Cat Nutrition: The Food, The Bad & The Ugly: Part 1: Dry Food!

Cat Nutrition: The Food, The Bad & The Ugly

Howdy paw-tna’! In this town we take cat nutrition VERY seriously. Part one of our saga is a showdown between and one of my oldest nemesi - he’ll two-step into your homestead like a long-lost family member. Before you know it - you and your cat will fall under his spell! His name? … KIBBLE.

This is a topic I am truly passionate about. That said, I am by no means a specialist, a vet, or a nutritionist. That’s why I urge you to do your own due diligence. Here’s some great info to get you started...

Check out some of my most trusted sources when it comes to learning what dry food does to your cats:

Dr. Jean Hofve


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[sklim]

I totally admire Jackson Galaxy for this! By shooting this video, he has blown off all chances of getting high-paying endorsements for commercial cat food companies. Yet, he chose to speak the truth for the cats’ benefits! Thank you so much!

[tricityladytn]

PLEASE, Part 2 needs to be called, "Meat, Prey, Love"!

[buddharuci]

I’ve lived catless on this earth for 76 years. Tomorrow I pick up my first cat from his foster. Will skip the dry on your advice, and I’ll give him three mealtimes, no grazing. Treats for training, though. (If i invest the time and energy, I *ought* to get a treat, I’d say.)

[melissam]

Learned this lesson the hard way when I adopted my current girl, Bug, 7 years ago. Had grown up with indoor/outdoor farm cats who were fed kibble, so naturally just assumed that kibble was the thing to feed cats. I bought the "fancy" kibble and thought she was getting the very best. Then at about 1.5 years old, Bug suddenly got very sick. Constant diarrhea and puking. We kept going back to the vet, who kept prescribing her meds that didn't help. Finally, he suggested giving her expensive Royal Canin "sensitive tummy" kibble. Horrible advice. The diarrhea became less constant, but was not eliminated. The big thing was she ballooned in weight. Put on 3 lbs in 3 months. She couldn't even clean herself anymore due to her weight. Then, because her back end was so badly burned from months of diarrhea, she developed a fear of her litter box and started holding her pee in for hours and hours, then having big accidents on the couch or the rug when she couldn't hold it anymore. It was horrible, and the vet was worse than useless to help us. I finally couldn't take it anymore, and started trying to find resources to help her on my own.

Discovery one: if the cat experiences pain in her litter box, she may develop a fear of the litter itself. Rushed out and bought all new boxes and a new brand of litter that very morning as soon as stores opened. That cat was in the new box going potty before I even finished adding the litter. Her little face looked so relieved.
Discovery two: cats literally cannot digest carbs. And what was that sensitive tummy cat food made of? Almost entirely plant material. WTF. No wonder she'd exploded in weight.
Discovery three: kibble is terrible and totally species inappropriate. Spent days finding the perfect wet food and studying ingredient lists and calorie breakdowns so that her diet was measured to the last calorie going forward.

Once we transitioned to quality wet food, she got so much better. But what I was able to eventually figure out (because I knew every ingredient she was eating and could track flare ups) was that the poor kid simply had food allergies. She had never been sick at all--just allergic to beef and other red meats. She suffered all those months and all those prescription pills I had to shove down her throat when all she needed was appropriate food. I was so mad at myself for not knowing better, the pet food industry for lying to us about what is good for our animals, and especially mad at that vet's total lack of awareness of cat nutrition or ability to help her in any way. Better believe we've got a different doctor now.
Super long story short: feed wet food, and always know what your cat is eating.

[lesliepark]

Got my first cat in years. She is a barn cat, was gonna feed her cheap kibble. Fell in love with her. She’s now a pet who lives in the bar, bought her better food. And now I’m watching cat videos. Oh my.

[TurboJohn]

Spend the extra $$$ on healthy food and meat...
save ALOT later in vet bills and suffering. Been there, seen that. And thank you Jackson

[Thatsmrladytoyou]

I work at a pet supply store and this is exactly what I spend a lot of my time talking to customers about! LOVE this video💜🐱

[samus]

Can you do a “how to switch from dry to wet?” Video for those who may want to switch. Also maybe include some low cost wet foods that are good quality that you recommend.

