Cats' Food??

Question

I have 13 cats at home actually, 4 are persian and the rest are stray cats which i saved it from the street abandoned by irresponsible owners. My dad, he feeds cat's food in can to 4 stray cats living outside my home and we feed Science Diet (chicken flavor) for adults to our cats. I read some of the questions from yahoo and I found out that Tuna is fatal to cats? why is it so? and what type of cat food (flavor) or any specific diet that is good for cats? Please tell me which best for my cats and which food that we need to avoid from giving to our cats?

and the last question is : is it necessary to give them an annual vaccination? because some of my cats didnt had any annual vaccination because they are not allowed to roam outside my home, my home is always clean, my mom sweep and vaccum the floor everyday and we replace fresh water to my cats that's why we didnt give annual vaccination.

PS : i LOVE them very much and it's a pain if i have to see them suffer for consuming wrong foo

Answer 1

Hi there again Chuck...tuna causes enteritis in cats. The human variety of tuna fish contains an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 (thiamine). Cats who regularly eat tuna can develop a vitamin B1 deficiency, which results in neurological symptoms like dilated eyes, loss of equilibrium, seizures and death if this vitamin is not replaced. The scientific name of this disease is polioencephlomalacia.

Although it is high in protein, tuna lacks sufficient amounts of certain amino acids, mainly taurine, to maintain feline health. There is insufficient calcium to balance the phosphorus; the ratio in canned tuna is 1-to-14.8. This results in bone disease.

Many essential vitamins such as A and most B vitamins are also lacking, Brancato said. A common disease in cats fed a mainstay of canned tuna is steatitis, or yellow fat disease, an inflammation of the fat tissue in the body due to a deficiency of vitamin E.

More in depth answer by a veterinarian about tuna's dangers to cats: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnXV7g3jq309q2QXly7n9WLsy6IX?qid=20061018194725AAzYqfz

Most commercial cat food found in grocery stores, large pet stores contains corn, corn meal and byproducts as the primary ingredients all of which can be an allergen irritant to cats. Science Diet, Purina, IAMs, Whiskas, Friskies, etc all contain corn as the leading ingredient. Look for cat foods which are devoid of these ingredients usually found at specialty pet food stores such as:
Innova EVO: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%271255%27%5D
Nature's Variety Praire:http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1352
California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%2772%27%5D
Wellness: http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/wellness/cat_wellness_dry_index.html
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/cats/
Life's Abundance: http://www.healthypetnet.com/HealthyPetNet/Products/ProductList.aspx?Ath=False&realname=&hdr=&cat=0&category=Cat_Food&MSCSProfile=983BB0CC620F5E6D12FBA82E235A475624577FCF75A8EEAA1E131E2B76562580B3553800B0CD9F7307B24B55EA7754EB1585AEC7F0E7343EC3386BFA70B031C35A651344BBA27824CF73B04C60DCC5F345A7B6FC945A92BF927545270ECE37389C4498BC6902DD5B9C2C11928EF59A7870CDF1746F864BA17B9A7BBC1B1DFB57

Annual vaccinations are more of a benefit to multicat households because cats are born various diseases and can pass feline diseases they are born with between one another through play biting, grooming, sharing food, using the same litter box, etc. Stray cats are more likely to be common carriers of feline diseases from fighting and sexual relations. Providing fresh water daily is helpful and keeping house clean is nice, but both do not prevent cats from getting feline diseases.

Feline diseases:
http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/fd.html

Answer 2

Science Diet is a terrible food using by-product meat and the rest as 2/3 corn. The good news is that for the same price or slightly more or slightly less you can get a really good food for them.

In dry foods: Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Felidae (same price as SD), or CA Natural (30 cents more a lb than the SD).

In canned foods: Natural Balance has a great line, Lick Your Chops, Wellness, By Nature's Organic are excellent choices.

Please follow the "recipe" at my name on the icon for switching dry foods successfully. Start off slowly with the canned food and it shouldn't cause any problems.

Adult cats do not need to be vaccinated annually. My adult cats have had no vaccinations for the last five years. Go to www.littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article titled "Vaccinations" for a veterinarian's opinion on this. There are other instructive articles there too such as "Why Cats Need Canned Food" and "Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food".

Answer 3

Use science diet. They have different kinds. Like for older cats, kittens, or sensitive stomach. that is the best kind for them. My one cat had a problem where he was bleeding when he went # 2. And the food that i was givin him was too rough for him. So i switched to science diet. He's been great. It also is better for their teeth and coat. Also helps them stay at a steady weight. It fills them up faster and longer than most. I've been using it for 5 years on 7 cats. They are in perfect health. tuna is no good for them. The oils in it can be harmfull. Give them some wet cat food with tuna in it. Never give them human food. Only cat food. But science diet is the best food for them. It's more money, but lasts alot longer than others do.

Answer 4

Tuna can be fatal to cats and is not something to be fed to them...The human variety of tuna fish contains an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 (thiamine). Cats who regularly eat tuna can develop a vitamin B1 deficiency, which results in neurological symptoms like dilated eyes, loss of equilibrium, seizures and death if this vitamin is not replaced. The scientific name of this disease is polioencephlomalacia. Tuna flavored cat food (or canned tuna for cats) is specifically made for felines, and will not harm them.

As far as vacinations, in most places, it is technically illegal (but not widely enforced) to have current rabies vacinations for all pet cats. Normally the shot is good for 1 to 3 years. Cats should also get a Feline Distemper vacination every 6 months to a year. Distemper is a flu-like disease that is common in even indoor cats, and can be fatal.

Answer 5

i do not agree with the lady who says the vaccinations arnt required annually. cats can contract lots of things if not vaccinated specially cat flu which could be fatal if not treated straight away but just because they dont go out doesnt mean they cant contract diseases i.e feline leukemia the cat can be born with it if the mother carried the virus

Answer 6

flavor of the wild and that is rated 4 stars. both one among my kittens and my individual do large on it. i might want to like to raw feed both my canines and my cats yet i'm in basic terms no longer in a position today yet later interior the destiny i'm def making plans on it. they receives water further in to make it moist or they receives Blue Buffalo moist nutrients both or.

Answer 7

Hi. I know this doesn't answer ur question, but I'm very impressed. U have a kind heart. May God bless u. Take care.