KosmikCattery

The Dry Food Debate

Feeding dry food exclusively to cats has been a topic of debate among veterinarians, pet owners, and animal nutritionists for many years. While dry cat food has its advantages, like being cost-effective depending on the brands you buy, but most of all it's for our convenience, there are several potential medical and dental drawbacks to a dry food-only diet for feline.

Water Content:

- The most significant concern with dry cat food is its low moisture content. Cats have a weak thirst drive and have evolved to obtain the majority of their water from their food. Wild cats' diets consist mainly of fresh prey, which is about 70-75% water. In contrast, dry cat food typically contains only 5-10% moisture.
- Dehydration can lead to urinary tract issues, including cystitis (bladder inflammation) and the formation of urinary crystals or stones. Male cats are especially at risk of developing a life-threatening urinary blockage.

Carbohydrate Content:

- Dry cat foods often contain higher levels of carbohydrates than wet foods. While cats can metabolize carbohydrates, they have no dietary requirement for them. Their natural diet consists mostly of protein and fat.
- Excessive carbohydrate intake can contribute to obesity and may be a factor in feline diabetes.

Dental Issues:

- A common misconception is that dry food helps to clean a cat's teeth. While the physical action of crunching on kibble might help remove some plaque from the surface of the teeth, it doesn't prevent dental disease at the gum line, which is where most dental problems begin.
- In fact, many kibbles can be high in carbohydrates, which are converted into sugars. Sugars can contribute to the growth of oral bacteria and increase the risk of dental issues.
- When cats chew dry food, the kibble often shatters, with fragments scattering and not providing the scraping action on the teeth that many people assume it does.

Preservatives and Fillers:

- Dry foods require preservatives to ensure they have a long shelf life. Some preservatives can be controversial or potentially harmful.
- Additionally, some dry foods might contain fillers that provide no nutritional benefit to cats.

Palatability and Overfeeding:

- Some dry cat foods are sprayed with fats to make them more palatable, leading cats to overeat.
- It's easy to overfeed with dry food because it's concentrated. Owners might not realize how many calories they're providing, contributing to obesity.

Potential for Staleness:

- Once opened, dry cat food can become stale or even rancid if not stored correctly. Rancid fats can be harmful and lack the essential fatty acids that cats require.

Potential Allergens:

- Some cats can develop allergies or sensitivities to ingredients commonly found in dry foods, such as grains or certain proteins.

While dry cat food can be part of a balanced diet when selected and fed correctly, relying solely on it might not be ideal for every cat. It's essential to consider your cat's individual needs, consult with a veterinarian, and possibly incorporate wet foods or a mix of both into their diet.

Producing dry cat food involves several stages to transform raw ingredients into the kibble that we see in bags, different companies may produce their product slightly different. It's up to you to do your own research on the individual you purchase your product from.

Selection of Ingredients of the commercial enterprise:
- Ingredients can include meats, poultry, fish, grains, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals, among others. The specific ingredients and their proportions are determined by pet nutritionists to meet the nutritional needs of cats.
Preparation in their facilities:
- Raw meats might be de-boned and ground.
- Grains, if included, are milled.
- Vegetables are cleaned and finely chopped or processed.
Mixing:
- The ingredients are combined in large mixers. At this stage, wet ingredients like fats or oils and dry ones like powdered vitamins or minerals might also be added.
- This mixture forms a kind of dough.
Cooking/Extrusion:
- The dough is fed into an extruder, a machine that cooks the food by forcing it through a specially shaped hole (or die) under high pressure and temperature. As the food exits the extruder, the sudden drop in pressure causes it to expand and take on a specific shape. This is how individual kibble pieces are formed.
Drying:
- The kibble is still quite moist after extrusion. It's sent through drying ovens to remove the excess moisture, ensuring the final product has a low water content, which is necessary for preservation and shelf life.
Enrobing:
- After drying, the kibble "might" be sprayed with palatants (flavor enhancers), fats, or other liquid ingredients. This process is called enrobing. It makes the food more appealing to cats and can also add essential nutrients after all the original nutrients was cooked out.
Cooling:
- The kibble is allowed to cool down before packaging. Cooling helps to prevent condensation inside the packaging, which could lead to mold or spoilage.
Quality Control:
- Throughout the production process, samples are taken and tested to ensure that the food meets specific standards for nutrition, safety, and quality.
- The final product is checked for things like moisture content, nutrient levels, and potential contaminants.
Packaging:
- The kibble is packaged in bags that are designed to keep out moisture and air. This helps to preserve the freshness of the food and prolong its shelf life.
Storage and Distribution:
- The packaged foods are stored in warehouses until they're shipped to distributors, retailers, or directly to consumers.

