Mud Bay’s Short Guide to Healthy Food for Cats Katy Patterson, DVM, Mud Bay’s Director of Dog and Cat Health and Nutrition, and Lars Wulff, Mud Bay’s Co-CEO n the 1970’s, many Americans is the largest pet retailer Ibelieved that astronauts’ headquartered in the Pacific NW powdered orange drink was as and one of the largest in the world good for them as orange juice. focused on natural food for cats They also believed cat foods and dogs. We hope you find this were all the same—the only brief introduction to natural diets thing that mattered was that for cats useful. your cat ate it. And we hope you stop by Fifty years later, most one of our stores. Americans know fresh We’d love to hear about your orange juice is healthier than sugar cat and help you identify natural water and some cat foods are better foods that will help her stay healthy for their cat than others. and tempt her palate. What many US cat owners don’t know is that feline nutritionists have What’s a Mud Bay? recently begun creating foods that In the 1990’s, Mud Bay was one emulate the natural diets cats ate of the first retailers to embrace before commercial cat food was natural cat and dog food. Today, invented. These nutritionists have Mud Bay is the largest pet retailer ushered in a golden age of natural cat headquartered in the Pacific NW food: today’s cat owners have more, and one of the largest in the healthier (and better tasting) choices world focused on natural food for than they had even ten years ago. cats and dogs. In the 1990’s, Mud Bay was one of the first retailers to embrace natural cat and dog food. Today, Mud Bay Hunt—Eat—Groom—Sleep y nature, cats are carnivorous Bpredators. Their life in the wild follows a four-part cycle that’s repeated up to ten times per day.1 Understanding this natural cycle can help cat owners modify their felines’ behavior and improve their health. Hunt. All animals need food and water, but cats are desert Groom. Cats hunt by stealth, and animals, and they adapted to satisfy it’s hard to be stealthy when you’re their water requirement without smelly. Cats groom after eating to drinking—simply by eating their stay odor-free. natural food: fresh, raw meat (which Sleep. Once their tummies are full is about 70% water). Cats get fresh and their fur and whiskers are clean, meat by hunting (a skill they learn cats sleep to gather energy for their from their mothers). next hunt. Eat. Cats eat as soon as Here’s one way cat owners can use they’ve killed their prey. this knowledge to better care for This prevents spoiling their companions: requiring a cat to and minimizes the hunt before she eats (playing with need to defend interactive toys, hiding her food bowl their meal from etc.) improves her digestion, helps other predators. her build muscle and lose weight and enables her to lead a happier, more 1 is description of cats’ lives excludes the breeding behaviors that complicate fulfilling life. this simple four-part cycle. 2 Natural diets and conventional diets nlike humans, cats can’t carbohydrate-rich or low-moisture Usurvive on a diet composed diets many US cats eat today: solely of plant products. They Carnivorous Carb-rich require specific nutrients found only Natural Conventional in animal tissue, including taurine, Diet Diet arachidonic acid and preformed Moisture 70% 10% vitamin A. Protein High Moderate Cats’ carnivorousness is evident from Fat High Moderate one end of their body to the other— Carbs Very low Moderate from teeth that are perfect for tearing Many veterinarians, including (but incapable of grinding plants) to Mud Bay’s staff vet, believe the high a short, acidic digestive tract that’s incidence of obesity, urinary disease optimized for raw meat (but does and many other diseases that afflict little with uncooked plant material). modern cats are directly related A house cat’s natural diet—small to these differences between cats’ prey—is around 70% moisture. The carnivorous natural diet and the remainder is about 55% protein, 35% carb-rich diet many modern cats are fat and less than 2% carbohydrates. now fed. Interestingly, this is quite close to the diet that house cats choose for themselves if given the opportunity.2 What’s surprising is how different this natural feline diet is from the 2 Hewson-Hughes AK, Hewson-Hughes VL, Colyer A, Mitter AT, Hall SR, Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ. Consistent proportional macronutrient intake selected by adult domestic cat (Felis catus) despite variations in marcronutrients and moisture content of foods. J Comp Phy B. 2012 December; Available from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-012-0727-y/fulltext.html 