater.

All-Natural/Organic

Sold in organic food stores, pet supply stores, and online, these products are made without any unnatural ingredients and use natural-fat preservatives. All natural or organic cat food may come in a variety of types: canned, dry, and even frozen.

All natural products may seem very appealing but be sure of what you’re getting. Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it meets your cat’s nutritional requirements. Read the label and talk to your veterinarian if you have questions about whether a particular brand is right for your cat. Also, check the label for how the nutritional guarantee is substantiated.

Generic

This is available in supermarkets, warehouse clubs, and discount stores. I would be very cautious when evaluating generic food. Nutrient quality and consistency can vary greatly. Remember, the quality of your cat’s nutrition plays a vital role in whether he lives a long, healthy life.

Very often, low-priced generic food seems alluring because you think you’re getting more for less, but you may notice that you’re cleaning more waste out of the litter box. That means much of the food going into the cat is ending up as waste. So you paid less but also got less. Your cat would also have to eat much larger quantities of the generic food to get the same amount of nutrients he would get in a higher quality food. That adds up to lots of empty calories because he’ll be eating more of what he doesn’t need. Not such a bargain.

Storing Cat Food (Out of Kitty’s Reach)

A cat on a diet can be one determined kitty, so make sure you’ve stored unused portions of food safely away.

Dry food should be placed in airtight containers. I prefer the plastic containers with snap-on lids. I also keep a little measuring cup in there so it’s convenient for anyone in charge of feeding duty. They can easily dispense the proper amount.

Once you open a bag of dry food, don’t just fold over the top and shove the bag in the cabinet. That’s a sure way of: 1) accelerating spoilage, 2) tempting your cat (or dog) into thievery, and 3) attracting ants and rodents.

Canned food, once opened, should be stored in the refrigerator. Remove it from the can and store it in an airtight container. If you decide to store the food in the can, get a snap-on lid. Don’t just cover the can top with plastic wrap because the contents will spoil faster not to mention the aroma of the food will be detectable every time you open the refrigerator.

How Much to Feed

Owners often ask me this, but more often than not, the ones who never ask are the ones who should. They’re the ones who have been stuffing their kitty like a Thanksgiving turkey. I’ll look at that mass of fur waddling into the room and be shocked that the cat’s owner considers it normal. When I ask them about it, very often their reply is that they’re just following the instructions on the bag of food. Just because the label says to feed a half cup doesn’t mean your cat needs that exact amount. Individual adjustments have to be made based on the specific factors concerning your own cat.

When trying to decide how much food your cat needs, there are several things to take into consideration:

• whether the cat is pregnant or nursing

The instructions on the bag or can are general guidelines. Your individual cat may need more or less based on the above factors. Your veterinarian will be able to advise you on whether the quantity needs to be adjusted. By looking at and examining your cat, you should also be able to tell if you’re on the right track. You should know what your cat’s ideal weight range is and periodically weigh him. To do this at home, weigh yourself first, and then weigh yourself while holding your cat. Subtract the difference to get your cat’s weight. If you have any questions concerning how much to feed, the best person to ask is your veterinarian. You can also take your cat to the veterinarian to be accurately weighed.

If you still believe that old myth that a cat will never overeat, you apparently haven’t looked around lately—there are a lot of fat cats out there.

Dinner Is Served

Free-Choice Feeding

Although this is the most popular feeding method, the high number of obese cats leads me to believe it’s not necessarily the best for all cats. If your cat is the correct weight and thriving on free-choice feeding then by all means, continue with what works. If you have an overweight kitty, scheduled feeding may be the way to go.

Scheduled Feeding

This method works best for wet-food eaters, cats who tend to eat too much, and multicat households where one cat is on a special diet. It’s also the best way to go for training purposes. If food isn’t readily available 24/7 then you’re able to use it as a primary reinforcer. This can be a valuable asset when dealing with behavior problems or trying to prevent potential behavior problems.

If you’re trying to get a hesitant or troubled cat to trust or bond with you, scheduled meals allow you to be identified as the provider of the food, which can accelerate the acceptance process.

