Commercial Food

• The word "natural" on cat food can mean anything. What you want is premium cat food, which is guaranteed to contain natural, wholesome ingredients. Be prepared to spend a little more money on premium food since the ingredients are higher quality. Premium diets contain more substance and less filler, allowing your cat to get all the required nutrients in smaller amounts of food. Read the label on the food you choose. Look for 31 to 32 percent protein, 21 percent fat, 6 percent minerals, 2 percent vitamins, 3 percent fiber and 36 percent carbohydrates. Ask your veterinarian to recommend a premium commercial food for your cat, or look for brands like Wellness, Innova or Avoderm.
  
  

Homemade Cat Food

• One way to ensure that your cat eats healthy food with natural ingredients is to make it yourself. Give your cat a veterinarian-recommended multivitamin along with a homemade diet to ensure that all his nutritional needs are met. Use the highest-quality ingredients you can find and afford to make your cat's food (go organic where possible). If you add grains to the food, fully cook them or your cat will be unable to digest them. Make a basic, everyday homemade cat food by combining 1/4 cup cooked organic chicken, 1 tsp. chopped organic parsley and 1 tbsp. cooked potatoes. See "Resources" for links to other recipes.
  
  

Raw Diets

• Raw diets are controversial and not for everyone due to their strict nature and sometimes confusing feeding guidelines. Raw diets consist of feeding your cat minimally processed (raw) meats and vegetables and no grains. Dry kibble and treats are not to be fed in a raw diet, or you risk "contaminating" your cat with the toxins contained in these foods. A raw diet contains meat and bones (think chicken necks, wings, backs for a cat), organ meat (liver, kidneys, heart), and vegetables (broccoli, spinach, carrots). Additional digestive enzymes (kelp, alfalfa) must be administered to aid in digestion of the raw meat. Finally, vitamin and mineral supplements must also be administered (including vitamin E and zinc). Ask your veterinarian before putting your cat on a raw diet to ensure that you do so properly and have all of your nutritional bases covered.