Video:Tips for Buying Cat Food
with Dr. Ellie ShelburneChoosing the right cat food is an important part of a healthy cat's diet. Get tips on buying the right cat food for your cat's needs in this how-to video from About.com.See Transcript
Transcript:Tips for Buying Cat Food
Hi, I'm Dr. Ellie Shelburne for About.com, and today, we'll talk about tips on buying cat food.
Considerations When Buying Cat Food
The first thing to consider is, do you recognize the brand name? Try to avoid generic or run-of-the-mill type diets from big box stores. These diets have a lot of filler and they're not as easy as a lot of the premium brands are. You'll find you'll have to feed less for a better, healthy animal.
Over the last five years, we have been faced with some serious food recalls. Dangerous bacterial infections have come through the pet food industry, as well as some toxins which have led to the death of cats - so it's very important to know your brand name.
The next choice when choosing your food for cats is, do you choose canned or dry food? For the healthy, normal cat, dry food has the advantage of knocking off tartar on the teeth. Canned food adds a nice treat and extra water and can be used for some conditions, but for the healthy cat, it's not a necessary part of the diet.
More Things to Consider When Buying Cat Food
Another choice for the consumer is to consider what age and condition is your animal. Is your animal a kitten? It's very important for your kitten to have all the nutrients for that rapid growth to adulthood, which happens at about a year of age.
If your cat is overweight, you may want to go or a food that's lower in fat. Interestingly, the only diets that are reliably lower in fat will have the label light on it - either LITE or LIGHT. Weight control diets, diets that say they help with your weight have no regulation in terms of how many calories they actually have.
Finally, your pet may need a prescription diet. It usually happens with age, but sometimes with younger pets, your veterinarian may be recommending a prescription diet. We know diets that are designed to protect the kidneys can help extend a cat's life as long as two years.
Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at About.com.