species-appropriate nutrition

How to Support Your Cat’s Immune System (9 Tips!)

Feline Health| 20 Comments

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The immune system is an intricate system of biological processes and structures that protects the body against disease. A healthy immune system is able to recognize and fend off invaders such as viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Keeping your cat’s immune system strong will help prevent health problems and protect her against disease.

In order to protect and boost your cat’s immune system, consider the following:Continue Reading

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Review: Raw Paws Pet Food

Feline Nutrition| 21 Comments

cat-eating

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need meat in their diet to thrive. Their systems simply aren’t designed to digest carbohydrates. A raw diet is one of the best ways to fulfill cats’ nutritional requirements. There are numerous benefits from feeding a raw diet to your cat, including improved digestion, reduced stool odor and volume, increased energy, ability to maintain ideal weight, better dental health, and better urinary tract health.

Embraced for decades by holistically oriented pet parents and holistic veterinarians, raw feeding is becoming more mainstreamContinue Reading

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Review: What Cats Should Eat

Books, Feline Nutrition| 13 Comments

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If you’ve read this site for any amount of time, you know I’m passionate about species-appropriate nutrition for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they need meat not just to survive, but to thrive. Dr. Jean Hofve, a holistic veterinarian and author with more than 20 years of experience in conventional and alternative veterinary medicine, has written about this topic a lot longer than I have. In What Cats Should Eat: Keeping Your Cat Healthy With Good Food, Dr. Hofve takes an in depth look at feline nutrition.Continue Reading

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The Right Diet for Cats with Cancer

Feline Health, Feline Nutrition| 36 Comments

cat-eating

While cancer in cats is not as common as it in dogs, it is still one of the leading causes of death in older cats. According to the Animal Cancer Foundation, 6 million cats will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States along. And because cats are masters at masking illness, it is often harder to detect.

Cancer used to be a death sentence for cats, but recent advances in feline cancer research have made treatment possible in many cases. Just like with human cancers, early detection is key to successful treatment. Depending on the type of cancer, treatment options may include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.Continue Reading

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Life Stages and Lifestyle Diets: Does Your Cat Really Need Them?

Feline Nutrition| 26 Comments

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Last updated June 2019

Feeding your cat a species-appropriate diet is the most important thing  you can do for her lifelong health. You can’t control your cat’s genetics, but you can control what you feed her. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need meat not only to survive, but to thrive. Even though cat food manufacturers would have you believe differently, a cat’s diet needs don’t change all that much over the course of her life.Continue Reading

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How to Get a Picky Cat to Eat (5 Effective Tips)

Feline Nutrition| 131 Comments

A picky cat

If you’ve read The Conscious Cat for any length of time, you know that cats should be eating a species-appropriate diet of raw, grain-free canned, or properly balanced home-prepared food. Cats should never eat dry food, and the money you invest in high-quality, premium food will result in better health and lower vet bills for your feline family members. I’m always delighted when I hear from readers who have switched their cats from a low-quality and/or dry diet to a healthier diet because of something they’ve read here on my site.

Sometimes, switching a kitty off the human equivalent of junk food can be challenging. Understanding why cats are finicky, and knowing how to safely make the switch to a healthier diet, or encouraging fussy cats to eat, is an important step toward better health for your cats.

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Weruva Cat Food Review

Feline Nutrition, Products| 373 Comments

weruva_review

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I’m passionate about species-appropriate nutrition for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, and they need meat not only to survive, but to thrive. The optimal diet for a cat is a properly formulated raw, home-cooked or grain-free canned diet. Cats shouldn’t eat dry food; even the grain-free dry varieties are too high in carbohydrates.

You can find many of the articles I’ve written about this topic in the Feline Nutrition section right here on this site. I also provide one-on-one consultations if you need help with transitioning your cat to a healthier diet.

What I look for in a food I feed and recommend

  • Protein is listed as the first ingredient on the label, and the meat/poultry used is fit for human consumption. If the meat is organic, that’s even better.
  • The food is grain-free (no rice, barley, or any other grains. Even though these are considered healthy in human nutrition, cats’ digestive tracts are not designed to digest the unnecessary carbs).
  • The food does not contain by-products, corn, soy, or any other fillers.Continue Reading

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Is Homemade Food Good for Your Cat? Healthy, Simple & Economical Ideas

Feline Nutrition| 97 Comments

cat-eating-bowl

This post was written by Jodi Ziskin

Over the past few years working with clients and providing public demonstrations and seminars focusing on holistic nutrition for our furry companions, I have discovered that many people are curious about making homemade food for their cats (cooked or raw). However, they are frustrated and confused by conflicting information from a variety of sources.Continue Reading

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Cooking for your cat: how to make a balanced homemade diet

Feline Nutrition| 39 Comments

homemade cat food

The subject of raw vs. cooked cat food is an often hotly debated topic, and recent position statements against raw feeding by several high profile organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Assocation and the ASPCA have only added fuel to the fire. The amount of misinformation about the so-called dangers of raw feeding is staggering and defies common sense.

I don’t think it’s necessary to take an “all or nothing” stand when it comes to feline nutrition. Raw feeding is not for everyone, and if it exceeds a cat guardian’s comfort level, it’s not the right choice for that cat and that family. However, I do believe that it is important to feed our cats a diet that is as minimally processed as possible.

If you’re not comfortable feeding raw, but want to not only feed a minimally processed diet to your cats, but also be in control of exactly what goes into your cat’s food, you may want to consider making your own cat food.  Continue Reading

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Can a New Prescription Food Really Cure Your Cat’s Hyperthyroidism?

Feline Health, Feline Nutrition| 35 Comments

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For the past few months, the veterinary community has been bombarded with ads for a new feline prescription food that is said to cure hyperthyroidism in 3 weeks.

When the diet first came out, I was skeptical. I’m not a fan of prescription diets. While I respect the research that goes into these diets, sadly, they usually contain ingredients such as meat by-products, corn, soy and grains, none of which are optimal for an obligate carnivore like the cat.

Hyperthyroidism is a common disease that typically affects middle-aged and older cats.  It is caused by an excess production of thyroid hormones, which are produced by the thyroid gland, located inside the cat’s neck. Thyroid hormones affect nearly all organs, which is why thyroid disease can sometimes cause secondary problems such as hypertension, heart and kidney disease.

There are currently three treatment options:Continue Reading

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