Blog: What Is Proper Feline Nutrition?

In short, a species appropriate diet is proper feline nutrition. It is one of my greatest passions! To learn why it is a passion near and dear to my heart, read “My Journey To Proper Feline Nutrition” -an autobiography- a heartfelt depiction of my painful personal journey and greatest lesson in my life every cat (pet) caregiver should know <3

A species appropriate diet simply means feeding a diet a specific species (cat, dog, reptilian, avian, aquatic/marine, mammalian, anthropods, etc.) are designed to eat by nature, a diet meant for their individual physiology. One their bodies were meant to consume, digest, and assimilate. One that provides all their vital nutrients to thrive, not merely survive. In order to thrive, an animal must eat a diet that its species has evolved to eat.

Think, you wouldn’t feed a snake lettuce or a potato (nor would you ever see a snake in the wild consume lettuce or a potato). That is for reason, they know in order to receive all their vital nutrients to live- they must consume animal prey and nothing else. Snakes are carnivores, obligate carnivores to be exact, which means they must consume the flesh of animals to attain all their nutritional needs for optimum bodily functions. Some of their vital nutrients needed to live are only present in animal flesh/meat/organs/etc.. Their digestive tract lacks the bacteria and enzymes needed to breakdown plant matter or any matter other than what their bodies were designed to consume (ie. animal base nutrients).

| Fact: Our felines (cats) are also Obligate Carnivores!

For our domestic pets who live indoors, species appropriate feeding means feeding a diet mirroring as closely as possible what they would consume in the wild. This includes protein/ moisture/fat/carb/veggie ratios as well as the medium in which it's fed

(ie. raw, pre-digested, etc.).

Cats are unique obligate carnivores. They have very high requirements for animal protein and moisture, moderate requirements for natural fat, zero requirements for carbohydrates!

| Hint: notice I underlined animal protein in the above paragraph, that is because the majority of the protein source found in dry/wet pet foods are veggie/carb/starch/soy based (ie. potato, pea, lentil, legumes, soy, etc.) - not true animal protein needed for vital health functioning. In addition, the low percent of animal protein that is present in dry/wet pet food is not enough for our cats vitality or to live healthfully.

| Caution: cats are also unique in the way that they have a high moisture requirement that can only be met by consuming moisture from within their food source! Think, moisture content within a field mouse or rabbit. Cats cannot and will not make up their moisture deficiency at the water bowl, separate from their food source. It must come from within their food! I cannot stress how important this is.

When a cat consumes water outside of their food source, their bodies do not absorb the moisture fully, instead the water rests in the stomach/digestive tract where the food absorbs the moisture to then turn into waste and eliminated from the body. Not good!

Cats who consume a dry/kibble diet are in a chronic state of daily dehydration, nutritional deprivation, and inflammation which can (and most likely will) lead to health related issues- UTI, urinary blockages, crystals, stones, liver/kidney/bladder disease or failure, IBD, cancer, periodontal disease, tooth resorption, behavioral changes, and the list goes on!

| Fact: cats have a high requirement for taurine, an essential amino acid only found in animal base proteins. Taurine is critical for normal vision, digestion, heart muscle function, maintaining a healthy immune system, and maintenance of normal pregnancy and fetal development {source: vcahospitals.com}. It’s crucial. Cats naturally source taurine from raw meat. Muscle meats, including heart, have the highest levels. The best way for cats and dogs to intake taurine naturally is to include raw meats in their diet {source: rawandfresh.com.au}.

For an obligate carnivore, dry kibble (no matter how premium/ gourmet/ expensive/ organic/ natural/ or prescription!) is a slow death to be very frank and honest. It is the exact opposite of a feline’s nutritional requirements. Dry pet foods have carbohydrates/ starch/ sugar as their #1 ingredient, including plant based proteins. It has very little-to-no (more like no) moisture, cancer causing spray-on fats for palatability, cancer causing ingredients (like euthanized, diseased animals), and cancer causing chemicals as a byproduct of high heat processing. It’s bad bad bad! All bad!

| Tip: if you take away anything from this article post, please rethink feeding dry foods. Dry foods (kibble) should not exist in the pet industry, yet they do, and it is one of the worse things for your pet! Please take my word for it, I know from experience. An obligate carnivore should never see dry food (kibble) in their light of day.

When feeding the standard pet feed "food" diet, which is not a species appropriate diet, pets are not thriving, they are merely surviving. It’s a slow death. They are “OK” until they’re not.

Feeding proper feline nutrition, a species appropriate diet, is fundamental to your felines (pets) health, longevity, and quality of life.

Please see THF Food List for a comprehensive all inclusive food recommendation list for both cats and dogs. Disclosing 8 Healthy Alternatives to Kibble plus recommended brands in each category providing Real Food for our Pets!

| Tip: often times, when a pet is on a raw food diet you’ll notice little-to-no water drinking outside of their food source. This is because they are receiving adequate moisture within their food! This is a good sign, but always monitor to ensure proper hydration is occurring, and always provide a separate source of fresh clean filtered water (because any water is better than no water). For additional hydration within the food source, a general rule of thumb is add 1-3 tsp of water or bone broth made for pets into their raw meal; and always rehydrate freeze dried and dehydrated raw! <3

For more information on what’s really in your pets standard pet food, the following are great resources: