This is number one in my four-part series on the health problems caused by feeding cats a typical dry food diet. You may want to read the introduction (Name That Food!) first.
As explained in previous blogs, cats have a low thirst drive and a very acidic digestive system. Because cats naturally get most of their moisture from food, they don't drink much water. This means that dry food (which obviously contains less moisture than, say, a mouse) leaves many cats in a state of chronic dehydration, leading to more concentrated (and more smelly) urine. Also, the bulk of most dry foods is comprised of grain products (ie: the ground whole corn, brewers rice, and corn gluten meal in the example). Grains tend to make a cat's urine more alkaline (the opposite of acidic) and that, coupled with the concentrated urine, leads to crystals.
If you've ever had a cat that suffered from urinary tract crystals, you know how painful it is for the cat, and how expensive it is to correct (it may even require surgery). Urinary tract health dry foods are an exercise in futility because half of the problem is caused by the fact that the food is dry. The addition of cranberries is laughable because they do NOT reduce the cat's pH and, unlike a human suffering from a urinary tract infection, a cat will not benefit from the fruit's antibacterial properties. Simply switching to a grain-free, moist diet (canned or raw) prevents this condition... and can sometimes correct a current problem.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment