Over the years we have had many people ask what healthy cat food consists of & what kind of diet we feed our lynx cats, dogs and other farm animals to keep them so healthy. The answer is that we feed a diet as close to what they would have been eating in nature as possible. We believe there could be no better plan than an all natural approach to feeding ourselves and our pets.
In the wild all cats and dogs would eat a diet of primarily raw meat (including bones, organs, etc.) and a smaller % of vegetation and never any preservatives or chemicals. It seems logical that the more we can mimic those natural conditions, the healthier our cats and other animals will be.
Our Highland Lynx cats, dogs and rescues are fed a raw grain-free diet and/or organic cat food (hormone and antibiotic free). In nature a cat’s diet would be primarily moist food as they are designed to get moisture from their prey. Because of that we only put a small amount of dry food out at night for a light snack and never as a meal. Grain-free canned or wet food helps to protect your cats from a variety of kidney related diseases common in felines, often caused by dehydration and a lack of water in their diet…….(WHERE WOULD CATS GET DRY FOOD IN NATURE???)
Healthy Cat Food Ingredients
It is important that cats be fed primarily Grain-free foods as they are not able to digest carbohydrates well. There will be more digestive upsets and long term health issues when cats are fed grains (especially soy, corn and wheat), so we avoid them.
Some other ingredients to stay away from are any “meat by-products”, food colorings, synthetic vitamins and certain minerals (ferrous sulfate/iron sulfate for example), gluten, corn, wheat, chemical preservatives and fillers such as white rice.
*For indoor cats, an important ingredient for health is access to green, growing things. Contrary to popular belief, cats do not just eat grass when they are sick. Cat grass can be grown easily indoors or on decks and patios, in pans, pots, window boxes, etc. Cat grass is organic wheat grass and/or barley/oat grass and the seeds can be found in most health food stores (or you can buy it online). Look for organic wheat berries or whole barley, plant the seeds liberally in containers of untreated potting soil. Sprinkle a light but complete cover of plain potting soil over the seeds, water them and watch your cats enjoy it as it grows. Some cats like to get into the grass containers to dig or to sleep, so you might want to cover the container with some chicken wire or netting until the grass gets big enough for the cats to eat.
For those who are interested in feeding raw cat food and/or organic cat food, I am listing some companies that we consider to be high quality below. These are companies we use or have used. Our cats love these healthy cat foods, but each cat has preferences, so we recommend buying small sizes to start with in order to see what your cats like best. (If you would like to know how to transition your cat to raw pet food, we would be glad to help. Simply email your question to us using our Contact Us page.)
RAW CAT FOOD COMPANIES
Aunt Jeni’s Raw Food
Primal Raw Cat food
Steve’s Real Food Freeze-Dried Raw Nuggets
Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets
Stella & Chewy Freeze Dried
Only Natural Pet RawNibs Chicken Freeze-Dried Cat Food
HIGH QUALITY CANNED CAT FOOD COMPANIES
Castor and Pollux Organix Canned Cat Food
Tender And True Organic Canned Food
Evangers Organic Canned Food
Ziwi Peak Canned Cat Food
GRAIN FREE DRY CAT FOOD
(We do not feed it as a meal, but rather a snack or supplemental food.)
Orijen is probably one of the most nutritionally complete dry foods on the market!
Nature’s Variety Instinct (dry cat food with RAW Coating)
Castor & Pollux Organix Grain-free Dry
Feeding your exotic cats as they were designed them to eat will improve their lifespan and health. When buying a kitten it is also important to try and find a Highland Lynx Breeder that has fed their kittens high quality cat foods…..but it’s never to late to change them to a healthier diet!
*Note: Smoking indoors will destroy much of the good done by providing a healthy diet to your cat. Please do not consider buying any breed of cat unless all smoking is done outdoors.
