FOOD & NUTRITION

Q. I’ve read that it’s possible to buy bottled water made for cats that is pH balanced and supposedly healthier, but I’ve never heard a discussion by a veterinarian as to whether or not it makes a difference or is worth the investment. What say you? Linda Reilly Merrimack, New Hampshire Dear Ms. Reilly, A. […]

You switch your cat’s diet, and she turns up her nose at the new kibble. Figuring your finicky feline won’t be able to hold out for long, you stand firm. Don’t. While a dog’s hunger will finally get the better of her, a cat may very well not come around. And going even just several […]

Imagine if the food we fed our cats could make us less allergic to them. It may sound far-fetched, but at least one company is now marketing a cat food designed to significantly reduce the allergens cats put into the environment. If it works, it will help the millions of people, cat owners included, who […]

Pet food is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the U.S., and companies spend no small amount of money deciding what words to put in large, bold letters on the front of their packages to get you to buy their brands. But many of the come-hither terms have no legal definitions. They mean whatever the manufacturer wants them to mean. Others do have legal definitions, but they do not match the popular definitions, so they can confuse consumers into thinking a food has a special quality that it doesnt. And some pet foods are simply misbranded. Heres a guide for which terms to ignore, or at least rethink, when choosing food for your cat.

One in 10 cats develops heart disease, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. It’s not a small number. The most common kind of heart disease that afflicts our feline pets is called cardiomyopathy. This often leads to congestive heart failure. The heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood properly, and the situation eventually […]

Onions, as well as garlic and chives, can do more than cause a cat gastrointestinal irritation. They can damage red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all the body’s tissues. Keep them out of your cat’s diet, even as a minor ingredient. (For instance, don’t let your cat lick your plate of spaghetti sauce, which […]

We all want to feed our cats as nutritiously as possible, but many owners’ earnest efforts are misguided. Even with the best of intentions, they end up choosing their cat’s diet on faulty assumptions. Here are five common mistakes loving cat guardians make — and how to correct them. Mistake # 1. Choosing food by […]

One of your cats has heart disease and needs a low-sodium diet. The other is overweight and requires less food than the one with the compromised heart — but she is aggressive about food and will do whatever she can to get it. How do you keep them away from each other’s meals when their […]

People often want to know whether they should be feeding their cat wet food instead of dry or vice versa. For cats with lower urinary tract problems, including bladder stones or cystitis, wet food makes a better choice. Its higher moisture content keeps urine dilute and thereby helps treat the condition. It has been shown […]

Conduct an online search for how often a cat should be fed, and it will yield a surprising array of answers. While most sites agree that kittens need to be fed several times a day to meet their nutrient needs, advice for adult cats runs the gamut, veering from once a day to five times […]

More people are feeding their pets homemade diets today than a decade ago even though homemade meal plans for cats are often rife with nutritional inadequacies and imbalances. Researchers made the finding when they surveyed some 1,800 households with cats in the U.S. and several other countries. They also found that more cat guardians are […]

Perhaps you would feel more comfortable feeding your cat a diet you cooked up yourself rather than one you bought at the store. But you want to make sure that the diet you are making is actually healthful for her. So you don’t simply check the Internet for online recipes; the bulk of them are […]