Professor Daisy on Foods
Hello, students! Today, let us give some thought to foods for cats. I like to think about foods. Do you?
My question for you today is what type of food do you think cats are most well-designed to eat?A. Wholesome grains
B. Fresh fruits and Vegetables
C. Meat
D. An equal mix of all of the above
The correct answer is C! We cats are what is called "obligate carnivores." That means we are true, strict carnivores and by our genetic makeup, we were designed to eat meats. Even though we can eat other sorts of foods, we should eat meat as our main source of nutrients. And meats taste very extra-delicious, too!
Cats have strong stomach acids and a comparatively shorter digestive tract. ("Divestive tract" is a fancy way of saying your guts!) This makes for quicker digestion and minimizing the chances of harmful bacteria causing problems. Because of our shorter guts, a carnivore's diet should be concentrated and highly digestible and low in residue. We cats do not have a need for dietary carbohydrate, and are best adapted for a protein- and fat-rich diet.
Cats have strong stomach acids and a comparatively shorter digestive tract. ("Divestive tract" is a fancy way of saying your guts!) This makes for quicker digestion and minimizing the chances of harmful bacteria causing problems. Because of our shorter guts, a carnivore's diet should be concentrated and highly digestible and low in residue. We cats do not have a need for dietary carbohydrate, and are best adapted for a protein- and fat-rich diet.
What is in your food bowl? Harley and I are completely off the dry kibble now, and we love our raw meat medallions. The chicken flavor is 95% chicken, raw ground bone, turkey and liver. It is grain free, and the other 5% is fruits and vegetables. We also eat rabbit, beef, and venison flavors.
This is some stuff I learned. But I am just a curly cat, so I cannot advise you on what diet is best for you. Be sure to talk to your veterinarian if you have any questions about feline nutrition. Here is a link to an article called "The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats" if you would like to do more reading.
89 Notes for Daisy:
That was great information Miss D. I do not like meat though, but mum thinks she needs to try harder in getting me to change.
She tried to give me some yoghurt tonight and I runned away. She has never had a cat that doesn't like creamy things.
I can't wait for another lesson.
Poppy Q
Hi Daisy ~ we love the last pic where yoo are reflected in the dish. Yoo look yummy! Wotch yoo don't get eated up!
My Daddycat likes a meat and fat rich diet too!
I knew I should have more ham in my diet! Roast chicken too.
I think you are very clever Daisy, meat is the very best foods for cats and without it you would be poorly. I think that's good enough reason to eat lots of meat foods :o)
Hello Professor Daisy! Like you and Harley, Busby and I eat a raw diet. It's great! When people are concerned about us eating raw foods we remind them that cats in the wild do not cook their foods over a campfire.
Yum! xo, Raymond
Meat sounds good to me but I doubt if my mom is going to fix meat for us, she doesn't even do that for herself!
hmm....so these are thing you like and harley too ....rite.....
lots of meat..hmm....\,,,/
Hi Daisy:) We eat raw food for dinner. We eat turkey, rabbit and kangaroo from Dr. Billinghurst's Aussie RAW. Mum has noticed a change in us physically since we switched. Fui is looking leaner, which is something we'd tried to achieve for a long time on dry food. Our coats are looking super shiny and eyes very bright. We don't get eye boogers anymore, either.
We are happy to hear you are enjoying your raw:)
Great lesson, Professor Daisy!
Yes, we are definitely meat-eaters! That's also why we like to hunt! We like fresh meat!
(Love your shiny bowl! Wish I hade one!)
Purrs
Sara Cat
I like to eet. Thank u fo the infomashuns, I learned a lot. :)
Thanks for that lesson, Daisy. Our mom feeds us grain free foods high in meat.
That was very interesting Daisy. Mum has tried many times to get us to eat raw meat, but unless it is mousie, we refuse.
Thanks so much for teaching us this important lesson Daisy! We are gonna go check out the link now!!
Woof! Daisy. Mmmmmmm MEAT! LOVE the photo reflection. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
I loves meats! My moms reasearched all kinds of stinky goodness's to find one best for me! She also has out some of that evo brand dry kibbles for me to snack on and occassionally lets me get in on some meats for dinners. I would love to try your stuff sounds delicious!
That was very informative! Thanks for sharing. We're with Huffle - we're going to ask for more ham and chick-hen!!
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
Great info. We are going to have to send Mommy to look for those raw meat medallions they sound supper yummy. ~S,S,C & F
We eat the same food as you, Daisy! Samson eats mostly raw chicken medallions and Deli eats that plus some grain-free kibble that she loves.
Your furs must be sugary soft like ours! Wanna snuggle?
We've been treated to cooked turkey breast for the past few days. We likes it better than the dry stuff!
What a lucky cat to have a mommy that loves you so! It is so wonderful to see people love their pets and actually research what you need. I hope you have many healthy years with your mommy (and Harley too, of course!)
i really need to get the boyz started on a better diet. thanks for the info...
Wow, I learned a lot about cats' guts today! Thank you, Professor Daisy.
Our cats eat canned food and "crunchers," I am ashamed to admit. Tho our vet does say that is fine. I'll have to check their guts, tho, and make sure everything looks OK.
I certainly agree with you that kitties don't need all those grains and fillers that they put in the dried food. The only thing I am wondering, is what our vet said about having the hard food for dental health -- that crunching the kibble was like brushing their teeth. In fact because Dante is so big, he's supposed to have a very large kibble for his teeth.
Mine are fed so many different kinds of stuff -- including wet food, for the boys. Domino refuses to eat anything but dry.
What is your opinion about the dental issue?
What a lot of good information Daisy! We are switching to a grain free food and eventually hope to switch to the meat medallions too....but jane is SO picky! She won't even eat TUNA!
This was a great lesson on the food that we should be eating. I made the mom attend class too. She think the meat wet food . . . well . . . how can I say this . . . well . . . makes me make . . . there is no nice way . . . stinkies in the air . . . Yes, it is true. Does this happen to you?
Thank you for the lesson, Professor Daisy! Very good stuff to know.
You are very smart Professor Daisy!
Fascinating information Daisy! Thanks for sharing. :)
I love how you can see your reflection in the last picture. Very neat!
Professeuse Daisy,Bonne materiale de nutritione.Vous etes une experte. Moi J'ai beaucoup de felines a dine tout le meat mais, je faiserai.
Thanks for the info! I think you have found your callling Daisy!
Professor Daisy, Ulysses (the feline in the household) is thrilled about your nutrition advice and says the pictures are great (and that you look absolutely stunning in them).
Very interesting information about food. It made me hungry, too. Huggy Bear did help himself to some roast beast the other night. Also, thanks for Sunday's comic to remind us to work on our peace globe. Lots of good info from Daisy today!
--Jasper
wow daisy, you are not only cute but smart as well! thanks!
smiles, auntie bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Daisy, do you cook as well or just enjoy the finished product? We all know you are a very talented kitty.
CCL Wendy, it's true that when humans eat things like apples or carrots, it can have the effect of keeping the gums healthy and the teeth cleaner. However, if we ate (for example) melba toast, we wouldn't expect the same results. We'd know that the bread would soften and turn somewhat gummy as parts of it got stuck between our teeth. That's a pretty good analogy of why dry cat food isn't particularly effective at keeping a cat's teeth cleaned. If you look in your cat's mouth after it's eaten dry food, you'll see a lot of dummy, goopy, mushy bits that stay stuck between the teeth. leading to tartar and decay (especially because dry food contains starches and sugars). While dry food can certainly stimulate the gums (and that's always good), it's not going to scrape the teeth clean. Hills came out with their special T/D Formula dry cat food last year, which is specifically designed to break down into shards that are believed to help keep a cat's teeth cleaner. If regular dry food had the same effect, logic suggests that there really wouldn't be any need for a newly-invented food to perform the same task.
