Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

If you do not want to read this entire webpage, please review this shortened version:

Feeding Your Cat – Short version – 4 pages (updated May 2025)

Many readers of this website have kindly donated their valuable time to translate this important information into various languages. Please click PDF options for more information.

Diet is the brick and mortar of health. This web page lays out some often-ignored principles of feline nutrition and explains why cats have a better chance at optimal health if they are fed canned food (or a balanced homemade diet) instead of dry kibble.

Putting a little thought into what you feed your cat(s) can pay big dividends over their lifetime and very possibly help them avoid serious, painful, and costly illnesses. An increasing number of nutrition-savvy veterinarians, including board-certified veterinary internists, are now strongly recommending the feeding of canned food instead of dry kibble.

The three key negative issues associated with dry food are:
1) water content is too low
2) carbohydrate load is too high
3) type of protein – too high in plant-based versus animal-based proteins

In addition, dry food is very heavily processed which includes being subjected to high temperatures for a long time resulting in alteration and destruction of nutrients.

Dry food is also often contaminated with bacteria, fungal mycotoxins, storage mites/cockroaches and their feces, etc.

Most people who are concerned about their own nutrition have heard nutritionists say “shop the perimeter of the grocery store.” This statement refers to the push to get humans to focus on fresh food – not overly processed food found in boxes and cans.

Where do you think kibble would reside in this scenario? Definitely not in the “perimeter”! There is nothing fresh about this source of food and it certainly does not come close to resembling a bird or a mouse.

Also keep in mind that dry foods are not refrigerated and they sit in warm warehouses, on pet store shelves, and in your cupboards for weeks or months before your pets consume them. Fats can easily become rancid, and bacteria will proliferate, in this type of environment.

There is no doubt that dry food is responsible for far more intestinal problems, and other diseases, than most veterinarians and cat owners realize.

Please click on the links below to read more about optimal nutrition for cats.

But my cat is “fine” on dry food!

The importance of animal proteins, versus plant proteins

Fresh vs highly processed with synthetic supplements

Problems with carbohydrates in dry cat foods

Cats need to eat water-rich food

Reading a pet food ingredient label

Marketing labels

‘Prescription/therapeutic’ diets

Common medical problems associated with dry food

Diabetes