With scheduled meals, you’ll need to provide a few meals per day. Once-a-day or twice-a-day feedings aren’t recommended because the cat gets too hungry and may start gulping his food. Twelve hours between meals is a long time for a cat to wait. Cats have small stomachs and do better with several small meals as opposed to one or two large meals. If you’re away from the house all day and wonder how you can provide several small meals, this is where timed food dispensers and food-dispensing puzzle toys are helpful.

Scheduled feeding allows you to better monitor how much your cat is eating. In a multicat household, it’s often the only way to make sure everyone gets their fair share.

Home-Cooked Meals

Even if you don’t mind the time-consuming job of cooking for your cat and would lovingly chop every vegetable and each piece of meat into bite-sized chunks, from a nutritional standpoint you could be doing more harm than good if you don’t know what you’re doing.

If you decide to provide home-cooked meals, work with your veterinarian to make sure the recipes you’ve chosen are well-researched and nutritionally balanced for your cat’s life stage.

Raw-Food Diets

This is a hot topic for sure these days. Proponents say it’s the closest to what a cat would naturally eat in the wild: meat-based, high moisture content, low carbohydrate, and appropriate amount of fat. Critics argue that a raw diet is unsafe and puts the cat at risk for salmonella and E. coli, among other diseases. Proponents claim to have used raw foods to not only maintain excellent health but supposedly cure many health issues through diet alone. Critics argue that a raw-food diet is often unbalanced. You can find experts on either side of this argument.

If you’re considering switching your cat to a raw-food diet, consult with your veterinarian. He/she will be able to provide guidelines and resources to help you ensure you meet your cat’s nutritional needs. Also, do extensive research before you go down this path to make sure you fully know what will be expected of you.

When feeding raw meat you’ll have to take precautions to ensure everyone’s safety.

• Buy meat directly from a respected and trusted butcher and not from the meat case at your local supermarket.

• Have a separate cutting board used only to cut and prepare the raw meat.

• Thoroughly clean and disinfect the cutting board, utensils, and food bowls.

• Thoroughly clean the cat’s water bowl at least once a day.

• Follow a trusted, well-researched regimen so you’ll know what supplements must be added, such as probiotics for intestinal health.

• Freeze individual portions of meat for storage so you don’t risk feeding your cat meat that has been sitting in the refrigerator too long.

Treats

For initial training, most cats respond to treats. I often use treats to reward my cats for positive behavior especially when they could have easily opted for an unwanted behavior. In our house, treats aren’t just arbitrarily given out. Treats are an earned reward, and as such, they are powerfully effective training aids.

Even though treats can help with behavior, remember that they are treats and not meals. Your cat doesn’t need a mouthful of them to feel rewarded (although he’ll probably try to convince you otherwise). Depending upon the size of the treat, I often break them in half. My cat doesn’t realize she only received a half or a quarter of the treat. What registers in her head is, “Treat, I got treat!”

Foods to Stay Away From

Milk

Catwise Caution

Don’t get in the habit of giving treats to your cat like clockwork. He’ll soon figure out that he doesn’t have to do anything for them, which means you’ve lost a powerful behavior modification tool. He may even sit by the drawer or cabinet where the treats are stored and begin begging for them.That’s exactly the time NOT to offer a reward. Never give a treat to your cat just to stop his meowing or other unwanted behavior. What will happen as a result is that you will have reinforced the very behavior you didn’t want.

Once weaned, a cat no longer produces a sufficient amount of the enzyme lactase that is necessary to digest the lactose in milk. Cats are ironically—given the myth—lactose intolerant. Feeding milk to your cat could result in diarrhea. If you want to give your cat a little milk as an occasional treat, watch carefully for any digestive problems.

The milk fed to kittens is different from the cow’s milk we drink. The milk from the queen (mother cat) is higher in protein and arachidonic acid (which kittens need). If you’re hand-raising a kitten, consult with your veterinarian concerning the appropriate kitten formula to feed.

Tuna

Cats love it. The tuna meant for humans, though, is not a good food for your cat. Tuna is high in polyunsaturated fats that cats don’t metabolize well. A steady diet of tuna depletes the body of vitamin E and can lead to a very painful condition called steatitis. Tuna-flavored cat foods are supplemented with extra vitamin E to prevent this, but straight tuna is not.

