Premium Cat Food

Why pay extra for premium?

Although premium cat foods cost more per pound due to superior ingredients, they are so densely packed with nutrients and calories - a good thing for cats - that your cat can be satisfied with smaller servings, which benefits your cat's digestion, weight, and general health, as well as your wallet.

Because premium cat food contains less filler, your cat absorbs more of the food as nutrients, so much less of it is passed as waste in the litter box.

So while premium cat foods cost more per pound, the amount that your cat actually needs to eat is greatly reduced, as your cat will need to eat less in order to be satiated. You might be paying more per pound of food, you'll get more feedings out of each of these pounds.

By Products

There are two schools of thought regarding the use of by-products in pet food. One point of view says that in the wild, a cat will eat every part of its prey: bones, fur, guts and all. Therefore, they argue, by-products are a part of a cat's natural diet so a small amount of by-product might not be so bad, after all.

The opposing view believes that by-products do not belong in cat food at all, and many premium brands don't contain any. Some say a small percentage of by-product is acceptable, but that it should not be the primary ingredient - just as a wild cat's diet would be composed mainly of meat, so should your cat's.

Preservatives

Artificial preservatives are another matter. While there have been no studies that I know of to determine the long-term effects of preservatives in the feline diet, we know enough to be concerned about their use in human food, so it seems reasonable to assume that they're not a good idea for your pet either. The better cat foods have switched to Vitamins C or E as preservatives, rather than depending on artificial components that may adversely affect your cat's health.

If you are concerned about the use of preservatives in your cat's food, check the label. Some common names of these chemicals include BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin, and propyl gallate.

Carbohydrates

Since cats are carnivores, it's easy enough to accept that cats need far more meat in their diets than carbohydrates, and some of the experts say that they don't need carbohydrates at all. Generally, dry cat foods that contain primarily protein rank higher in reviews; while store brands such as Meow Mix, Whiskas, and Friskies, use comparatively more carbohydrate fillers, such as corn or soy meal. This means that when you feed your cat an inferior brand of cat food, she will need to eat more in order to get the energy and protein that she needs; the result being that the cheaper brands of cat food might actually cost you more in the long run, and adversely affect the health of your pet.

Corn, wheat, and soy are often used as fillers in cat food, even though cats require very few carbohydrates in their diet. Economy brands typically use more carbohydrate filler in their products, resulting in cats eating much more bulk than they would if they were given higher quality foods. The real cost is in the health of your cat, as the continued feeding of low quality foods over a period of years will cause or contribute to serious medical conditions that may require expensive veterinary care.

Dry or wet?

Most cat owners prefer dry cat food to canned, as it stores easier and its use makes litter boxes easier to clean. Most of the arguments against the use of dry food are answered through the use of premium dry cat food, as opposed to bargain, store brand, dry food, which consists largely of filler.

There is also credible evidence that feeding canned food, primarily, is apt to result in problems with dental hygeine. When feeding canned food, cats require a regular dental program of brushing, rinsing, along with regular veterinary dental exams and professional cleaning, if required.

There is no argument, however, that it doesn't hurt to feed your cat canned food as a treat on occasion. Most cats prefer canned food to dry; but then, most kids prefer ice cream to asparagus, so preference shouldn't necessarily be your guide.

Reasonable arguments can be made for either choice, but you should be aware of the additional demands that must necessarily follow whichever option you choose.

For the cat whose diet consists mostly of canned food, there are dental requirements that will need to arranged for, and maintained. While the water in canned food will fulfill the majority of your cat's water requirements, she should still have drinking water available, but the cat that is on a dry food diet must always have drinking water available.

Moist cat food, packaged in a pouch or bag, rather than a can, is apt to be loaded with preservatives.

My cats have a dry food diet, with a small amount of canned food as a treat once or twice a month. While there are other good brands available, I've chosen Blue Buffalo Spa Select, as it is a high quality premium food, with additional benefits that I'll talk more about later.

Whatever choice you make for your cat, please make sure that it is based on fact, rather than advertising hype, or the recommendation of someone who has a monetary interest in promoting a specific brand.

In order to accomplish this, you will first need to know what to look for, and then do so, by reading the labels.