3 Cats are what they eat... very cell in a cat’s body is The strongest reasons to Emade up of the nutrients that feed the right diet may came from her diet. be invisible Thriving vs. surviving Owners quickly notice the immediate When one or more of the consequences of a diet that isn’t a nutrients a particular cat needs perfect fit for their unique cat: vomiting, are missing from its diet (or in diarrhea, hairballs and a wide variety insufficient quantity or in an of behavior problems including not unusable form), some of its cells using the cat box—issues that can can’t function as nature intended. often be improved with a switch to a And when a cat eats a diet that diet that’s a better fit. contains chemicals or unusable Harder to see—and harder to reverse— nutrients, its organs work are the long-term effects of a diet overtime to eliminate them. that isn’t a great fit. Obesity, cancer By contrast, when a and damage to joints, kidneys, cat is fed a minimally liver, heart or digestive system processed diet that’s can be exacerbated, or even rich in high qual- caused, by a sub- ity meat proteins optimal diet.3 and contains all the other nutrients it needs, its cells are more likely to function well, 3Stei EL, Bauer JE. Nutritional adequacy of diets formulated for companion animals. JAVMA September 2001; 219(5):601-604. spend less energy expelling toxins, Bontempo V. Nutrition and Health of Dogs and Cats: Evolution of Petod. Veterinary Research Communications August 2005;29(2):45-50. and experience optimal health. Patton R. Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack: e paradox of pet nutrition. Nottingham University Press, Nottingham, UK 2011. 4 ...and they behave accordingly arents often say that feeding a higher level of moisture, more Pyoung children a lot of sugar fiber and prebiotics can improve affects the way they behave. the health and function of a cat’s There’s a similar digestive system and reduce connection between diet or eliminate pooping and behavior in cats. outside the box. Behavioral challenges Wool sucking often vanish when (pica) is the the nutritional cause consumption of is identified and cloth or other things addressed. Here are a that aren’t food. few examples: Frequently, this behavior is directly Feline aggression is frequently a connected to a diet that’s deficient in result of a diet that’s deficient in one one or more nutrients and disappears or more nutrients. In some cases, with the addition of the missing cats seem to respond to a dietary nutrient or a switch to an entirely deficiency by aggressively guarding different diet. their food supply. In other cases, deficiencies may make cats feel irritable or grumpy, leading them to act aggressively with other animals or with people. Pooping in inappropriate places is often a result of constipation. Transitioning to a diet that includes 5 Variety makes nutritional sense... n the wild, cats typically eat a manufacturer’s unique foods are a Ivariety of different kinds of poor fit for one another. prey: rodents, birds, snakes, even insects. Cats seem to enjoy this Variety reduces food dietary variety when they do the sensitivities hunting themselves—and they True food allergies seem to affect seem to like variety just as very few cats. But many nutritionists much when their owners do believe that cats that are fed the same the hunting for them. ingredients for long periods, can develop sensitivities to those ingre- Variety reduces dients—with health issues as a fre- the risk of a diet quent result. These food sensitivities mismatch (frequently to plant-based ingredients) In the wild, eating different seem to be preventable—simply by kinds of prey reduces the recreating cats’ natural dietary variety. risk of dietary deficiencies or excesses. A cat owner can reduce Variety now reduces risk in a similar way by spreading frustration later his cat’s diet among different Cats aren’t born liking a variety of manufacturing plants. Cat foods foods. They learn to like different may look similar, but every cat food manufacturer has its own unique combinations of ingredients and manufacturing processes. Spreading a cat’s diet among different manufacturers reduces the risk that a cat’s unique needs and a particular 6 ...and contributes to health and happiness smells, tastes and textures from their mothers (or their owners). If you accustom your cat to different types of food (pate, stews, minces, raw frozen, freeze-dried and kibble) made from a variety of ingredients now, you’ll make it a lot easier for both of you to make dietary changes later in your cat’s life if they’re needed to Nutritional science and keep your cat healthy.