Cats can quickly become addicted to the strong taste of tuna. No matter what food you place before him, your cat will only want his tuna. To get him off of it, you have to gradually mix in other food. It’s not easy to reform a tuna junkie, so try not to create one.

Raw Eggs

Raw egg whites contain an enzyme called avidin that destroys biotin in the body. Biotin helps convert food into energy.

Chocolate

Mere ounces can kill a cat. Chocolate contains an ingredient known as theobromine that is deadly to cats. Theobromine affects the cat’s heart, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, and can also cause the cat to lose body fluid since it is a diuretic.

If your cat has ingested chocolate, contact your veterinarian immediately or, if it is after-hours, call the emergency clinic. The size of your cat, the type of chocolate ingested (for example, baking chocolate is more lethal than other forms), and how much was ingested will be important information for the veterinarian to know.

Onions and Garlic

Onions, whether raw, cooked, or dehydrated, are toxic because they contain a substance that can destroy a cat’s red blood cells. The result is a type of anemia known as Heinz body anemia.

Garlic can also cause the formation of Heinz bodies, but is not as toxic as onions.

If you’re ever instructed by your veterinarian to coax your cat into eating by using baby food (a very popular method), read the label to make sure the food doesn’t contain onion or garlic powder.

Tablescraps

Feeding tablescraps to your cat can seriously upset his nutritional balance. The good-quality cat food that you feed him is well balanced with the precise amount of protein and fat, along with the correct ratio of vitamins and minerals. Adding your leftover turkey, unfinished hamburger, or piece of bacon causes that scale to tip. While your cast-iron stomach may look forward to those spicy dishes and rich desserts, they’re certainly not good for a cat. By allowing your cat to nibble on your burrito or sample your spaghetti sauce, you risk causing him intestinal upset and perhaps a nasty case of diarrhea.

Feeding from the table also encourages begging, which is only cute for about five seconds—then the novelty of your cat clawing repeatedly at your leg while you’re trying to eat wears off very rapidly. The begging behavior can escalate into jumping on the table, which your company won’t find appetizing (especially the ones who aren’t cat lovers). When the cat is allowed to eat tablescraps, it also becomes more difficult to keep him off the kitchen counters when food is present. You may also find yourself with a little feline dumpster diver. Basically, everything becomes fair game at that point as he decides there’s no reason to wait for you to hand him the food when he can just serve himself.

Not feeding tablescraps can be a more difficult rule to enforce in a family with children. If they’re old enough to understand, explain the dangers of sharing people food with the family cat. If they’re not old enough, then you’ll have to make use of those eyes in the back of your head—which is standard equipment in parents, especially mothers.

If you absolutely can’t resist the urge to treat your cat to the occasional tiny piece of cooked chicken, do it away from the table and do it as a reward for a particular behavior, so the cat doesn’t make the connection that whenever the family sits down to dinner, there’ll be something in it for him. Also, never give your cat food when he begs—otherwise you’ve just show him the way to train you. Veterinary nutritionists advise that tablescraps comprise no more than 10 percent of the cat’s daily diet.

Finicky Eaters

We actually cause this problem ourselves. When our cat shows a preference for a particular food, we buy a truckload of it. If that flavor or brand becomes unavailable, after years of eating the same food, the cat may refuse to even taste anything else. Finicky eaters are also created when we repeatedly spruce up the cat food with tablescraps or strong-tasting foods. Then, when faced with plain ordinary cat food again, he feels cheated. If he knows that by holding out and turning his back to the food he’ll get something much tastier, thus is born the finicky eater.

Catwise Caution

If your cat refuses to eat, don’t get tough by taking the attitude that he’ll eventually eat when he gets hungry enough. A cat who refuses to eat for more than two days could have serious health complications. Don’t play “chicken” with your cat by trying to wait him out—the result could be deadly. If your cat has stopped eating for more than two days, he needs to be seen by the veterinarian.

To avoid raising a finicky eater and spending your days opening countless cans or bags of food for your cat’s inspection, feed a variety of flavors from a couple of manufacturers. Feed both dry and canned food so your cat is comfortable with different tastes, scents, and textures. How I do this in my home is to feed canned-food meals and use dry food in the puzzle feeders.

Taste is not the only consideration in your cat’s decision to accept or reject a food. Smell, texture, size, and even the shape of the food are important issues to him. In terms of dry food, some cats prefer the way a triangular shape feels in their mouth, while others will accept only round pieces of kibble. Don’t laugh, it’s true. What’s more, pet-food manufacturers have spent lots of money evaluating which shapes, sizes, tastes, aromas, and textures are preferred by cats.

Tipping the Scales

I don’t know about you, but whenever I watch one of those nature shows on television, I never see any fat lions or overweight leopards. Looking around me, I also don’t see fat stray or feral cats. But in homes all over, I see fat house cats. Some are so fat that any slight movement requires great effort. We’re killing our cats with kindness. The overabundance of food that we endlessly offer our kitties is shortening their lives. We need to take a lesson from nature. Let’s examine the situation.

Cats in the wild have to work for their food. A stray cat, if he’s lucky, may catch a number of prey in one day but I can assure you that they don’t march up to him and offer themselves up as a meal. He has to hunt before he can feast. Then there are our beloved, doted on, spoiled cats. All they have to do for a meal is basically show up. And even then I’ve seen owners go and track down their sleeping cats in order to bring them meals—kitty room service. The cats don’t have to hunt—they can skip that part and go right to the feast. What’s even worse is that it usually is truly a feast. We simply feed our cats too much. Unless your cat has found a way to sneak into the cabinet and open the container of food himself, then you must take responsibility for his condition.

As owners, we’ve taken away a vital part of our cats’ lives—activity. It all boils down to this: too many incoming calories + not enough calories burned off = a fat cat.

Another common mistake owners make is not adjusting the amount of food needed as the cat matures from a revved-up kitten to a more sedentary adult. Overfeeding commonly occurs with cats once they’ve been neutered or spayed as well. Many owners blame the procedure for the cat’s weight gain, but in reality the cat simply doesn’t require as many calories due to his maturing and consequent reduced metabolic needs.

Many owners follow feeding instructions on the pet-food label without making adjustments for their particular cat’s physical shape. This contributes to weight problems because the owner continues to feed the suggested amount despite the fact that the cat may be gaining weight.

An obese cat is more susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. As your cat gets older, if he does develop arthritis, the extra weight on those joints will cause even more pain. Obese cats undergoing surgery are more at risk from anesthesia as well.

Feeding tablescraps and offering too many treats contribute greatly to obesity. You may not realize how many calories your cat is consuming because it’s happening gradually over the course of the day. Perhaps you share bacon with him at breakfast, cat treats later that morning, then refill his empty food bowl. Then maybe you treat him to the remains of your sandwich at lunch, more cat treats throughout the afternoon, some samples from dinner, a few more cat treats in the evening and a large sampling of your unwanted ice cream at night, and then you wonder why he’s not losing weight, even though you’ve put him on a reduced-calorie cat food!

How to Determine If Your Cat Is Overweight

The first place to start is at your veterinarian’s office. A physical exam will be done, possibly along with additional diagnostic testing.

Certain purebred cats have very different body types. A Persian’s ideal cobby body is very different from a Siamese’s ideal slender body. If you aren’t sure what your cat’s ideal body weight should be consult your veterinarian.

Stand over your cat and look down at him. How do his sides look? Can you make out any kind of waistline above his hips? A cat of ideal weight has a little fat over his ribs (remember, I said a little) and a detectable slight indentation just behind the ribs, above the hips. If he looks more like a furry football than a cat, he’s overweight.

Put one hand on either side of him. By firmly stroking his sides, you should be able to feel his ribs (if you can actually see his ribs, then he’s underweight). If you can’t feel his ribs without applying very firm pressure then he’s overweight.

If you’re unable to feel his ribs, his chest feels soft and padded with fat, or you can feel fat pads along the backbone then he’s not just overweight, he’s obese.

Look at your cat in profile. Does his underside hang down in a pouch of fat? If so, he’s overweight.

Lift up your cat’s tail and check his anal area. Does it look clean and well groomed or dirty and neglected? Some cats become so obese that they can no longer reach back there to do normal grooming.

Does your cat snore? Sometimes obese cats wheeze and snore in their sleep due to the increased fat putting more pressure against their lungs.

