Ingredients: Cats require a diet that's high in animal protein, and a protein source such as chicken, turkey, beef or fish should be in their food. Animal-based proteins provide essential nutrients for your cat, including taurine, an essential amino acid that cats require in their diet.
To choose the best wet food for your cat, you just have to take a look at the nutritional facts. The best wet food for cats will be high in animal protein, low in carbs, and contain other essential ingredients, like taurine.
In addition to more moisture content than dry food, premium wet cat food has a high protein content to satisfy your feline's natural cravings. Meats and fish are important in your cat's diet because protein deficiencies can lead to: Loss of appetite. Weight loss.
Well, it actually can be more complicated, such as if the cat eats a variety of foods, or hunts, or has other sources of foods, but at its most basic level, you can see that if your cat has a healthy body weight, her canned food should contain at least 10 percent protein and her dry food at least 40 percent protein to ...
An adult cat requires around 30-40% protein in their diet, so the protein composition of the food should be within or above this to meet your cats needs.
Protein requirements
According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), adult cats and kittens require a minimum of 26% and 30% protein on a dry matter basis, respectively, while ensuring that all essential amino acid requirements are met.
Health Conditions That Require More Water Intake
The main health conditions are kidney disease and problems of the urinary tract. For kitties with these health issues, increased fluid intake helps “flush out” their urinary system. For that reason, many vets recommend canned or wet food for these felines.
There's not one best kind of protein.
Cats need animal protein, fat, and other vitamins and minerals -- and they can get these nutrients from many different sources. The protein in commercial cat foods can come from chicken, poultry, beef, lamb, fish, liver, or meat or chicken “byproducts,” also called “meal.”
Animal proteins: Cats are essentially carnivores. They are meant to survive on fish and meat. Therefore, the primary ingredients in any cat food should be fish or meat, and not cornmeal, egg meal, and chicken meal. Even if there are vegetables added, they shouldn't be the first ingredient.
The Bottom Line. While Fancy Feast can be part of a balanced diet for your cat and provides complete nutrition, it may not be quite as fancy as the name suggests. As with any food, ensure the first few ingredients are high-quality, natural proteins like fish, chicken, or meat.
Cats can eat tuna as a treat and in small amounts, once or twice weekly at a maximum. Choose tuna in natural spring water. Avoid feeding cats tuna in oil or tuna in brine as these human tuna foods contain too much salt and oil so lack any health benefit, and can cause harm.
Ultimately, your cat will decide whether she prefers dry or wet cat food. Purina nutritionists recommend feeding a combination of wet and dry food, though. This helps ensure she gets plenty of moisture in her diet, plus the dental benefits of dry food, all while adding variety to keep her interested.
So, do cats need wet food? Not necessarily, but feeding a combination of wet and dry food can give your cat the benefits of both. The wet food will increase her total daily water intake and provide her the variety she wants and the dry kibble will help keep her teeth clean.
Do consider mixing canned and dry pet food. Adding canned food to dry food is another way to increase the moisture content and enhance the flavor of the meal, while allowing you the flexibility of buying different types of food that fit your budget.
"Dry food is fine as long as it is complete and balanced," says Dr. Kallfelz. Dry food may be less expensive than canned cat food and may stay fresher longer. Cats that eat only dry food need to be provided with lots of fresh water, especially if they are prone to developing urinary tract blockages.
You can choose to feed your cat a diet that consists solely of canned cat food or wet food pouches, just make sure to know their caloric needs and not overfeed.
Some of the most toxic food for cats include onions & garlic, raw eggs & meat, chocolate, alcohol, grapes and raisins. Avoid feeding your cat table scraps, especially around the holidays, as these may contain potentially toxic ingredients.
In general, you can feed an average-sized adult cat one 3-ounce can per 3 to 3½ pounds of body weight daily.
Chicken, Poultry Broth, Liver, Meat By-Products, Fish, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Tricalcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Added Color, Salt, Minerals [Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide], Taurine, Vitamins [Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin ...
Though better than carbs, an excess of protein is not a good thing either. Chronic kidney disease: The kidneys are generally responsible for processing excess protein. Too much protein for a cat with kidney diseases may lead to kidney failure as it is unable to keep up with the processing of protein in the body.
Cats need 20 to 24 percent fat in their food. It's important that both protein and fat be relatively high to ensure a quality diet. Cats will be attracted by food with high concentration in these areas.
However, for the average adult healthy cat, I recommend a canned diet with the following composition — greater than 50 percent of the calories ingested should be from protein, less than 10 percent daily calories from carbohydrates, and at least 30 percent of their daily calories from fat.