Baker Animal Clinic
The Truth About Canned Cat Food
Canned cat food has attained a pretty bad reputation over the years and most veterinary health care professionals have been reluctant to recommend these diets. Some (and we are guilty as well) even went so far as to recommend against canned diets.Let us look at some of the common beliefs about canned food. See if you think the statements below are true or false:
1. Canned cat food is not quality food.
False. The quality of the ingredients in canned and dry diets are the same. The major difference is the amount of water. Dry food contains ~ 17% water while canned food contains ~80% water.
2. Canned cat food is bad for my cat's teeth.
False. While the development of tartar in dogs is affected by the “crunchiness” of the diet, tartar development in cats is mostly based on bacteria. In fact, if we feed a diet that closely mimics what a cat would eat in the wild (mice, birds etc.) we will probably reduce tartar development in your cat. Canned diets more closely mimic the true diet of the feral cat.
3. My cat will get fat if I feed canned food.
False. Obesity is a function of the total number of calories consumed. Regardless of the source of calories, if we feed too many calories our cats will get fat.
4. Cats fed fry food have a decreased incidence of bladder disease.
False. New evidence shows that the incidence of bladder disease in cats is directly related to the amount of water in the diet. Canned cat food contains 4 ½ times as much water as dry food. Cats fed canned food consume more total water per day than cats fed dry food. Canned cat food actually decreases the incidence of urinary disease in cats.
5. Cats like dry cat food better than canned.
True…but. Cats have specific preferences for their food. These include texture and shape (ever notice that dry foods are different shapes), fat content and “crunch”. Cats that are not exposed to canned food as kittens will naturally have a preference for dry food because they never learned that canned diets were actually food and meant to be eaten. Dry food meet the personal preferences of cats but that does not mean that it is the best option for our cats.
6. Cats fed a dry diet will drink more water.
True…but. Cats that eat dry cat food will indeed drink more water but because cats evolved as desert animals they will drink water based on the amount of water in the diet. This means that cats eating dry food will consume only half the amount of water from food and drinking) as those fed canned food
Surprising isn’t it. So let’s look a bit more closely at cat nutrition.
Cats are obligate carnivores. This means that they must eat meat in their diet. Cats evolved consuming prey (high protein, low to moderate fat, and minimal carbohydrate) and as such are metabolically adapted to higher protein metabolism. Although they can make use of carbohydrates (CHO) as an energy source, they have no requirements for them.
Cats fed a diet containing protein and CHO will preferentially use the protein as a source of energy. Anything in excess of basal needs will go towards storage ie. fat.Cats have significantly less of the digestive enzymes needed to properly digest CHO. It takes cats, on average, four times longer to lower its blood sugar after eating a CHO based diet than a dog eating a similar diet.
So what does this all mean to our cats?
Well, cats fed a diet high in CHO and low in protein are at a dramatically increased risk for developing obesity. Obesity in turn puts these cats at an increased risk for a number of diseases including diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease, interstitial cystitis (bladder diseases), asthma and decreased immune function to name a few.
So what can we do as owners?
We can start by introducing canned cat food at an early age. The first day you bring that cute little kitten home is ideal. All cats should be fed some (50% is a good starting point) canned food as part of their diet-both to reduce the amount of CHO in their diet, but also to better control calories (dry food is very energy dense), and to increase the amount of water consumed daily. Early acceptance is not only important for diet selection now, but if later in life your cat requires a canned prescription diet for a specific problem, they will more readily accept it.
We must control the amount of calories we feed our cats. Most cats cannot be free fed without having them become obese. Portion control is paramount and it is more easily attained by feeding canned food. As an example let us look at “Marvin”, an average 10lb indoor cat. Marvin spends most of his day sleeping on the couch (sound familiar?). His daily caloric requirement is approximately 200-225 kcals per day. Now we will assume that he receives no treats. If we were to feed him a quality dry food (average caloric density of 450 kcal/cup) he would require slightly less than a ½ cup total per day. If we were to feed him a quality canned food that was low in CHO and high in protein (average caloric density of 180 kcal/can for a 5.5oz can), he would receive 1 ¼ cans total per day. Will Marvin be full on less than a ½ cup per day and let you sleep at night? Probably not!!
Spaying and neutering our cats decreases their energy requirements by about 30%. We must ensure that we decrease their food intake by 25-30% immediately after surgery. This will help to prevent weight gain and its associated problems. Avoid free feeding as this leads to weight gain in sedentary and bored indoor cats. Try to get your cat to exercise. There are toys available that can be filled with small amounts of food. This will get Marvin off the couch and make him work for his meal. This helps to increase his exercise and burn off some calories. As we already mentioned cats are natural hunters, so place food in various spots around the house (measured amounts of course). This will force them to “hunt” for their food and also burns calories.
Not all canned cat foods are created equal. Some are actually too high in CHO. As a result of this we have created a list of canned foods that we feel are appropriate for your cat.. Please feel free to ask us for this list. Because not all cats are at the same stage in life, it is important to tailor the diet to the specific pet. We will be glad to create specific feeding guidelines for your pet.
Our goal as pet owners and health care professionals is to ensure that your pets are as healthy as possible. If you wish to receive more information on cat nutrition and how it relates to your pet’s health, please feel free to ask one of our team members.
The staff of Baker Animal Clinic
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