Putting Kitty on a Diet

Your veterinarian will be able to give you an idea of what your cat’s ideal weight should be and how to safely reach it. The reason I emphasize the word safely is because if you attempt to put your cat on a crash diet or restrict his calories too severely, it can result in serious health complications. That’s why you’ll want to do this under the veterinarian’s supervision. The cat’s liver can’t handle severe calorie restrictions; there’s a risk of hepatic lipidosis. When a cat misses too many meals, fat gets deposited in the liver, which results in liver failure.

Your veterinarian will determine how much to feed your cat and what type of food is best to use. Depending on how overweight he is and how much food he has been getting, you may be instructed to simply cut down the portions of his regular food. Reducing the diet by no more than a quarter is usually medically safe and less upsetting for kitty. In other cases, a changeover to a prescription food may be necessary. Whatever option your veterinarian decides is necessary will be successful only if you comply. That means no sneaking treats to your cat because you feel guilty. You have to be strong. Being the owner of a cat on a diet isn’t fun, in fact, it’ll be one of the hardest things you do. Be forewarned, your cat is going to pull out all the stops. He’s going to sit on your lap and stare into your eyes with the most pitiful look. He’ll lay by his empty food bowl as if in mourning over those long lost meals. He’ll cry, meow, and maybe even follow you from room to room, convinced that surely you’ve lost your mind and forgotten the way to the kitchen. To avoid the “poor, pitiful me” behavior, use puzzle feeders so it takes longer for your cat to eat.

Another trap that you’ll have to avoid is attempting to make your cat’s diet food more appealing. Sometimes when the veterinarian prescribes a prescription diet food and the cat doesn’t care much for it, the owner tries to entice him by adding little goodies into the food. Don’t sabotage his diet in the name of love.

Free-feeding should be ceased when you have a cat on a diet. Stick to scheduled meals so you can monitor his daily intake. Feed smaller meals more often so your cat is fooled into thinking he’s getting more than his restricted amount. It’ll also prevent your cat from gulping down the day’s portion in one sitting and then complaining about the empty food bowl.

The “Catkins” Diet

Humorously referred to in the veterinary community as the “catkins” diet, this way of eating is based on the famous human diet introduced by Dr. Robert Atkins. Dr. Atkins claimed that obesity is mostly the result of an overconsumption of refined sugar and carbohydrates. Some veterinary nutritionists are making the recommendation that cats, obligate carnivores that rely on protein, don’t need such a high level of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are abundant in pet food, most especially dry food, as fillers and binders. Cats don’t rely on carbohydrates as an energy source rather, as carnivores, they use protein and fat for their energy needs. As a result of the excessive carbohydrate intake, the cat becomes obese. But keep in mind that carbohydrates alone are not the sole culprits—portion control is a huge factor as well. Calories do count.

Don’t Forget the Importance of Exercise

It’s true for humans and it’s true for cats: exercise and activity are crucial to a successful weight-loss program. Now, if the vision of putting your cat on a treadmill or signing him up for kitty aerobics is worrying you, relax. The best exercise for your cat is based on what he loves to do—play. Of course in the case of some cats, it’s based on what he used to love to do before he got so fat. Use your cat’s natural instinct as a predator to engage him in daily interactive playtime. For more specifics, refer to Chapter 6.

Use Those Puzzle Feeders

Leave these around the house for your cat’s enjoyment. Divide up your cat’s daily food portion so you’re not actually increasing his normal amount. With the puzzle feeders, the cat will have to work for the food, which will keep him occupied, and then he’ll enjoy the food as a reward.

The hollow balls designed to dispense dry food, such as the Play-N-Treat ball and the Egg-Cersizer (to name just two), are not only a source of entertainment for a cat, but they’re valuable tools for weight loss. Snap the puzzler feeder apart and fill it half full with dry food. When you snap it back together, you’ll see how food can randomly fall out through the holes. The Play-N-Treat has one hole but the Egg-Cersizer has several and you can change the degree of difficulty. My cats love the Egg-Cersizer and I think they secretly look forward to when I leave for the day, because they know all the Egg-Cersizers will be filled and ready for them.

