Feeding cats the wrong foods can cause serious health problems. It is important to ensure that your cat's diet contains all the required vitamins and minerals.

In recent years, many people have become concerned that chemicals in a number of commercially available cat foods may have adverse health consequences for their pets. However, when seeking alternatives, it is important to understand the nutritional needs of your cat.

Feeding Cats Tuna

While there are a number of tuna-based cat foods, these usually contain additional vitamins and minerals that cats need to be healthy. Canned tuna created for humans is not fortified with these additional nutrients.

Veterinary technician Mindy Bough emphasizes that tuna does not contain enough vitamin E to maintain feline health. Thus, feeding a cat tuna regularly can cause a vitamin E deficiency, which results in steatitis or yellow fat disease. The symptoms of this illness are fever, loss of appetite and excessive touch sensitivity because fat under the skin is inflamed or necrotic. Other nutrients that cats need which are lacking in tuna that is prepared for human consumption include sodium, iron, calcium and copper.

Tuna also contains mercury, and while this is not a problem at low levels, a cat that eats tuna exclusively might suffer adverse health consequences. Ultimately, foods prepared for human consumption (i.e., table scraps and human canned foods) should comprise less than 10% of a cat’s diet.

Home-Made Diets

If you wish to implement a home-made natural diet for your cat, it is important that in addition to selecting foods that are free from hormones, chemicals and pesticides, you also ensure that the diet meets your cat’s particular nutritional requirements. Check with your veterinarian before implementing a home-made diet.

Raw Food Diets

Many veterinarians suggest raw food, but this carries the risk of infestation with parasites or bacterial contamination. All meats should either be cooked or frozen for at least a week and then thawed before feeding, and should be washed with clean water before you serve them to your cat. Wild game, pork, rabbit and any ground meats should always be cooked.

Cats are natural carnivores and attempting to feed a cat a solely vegetarian diet will harm its health.

Vitamins and Minerals

Veterinarian Shawn Messonnier offers advice for ensuring that cats receive the nutrients they need from home-made diets, including asking your veterinarian to recommend a nutritional supplement. Supplements should be tailored to the specific medical and nutritional needs of your cat.

Additional required nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus can be provided by adding bonemeal powder or tablets to a cat’s food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be added as flax seed oil or coldwater fish oil. A veterinarian-recommended multivitamin-and-mineral supplement and digestive enzymes should also be added. Additional antioxidants and phytonutrients can be included in the form of alfalfa, barley grass, spirulina and wheat grass.

Home-Made Cat Food Recipe

The following cat food recipe, which comes from Shawn Messonnier’s book, The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, provides approximately 33% more calories than most kittens and adult indoor cats require each day, and about 10% more than that required by outdoor cats, though caloric needs will vary based on a cat’s weight and activity level.

• 1/3-1/2 pound of ground meat (turkey, chicken, lamb, beef) or fish (fresh or in water without salt)
• 1/2-1 large hard-boiled egg
• 1/2 ounce of clams chopped in juice
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp potassium chloride salt substitute
• PetCentRx “Vim & Vigor” Formula for Cats as a dietary supplement

Messonnier notes that a small amount (1/2-1 cup) of slightly steamed or fresh raw vegetables such as broccoli or carrots (shredded or diced) can be added as a top dressing to improve nutritional value.

Benefits of a Natural Diet

Feeding your cat a natural diet may reduce the risk of diseases of the bowel and intestinal tract. Natural diets are free from additives, preservatives, food stabilizers, wheat and other ingredients commonly found in tinned foods that can cause digestive problems in some cats.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that cats consuming natural diets are often more active and have sleeker coats than those fed on regular commercial foods. However, there are a number of all-natural, organic, human-grade, holistic and hypoallergenic tinned cat foods commercially available for those who do not have the time to prepare daily meals for their cats.

Further Reading

For more information on home-made diets, supplements, medical conditions and complimentary therapies for pets, please see Shawn Messonnier’s Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. For more information on cats, please see The Dangers of Declawing, Cats and Furniture Scratching and Cat Heroes.

Additional References:

• Lenawee Humane Society. (2006). “We’re Talking Tuna: How Much Is too Much for Your Cat?” Lenhumanesoc.org, SPCA International, Inc.
• Glasgown, A.G., Cave, N.J., Marks, S.L., & Pedersen, N.C. (2007). A Winn Feline Foundation Report on Role of Diet in the Health of the Feline Intestinal Tract and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Cat Fancier’s Association Inc.