Cats Need Protein to Survive
Dogs or cats which have diabetes are in a serious condition and in need of intervention to maintain their health. For a cat a change in diet to a high protein, low carbohydrate diet is a good way to improve the health of your pet. Some veterinarians recommend only wet food for cats and not dry food as the wet food is composed of more animal protein.
Animal protein is better for most cats as they are obligate carnivore and their bodies and systems need meat protein to survive. You can either fix protein your self as your cat’s chef, or purchase canned foods. Many of the lower-
priced canned foods are excellent sources of protein for a cost-conscious budget.
Cats which develop diabetes have a definite need of intervention by their owners. Fortunately most owners a can learn to administer insulin to their pet using a U40 insulin syringe and the recommended dose prescribed by their veterinarian. Another great plan is to modify the cat’s diet by changing it to a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Most moist or wet cat foods contain more animal protein than dry cat foods do. Cats need meat-based protein as they are obligate carnivores and they were designed to use protein almost exclusively for all their bodily needs. The owner can either fix the protein or buy canned food. Often even the cheaper brands of canned food contain excellent protein at a reasonable cost.
Studies have shown that cats do better on an exclusive protein diet and have even reversed diabetes on such a diet. Debra L. Zoran, DVM, PhD, DACVM in an article in Vet Med Today, JAVMA, Vol 221, No. 11, December 1, 2002, entitled “The carnivore connection to nutrition in cats”, stated that “The natural diet of cats in the wild is a meat-based regimen (eg. rodents, birds) that contains little CHO (carbohydrate); thus cats are metabolically adapted to preferentially use fat and protein as energy sources…This evolutionary difference in energy metabolism mandates cats to use protein for maintenance of blood glucose concentrations even when sources of protein in the diet are limiting.”
What that means is that her study showed that cats use fat and protein best as an energy source and it meets all of their nutritional needs. This why a diet of table scraps or other people food or even a diet high in carbohydrates, such as some dry cat foods, can cause poor health in a cat. She says later in the article that “High-protein, low-CHO diets and low-fiber diets are highly beneficial in the management of cats with diabetes, resulting in a reduction of >50% in the amount of insulin required in 8 of 9 cats in one study. In another study, complete cessation of insulin administration was reported for one-third of the cats.”
The evidence for cats seems clear—a meat-based high-protein diet is the way to keep them healthy. Cats in the wild survive on small rodents, rabbits and birds they can catch. Rarely do they seek out carbohydrates of any kind to supplement their diets.
Household cats give companionship and love to their human owners. Owners shouldn’t rely on medical interventions using insulin and U40 syringes to keep their cat healthy. They need to reciprocate that love by feeding their pet a high-protein meat-based diet.
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