It's worth noting that there's variation in the quality and sourcing of ingredients, as well as in the specific manufacturing processes, among different brands and products. Always read labels and do your research if you have specific concerns or requirements for your cat's food.

Deep dive into the cooking process

Extrusion requires the application of heat, among other things, to both shape the kibble and ensure that the final product is cooked. Here's a more detailed look at the temperatures involved:

Initial Mixing: The raw ingredients are first mixed together. At this stage, the mixture is often at room temperature or slightly elevated due to the blending of dry and wet ingredients.
Extrusion Process: This is where heat comes prominently into play.
- Preconditioning: Before the actual extrusion, the dough-like mixture of ingredients is preconditioned. This involves heating the mixture with steam and water to begin the cooking process. The temperature during preconditioning is typically between 70°C (158°F) to 95°C (203°F), depending on the specific formulation and machinery.
- Extruder Cooking: The preconditioned mixture is then fed into the extruder. Here, the combination of mechanical energy from the extruder's screws and steam injection raises the temperature further. Inside the extruder barrel, temperatures typically range from 100°C (212°F) to 150°C (302°F), although it can vary based on the equipment and recipe.
As the mixture exits the extruder through the die (a shaped hole), the sudden drop in pressure causes it to expand and take its kibble shape. This rapid expansion is also accompanied by a drop in temperature.
Drying: After extrusion, the kibble contains a significant amount of moisture that needs to be reduced to ensure shelf stability. The kibble is passed through drying ovens where air temperatures usually range from 90°C (194°F) to 150°C (302°F). However, the temperature of the kibble itself will be lower, as the goal is to remove moisture without overcooking the product.
Cooling: Once the kibble exits the drying phase, it is crucial to bring its temperature down before packaging to prevent condensation, which can lead to mold growth. Cooling is achieved using ambient or slightly chilled air.
Enrobing: In some cases, the kibble may be coated with fats, flavor enhancers, or vitamins post-extrusion. These are often applied at elevated temperatures to maintain a liquid state, but the temperatures are usually much lower than the extrusion or drying phases.

While the exact temperatures can vary based on the specific machinery, recipe, and desired product characteristics, the above ranges provide a general idea. It's also worth noting that these high temperatures, while effective at destroying pathogens, can also degrade certain heat-sensitive nutrients. That's why pet food manufacturers often add these nutrients back in after the cooking process, ensuring the final product is nutritionally balanced. Hence cooking out all natural genetic information and adding their own design. This means felines are NOT getting everything they need to move forward in life properly as genetics is very new still.

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they have evolved primarily to eat meat. Over millennia, their anatomy and physiology have specialized in hunting, killing, and digesting animal prey. As a result, they process vegetables and starches differently than omnivores like humans. Below are some reasons why they do this.

Digestive Tract Length:

- Cats have a shorter digestive tract compared to humans and other omnivores/herbivores. This shorter length is efficient for digesting proteins and fats from animal sources but less adapted to breaking down complex carbohydrates found in vegetables and starches.

Enzyme Production:

- Cats produce very little of the enzyme amylase in their saliva. Amylase is essential for initiating the breakdown of starches into simpler sugars. While they do produce amylase in their pancreas, it's not in the same quantities as species evolved to consume more carbohydrates.
- Cats also have lower levels of certain other enzymes required to process plant-based materials.

Lack of Specific Fermentation Processes:

- Many herbivores and some omnivores have specialized areas in their intestines (like the cecum in rabbits or the rumen in cows) where beneficial bacteria break down tough plant fibers through fermentation. Cats lack these specialized fermentation sites, which means they're less equipped to derive nutrients from plant material.

Specific Nutritional Requirements:

- There are certain nutrients cats primarily obtain from animal tissues because they either can't extract them from plant sources or can't produce them in adequate amounts on their own. Examples include taurine, arachidonic acid, and certain forms of vitamin A.

Dietary Fiber and Digestion:

- While a small amount of fiber can benefit cats by aiding in digestion and helping pass hairballs, too much can be disruptive. They aren't designed to digest a lot of fiber. Excessive fiber can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients from their diet.

Gut Flora:

- The community of microbes residing in the gut (the microbiome) differs between species based on their diets. Cats have a gut flora composition specialized for digesting animal proteins and fats. Introducing large amounts of plant material can disrupt this balance.

Evolutionary Behavior:

- The dietary behaviors and preferences of cats have evolved over time based on their natural diet. This evolution influences not only their physiological capacity to digest certain foods but also their willingness to eat them.

That said, some cats might ingest small amounts of plants, either due to curiosity or because they find them palatable. A modest inclusion of certain vegetables in a cat's diet, especially if they're cooked or finely processed, might be tolerated and even beneficial in some commercial cat foods. However, it's crucial to understand which plants are safe for cats and which ones might be toxic. Always consult with a veterinarian nutritionist when considering dietary changes or additions, your normal vet cannot assist in this field of study with 100% truth and certainty even if they themselves believe all they read and hear, please search for a certified veterinarian nutritionist in your state, a normal vet should not have an opinion on food as they do not study the same line of work, this is not an insult, this is simply informing you that there are specialists in the field.

Gut Flora

The gut flora, or microbiota, is the community of microorganisms (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa) that inhabit the digestive tracts of all animals, including cats. These microorganisms play an essential role in digestion, metabolism, immune function, and overall health. The feline gut flora is particularly interesting because cats are obligate carnivores.

Diversity:
- Although less diverse than that of omnivores or herbivores due to their carnivorous diet, the cat's gut microbiota is still a complex community. It's influenced by factors like diet, age, health status, environment, and antibiotic use.
Dominant Bacteria:
- Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes are the most prevalent phyla in the feline gut. They are responsible for breaking down proteins and fats that are abundant in a carnivorous diet.
- Other significant bacteria include Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria.
Role in Protein and Fat Digestion:
- Given their meat-based diet, cats' gut bacteria are adept at processing proteins and fats. Certain bacterial species can break down these macronutrients, helping to extract amino acids, fatty acids, and other essential nutrients.
Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs):
- While cats don't rely on fiber fermentation as much as herbivores, their gut flora still produces SCFAs, especially butyrate. SCFAs are beneficial compounds derived from the fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates. They play a role in maintaining gut health, modulating inflammation, and providing energy.
Taurine Metabolism:
- Taurine is an amino acid crucial for cats, and deficiency can lead to health problems. Certain bacteria in the feline gut can degrade taurine, so understanding this interplay can be vital for managing feline health.
Immune Function:
- The gut flora plays an essential role in shaping the immune system. A balanced microbiota helps prevent the colonization of pathogenic organisms and modulates immune responses. Dysbiosis, or imbalance in the gut flora, can be linked to various health issues, including inflammatory bowel disease.
Impact of Diet:
- The composition of the feline gut microbiota can change based on diet. For instance, diets high in carbohydrates might increase certain bacterial populations not typically dominant in cats fed a more traditional carnivorous diet. This is one reason why diet can influence gastrointestinal health in cats.
Effect of Antibiotics:
- Antibiotics can significantly impact the feline gut flora, leading to reduced diversity and potential overgrowth of harmful bacteria. This disruption can sometimes result in gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea.
Probiotics and Feline Health:
- Probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria given as supplements, are sometimes used to support feline gastrointestinal health. They can help restore balance to the gut microbiota after disturbances like antibiotic use.

Research on the feline gut microbiota is still ongoing, and we continue to uncover more about its complexities and its role in health and disease. It's essential to understand that while cats have some similarities in their gut flora with other animals, their unique evolutionary dietary background makes their microbiota distinctly different from many others.

