Grain Free Cat Food

You search on the internet for "grain free cat food". You want to find good grain free cat food. Do you know why you want that kind of food for your cat and why cat food that contains grain exists? You probably do but this page sets out my spin on this huge issue.

Dry cat food emerged onto the pet products market about fifty years ago. Before that canned cat food was around for up to one hundred years or so, I am advised.

Dry cat food (and dog food) is a relatively recent innovation. It's creation is born out of the need for convenience and I am not talking about the convenience of our cat, but of us.

The pet food manufacturers have two customers, us and our cat. They have an obligation to provide palatable and nutritional food for our cat and to provide inexpensive and easily handled food for us. These are competing goals. As we buy the food for our cat, our actions take priority and so the pet food manufacturers found a great market in dry cat food.

Dry cat food is highly convenient for the cat caretaker and can be left for feeding all day  - free cat feeding. Ideal for the busy cat caretaker. Whereas wet cat food goes off rapidly and smells quite quickly (a sign of poor quality?)

In order to make the pellets or kibble (so called in the USA) carbohydrates are required as this binds the rendered dry material together. Grains are a cheap source of carbohydrates. If grains such as wheat are not used potato, for example might be. Apparently, peas are also used.

Cats don't have a taste for sweet foods - they can't taste it so the only advantage to a cat of the carbohydrates is as a source of energy. But a cat is not designed to digest carbohydrates.

This can lead to the cat developing illnesses such as feline diabetes. The 12% water content leaves the cat in a permanent state of mild dehydration as cats don't fully compensate by drinking more water. The classic prey for a cat and ideal balanced diet is the mouse that contains about 60+% water and 3% carbohydrates. Dry cat food has 20-50% carbohydrates.

Some enlightened pet food manufacturers have created grain free dry cat food. The material is not bound together by carbs. One such dry cat food is Wysong Epigen Starch-Free Dry Dog & Cat Food (so claimed). The binding is carried out by "nutrient-rich protein sources" the manufacturers say. If this is possible why don't they all do it?

The obvious answer is cost. There are two criteria for promoting sales to people: cost and convenience. Some people simply are not aware of the dangers to health of permanently and solely feeding their cat dry cat food and so buy the cheapest while ignoring the high grain content.

Indeed, my vet some years ago recommended that I bought the dry cat food he was selling and to feed my cat permanently with it. He got his commission of course. It was Hills and Hills have a close relationship with vets promoting their food as the veterinarian's choice.

In the USA the best example of grain free cat food that is dry is Innova Dry Cat Food as it has received the most positive reviews over many sites. Another is Wellness Core. Another is Wysong as mentioned above. And yet another is Canyon River Feline Formula. Some will replace grain with some other source of carbohydrates as stated. Is that any better? Well I say it is not. The problem is not getting rid of the grain but the carbohydrates.

In the UK an example of grain free cat food that is dry is Arden Grange Sensitive - Ocean White Fish and Potato. I would check if there is a substitute for carbohydrates. In this case potatoes are used. And they announce that openly. Not sure about that. It seems like a trick to me  - reverse psychology.

Here is a little fun video I made about trying to obtain a balanced cat diet:



I wrote an earlier post about this subject, which covers slightly different ground.

Wet can food might also contain carbohydrates but premium brands contain little or not carbohydrates in the USA.

Incidentally one of the main causes of pet food recalls is due to the poor quality of the grain. This is an added benefit of buying grain free.



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Why the Siamese cat is pointed

The Siamese kitten is born without pigmentation (color). Within a short time - a few days - the coat forms pigmentation on the nose and ears.

Robinson's Genetics calls this typical of what it describes as "Himalayan albinism".

The production of pigmentation is dependent on ambient temperature. The temperature in the area of the fur is dictated by the body temperature of the cat and before being born the temperature in the womb.

The womb is at body temperature and it is this relatively high temperature that keeps the new born kitten white.

Once born, thrust into environment, the extremities become cooler than the center of the cat's body. The causes the production of pigmentation. The central area of the body of the cat is warmer causing the production of pigmentation be be restricted.

The body temperature is too high for "full pigment to be produced". This results in the coat varying from "pale to medium sepia".

The density of the color of the coat and points is dependent on the genes of each individual cat.

Apparently older cats tend to become darker in the body and for that reason only younger Siamese cats are show cats. Below is an older Siamese looking very dark:

Harlee looking vary dark in the body - Photo by cliff1066™

Siamese Cat Video

Here is a video of me rambling on about the Siamese cat:

Siamese Cat from Michael Broad on Vimeo.

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Siamese Tabby Cat

The Siamese tabby cat is not tabby cat all over the body but just on the points - the extremities of the cat. What I mean is that the tabby coat only affects the points. Well that is not exactly true because I suspect the objective is to have the tabby gene only affect the points but it does affect to a certain extent other parts of the body.

