Cats (and how to feed them)

UPDATE JULY 2016
In addition to the following, I have now found what I thought I wanted to create myself: feed cats MICE!  LUCKILY, we don’t have to buy mice (which I did ONCE as an experiment and will NEVER do again … it’s just TOO GROSS!).  Now a very bright lady has created a POWDER that when mixed with raw meat has the same nutritional profile as a whole mouse!

Her website is FILLED with great information.  http://tcfeline.com/
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You can purchase her products here:  http://www.thetotalcat.com/​

(I don't make any money when you buy from these sites - I just like to pass on what I've learned.)

MY ORIGINAL POST – 3/9/2012

As many of you know, I am a "cat person".  Bon-a-fide!  And as steward to many cats, over the years, I have studied and researched how to feed them so they, A.) don't puke it up all over the carpet, and B.) feel good, look good, and live healthy happy long lives.  

One thing struck me as I was delving into how "I" should eat, "If the factory farms are doing such intensely gross and cruel things to the food they see as fit for humans, what on Earth are they doing to the food they chuck at the pets in our family?". And it dawned on me, perhaps I shouldn't feed my cats the stuff scrapped off the slaughterhouse floor.

My internet researching began and I found a very good site that explains why cats SHOULDN'T eat dry food.  http://www.catinfo.org/  

I switched them to canned.  I've played around with different brands, some organic ones that I found at Good Foods Co-op and Whole Foods, and have currently settled on a canned cat food that isn't organic, but does list meat as it's primary ingredient.  It's called "Before Grain".  I order it from pet food direct.
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Search/Before-Grain-Cat-Food/Form/Canned 

So, if you are steward to the care of kitties in your home, please give careful consideration to what they eat.  MEAT must be their primary food source.  Avoid the hype of the current marketing trend of selling cat food to humans as if they needed things like potatoes in their diet.  They don't.  

I've found some very good brands of canned cat food that I could recommend such as "Newman's Own", and "Organix", and the one I'm feeding now, "Before Grain".  

I choose chicken as their protein because it is easier to digest.  You can also supplement their diet with a chicken I found at Meijer, "Smart Chicken" - http://www.smartchicken.com.  Also "Bell and Evans", found at Whole Foods -  http://www.bellandevans.com.  

Some people say feed real chicken to them raw, I prefer to cook it a little.  But feeding this way avoids the salt that canned chicken contains.  I have also taken an organic canned chicken and rinsed it several times - even soaking the salt out, then fed that to them - or mixed it into their canned food.  It's a special treat for my cuddly family.