What should I feed my cat?
This one's a little tough, and I'd recommend that you do your own research. However, as a general guide, avoid cat foods that contain
- Wheat
- Corn
- Rice
- Soy
- "Meat" (would you eat something if the ingredients included unspecified "meat"?)
- Any byproducts
- Wet foods that are "in gravy" tend to have nasty ingredients
- Check for preservatives in wet foods
The problem with wheat, corn, rice, and soy is that cats didn't evolve to digest them properly. Unfortunately these ingredients are cheap fillers, and are widely used. It is incredibly hard to find foods that meet these standards. Even Science Diet* and other "scientifically formulated" foods tend to include these ingredients. Blue Buffalo and Wellness are commonly recommended "clean" cat foods, but are a bit on the expensive side (though, so is Science Diet). If you're on a tight budget, my recommendation is Costco brand adult cat food and Meow Mix's non-gravy wet foods. The former is fairly clean (only contains rice, which isn't as bad an offender as wheat or corn) and costs about $15 for a massive bag. The latter is clean of these ingredients but does contain some chemicals and preservatives - make sure to avoid the "in gravy" flavors. My two cats did well and were healthy on a combination of these foods. Now that I'm not broke, I'm trading up for higher-quality foods.
If your cat has digestive problems, is overweight, or has an unhealthy coat, look into changing his/her diet immediately!
The
wet/dry food debate is far from resolved. Cats tend not to drink enough, so wet food can help keep them hydrated. This is especially important for older cats (9+ years) and cats susceptible to health problems like diabetes and urinary tract infections.
Some people claim that dry food helps clean their teeth, but this is not true (as someone put it, do your teeth get cleaner when you eat a pretzel? No, you just end up with pretzel bits stuck in your teeth). Dry food has a much higher amount of carbohydrates (which is a bad thing). Dry food is also linked to some health problems, though it's not clear whether or not this is because of ingredients like wheat and corn.
It'll usually come down to what your cat will eat. There are a lot of cats that refuse to eat either wet or dry food.
Finally, once you find a food that your cat likes, pay attention to their health. How is your cat's coat, weight, litter box use, etc.? If he or she seems happy and healthy, stick to the food. Don't vary your cat's diet just so he or she can have a variety of tastes. Unlike humans, cats are perfectly happy with eating the same thing every day, and changes in diet can disrupt digestion - commonly resulting in cat barf (fun to clean up!).
*From what I hear, Science Diet has a specialty line of foods that your vet can prescribe, and these are much cleaner.
Edit: Follow instructions when feeding your cat. Overfeeding can lead to obesity, and "open feeding" (just leaving a bowl full of food out constantly) can encourage pickiness as well as obesity. The food also goes stale faster, so it can be wasteful.
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