Dear Chris: If you are having weight problems, keep in mind that cats in nature are true carnivores and do not consume carbs in any quantity, yet all dry cat food, even the best brands are grain-based to a greater or lesser extent, with the best ones having more meat and less grain than the cheaper brands. I know that many veterinarians promote Hills Science Diet, but keep in mind they are financially compensated for doing so and if you read the ingredients on the package, this is NOT the best food to feed one's cats.
Do you leave dry food out at all times for your cats to snack on, or do you feed them meals with a certain amount per feeding so that you know how much each one is getting? While free-feeding may be very convenient, not only does it allow for oxidation of the food by prolonged exposure to the air, it allows some cats to eat much more than they need to and when cats are kept indoors and do not get the amount of exercise that they would as the free-roaming creatures nature intended, they will quite likely become overweight. Also keep in mind that many dry feeds are formulated with flavoring agents which include compounds that contain phosphoric acid (also in soft drinks) which gives the tongue a sort of tingling sensation and helps make what is in many cases largely waste from the slaughter industry more appetizing. With enough additives, you could make cardbopard "nutritionally complete." I would suggest that you take your overweight cats off the dry food completely, or in the very least limit their intake of it and choose a dry food that is truly more nutritious. I would not feed anything from Hills to my cats unless they have made drastic changes in their formulations/ingredients in the past few years. As I have so many feline mouths (20) to feed, I do feed a dry kibble in the AM, but a 50/50 mix of the two brands which my research has concluded have the best quality ingredients and the least amount of carbohydrates, i.e. Wellness and Nature's Variety. With the best quality feeds, less feed is required, as well...I give mine only 1/4 cup each. I would avoid any dry food whose first ingredient is grain and not meat or a high quality meat meal. In the PM, I either feed a raw-based mixture that I prepare myself or a high-quality canned food that does not contain any grains, just meat and and veggies, etc. If you make your own raw mix, you can choose low-fat meats for kittys that tend to pork out. And for geriatric or immunocompromised kittys can use higher quality protein that is more easily broken down with less waste for the liver and kidneys to process. Again, less feed is required to get the nutritional requirements. I give each adult cat (growing kittens need about twice that) 1/4 to 1/3 of a 5.5 oz. can, or about 1/4 cup of the raw mix per feeding. Some canned brands that have formulations with no grain in them are Wellness, Nature's Variety, Pet Guard, some Wysong. There may be others I'm not aware of -- read the label. There are also some brands of high quality canned food that while they do contain some grain, it is of a more easily digested sort (rice or millet or amaranth or oats, as opposed to corn which is cheaper but harder to digest) and is farther down the list of ingredients and not one for the first two or three. Some of those are Innova, Newman's Own, Evolve, Merrick, Calif. Natural, some Wysong, etc. You need to read the labels and educate yourself as to what is in the food. But if you are going to feed a canned food with grain in it, I would not feed any dry food at all. Unlike lions and other big cats, domestic-size cats are not binge eaters by nature but catch smaller meals more often...but few people have a schedule that permits them to run an all-hours deli for their cats. I feed mine twice/day; young kittens and geriatric ones with digestive issues 3 or 4x/day. If making your own raw-based cat food seems too much trouble, you can enrich a commercial diet by adding a bit of raw meat (a meatball or two), pureed liver or egg yolk (esp. good for immunocompromised kittys) to the canned food and some (1/2 to 1 tsp.) purreed raw veggies. If using ground muscle meat only, you need to add a bit of extra calcium to compensate for the fact that muscle meat has more Phosphorous than Calcium (1 tsp. powdered eggshell to 1 lb. meat) Try giving your cats some raw, meaty bones such as smallish chicken wings or cut up a small game hen or quail. You can sprinkle some yeast flakes (don't give yeast to CRF kittys, however, it is high in P) and/or a veggie powder such as Barley Cat on them to make it more enticing if they aren't used to raw meat. Chewing on bones is good for their teeth and provides balanced P/Ca. Cats can digest raw bones, but do not give cooked bones as they can splinter. Hope this may be helpful info for you. Sally in San Jose
