Cat Chat (please go to cat chat 2)

[bat-husband]

http://www.livescience.com/34471-cats-dead-animals.html
Cats do bring back dead animals as gifts... See? They are natural hunters

[ferretjuice]

Only about a week and a half until me and my sister get our new kittens! I still haven't completely decided on a name, but after looking at suggestions on cat name websites (yes I am that lazy and pathetic) I will most likely call her Athena. I can't wait until I get her!

what about kit kat? haha.

[FuzzyThePunkCat]

@Talsr, wikis can be edited by anyone.
I would never let my cats go outside like that, it's beyond dangerous. My cats go out on leashes and I'm building them an outdoor enclosure this spring or summer.

[The Winter Soldier]

I agree with talsr because there is no real proof that cats kill off wild life populations. There is also more proof that bring back bodies and objects as gifts cats do not just bring dead bodies back you know.

[Cardinal]

I've seen a lot of people talking about feeding their cats raw meat, and I have a few questions about it (I'm not trying to be rude about it at all, I'm just curious):
So is there something wrong with feeding cats dry food/ canned wet food (of course I mean stuff made from real meat not biproduct, ect).
Isn't there health risks to feeding cats raw meat?
Do veterinarians think its a healthy diet for domesticated cats?
Thank you <3

Dry food diets aren't great for cats. Cats ancestors are from the dry deserts of Africa, they evolved to get the vast majority of their water from the foods they ate; whole prey which is about 75% water. Domestic cats ahve very poor thirst drives and when fed a dry food only diet stay in a constant state of mild dehydration with ultimately concentrates the urine and can leads to an array of urinary issues. Urinary Tract Infections run amuck in cat populations. Dry foods are also high in carbs, one of the reasons so many cats are obese, have poor teeth, and/or diabetes.

Wet food as a whole is better. TYpically less carbs and less fillers. It still is cooked and by being cooked nutrients are depleted and have to be added separately, this is why ingredient lists are chalk full of synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace those that are lost in processing. Wet and dry do not have any teeth cleaning abilities leading to rotten teeth.

Theres health risks to anything, I'd be lieing if I told you otherwise. Kibble and wet both have recalls often for bacteria or other 'fun' things like glass/metal shavings/whathaveyou. Raw is what cats are designed to eat and if handled properly the risk of illness or disease are minimal. I've never had a cat or dog get sick from the actual raw food unless it was completely my fault (Not enough bone, introducing new meats to suddenly.. etc).

Some vets support raw diets whole heartedly. Some disagree with it. Some really don't care either way. Catinfo.org is written by a vet that fully supports raw feeding. Karen Becker is another well known vet thats into raw feeding as well.

[chamomile.]

I don't either, but their cats, and when they bring me back a bird it's a sign of love and appreciation.
I'll take him on Friday or Saturday, busy this week

You don't live in a warrior cat's book,
cats don't bring you dead animals to
show their love and appreciation.
What they are doing is killing off
the wildlife population and making
species go extinct.

...
In wiki and books cats bring it back as a gift...
And there are thousands of mice here, plus they only kill about five through the whole year. That's not going to make them extinct... And unlike you I let my cats do what they please, under safe watch. They won't eat the bodies, I simply burry them. Here, I'll get wiki and see if you are correct about the gifting thing

The gifting thing isn't the problem. It's the fact they are killing in general. And it really doesn't matter if there is 1000 mice, they could be of different species. And let's say your neighbors think the same thing, and their cats kill about 5 rodents per year. And their neighbor does the same. And their neighbor does as well. Pretty soon way to many rodents are being killed.
And your cats don't have to eat the mice for dieseases to be transferred. The mouse's blood came in contact with your cat's mouth.

[Joe Kerr]

Cats only bring back about 20% of their kills.
And unlike you, my cats are given proper
stimulation while being safe inside. They
are fed a fantastic brand of kibble mixed
with another great brand of canned. They
are never cold, 2/3 of my cats are taken
on almost daily walks outside and the other
one spends special time with me. I never
have to worry about my babes getting run
over, killed by a predator, or poisoned by
a disturbed human being.

[fairytale.]

I've seen a lot of people talking about feeding their cats raw meat, and I have a few questions about it (I'm not trying to be rude about it at all, I'm just curious):
So is there something wrong with feeding cats dry food/ canned wet food (of course I mean stuff made from real meat not biproduct, ect).
Isn't there health risks to feeding cats raw meat?
Do veterinarians think its a healthy diet for domesticated cats?
Thank you <3

Also about the person who's cats are bringing them birds, it isn't good, for both your cat and the ecosystem. While I love cats, they are responsible for many bird species and rodent species being hunted way more than they should. Also the prey they catch could be carrying diseases, worms, ect, that could hurt your cat.

1. Cats are built to digest raw meat. While canned food is significantly better than dry (as a rule of thumb, the worst canned food is better than the best dry food), it is still full of things cats can't digest. Heating kills the nutrients, so they had to add them back in. Many of these are synthetic and not legal for human use. They come with many risks, especially with frequent exposure. Cats have evolved to get moisture from their food, and therefore have a low thirst drive. Because of this, cats on a dry food diet are almost always dehydrated. Since switching to raw, my cat has not taken a single drink of water!
2. Cats have acidic and short digestive tracts, meaning they can consume bacteria that would harm us humans. The biggest risk with a raw diet is an unbalanced one. An unbalanced raw diet, just like any unbalanced diet, will lead to nutritional deficiencies.
3. It honestly depends on the vet. Most vets get very limited nutrition training, and what they do learn, is often sponsored by brands like Royal Canin, Pruina, and Science Diet. We know these are low quality diets with many fillers. Holistic vets usually advocate raw diets, and it is a coin toss with traditionally trained vets. My vet used to be anti-raw, but has changed his mind to a more neutral stance on it. Oftentimes, a perfectly healthy cat will go to a vet, and the vet will be totally cool with it until they learn the diet that the cat is on. Then they freak out, because they have been taught that raw is bad. Think about it, what do barn cats eat? What did we feed before kibble (which is also fairly new)? People don't trust raw meat because WE can't eat it. Dogs and cats are built to eat raw meat, unlike humans.

[FuzzyThePunkCat]

I agree with talsr because there is no real proof that cats kill off wild life populations. There is also more proof that bring back bodies and objects as gifts cats do not just bring dead bodies back you know.

What!? There have been entire populations killed by cats...

My cats get tons of indoor exercise and training, have lots of playmates, go for daily walks (unless it's cold as is now ughhhh) and they're on raw diets. They're extremely happy. I'd be a nervous wreck if my cats were outside and I couldn't see them. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. Parasites, being killed by bad people, dogs, or cats, getting hit by cars, big birds and my kitten, creeps looking for black cats to torture, people who would steal my Bengal, etc etc etc. No way x.x

[The Winter Soldier]

Cats only bring back about 20% of their kills.
And unlike you, my cats are given proper
stimulation while being safe inside. They
are fed a fantastic brand of kibble mixed
with another great brand of canned. They
are never cold, 2/3 of my cats are taken
on almost daily walks outside and the other
one spends special time with me. I never
have to worry about my babes getting run
over, killed by a predator, or poisoned by
a disturbed human being.

Because you started harness trading them when they where kittens its worse to walk cat because dogs can will try chase u our cat if it is on leash a leashes dog can easily get away from it's owner and hurt your little leashed cat.