When you have a pet cat in your house, it has to be well fed with nutritious food to enjoy a long and healthy life. There are different types of cat food available in the market. It is important to make the right choice while buying food for your feline friend in order for it to enjoy delicious and nutritious meals.

The best food for cats have:

• More meat and less grain
  The cat food must be grain-free as suggested by experts and food critics. The first ingredient should be meat. Search the product accordingly.
• No wheat, soy or corn as carbohydrate sources
  If you have to choose food with grain for your cat, avoid wheat, soy or corn at all cost since these can trigger allergies as per veterinarians.
• No artificial preservatives
  The cat food you buy must be free from all kinds of preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin.
• Safety records
  The company producing cat food must hold a good record and maintain good control over the ingredient sources. There are cat food brands that go the extra mile of testing the food independently as well. Companies that acted responsibly by being forthright when anything has gone wrong are likely to do the same in the future.

Things to know before you buy cat food

Canned vs Dry
Some veterinarians see no issue with dry food for cats. However, there are others who say cats need wet food because they are evolved to get moisture from their food source. Cats have the low-thirst drive and thus they would never drink enough water on its own and dry-fed cats are at risk of developing life-threatening and painful urinary problems.

Dry food costs less than canned food and it is more convenient for cat owners as well since they can be left out in the open when they are not home. There are cats who prefer dry food more than canned food, although it is generally a case of the cat owner’s will. Having said that, it is important to consider what the cat likes since it is his general health that matters. If any cat has a history of urinary issues, it is best to discuss with a vet and decide the way forward.

Raw Food
Some experts and cat owners say that it would be best if the cats feed on raw food like raw meat, organs and bone, as they would when in the wild. Buy frozen raw food that would mimic the natural prey of the cat. Another option would be dehydrated near-raw foods. The food is steamed to kill pathogens.

Byproducts- Good or Bad
Byproducts are good as per some experts since normally a cat would eat everything of its prey in the wild like fur, bones, internal organs and everything else. However, there are others who are concerned about the contents of the byproducts and the quality of their sources. If the cat food producing company does not adhere to standards then the byproducts included in the food may not be deemed fit for consumption for the pet.

Budget Requirement
The best of the lot in cat food is made with high-quality meat with no fillers, grains or artificial ingredients and thus they are the most expensive. However, that does not mean you need to spend a fortune on cat food. Even the priciest can be afforded.

Consider Vague-Sounding Ingredients
“Chicken meat” is a decent ingredient in cat food. High-quality cat foods have chicken meat and at times bone rendered to eliminate moisture. On the other hand, “meat and bone meal” can be derived from any mammal. “Animal digest” generally refers to soft animal tissue. It has been “digested” using enzymes into liquid form. Though all these are legal cat food ingredient, best-quality product brands do not use them.