Mistakes People Make Feeding Cats

Jan 6th 2011

We make plenty of mistakes feeding ourselves. We eat too much sugar and salt, we eat too little, then too much. With all the problems we have with our own diets, is it any wonder we make mistakes when feeding our cats?

So what errors are we making and why? Our cats can't tell us, not with words. Sometimes we don't know where we've gone wrong until our cat is sick.

Not to worry. Our friends at WebMD Healthy Pets went to the experts in cat health -- veterinarians and animal nutritionists -- and asked them to outline the most common cat feeding mistakes so that you can avoid them and help your feline friend stay fit, feisty and well-nourished.

The Mistakes

1. Too Much Food
Probably the most common mistake people make when feeding cats is overfeeding, says Joe Bartges, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVN, professor of medicine and nutrition, the Acree Endowed Chair of Small Animal Research, in the College of Veterinary Medicine, at the University of Tennessee. "Obesity is the most common nutritional disease seen in cats."

Although a pudgy kitty may look kind of cute, obesity is associated with a host of cat health issues, from diabetes to arthritis, urinary tract disease to heart problems. In fact, Bartges tells WebMD that cats may suffer from something similar to that very human condition, metabolic syndrome.