Random thoughts on types of cat food.

So, I have had cats all of my life, close to 40 years. I have never actually lived in a place without a cat. In my adult life, I have always tried to take the responsibility to feed my cats properly, and healthfully. Various brands over the years. I had done research on nutritional values and content, amount of protein and fat, yada yada.

So almost a year ago, one of out male cats came down with a urinary infection. Vet trip, antibiotics, etc... So, the way I think, I went full boar into WHY this happened in the first place. Keeping reptiles, and being a very healthy long time type I diabetic, I am of the firm belief that 90%+ of all health problems are caused by something in the way that animal is cared for and fed. So, on to the cat UTI riddle.

Without going into everything, it's corn. It is a little more complicated than that, but I am now almost religiously convinced that corn as an ingredient in cat food is beyond bad news. Just evil. Think about it. I'll apologize for being a bit vulgar, but think of all the kid jokes about "corn in your poop", lol. If we have a hard time digesting it, omnivorous animals that can digest extremely complex grains and carbohydrates, how can a cat with a much shorter digestive tract, not designed to digest any carbs, get anything good out of that?

Since I have alleviated all foods with any corn in them, the differences are amazing. My 14-15 year old maine coon, is acting younger than she has since we took her in 6-7 years ago. All 3 cats are shedding less, more active, eating less, defecating less and more easily, and jut all around, "happier", if that makes sense.

The rest of the grains aren't as natural either, but the corn is awful. I use a combination of a low grain/carb corn free food and a completely grain free food. Note, allot of the "grain free" diets are loaded with potato, a cheap simple carb. That can't be all that great either. Easier to digest, but still wrong. Cats endocrine systems don't function like ours, they don't release insulin the same way, in response to carbohydrates, it's more moderate, in response to protein. That's why diabetes in cat's is becoming more and more common.

Just thought I'd share my experience.

I find it quite shocking that cat food supplies can add ingredients without doing the research. If you could discover this about corn and its effect on the digestive system of a cat, why have the manufacturers not investigated the possible consequences of corn in cat food before adding it to their products. It would seem they care little for the welfare of the pets that consume their cat food and are only thinking of their profits. Corn is a cheap filler, but it certainly is not natural food for a cat.

I hear ya my friend! My cat has had nothing but issues. He is only 2 years old!

He was fed Iams Kitten food, dry for his first year, then one day out of nowhere he started seeping blood out of his Anus. Turns out he had an intolerance and his bowel couldn't process the food.

We switched to a grain free wet / dry mix. This time with Felidae Platinum, and some probiotic dry.

The lack of grains, and the fact that is was for senior cats made it much easier for him to digest. Then around 2 weeks ago, out of the blue he became lethargic, he was at deaths door, I took him to the vet and he had a Urinary Tract Blockage. In short $1200 later he is up and running again.

Once again, his food has been switched. Now he is on Vet Prescription Dry food, sprayed with water before eating. And Wellness grain free chicken food.

Its crazy how bad for cats cat food is! It makes me so mad! I have been to the vet multiple times for no reason other than my cat's reaction to his food!! And he has never been fed cheap crappy food!

(04-09-2013, 10:50 PM)Rube Wrote: I find it quite shocking that cat food supplies can add ingredients without doing the research. If you could discover this about corn and its effect on the digestive system of a cat, why have the manufacturers not investigated the possible consequences of corn in cat food before adding it to their products. It would seem they care little for the welfare of the pets that consume their cat food and are only thinking of their profits. Corn is a cheap filler, but it certainly is not natural food for a cat.

In short, 95% of them are concerned about a higher profit line first, everything else second. Corn is cheap, in the U.S. at least. Corn farmers get subsidies. That is why it is everything, even gas now (which actually may be a very good use of the stuff, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and find out why this is bad as well...)

Large pet companies have always been this way. For reptiles, they still make "hot rocks". An electrical heater encased in cheap plastic, in the bottom of an enclosure with humidity with a live animal that may/will defecate/urinate on it, eat live prey on it, knock over water dishes, etc... Common sense says it is a terrible idea, but they still sell them at petsmart, petco, and places like that to new keepers, because, they will spend money on them.

You have to be your pets advocate. The info is out there if you look for it.

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(04-10-2013, 03:27 AM)scotty Wrote: I hear ya my friend! My cat has had nothing but issues. He is only 2 years old!

He was fed Iams Kitten food, dry for his first year, then one day out of nowhere he started seeping blood out of his Anus. Turns out he had an intolerance and his bowel couldn't process the food.

We switched to a grain free wet / dry mix. This time with Felidae Platinum, and some probiotic dry.

The lack of grains, and the fact that is was for senior cats made it much easier for him to digest. Then around 2 weeks ago, out of the blue he became lethargic, he was at deaths door, I took him to the vet and he had a Urinary Tract Blockage. In short $1200 later he is up and running again.

Once again, his food has been switched. Now he is on Vet Prescription Dry food, sprayed with water before eating. And Wellness grain free chicken food.

Its crazy how bad for cats cat food is! It makes me so mad! I have been to the vet multiple times for no reason other than my cat's reaction to his food!! And he has never been fed cheap crappy food!

I feel your pain. The biggest thing I found in this whole UTI thing is, as you implied, water. Cats aren't designed to drink allot, as they are designed to intake water in their food, not to need EXTRA water in order to process the food, which is actually the case with dry food. (And the corn makes this even worse than other dry food). This mild dehydration seems to be the reason they have a problem flushing out the struvite crystals and they build up. Struvite crystals are the primary cause of UTI in cats.

Then problem two, many vets prescribe diets for cats, with a raised PH. A PH in the urine of below 6.5 is either the cause or a symptom of the struvite crystals, depending on who you ask. The problem is, the exact proper modified PH of the food isn't as simple as "just feed this" apparently. And, if the food creates a urine with a too high PH, you will end up with oxalate crystals, which is even worse.

The most important thing I have found is, water. Getting the cat to drink enough water, which with some cats, such as the male I had this problem with, isn't as easy as it sounds. I actually bought one of those fountains, which has helped immensely. I was hesitant to do so, but this male always wanted to drink from the sink, and I figured it would help. I bought a stainless steel model, so it is easier to clean, disinfect, and maintain, and though it wasn't cheap, I am happy with the thing.

We have feed our cat Purina Indoor cat chow since he was a baby, in fact he refuses to eat anything else. He won't eat canned catfood at all. Boots is a very healthy cat. But we have friends that have feed their cats expensive food sold at the vets office, and their cats are constantly battling urinary infections and even cancerous tumors. I always thought it was because of the higher protein levels in some cat foods. An indoor cat does not need the higher protein levels that a outdoor cat might need. But maybe I am mistaken, maybe it is corn.

Do you think it could be related to the increasing use of GMO corn, not only in our foods, but in pet foods as well? It could be changing the way the cats body digestion breaks down the food that is not fit to eat. It seems if it's not pet food from China, it is our own manufactures using cheaper fillers and only thinking of their own bottom line and not the safety or quality of the pet food they produce.

That is a very good question, and honestly, I have no idea. It is a pretty good bet that most if not all the corn in pet foods is GMO corn. It certainly can't help. And, most of the "prescription diets" are corn based as well. Depends on the vet and the brand. I am a fan of at least slightly higher protein than some of the cheaper cat foods, but again, if that protein come from processed corn, (which is where allot of it comes from in cheap cat food), that is not apples to apples.

The list of ingredients on the prescription died food is quite shocking. It is high corn, and high fillers rather than actual meat for the cats! I was shocked! I feed it to my cats on the vets advice but it is less than half of their diet, and I do it just to hopefully prevent my cat from getting another UI blockage.

We learned this lesson, too... I always thought that buying the more premium canned food meant better nutrition but it's just not like that. When a health issue came up and the vet suggested buying grain-free cat food (both wet and dry) was when I started realizing what was actually in (or NOT in) the stuff we'd been feeding her. And then I felt guilty for not having known before. I still check the ingredient list even on the grain-free foods, but it's never as shocking as some of the other "regular" cat food lists are. It also makes me wonder how some of those companies can even get away with the junk they're getting away with putting in our pet foods. :-(

(04-09-2013, 10:50 PM)Rube Wrote: I find it quite shocking that cat food supplies can add ingredients without doing the research. If you could discover this about corn and its effect on the digestive system of a cat, why have the manufacturers not investigated the possible consequences of corn in cat food before adding it to their products. It would seem they care little for the welfare of the pets that consume their cat food and are only thinking of their profits. Corn is a cheap filler, but it certainly is not natural food for a cat.

The thing is that the cat food companies do not care at all about the safety of your pet. They only care about trying to make the easiest possible profit. The manufacturers would never bother to investigate the possible consequences of an ingredient because they are under no legal obligation to and so they will not spend money bothering to do so. If you read about how pet food companies operate, you will learn that most of what they supply is simply toxic. Due to the lack of legal safety requirements for pet food, they can largely get away with anything they please. For example, the meat used in pet foods is far from the "wholesome cuts" they advertise. Most of the time, they "clear up" after the main meat industry: they take all the parts, which would be illegal to give to people and put them into pet food. This includes things like meat made of animals who died of diseases or had died some time before slaughter. If they can do something cheaply, then they will do it. There is nothing to stop them from doing so.

It really is sad that most pet foods have so much filler in them. I agree that it's really because companies are more concerned with profit than anything else. People use corn in different countries as filler and never as a source of nutrition, how much more with pets. I’ve recently been researching about making my own pet food for my cats and dogs. It will definitely take more time and effort but to my thinking it might be a worthwhile investment in the long run.

I made the switch quite a few years ago to what ever brand the vet told me to get, to getting a brand that has no corn or filler. I don't get the top of the dry food chain, but it is crazy the amount of junk in the food. Although it is not that shocking considering the amount of questionable items in our own food. But my reason for replying is that the other day I took my cat to the vet, I had a question about senior cat food and they gave me a dietary information sheet to take home that explained how corn was not bad for cats. I am not going to switch back to another brand but i thought that was odd considering my research. So I don't really know but I'd still choose a no corn food over one with.

It's likely GMO corn as well. I was watching an interesting segment from a former vegetarian who was explaining how an agricultural based diet is actually bad for you - when you look at how our ancestors ate. She explained that there is a sharp rise in the number of diseases and cancers that started being reported when people switched to heavily plant based diets - which kind of contradicts what you usually hear in the media. She also was explaining how meat based diets contributed to our larger brains evolving over time. It was some pretty interesting stuff to consider.