Do you know of a site where I can print info. on the benefits of feeding a high quality food to your cat?

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/nutritioncomment...

Good for you wanting to educate your step-sister on feeding her cat.

There are a growing number of cat lovers today who are beginning to realize that the commercially manufactured dried and canned pet “foods” we have been feeding our beloved furry friends for the past generation or so, are not only less than ideal for them, but may very well be directly contributing to the many chronic diseases that so many of our pet cats seem to be developing in this day and age.

The plain truth is that neither the dried kibble that comes in a bag, nor the cooked mass of parts that comes in a can, are either a natural or species appropriate foods for cats. Regardless of the fact that millions of dollars are spent annually on advertising by huge pet food companies to convince us otherwise, the fact is that these over-processed, cooked so called “foods” are simply not what cats are naturally designed to eat.

Cats have evolved over thousands of years to be hunters – carnivorous predators – and no cat born in this world was ever designed by God or Nature to eat anything other than a diet consisting of the whole raw bodies of its prey. This may not be a pleasant thought to you but nonetheless, every single cat on the planet – both wild and domestic - is, by definition, an obligate carnivore. This means that the essential nutrition they require to thrive may only be found in sufficient quantities in the flesh of other animals. And all cats, from their sharp, pointy teeth to their short, efficient digestive tracts, are made to consume and process that flesh in its whole, raw state. Such is the truly natural diet of any cat.

for some of us, getting to the place where we’re actually prepared to do what it takes to stop feeding our cats the way we’ve been accustomed to, and start feeding them the way Nature designed them to be fed, means that we must overcome some pretty strongly ingrained cultural indoctrination. And sometimes, what it takes to disintegrate our deeply seated habitual ways of thinking and acting, is something that shatters our old habits by shocking us out of them. Understanding the truth about commercial pet foods, and the ways in which they have and are affecting our pets’ health, is such a shock. Once most people truly comprehend this shocking truth, they will never turn back to their old, conventional ways of feeding their pets.

I do hope you and you and your step-sister will further investgage this and if it is too difficult for your step sister to think of doing at first, at the very least, have her cook for cat or find a food that does not contain grains or too many veggies.

If she wants to transition slowly there is only one commercial food I can recommend:

http://www.trilogyonline.com/Trilogy/Pets/Instinct...

Hard for me to phathom why people insist on saving money for the food a member of their family eats. Paper towels, cleaning products, meat on sale - yes. What you feed your cat - NO. You end up spending it on vet bills eventually anyway.

At any rate. www.catinfo.org where a veterinarian will enlighten you about raw meat diets. There are many articles at www.thepetcenter.org and about quality food for pets.

At www.littlebigcat.com Dr. Jean Hovfe has many articles in her article library such as "Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food", "What Cats Should Eat", "Why Cats Need Canned Food" for some education on reading labels on cans and bags and finding a healthy food for her cat.

The information at those sites gives the opinions of veterinarians who realise the importance of healthy food for our pets.

Personally I feed a raw meat diet I prepare for my cats and canned food such as Natural Balance, Avoderm, Lick Your Chops, Wellness and By Nature's Organic.

I have one cat who eats only dry food and she gets CA Natural, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Nature's Logic, etc.