cat nutrition.

SMN, Flickr You want to keep your feline healthy and frisky and you know that good nutrition is essential. But what makes a healthy cat food? What type of cat food is best for your pet? And do you need to know anything special about storing it? Our friends WebMD Healthy Pets found out what we need to know. 1. What is cat food made of? In general, cat food consists of water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. But how close your cat's diet comes to that of its feral cousins depends on what formula the cat food manufacturer uses. Proteins are the basic building blocks for cells, tissues, and organs. They can be either animal-based or plant-based, and either type may show ...

Getty 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 ...

lierne, Flickr The condition of a cat's coat is a good gauge of its overall health. Cat dandruff, characterized by a dry or oily coat with visible flakes, can be caused by anything from dry air to parasites, obesity, and serious diseases like skin cancer. Therefore, if you see these symptoms of dandruff on your cat, a trip to the vet's office may be in order. "Many diseases show up first in the skin," says Dr. Jean Hofve, a holistic veterinarian and author of "The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care." "It's impossible to diagnose skin disease just by looking at it." A veterinarian can analyze a cat's skin cells under a microscope and perform blood tests or biopsies to narrow down the ...