Wet food is messy, especially for cats. So, you can get dry food for your pet cat. But you need to choose the best dry cat food. This will ensure that the pet is getting all the required nutrition.
Cats are generally known to be messy eaters. If you offer wet food to it, you may find it all over the room. To prevent this, you need to offer dry food to cats. But dry foods are not as attractive to them as wet foods. Moreover, wet foods are high in nutritional content. If you are substituting wet food with dry food, you need to have the best dry cat food. This will ensure that the animal gets enough nutrition. However, dry foods are also notorious for their adverse effects on cats. Therefore, you need to be selective and choose the best.
Let us go through a list of ingredients that should not at all be present in the best dry cat food.
Potato
Dry foods already have a notoriety for stoking diabetes. Potato is a high glycemic food, meaning that it can precipitate a spike in blood sugar. Like human beings, cats too are prone to diabetes and blood sugar, if you offer it potato or food containing potato regularly. So dry foods containing potato is not at all good for your pet cat. However, you can proceed with sweet potato. Though it is sweet, it does not stoke diabetes or blood sugar.
By-products
Many companies in the pet cat food business prepare the food from byproducts of other industries such as poultry. But these are not good. Pet foods containing byproducts of other industries may cause a variety of health problems in your cat. It may suffer from allergies, stomach irritation, diarrhea, vomiting etc. If it has a sensitive stomach it can often exhibit these symptoms. So, the best dry cat food should not at all contain byproducts.
Gluten
Corn contains gluten, and most pets like cats and dogs are allergic to it. So you must see that the cat is not given a food which contains grains like wheat, corn, and soy. The best dry cat food must not contain glutinous substances.
High-carb content
Foods containing high amounts of carbohydrates, such as white rice, can precipitate blood sugar. Since pets are not used to much activity, high carb food can easily stoke diabetes. Moreover, pets don’t digest carbohydrates well. So, the best dry cat food should not have a high carb content.
Artificial preservatives and colors
Most cats don’t tolerate artificial preservatives and colors. Some of these elements are even harmful to the cat. Vitamin K3, which is produced synthetically, can be a dangerous food for your pet cat. This particular synthetic product may be toxic to the liver, kidneys, and heart of the cat. So the best dry cat food should not at all contain artificial preservatives and colors.
Artificial sweetener
While sugar is not good for pets, artificial sweeteners are the worst. Artificial sweeteners like Xylitol can lead to sudden fall in blood sugar level. These products may cause a sudden release of insulin leading to a drastic fall in sugar levels in the blood. All this can happen within half an hour of eating. It is also harmful to your pet’s liver. Such artificial sweeteners are usually present in candy, gum, mouthwash etc. However, some low-quality foods may also contain these substances. The best dry cat food does not contain any of these substances.
Contents of the best dry cat food
The best dry cat food must be balanced in all respects. A cat needs nutrients like various vitamins, amino acids, minerals, proteins, and fat. It needs meat since there are some nutrients which it can obtain only from meat.
So, the best dry cat food must contain meat but should not contain any grain. There are a number of such brands in the pet food market.