When feeding an indoor cat, we should try to re-create the whole prey our cat would be eating in the wild.
There are many things that go into keeping your cat healthy and happy. Genetics and environment play a part. But, there is one thing that has a huge effect on your cat's health, and that is diet. Cats are predators that evolved to eat a diet of raw meat. It is only over the past 70 years or so that the pet food industry have tried to feed cats a diet based on foods unsuitable for a strict carnivore. Grains, vegetable and plant matter and highly processed and cooked meat products. It's no wonder cats suffer from so many diet-related diseases.
Congratulations on taking the first step toward feeding your cat a healthier diet. Just making the decision to change to raw cat food can be the hardest part. For many people, realizing yourobligate carnivore should be fed a diet closer to what it evolved to eat is a complete shift in thinking about cat nutrition. It's empowering to take control of what goes into your cat. It's also a bit of a relief. No more mystery ingredients. No more worrying about what "by-products" really means. You now get to skip an entire aisle at the super market.
It is important to remove dry food from your cat's diet. This one change alone is a big step forward in improvingcat nutrition and health. Dry food, be it premium, prescription or "natural," harms your cat's health. It consists mostly of starch and carbohydrates– it must be, as it can't be manufactured and extruded otherwise. The quality of the ingredients really doesn't matter – that's not the point. Simply that it is carb-laden and dry is enough to make it a terrible choice for cats. The carbs take the place of healthy meat-derived protein and fats that are vital for an obligate carnivore. All of these factors make dry foods detrimental to your cats health.