Wet Food vs. Dry Food:

Moisture Content:

Wet food contains around 70-80% water, similar to the moisture content in a wild cat's natural diet. Cats have a low thirst drive and get most of their hydration from their food. The higher moisture content in wet food can help prevent urinary tract issues and promote kidney health.

Protein Content

Wet cat foods often have a higher protein content than dry foods, which can be beneficial since cats are obligate carnivores and rely heavily on protein.

Carbohydrate Levels:

Dry cat foods typically contain higher levels of carbohydrates due to the need for starch in the extrusion process that forms the kibble. While cats can metabolize carbohydrates, they don't have a dietary requirement for them, and do not digest them the same way, and in most cases will not digest them at all resulting in smelly, wet poo.

Dental Health Misconceptions:

A common argument for dry food is that it helps clean a cat's teeth. However, most kibble does not provide significant dental cleaning. Wet food doesn't promote dental health either, but the argument for kibble's dental benefits is often overstated and very misrepresented.

Fewer Fillers and Additives:

Wet cat food generally contains fewer artificial preservatives (because it's stored in cans) and fewer fillers than dry food, however it's always important to read the ingredients on the back of all bags and cans before deciding to purchase and feed them to our biscuit.

Raw Food vs. Wet Food:

Natural Diet:
- The argument for raw diets is often based on the idea of mimicking a cat's natural diet in the wild. Fresh, unprocessed foods can provide nutrients in their most bio-available forms. "The less human interference, the better."
Fewer Additives:
- Commercial raw diets or homemade raw diets (when prepared correctly) often contain fewer artificial additives, fillers, or by-products compared to commercial wet foods. Providing a far more balanced and enriched diet for the feline.
Nutrient Preservation:
- Cooking can destroy or reduce the availability of certain nutrients, and the cooking process of dry food completely removes and destroys the nutrients, which is why it is added after in the form of a powder or dust. Raw diets preserve these nutrients without humans having to add excess unless compensating for pregnant and nursing felines or special dietary requirements.
Dental Health:
- Chewing raw meat, especially meaty bones, can help in naturally cleaning a cat's teeth and maintaining gum health.
Gastrointestinal Health:
- Raw diets can lead to firmer stools and better overall gut health. Stool will be expressed in a much healthier form "white and hard, almost dust like", as their bodies are consuming all the available nutrients, and not just pooping it all out like with dry food.

However, it's vital to understand the challenges and risks associated with raw diets:

Bacterial Contamination: Raw foods can contain harmful bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli. This poses a risk not only to the cat but also to humans in the household. This is due to HUMAN contamination - Remember keep yourself and your meat prep are clean at all times. Do NOT cross contaminate... Do not risk that biscuit.
Nutritional Imbalance: Homemade raw diets can be nutritionally incomplete if not formulated correctly due to inaccurate and unavailable information provided or available.
Bone Hazards: If bones are not ground finely or if larger bones are provided, there's a risk of choking, broken teeth, or internal punctures. Never feed animals cooked bone!

Whether you're considering wet, dry, or raw food, the key is to ensure the chosen diet meets all of your cat's nutritional needs. It's crucial to consult with a veterinarian or a pet nutritionist before making significant changes to your cat's diet. They can provide guidance tailored to your cat's specific health and needs.

"I have added links below to help direct you to a few Facebook groups that offer different recipes for you to follow."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatCrap/files/files Please go directly to their files, do not pass go, do not collect your $200 UNTIL YOU READ THE FILES, I cannot express how stuck up this group has become over the years. They do not like having to repeat and argue with other random people online in regards to opinions. So please do respect the rules and search for your question asked by another before posting.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RawFedIBD/ This group is for those with Irritable Bowel Disorder. However it is a wonderful group just for educational purposes.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/felinediabetes/ They do not always discuss RAW as a whole, however this I feel is just an overall important group to be apart of as they do offer educational information and you can see the "dry food pattern" yourself with this group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawfedandnerdy/ Another wonderful raw feeding only group. This group is not as cranky as the first one I linked, however multiple sources of information are a great benefit for you to see what is happening to our companions.