It is clear that cats have a greater need than dogs or other omnivores for protein in their diet. Cats also have several physiological adaptations that reflect their inability to digest carbohydrates that are present in commercially produced cat foods that are high in grains. Cats lack salivary amylase, the enzyme responsible for intial carbohydrate digestion (starches). In addition, cats also have low activities of intestinal and pancreatic amylase. This doesn't mean that cats cannot use starch. They are efficient in their use of simple sugars. Grains are typically classified as carbohydrates and are composed primarily of starch. Pet food manufacturers lead consumers to believe grains provide energy, fiber, minerals and vitamins to cats. The grains added as fillers in commercially processed cat food is not simple it is highly processed.
The principal function of carbohydrates in the process of manufacturing dry pet foods is to provide structural integrity to kibble. The starch works like a "cement" that holds kibble together, preventing crumbling throughout the manufacturing process. It is unusual for a dry pet food to be formulated with less than 40 percent carbohydrate ingredients because of the minimum requirement for extrusion. Starch works like a "cement" to hold kibble together! Does that make you wonder what the long-term effect of this cement is on your cat's digestive system?.
Processed pet foods do not produce the lifetime of health promised by the pet food companies. They do not produce the lifetime of health seen when a properly formulated raw whole food diet is employed. Most degenerative disease processes in pet animals are the direct result of a lifetime being fed cooked and/or processed foods. This includes those so called "super premium" foods that have their own set of unique nutritional problems.
The super premium processed foods have most of the drawbacks commonly associated with “ordinary” pet foods, chief among which is the fact they are based on cooked grains. However, they have an additional problem. In their attempt to remedy another common problem associated with dry foods - a lack of essential fatty acids, both omega 3’s and omega 6’s - they contain a very high level of cooked polyunsaturated fats. This makes the coats of the creatures that consume these products look good in the short term, but in the long term, the inclusion of high levels of heat damaged essential fatty acids will produce an enormous range of degenerative diseases including many of the auto immune diseases.
Cats must eat meat to survive. So does that mean there's no hope for those cats that are addicted to the dry foods they've probably had most of their life? NO! There are ways to work around a stubborn kitty and gradually get kitty on the right diet for their species. We have several tips and tricks to accomplish this in our raw diet page. Meanwhile, we've done some searching for the best dry foods available to help in the transition, and we've found there are some brands of dry cat food which contain no grains, are are made of made from organic meat, which we've included in our products page. As you transition your kitty to a raw diet, it's recommended to use these lines of dry cat food. It is also recommended to use our Cat Ingredients Dictionary as a reference for ingredients when looking at cat food labels.
<<<<< previous <<<<<
Our statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or the AAFCO. The Persian Kittens® Diet© is not intended to diagnose or prevent diseases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|