This is the first in a series of articles sponsored by Balanced Blends, a raw pet food company, answering some of the most common questions around feeding a raw food diet to your cats.
Today’s article starts at the very beginning: with the reasons why raw feeding has become so popular among cat parents.
Why is a raw diet the most species appropriate diet for cats?
Cats are obligate carnivores. They must eat meat, as they derive their nutritional needs from animal-based proteins. They lack the ability to derive their nutritional needs efficiently from plant-based proteins. A raw diet is closest to a cat’s ancestral diet.
Why is it important for cats to get their water intake from their food?
Water is an important nutrient for the overall health of all animals – including humans. Cats, by nature, have a low thirst drive. They evolved from a desert environment and adapted to survive by getting most of their water intake from their food. Cats who eat dry food are not getting enough water. Even when they are drinking from a water bowl, their low thirst drive does not make them drink enough. This is why it is important for them to get their water from their food, like they would from an ancestral diet. A mouse, and most other prey, consist of about 75% moisture.
What happens when cats don’t get enough water?
Chronic dehydration caused by lack of water intake can lead to kidney, bladder, and urinary tract issues that can be avoided by providing a species appropriate diet that provides sufficient water.
How does cooked or canned food compare to a raw diet?
Cooking, and the process used in making canned food, degrades the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes of the food, making it less bio-available. A raw diet provides the best nutrition in the most natural form, and is closest to a cat’s ancestral diet. The presence of natural nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes makes the difference between surviving or thriving for cats.
Next in this series: Not all raw diets are equal. A well balanced diet is more than a collection of the right ingredients – balance is the key.
This series is sponsored by Balanced Blends. For more information on their raw dinners for cats, please visit their website.
FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, which means that I was compensated to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers.
