Feline Nutrition: Cheap Foods
Some people put their foot in their mouth occasionally, but me; I just change feet. Seems like I’ve always got one in there. I tell Kathy-what’s-her-name, our editor, “Look, I’m tired of being at the bottom of the Newsletter all the time!” She ponders this for quite some time (four or five seconds, as I recall), nods almost imperceptibly, and replies: “Why, of course, Garry; you’re absolutely right! How thoughtless of me; your work should be at the top of the Newsletter, by golly!” Will I never learn? Why didn’t I tell the Michael Jordan Nikes to head West, or South…..but did I? No, I didn’t; I jumped with glee, certain that ProActive Cat Care will be the first thing you folks see from now on…and it’s about time! Luckily I didn’t jump too high, because immediately she smiles (demurely, I add) and says (softly): “So…from now on, you can write our weekly Feline Nutrition topic which, naturally, is at the top.” I felt like I had been shot with a brand new bullet! I asked for top billing, she gave it with such grace…how could I possibly complain?
Anyway, here we are, you and I. You know, I can make this real easy on all of us: Feed Fluffy well and she’ll live forever! There. Said and done. But I suppose if I try to get away with that, I’ll lose my top billing, so I guess we’d better try a little harder.
Okay, we have to make an effort, so let’s talk about something of significance. Let’s venture off into the world of high vs low quality cat foods, and see where we end up…we gotta start somewhere, right?
In future issues, we’ll go very deep in pursuing the technical differences between cheap cat food and that of quality, but for now, I want us to see it from a common sense angle. We get what we pay for, it’s as simple as that. There are no brand new $7,000 Cadillac’s out there, and there are no cheap cats foods that are good for Fluffy. Since Kathy-what’s-her-name caught me by surprise, I am somewhat unprepared, here, but soon I will provide us with comparison charts, and you’ll be shocked at what you see. Cheaper foods are mostly by-product, grains, corn, and other fillers. And while some of these components are necessary for Fluffy’s nutritional balance (in the right proportions), the reasoning behind cheap food is simple: If you’re gonna sell it cheap, ya gotta make it cheap. Plenty of fats, broths with sodium, gravies loaded with carbohydrates, phosphates, ash…all the things that taste great, and all the things that assure medical problems down the road.
This issue is primarily for us to meet, and for you to know that I’ll be handling Feline Nutrition from now on…so we won’t get too technical today. But next issue, hang onto your socks: We’ll take a very hard look at two off-the shelf foods; we’ll see what they’re made of and how they affect Fluffy’s longevity. Also in future issues, we’ll discuss foods intended for (and not for) specific ailments, raw foods (pros and cons), designer foods, niche foods (such as diet foods), and even holistic foods. But for now, have a good week, and know that I’ll be tough on you, and know why: My goal, my only goal, is to help assure that Fluffy is with you for a very, very long time. You’ll hear me say often that “diet is everything”, and together we’ll learn how true those words are.
Taken from Newsletter Vol 1., No. 10.
Disclaimer: Kathy Fatheree is not at all a medical expert. Contents of this web site are a collection of Kathy’s assist feeding experiences as well as the experiences of other cat owners who have assist fed their cats. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Kathy Fatheree or anyone associated with this web site cannot be held responsible for anything that may happen as a result of using the information on this site.