Cat in a Can

Canned food - Why is this important?

Most cat foods have a fairly high percentage of their calories that come from carbohydrates. I'm talking about excellent, outstanding foods here, not mega-merchant crap. Carbohydrate sources are inexpensive, highly digestible, and shelf stable. They provide good nutrition and we have made good use of them in our foods. Carbohydrate sources include rice, corn, wheat, and oat for the most part. Each of these can be fantastic energy sources.

BUT -

IF we are correct about cats requiring a lower carbohydrate diet, the best way BY FAR to do this is with canned food. Kibble is a baked product, right? It requires flour and water. So you simply can't get a kibble with low carbohydrates. It's against their nature.

Canned, on the other hand, allows more flexibility to play with it and as a result, canned foods are nearly always lower in carbohydrates than their dry counterparts.

What about my cat's teeth? I thought hard food was required for dental health?

We used to think that. As it turns out - it really doesn't matter. Canned or dry - pretty much the same dental issues.

Why people don't like canned food:

It stinks

It has to be put down fresh (I can't leave for a day and just leave a bowl full of food.)

My cat won't eat it

It produces too much packaging waste

All of these are true. Cats are texture driven, and if they have always eaten dry foods, it is very possible that they will refuse wet foods. It requires a period of time for them to adjust if you have to switch to canned foods. You must keep the food fresh and canned food tends to stink more. Oh well.

The other reason behind encouraging canned foods:

Water! Remember my post on the miracle nature of water? Most cats don't drink enough. Their genetic code is still left behind from their desert ancestors, and they just don't feel the need for water.

But water does all kinds of critical things for cats - the most important of which is that it keeps their urinary output high and that is one of the single most important aspects of treating lower urinary tract disease in cats.

So am I advocating canned food diets in cats? Probably :) The jury is still out regarding some of these points, but I think they make sense. Canned diets are probably going to be the best choice for any cat with diabetes, obesity, kidney disease or lower urinary tract disease.

Don't stress if your cat won't eat canned food, though. Some cats just won't.

And now for the disclaimer:

FEED THE CAT, NOT THE BAG OR THE BLOG! If your cat looks great, feels great, is a normal weight, and is doing well on the food they are on - there's probably no reason to change. BUT - if not, talk to your veterinarian. There are a lot of good foods out there.

Don't hesitate to feed wet food, though. Canned food will NOT do any harm if the formula is appropriate for the cat (kidney cats need therapeutic kidney diets, for instance). You would have no argument from me if you wanted to feed your cat canned food exclusively. Probably a good idea for most all cats. We'll see if the veterinary community still feels this way in five years...

AMH