|
Prevent Feline Uti With A Canned Cat Food Diet Part II
Last week I wrote about the benefits of transitioning your cat to a
raw food diet to stop feline urinary tract infections. As I also noted,
some cats just won't eat raw food. Part II gives you information about
the more common diet alternative - canned cat food.
Many experts recommend you feed your kitty canned food almost
exclusively to keep feline urinary tract infections from recurring.
More moisture in kitty's diet means better flushing capability by
urinating more often, in larger amounts. Crystals can be flushed out of
the cat when they are too small to do damage. This is critical to
prevent cat urinary tract infections from happening again.
Since cats don't lap up water like other animals, the moisture
content in canned foods will offset this. Raw food (raw meat) diets
also provide most of the moisture content cats need to stay healthy.
There are many different types of cat food you can purchase.
It can be confusing. However, with a little bit of knowledge, you can
easily determine what is best to feed kitty to keep cat urinary tract
infections from happening again.
But don't go rushing out and purchase tuna in spring water for
kitty! There are several key ingredients you need to look for in canned
cat food to prevent a feline UTI. Not just any kind will keep your
cat's urinary tract healthy.
Let's go over them in a little bit of detail.
Meat or meat by-products?
When assessing the best canned cat food for your kitty, the
first ingredient should always be meat. Not meat by-products, and not
chicken meal, or similar ingredients. Cats are pure carnivores, and
they must have a very high protein diet to stay healthy. By-products
are junk for a cat.
Look for chicken, beef, lamb, turkey and duck. Many experts
believe fish contributes to feline urinary tract infections, so it's
best to avoid the seafood choices you'll find.
Rice and wheat:
These are fine, as long as they are high quality brown rice and
wheat. However, if one of these is listed first, I'd put that can back
on the shelf and would continue my search.
DL-Methionine:
DL-Methionine is an ingredient in both dry and canned cat foods.
It's an amino acid that helps restore the urine pH balance back to 6.0
– 6.8. Read the fine print to see if it's an ingredient. If you don't
see DL-Methionine listed, don't worry. You can add it to your cat's
food in powdered form.
Magnesium:
Magnesium is believed to contribute to crystal formation in a
cat's urinary tract infection. Look for canned cat food that lists the
level. The magnesium level should not be higher than 0.1%, and no less
than .025% in any cat food you purchase.
Cranberries and blueberries:
Although cats are carnivores, berries are a great ingredient to
promote good urinary tract health. High quality canned cat food should
contain either one of these, or both.
Vegetables:
I know I stated cats are carnivores. If vegetables are listed,
and they're far down the list, that's fine. Typically you'll find
carrots, peas, squash and corn.
Armed with this knowledge, you're now able to hit the pet food
stores and easily analyze the label information on different kinds of
canned cat food. Remember, anytime you're thinking about changing your
cat's diet, please consult with your vet on the best way to make this
transition. Cats are not partial to changes, and a radical diet
transformation done overnight is not good for your cat.
If you'd like to read Part I, please contact me at my website.
Good luck in your search for high quality canned cat food that will keep those pesky feline UTIs from happening again!
Tags: Cat Products Cat Food Prevent Feline Uti With A Canned Cat Food Diet Part II types of cat canned food dry food |
