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Good diet for cats Anonymous
Hey /an/ I was wondering what you guys think is a good and balanced diet for cats.

My prior cat that my mom fed died of diabetes at 14. I read online that it could be because he only ate dry food.

So this time around I don't want to mess up my kitten since she's solely my responsibility. I feed her half a can of 9lives cat food in the morning, 1/2 a cup of organic dried food in the middle of the day, and then the rest of the wet food at night.

Is this a good diet for my cat? Do you guys feed wet or dry? I heard the only benefit of dry food is keeping their teeth clean.

Pic related, its mah kitty
>> Anonymous
Rule number one: never feed your cat dry food. They all have starchy carbohydrates in them. A cat is better off with no carbohydrates at all than with excess of them. So stick with fresh meats and fish or wet food.
>> Anonymous
How long did you expect your cat to live?
>> Anonymous
Thats not entirely true. you just have to know what's in the food your giving your cat and what the ingredients mean. definitely don't feed anything with corn as one of the first four ingredients. try to stay away from by-product but that's hard to do. read the ingredients, you know what you wouldn't want to eat, so don't feed it to your cat. try keep the protein above 30%. I've had dozens and dozend of cats, the oldest one is still alive and she's 22 years. all she gets is dry food (healthy dry food), and meat scraps from the kitchen.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>344321
I know people say not to feed their cats Iams or other popular brands. Do you know if popular brands of wet food are ok or if I should be looking for something with more organic ingredients?

>>344324
More than 14 or as they would say on Sandlot, FORRRRRRREEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEERRRR

>>344325
The dry food I feed my cat has blueberries in it for antioxidants. Do cats actually need this or are they just pulling my leg with this bs?
>> Anonymous
i dont know about the food but your cat is so pretty
>> Anonymous
antioxidants are good for your pet, helps them avoid simple illnesses like colds. vitamins are good too.
Wet foods are generally better, but still, read the ingredients. avoid high amounts of corn or gluten. rice is much better. grain, eh, but alright depending.
>> Anonymous
My cat Ort lived to be 23 years old. No, I'm not shitting you. She lived on a steady diet of wet food, dry food, and table scraps. I live on a farm, so she got plenty of exercise her whole life.

As long as the cat has alot of room to roam, it shouldn't matter what it eats.
>> Anonymous
>>344335
By your logic you can remain perfectly healthy on a diet of candy bars and french fries, as long as you exercise a lot.
>> Anonymous
>>344337
Which is true?
>> Anonymous
>>344338
Only if you find dying young healthy.
>> Anonymous
My friend's cat lived to 21 and he was fed friskies wet food and various crappy dry foods. I don't know why he lived so long on such a bad diet, but he did. He got a lot of exercise outside and he drank a lot of water since one of his kidneys failed when he was in his teens (and was from then on fed friskies wet senior food only).
>> Anonymous
my cat eats raw meat and grain free wet food. i give her raw egg yolk once in a while. stay away from the dry stuff, it's not good for their system and it doesn't really clean teeth either. i give my cat raw bones, like turkey or chicken necks, to help them clean their teeth.
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
It really depends. Cats are, by nature, carnivores. It's better for them to eat as few grains and starches as possible, but with dry food that's pretty hard to avoid. I feed a dry "holistic" food with 46% protein (not from soy...check your ingredients, it's important that your protein comes from meat, not soy), and my cats get supplemented with lightly cooked lean meats. It's very difficult to feed a balanced diet on your own, and I don't advise it at all.

Most cats that have dietary problems stems from the fact that cats won't drink enough water. Having a water fountain or filtered water bowl will help, as cats are more likely to drink fresh-tasting water (wouldn't you?). Just feed a good, high quality food, and supplement with good quality wet food or lightly cooked meats, and have lots of fresh, cool water available and you will do fine.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I know a lot of cats that just live a long ass life even though they aren't being supplemented correctly in their diets. I guess it just falls down to how much exercise they get and probably genetics.

Anyway, thanks for the advice guys. I have to buy my kitty some new pet food today and now I know what to look for on the back of the packaging.
>> Anonymous
>>344327
Sounds like a good diet, although I'm a bit skeptical of the blueberry part. Antioxidants are good, but blueberries have a lot of sugar in them which generally is not a good addition to a cat's diet. I don't really know too much about how much sugar is healthy in a cat's diet but it might be something worth asking your vet about.