Devon Lair

All About the Devon Rex

Food

The big question, and a very important one is: What should I feed my cat?

The debate: Wet Food or Dry Food?

  • Moisture Intake – Cats need a good deal of water to keep healthy. If you feed your cat canned food, it will likely get most of its water intake from the food itself. If you are feeding your cat exclusively dry food, you will need to make sure that your cat is drinking enough water to avoid developing kidney problems.
  • Protein or Grain Based – Cats by nature do not need grains, therefore many choose to feed a grain-free diet to their cats. This can be achieved by using wet or dry food. Will grains hurt the average cat? Probably not. However, many cats do have intolerant/allergy issues to certain grains.
  • Dental Care – Dry food is superior in that it has the effect of helping to keep teeth cleaner due to its hard texture. As the cat chews it, it will help to rid the teeth of some of the plaque. However, cats often don’t chew their food that much, so the teeth cleaning effects are not that significant. It would be best to consult your vet when you take your kitten for its first examination, on a proper course of dental care.
  • Convenience – Dry food can be stored after opening for a long time on the shelf. Canned food needs refrigeration after opening. Once you put wet food down for your cat, it should be picked up and discarded about 20 minutes later to avoid your cat eating food that could be spoiled. Because of this, you need to be home to feed your cat wet food. With dry food you can leave it out for your cat and it can eat at will. Which is better? Each cat is different. Some have weight problems and need portion control, so self-feeding is not a good option for them. You would want to make sure you are feeding this cat with a measured portion of either wet or dry for each meal. Other cats are slow, deliberate eaters and need to graze at different times in the day. If you are not there to feed them at multiple times in the day, you may need to leave some dry food out for them.
  • Cost – You can spend very little or a great deal on either wet or dry food. It’s all about the ingredients. Almost always, the more you spend, the better quality the cat food.
  • Ingredients – There are 11 essential amino acids that cats need to have to produce all the proteins their bodies need. They are: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, and taurine. If your cat is lacking any of these in its diet, it can eventually lead to health problems. Look for an AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) statement of “nutritional adequacy” on the package. It may also be stated as “growth and reproduction,” “adult maintenance,” or “all life stages.” Also look for the guaranteed analysis of the food. The minimum protein percentage will be listed. The AAFCO minimums are 26% for adult maintenance and 30% for growth and reproduction. Make sure the manufacturer of the food you selected is providing at least these minimums.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We choose a combination of canned and dry food of high quality to start with. We then look at the needs of each individual cat and feed appropriately.

Right now we are feeding our cats some of the following:

  • Canidae All Life Stages Formula dry food
  • Wellness Core Natural (grain-free) dry food
  • Merrick Before Grain Chicken dry food
  • Lotus Just Juicy Pork (grain-free) canned food
  •  TikiCat Chicken Consomme (grain-free) canned food
  • Primal Freeze-Dried Feline Turkey formula

Our kittens eat:

  • Wellness Core Natural (grain-free) canned food, turkey and chicken
  • Canidae (grain-free) Pure Foundations dry food chicken

Let’s not forget about the Water!!

Your cat needs to be drinking an adequate amount of water to maintain kidney health. To get your cat more interested in drinking water, you can purchase a water fountain which will plug into the wall and circulate the water so it doesn’t become stale. Most important of all, the water should be changed both in the morning and in the evening. Not only should you be discarding the old water and rinsing out the bowl each time before you refill it, you should be cleaning the bowl frequently as well. You can also add ice to the water bowls periodically to keep it fresher and to get them interested in drinking. We use filtered water for our cats. 

SEE WHAT FOODS YOU SHOULDN’T FEED YOUR CAT ON OUR DANGERS PAGE