What is the best food you can possibly give your cats?

I've been giving my prey model raw food. Meaning, I give them a variety of muscle meats such as duck gizzard, beef heart, chicken breast, beef, turkey, goat, etc., 10% liver and kidney, and like 2 or 3 quails per week which equals to 10% bone. Do you think this is the best diet or something like commercial dry food or canned food?





Just looking for different opinions.|||You could probably poll 100 people and get 100 different answers, and potentially spark a heated debate between proponents of raw v. processed foods. In the end, the "best diet" is not the same for every cat out there and depends immensely on your cat's total health..and not just your report of him being healthy, but an actual diagnostic workup that supports that claim (ie is there any evidence of underlying kidney, thyroid or heart disease? or is your diet potentially stimulating chronic, low-grade pancreatitis?). Diets too high in protein and phosphorous can speed the demise of patients with kidney failure. If feeding a non-AAFCO evaluated diet, you should also consider having your kitty's taurine level evaluated to ensure there is no lack of this essential amino acid in the diet, as deficiency can lead to heart disease and eventual failure.





Basically what I'm saying is that there is no 100% right answer to this question for every pet and unless you consult a VETERINARY nutritionist (cats are not people) to develop a diet tailored especially for your cat, it's all just best-guess. Best of luck!|||For a raw diet, just make sure you have all the necessary components present, and are scrupulous about keeping the meat free of bacterial contamination. You could get a nasty e coli bacteria inadvertently, and wind up with dead cats. And even with an all natural diet, there can be problems with lack of taurine.





Realize that organ meats are crucial for the enzymes they contain, as cats have a short digestive system, so they need the enzymes to help them properly digest their food. So that is where some of the "meat by products" come in. And for that, you often get what you pay for.





There are commercial raw food diets out there, which would supposedly have all the necessary components present. However there have been several commercial raw cat food products that have been the subject of a recall, due to salmonella contamination. Nature Valley, Feline Pride and Wild Kitty are just three brands recalled.





A commercial quality diet is complete and balanced, and has meat as the first ingredient, and meat products high in the list of ingredients.|||Sounds great --as long as you are confident in those percentages (and half of the organ meat is liver) . and as long as you are observing caution in handling raw meat, and of course, as long as your cats are healthy, normal litterbox output etc.


Once people have got to the point of feeding a prey model raw diet, they usually are pretty well informed about feline nutrition and would not even consider that commercial dry food would be a good diet for a cat. Have you read the Basics of Feline Nutrition article on Dr Lisa Pierson's site? I think that will help to reassure you about what you're doing, . and if you want more of the biology, also read the JAVMA "Carnivore Connection" article by Dr Zoran republished on that same site. Dr Pierson also mentions a few commercial canned choices like Merrick. http://catinfo.org


Here is some more info that might be useful. (and you could also ask questions on a forum section likespecifically on this subject ) http://www.catforum.com/forum/62-raw-foo鈥?/a>|||That's like asking what the best human food to eat is. It varies according to age, energy level, whether indoor or outdoor and health. Also cost considerations. I am in a constant battle to feed the best food for my cats. Both are 10 tears. The active "fine specimen" gets high fat and calorie grain free dry food but he hates it. I have to mix it with premium canned which has grain. I just got Taste of the Wild and hope the little heathen likes it. The other cat is overweight and not active, so she gets Natural Balance reduced calorie. The stray outdoor cats get Kirkland or Diamond Naturals because of their lower cost, however they still aren't getting a high grain content.





Grain free would be my choice if your cat is still healthy.|||That's very healthy food. I was doing research on cat food, the healthier is raw diet. Cats in wild kill to eat. I was feeding my cats the best of commercial food, they were always not so healthy. i started with raw diet, they are doing much better. If you decide to feed your cat different food, i would recommend something that has no gluten and no corn. Good luck.|||You're doing the best possible thing already. No canned or commercial food can provide the nutrition or health benefits that a Prey Model Raw or Whole Prey diet can.





Keep up the great work!