FOOD & NUTRITION

It’s Okay If Your Cat “Covers” Her Food

Many cats go through the motions of covering their food by scratching or pawing around the bowl in a simulation of digging. They’re not...
Linda Reilly of Merrimack, New Hampshire, wonders if she should buy bottled water for her cat, aptly named Panda.

Dear Doctor: Bottled water for kitty?

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 cat who won’t eat may soon become a cat who can’t eat.

When a Cat Refuses to Eat for Even a Few Days, the Situation Can...

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...
What if the food you fed your cat made you less allergic to her?

Can Cat Food Be Formulated to Make Us Less Allergic to Our Feline Friends?

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...

Food Labeling Terms with More Sizzle Than Substance

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.
Many foods and treats that don’t seem high in sodium contain too much for a cat on a reduced-sodium regimen.

When Your Cat Requires a Reduced-Sodium Diet

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...

Hold the Onions

Onions, as well as garlic and chives, can do more than cause a cat gastrointestinal irritation. They can damage red blood cells, which carry...
Don’t let fancy-sounding (and expensive) ingredients drive your purchasing decision.

Five Common Nutrition Mistakes We Make For Our Cats

We all want to feed our cats as nutritiously as possible, but many owners’ earnest efforts are misguided. Even with the best of intentions,...

When Two (Or More) Pets Require Different Diets

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...

Dry Food or Wet for Better Health?

People often want to know whether they should be feeding their cat wet food instead of dry or vice versa. For cats with lower...
Two cats will eat together if they have to, but they most certainly would prefer to dine alone.

How Many Times a Day Should You Feed Your Cat?

Conduct an online search for how often a cat should be fed, and it will yield a surprising array of answers. While most sites...

Cat Nutrition Slipping

More people are feeding their pets homemade diets today than a decade ago even though homemade meal plans for cats are often rife with...