One of the best things you can do to keep your cat's teeth clean is to encourage the cat to really gnaw vigorously on something, the way a dog may gnaw on a bone for hours. Raw chicken necks are a great treat that will accomplish this (if your cat will eat raw meat). If your cat won't, feeding a few pieces of dry T/D as a snack after every meal seems to be helpful (just as helpful as feeding the food as the entire diet). Brushing is helpful if your cat will tolerate it, and there are now some water additives that seem to work fairly well if your cat is a water drinker.
I really don't know why so many vets perpetuate the myth that dry food is good for dental health. With 85% of cats having some form of dental disease by the age of 3, and most cats eating dry food, it's obvious there's no easy way to avoid feline dental problems (other than crossing your fingers for good genetics).
Sorry, Daisy, I didn't mean to turn this into an essay. I have a few cats with a genetic dental disease called FORL, which is quite painful, so I've always been interested in discussions of dental health.
Great lesson Daisy! I love my meats, but prefer Mom to slice it into pieces for me. I love that we don't have enzymes to digest carbohydrates - it's a great argument to get those meatables.
Purrs,
Virus
Thank you for the very important information!!!
I love this lesson!!
That sure is a fancy dish!
Our mum feeds us homemade raw (with supplements from felinefuture.com), but my sister Pandora doesn't like it much. She does get good canned foods that don't have any grains (Wellness, or Nature's Variety Instinct), and sometimes she gets Nature's Variety raw chicken. She is unfortunately a very picky eater. (We also get some of the Nature's Variety rabbit dry food, and it is very tasty. I wish we could get more of it but mum only lets us have a little bit.)
I am glad that you are such a good professor and can teach other kitties!
Daisy you have missed your calling. You should have been a professional dietician, or better yet a talk show host. I think you should give Dr. Oz a call and offer to make a special appearance as one of his experts.
You rock!
... Glogirly says your mom is a wiz at Photoshop too!!!
mew,
Katie
I love your reflection in your food dish. Your Mommeh is a very good photographer
Thanx for the info Daisy! We eat fry kibble, but you seem to be swaying mom into getting us some raw meats too! (THANX for that!!!)
Great info DAisy...wish you were my teacher in school...then I would have enjoyed it.
xxx
Rachel
Oh man--would I love to be by that butcher block. The Woman is still trying to get us to eat our raw food but I am very stubborn.
We sure would like to have those medallions, but there are so many of us, it is pretty impossible. We are glad you and Harley are eating properly!!
Mom enjoyed the lesson and is sending it to a friend with just one cat! Maybe she can get it :)
~ The Bunch
We want those meat medallions. Now!
daisy, you are much more than "just a curly cat'. that was a very good lesson today, it made me think about what i feed my kitties. i will have to do my research too~
hugs,
puglette
:o)
What a great teacher you are Daisy. That lesson was very well explained. Our staff doesn't have a lot of money, but she would really like to feed all of us meat. It just costs a lot of money. You are so lucky to such a good mommeh.
Well, you are a very smart curly cat!
Thank you for the catucation.
Wow, I guess I'm gonna have to talk to the chef, thanks bunches for the info too!
Very wise info, Daisy and the link to the info on cat nutrition is an excellent one also. Our mewmie had it bookmarked to help teach people too. And Leigh Ann is right on about how dry food doesn't really help clean teeth. We get T/D dry food as a treat each morning and it has helped our dental health immensely. We still get dry food, but it's grain free and mewmie said when we get down to 4 cats, she might try those medallions...sounds yummy!
You're so smart, Daisy. No wonder you're a Professor!
Very informative Daisy. Those pics are great, you look too cute in your chef's hat.
Daisy, you look like you're on the South Beach Diet. Long and leannnnnnn... so no bacon treats and fried shrimpettes for the Kittybooboo's ?
Daisy you are so great at teaching us other kitties a thing or two about being sophisticated. and you are not "just a curly cat" you are the most wonderful girlcat that ever lived and ever will live and you are veryyyy smart!
Thank you for that.. Mum says you look good enough to eat.. I think that is good because she says that when someone looks lovely.. Hugs GJ xx
Mmmm...meat really is very extra deelishus!
Pepper agrees: Meat is sweet, even for treats:)
I'm in...lets all go out for sushi and sashimi!
Daisy, you could come and teach my Mom's classes to nutrition students!
Hi Professor Daisy, we haven't seen you around for a while. Mom is thinking about putting us on a raw diet too because she has heard it is much better for all of us. Thank you for the anatomy lesson.
Tavi, Cody, Camie, Miss Jade and Gracie
Daisy
This was great information, thank you for sharing it with us.
purrs
Abby
mommeh says we cannot eat that meats because it's very rich- and she doesn't want us to get pancreatitis. Our vet says no no no to that kind of diet. :( we will kill the moms.
Yoo eet..... BUNNIES!!!!!!?????
I don't like meat or fish unless it comes out of a Fancy Feast tin!
I always learn so much from you, Daisy.
And that last picture is cool!
Nice lesson Daisy, Daddycat tried the raw diet and I did not like it.
Dearest Daisy,
You are so very smart...but...how in the world did you give up your crunchies??? Oh we have tried...mommy says we are addicted to our carbs just like she is to hers...whatever that means.
We all sure hope you are havin' a real good week!
Very truly yours,
The Whiskers and Purrs Gang
I'm so glad I'm back online and blogging again! I missed you and Harley!
I love your teaching about meats. I love meats and today is my birthday and I got some meat and treats. (Oh I'm 2!)
I hope you and Harley had a great Halloween! I got some catching up to do =)
Love you!
My kitties love meat. I feed them dry cat food and treat them with deli ham, turkey, chicken and FISH!!! They love it.
We love to think about foods.Meat foods sound so good too ;)
Mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!
Purrs Georgia & Tillie
That was khwite the pawsome dish shot!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
What a wonderful teacher and lesson. Grain-free over here
Benny & Lily
I agree that kitties are meant to be total carnivores Daisy! They need Taurine for their muscles and nervous system. (of course I still can't figure out Toeshee mooching toaster strudel. Tookie did too).
I find your diet really interesting and I like learning new things for kitty health. I'm glad it's helping Harley feel better and you too.
Oh tell Mommie that "Memories" makes me cry too. I used to call Tookie "Grisabella".
Big Hugs,
Lorianna
This is great information Professor Daisy! We'd like to try raw foods but Isabella had teeths problems and even though it's fixed now she still just swallows her foods without chewing. Mommy is afraid she wouldn't chew raw meats and that she'd choke. We'll keep checking into it though.
Thank you, Daisy! It's important that all cat-loving humans know that we kitties don't just love meat, we NEED it as the main part of our diets.
And I want to remind everyone out there that crickets and moths count as meat, and make yummy cat treats!
Look at you, all edumacated and stuff! You are just a fountain of good cat info, Daisy! ;)
Meat sounds delicious to me... too bad I don't get it often!
Thanks for the info!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza
I am all for food of almost any kind.
You are more than a curly cat! You are a smart, sweet curly cat!
you are a real poser! Pretty pictures
Daisy, we are making the humans read your blog cause we LOVE the meat!! (and they LOVE you!!!)
Wow Daisy! That was very educational. Thank you for sharing!
That is interesting. I would eat Food A & B
~ Bae
And meats is even better than cheeses!
I likes to eat some nother foods too - but meats and cheeses is the best.
And you is a very good professor! I would likes to go to your class.
Well that does make sense after all! I love the glasses by the way. Thanks for the lesson!
Wow Daisy! This was a very informative post. I am sure all of your readers were able to learn something about the digestive system of their furry little friends. Thanks for passing along this information. Hopefully cats everywhere will start getting fed properly!
Good one Daisy! I'd love to feed the Caramels on your medallions (well, not yours actually!) but I don't think they are available in England. Love the pics! :)XXX
Hmm... so that's why my cat refuse to eat rice! Even though he eats almost any food he lays his eyes on! Quite picky eaters, aren't they? :D
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