Common Feline (CAT) Health Problems
Common in cats, especially the obese one. It is shown in many cases where we see diabetic remission in diabetic cats when the pet owners simply just changed to more species appropriate diet from high carbohydrate diet eg dry kibble.
Dry food is very high in carbohydrates, and is often free-fed and leads to obesity. Fat cells produce a substance which make body insulin resistant and in the end lead to diabetes.
Note: Cat parents need to inform their vets to monitor their diabetic cat glucose level when change to a low carbohydrate diet as it will impact on the insulin needs of your cat. If the insulin dose is not reduced accordingly, an overdose of insulin will happen which is lethal to the cats.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common disease in older cats. Cystitis is a very common and very stressful for the cat due to the pain. Kidney stones are also very common and can lead to a life-threatening urinary tract blockage. Water consumption is very vital in prevention of these diseases.
A study from WALTHAM centre involved six healthy adult cats, which were fed dry food with three different moisture level (control group: dry food of 6.3% moisture and study groups: food with water added to bring 25.4%, 53.2% and 73.3% moisture). When cats were on 73.3% moisture diet they produced greater volumes of more dilute urine with a lower risk of stone formation than when they were on lower moisture diets.
When a cat is on dry food that is low water content, they produce a more concentrated, lower volume urine and high concentration of crystals in the urine. The environment is conducive for crystals forming stones and other infections like cystitis.
In order to prevent these diseases, we strongly recommend cat owners feeding a water-rich diet.
IBD can affect cats of any age but most often in middle to older cats. Symptom includes diarrhoea, weight loss, constipation and vomiting in the cat. The cause of IBD is unknown but some evidences suggests it arises from diet, intestinal issue and other complex interaction between immune system. It is practical to think that changing a more species appropriate diet could help in this situation. There is an increasing number of reports of cats with IBD show tremendous improvement when all the dry foods were removed and a balanced homemade diet or low carb food was fed.
As mentioned above, dry food is very high in carbohydrates, and is often free-fed and leads to obesity. Fat cells produce a substance which make body insulin resistant and in the end lead to diabetes. Obese cats also prone to hepatic lipidosis, also known as fatty liver disease which is life threatening. Overall, we want to feed our cats with a high-protein, low-carbohydrate, wet diet.
Cats on Raw diet are less likely to have tartar build up on teeth compared to dry food.
Many cats have had their respiratory symptoms decrease significantly, or gone completely, when they were placed on a meat-based homemade diet or grain-free canned food diet.
