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!
About The Author
Nancy E. Wigal stopped the cat urine odor problem at her home, and kept the kitty that caused it. "18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odor Problems" saves you money, time and frustration by solving your cat urine odor problem - permanently.
http://www.stopcaturineodor.com
