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Cat Food

We carry a wide variety of cat foods such as Exclusive, Friskies, Purina, IAMS as well as others.
*We also carry a full line of grooming supplies, collars, treats, toys, cages & kennels for all your feline's needs.
A cat’s nutritional needs are very important. We love our animals and only want the best for them. Follow the guidelines below to keep your cat in top nutritional health.
Cats' Basic Nutritional Needs Protein from a meat, fish, or poultry source Taurine, an essential amino acid Certain other vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fatty acids Water
Cats do not need carbohydrates, although corn, wheat, and/or rice are used as fillers for both canned and dry cat foods. Other ingredients, such as binders, flavoring, and coloring, are added by cat food manufacturers to satisfy the aesthetic wants of the consumer. Although preservatives are necessary, to keep foods fresh for our cats, canned food should not be allowed to remain out for any length of time.

Canned food or Kibble? Many nutritionists agree that cats should get a variety of food, both dry and canned, for several reasons: While dry food is convenient, and can be left out for "free feeding," Canned food contains water, and many cats do not drink water regularly To ensure that your cat gets the right amount of nutrients. That "near-perfect" food you've selected might be adding too little (or too much) of certain minerals and/or vitamins. Cats may actually become bored with the same food day in and day out, and simply quit eating. Face it, would you enjoy pizza morning, noon, and night, for years? To head off possible allergies to certain ingredients. Cats (like humans) develop allergies over a period of time. Although the incidence of food allergies in cats is rare, cat owners might want to err on the side of caution, particularly if their cats have shown evidence of allergies in the past. To prevent "food addictions." The Whole Cat Journal, in its October, 2001 issue, cites the case of a cat that was addicted to a particular flavor of a particular brand of cat food, right down to a specific factory and lot number! This kind of addiction can be difficult to deal with when that last can is gone, but can be easily avoided by feeding a variety of foods from the start.
This doesn't mean that Fred should get a different food every day, but a variety of high-quality canned foods, supplemented with dry food for cats left alone all day, will add spice to his diet and keep him from becoming "Finicky Fred."

Cheaper Brands are False Economy Many first-time cat owners, in an attempt to hold down expenses, buy the cheapest foods they can find for their cats. This is false economy for a couple of reasons. First, studies have shown that cats eat as much as they need to get the nutrients they require. Therefore, they might eat twice as much of that generously-carbohydrate-filled store brand to get the nutrients they need in a normal feeding of premium food. Second, the continued feeding of substandard foods over a period of years will heavily contribute to, or even cause, serious medical conditions that will require expensive veterinary care. For these reasons, the old maxim, "You get what you pay for," is particularly true where it comes to cat food.
What to look for on the label
Compliance with AAFCO's requirements for "Complete and Balanced," as evidenced by that wording on the label. Named protein source - look for "chicken, lamb, or beef," rather than "meat." On canned food particularly, the protein source should be the first listed ingredient Check the expiration date for freshness What to avoid Words such as "By-products," "meat and/or bone meal," "animal digest," most other descriptions including "digest" or "meal," and added sugars. Chemical preservatives, including BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and propyl gallate Corn meal as a filler Excess of carbohydrate "fillers" (Dry food can contain as much as 50 percent grain) Cats are Obligate Carnivores, and cannot thrive on vegetarian diets, although most vegetables can be added to cats' diets, either by the manufacturer or the consumer. Pet food manufacturers cannot print "complete and balanced" on their labels unless one of the following criteria is met: The food must pass feeding tests for the life stage recommended on the label The composition of the food must meet or exceed nutrient levels established by AAFCO Preservatives, at the level included in commercial pet foods, have never been scientifically demonstrated to cause any problems in pets (or people) at less than 100 times the levels found in such foods. On the other hand, the current trend for many cat food manufacturers is toward using natural preservatives, such as vitamins C and E.

Example Label: PMI Nutrition® Feline medley Formula
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein, minimum 31.0% Crude Fat, minimum 8.0% Crude Fiber, maximum 4.0% Moisture, maximum 12.0% Calcium (Ca), minimum 1.0% Posphorus (P), minimum 0.8%		Linoleic Acid, minimum 1.0% Taurine, minimum 0.1% Vitamin A, minimum 10,000 IU/kg Vitamin E, minimum 75 IU/kg Zinc, minimum 150 mg/kg

Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), sodium bisulfite (a preservative), calcium carbonate, animal digest (source of shrimp, tuna, turkey and fish flavors), fish meal, dried egg product, dried whey, dried brewers yeast, salt, dextrose, monocalcium phosphate, choline chloride, potassium chloride, artificial color (red #40, yellow #5, yellow #6, blue #1), taurine, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, zinc oxide, niacin, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, cobalt carbonate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

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