Feed Smaller Meals More Often

The free-choice feeding method usually doesn’t work if you have an overweight cat. He may eat everything in his bowl the minute you put it down and then go hungry the rest of the day. This isn’t a good plan. Instead, control his diet by feeding him several small meals on a scheduled basis throughout the day. Don’t give him an increased amount of food, just divide his prescribed portion. He won’t go as hungry and you’ll get him out of the habit of gorging himself.

Using the puzzle feeders is a great way to feed him smaller, more frequent meals, but you can also just simply put the food in the bowl. The purpose of the feeders is to get the cat used to a smaller amount in a timelier manner.

Food Allergies

Food allergy reactions may show up in several forms including diarrhea, vomiting, or other digestive problems. Food allergies can also appear as an itchy skin rash any place on the body. Food allergies can cause behavioral changes as well, such as anxiety, restlessness, or aggression.

What’s so ironic about a food allergy is that it may be caused by a specific food that your cat has been eating for years.

If your veterinarian suspects a food allergy, he or she may prescribe a hypoallergenic diet. This diet contains food sources not normally found in cat food and won’t contain the usual ingredients such as beef or chicken. If the rash clears up, the normal diet may be reinstated to confirm diagnosis. If the rash returns, it’s a pretty sure bet that it’s one or more of the ingredients in the cat’s food. Determining which ingredient is the specific cause can be difficult and costly, involving skin sensitivity testing. Very often, the cat is maintained on the hypoallergenic diet.

Changing Over to a Better Nutritional Program

If you’ve been reading this chapter and realize that you’ve been compromising your cat’s nutrition by feeding lower-quality foods or ones that are inappropriate for his stage of life, don’t make an abrupt change. The transition needs to be gradual for two reasons: 1) to avoid digestive upset, and 2) to avoid rejection. If you’ve been feeding a low-quality food and are now going to switch to a high-quality one, you have to allow the cat’s body time to adjust. Make the changeover gradually by adding a little of the new food in with the old diet. Gradually increase the amount of new food while decreasing the old food over the course of about five days. If your cat begins to reject the new food, go even slower. Be patient, no matter how long it takes. It’ll all be worth it when you see the difference in your cat’s health, physical appearance, and disposition.

Feeding Kittens

Good quality protein and nutrients will play a vital role in your kitten’s development since his body is going to undergo major transformations. He will double in size several times in a short period of time (just mere months).

After weaning, kittens should be eating four meals a day until they’re four or five months old. At that time you can reduce it to three meals. If you’re doing free-choice feeding then just provide access to growth-formula food at all times until the kitten reaches one year of age. At that time, you’ll switch to an adult formula. If you’re free-choice feeding, make sure all kittens (if you have more than one) are eating successfully without any problems and are gaining the appropriate amount of weight. Replace food often and wash the bowl to keep food fresh and appealing.

Feeding a Geriatric Cat

See Chapter 16.

The Confusing World of Pet Food

Understanding the Basics

Protein

Why Cats Can’t Be Vegetarians

Fats

Carbohydrates

Vitamins

Minerals

Water—The Underappreciated Nutrient

Your Cat Isn’t a Dog, so Don’t Feed Him Dog Food

Which Foods Are Right for Your Cat

Wet Food (canned and pouch)

Dry Food

Semimoist Food

Read Labels

Ash

Product Name

Ingredient List

Nutritional Adequacy Claim

Feeding Instructions

Guaranteed Analysis

Manufacturer’s Name and Contact Information

Premium, Regular, All-Natural/Organic, and Generic Cat Food

Premium

Regular/Standard

All-Natural/Organic

Generic

Storing Cat Food (Out of Kitty’s Reach)

How Much to Feed

Dinner Is Served

Free-Choice Feeding

Scheduled Feeding

Home-Cooked Meals

Raw-Food Diets

Treats

Foods to Stay Away From

Milk

Tuna

Raw Eggs

Chocolate

Onions and Garlic

Tablescraps

Finicky Eaters

Tipping the Scales

How to Determine If Your Cat Is Overweight

Putting Kitty on a Diet

The “Catkins” Diet

Don’t Forget the Importance of Exercise

Use Those Puzzle Feeders

Feed Smaller Meals More Often

Food Allergies

Changing Over to a Better Nutritional Program

Feeding Kittens

Feeding a Geriatric Cat