Lynx point Siamese - Photo by ♥ellie♥

This creates a cat that in my opinion no longer looks like a Siamese cat but each to their own taste. You will see the classic "M" mark on the forehead or a vestige of it and banding on the legs and some lines on and around the face.

When the pointing is broken by the tabby gene it is less distinct. Tabby pointed Siamese cats are called Lynx point Siamese cats.

Lynx point Siamese cat - by AlishaV

Siamese tabby cats can be sliver tabby (silver lynx points) and tortie points. Although tortie or tortoiseshell points are not tabby points but the broken pointing looks similar.

Facts about Siamese cats

Here are some basic introductory facts about Siamese Cats. The Siamese cat is a purebred cat of great popularity. It is the the second most popular cat breed after the Maine Coon based on my long standing poll of over 5,000 votes.

Siamese cats originally came from Siam now Thailand (there is a map of Thailand below). They were and still are pointed (dark extremities) normal sized moggie or random bred cats in Thailand. But they go back a long way in time. The Siamese cat is one of the most ancient of the cat breeds. There is a long, long Siamese cat history.


View Larger Map

This long history gives the Siamese a reputation, a well deserved reputation. It is one of the original cat breeds. Other early cat breeds are the Abyssinian and Persian.

In the early years of the cat fancy in England the Siamese was considered rare and exotic. This cat breed is now very commonplace. The cat fancy started in England. The phrase "cat fancy" means the breeding and showing of cats at cat shows and ancillary matters.

For thousands of years we had a random bred pointed cat in Siam. In the late 1800s the cat fancy started up and breeders began to selectively breed cats one of which was the exotic Siamese. At this time the cat was the same shape and color etc as the original. There was one color for the points: seal (dark brown approaching black)

Then the breed was exported to the USA in the early 1900s. Breeding began in earnest and the humble yet exotic Siamese was made to look more refined and exotic in the eyes of breeders. To breeders this meant a more slender cat, called "oriental" body shape in the cat fancy.

Modern Siamese - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

This slender Siamese cat, I call the Modern Siamese. There were many people, cat keepers and breeders who preferred the original appearance. They continued to breed what they called the Traditional Siamese cat. This is sometimes referred to as the Applehead Siamese as the head shape is more round unlike the rat-like shape of the modern Siamese head.

Traditional Siamese Cat
Photo: by Robert Couse-Baker

At that stage we had two types of Siamese cat, one considerably more slender than the other. Not to be outdone a third set of breeders wanted to breed what they thought was the genuine Siamese cat and they wanted to create another breed - breeders do!

This cat is in between the traditional and modern in cat body type and I call this cat the Classic Siamese. Some breeders bred the classic Siamese and some call it the Thai cat - meaning a new breed. Confused?! The facts about Siamese cats really turn on the breed's history.

Now where does this leave in relation to colours and patterns? Well it is strange. It is the cat associations who register the cats who dictate the standard appearance in the breed standard. The most traditional cat association is the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA). The allow the traditional colours. The seal pointed cat is the original natural colour. To that we can add chocolate, lilac and blue (blue is dilute black and it looks grey!). These colours concern the pointing, the extremities of the cat.

The more adventurous associations allow lots more colours for the points. TICA allow for example lynx pointing which is a tabby pointing - a broken pointing that makes it hard to actually see the pointing. Another popular colour for the pointing can be seen in the flame point Siamese.

Lynx point traditional Siamese
Photo: by gsloan

The Oriental Shorthair is a type of Siamese cat that has a lot more variety in allowed colours and patterns. It need not be pointed. The shape is oriental unsurprisingly. Indeed some cat associations consider then as Siamese. Confused again? There is an argument that says that the number of cat associations should be reduced and the standard made uniform.

There is a third (or is it a sixth....I've lost track) type of Siamese cat that is called the Balinese. It is the same as the Siamese except with long hair. There are modern and traditional Balinese cats but only slender Oriental cats (no doubt someone will correct me on that).

All these breeds, Siamese and associated breeds are vocal and friendly. They like to be close to their human and Siamese are at the top end of cat intelligence.

As to health the slender Modern Siamese that has had more breeding than most other cat breeds suffers from the most genetically inherited illnesses with the Persian. The health of this cat is not the best in my opinion and people are concerned about the health of the cat that they adopt for obvious reasons. A well known congenital defect is the squint.

Facts about Siamese Cats in brief:

• Date or origin: before 1700s (maybe thousands of years ago).
• Place of origin: Siam (Thailand).
• Ancestry: Moggies - some lived in and around temples.
• Name sometimes used: Royal Cat of Siam
• Outcross: None (this means that the associations don't allow the cat to be breed with cats of another breed or moggies.
• Weight: Mid-range: 6-12 pounds
• Temperament: Vocal, friendly, loyal and energetic.
• Registered by major associations.
• The pointing is caused by the heat. Where the body is cooler it is darker. When the cat is born it is all white.

Hope this helps a bit.