[allyenderman]

Just switched my cats to wet food (had them on kibble for financial reasons, unfortunately) and I swear their coats have never been more soft and the dispositions more lovey and snuggly!

[meganmann]

I had to take my female cat to the vet recently because she was suffering from a UTI and had crystals in her pee. She only eats dry food.I never knew this about dry food. This has been an eye opening experience. Definitely switching

[skywise]

I give my cat a handful of dry food to start her day with something different. Then wet food for lunch and dinner. With a fresh bowl of water each day she seems to really dig it.

[ceciliaj]

I am gonna give you a tip. If you still decide to give your cat dry food, becaus its just cheaper and more convenient as Jackson said, or maby you mix between dry food and wet food like i do, mix the dry food with a bit of warm water. My cat LOVES the water that is ”flavoured” by the food lmao. He drinks it all. I give him this in the morning and then i give him wet food in the evening. My vet also said this is a very good tip wich she is gonna recommend to people!🥰

[AmberKateD]

I told one of the ladies at my cat's vet that we were switching her over to wet food, because I'd seen your videos about kibble being bad for them. She tried to tell me that cats need to eat dry food because it's better for their teeth. I was a little annoyed because after seeing your videos I've done my research and you are 100% right on most kibble being horrible for them. Since she's been on wet food she's much happier and less gassy lol. And she doesn't drink from her water bowl a billion times within an hour because she's getting water from her food too. I still have some of her old dry food, but I normally use it as treats or if she acts like I'm starving her between meals I'll give her a very small serving to hold her over for a bit. I also have some other treats that I give her maybe once or twice a day for dental health, but I don't like giving her dry food or treats besides those moments, and she seems to appreciate it lol.

[jeanashchuchinov]

I just had the same problem with my cat, terrible smell of her poop. I was told to get dry sensitive dry food for her. Now I want to switch to wet food for my cats I have two Russian blues rescues! Thanks Jackson

[christinabarrick]

My family and I are getting prepared to adopt 2 cats. We decided to watch your videos to help us get ready and we have learned so much! I had planned to hide and cover litter boxes, not doing that now! Had planned to feed kibble, not doing that now! Thank you for educating us!

[TheAlmightySushi]

Hey Jackson, I really appreciate this advice, but it's really hard to follow suit when all vets in my country tell otherwise. In my country, minimum wage is 600€ and 85G of good quality wet foot is around 1, 60€. Times 31 days = 49.6€, times two (in my case) cats that's 100€ a month IF I feed 1 satchel of wet food a day for each cat. If they were to eat the advisory amount, it would be at LEAST 3 times a day, which would equal to half of a minimum salary.

For that reason, I order wet food online so I can get it cheaper, but, inevitably, I have to feed them some dry food. For this reason, I opted for the highest quality I found of dry food available (Brand Royal Canin), which from what I understand, is still less than Ideal.

It baffles me how much I am judged by the vets for not feeding ONLY dry food. They consider wet food as some sort of treat.

Thanks to your advice, I am now feeding at least 1 satchel of wet food for each cat a day, but it's absolutely not sustainable to feed more than that a day, and I can only do that because I earn more than minimum wage. But for people who really do get minimum wage, it is absolutely unthinkable to spend ~130€ a month on cat food.

For this reason, I ask you, what DIY options can we provide our kittens so they can have a healthier feeding? Maybe cooking something that I could eat and they could eat too?

Feels super contradictory when I ask for vets advice and they laugh saying DRY FOOD IS ENOUGH, PERFECT AND NOT HARMFUL WHATSOEVER.

I'd love your input on this.

[LMCSM]

These videos are INVALUABLE. I feel so bad for feeding my precious girl dry food only diet, after my vet told me that was what was best as it "cleans their teeth" I'm so angry that I trusted someone to give me honest advice, and instead they told me to do something that I now know, causes harm to cats. Thank you, Jackson. I'm going to watch every single video of yours because I truly trust you and think you know what you're talking about. Much love 🐈❤️

[TxHoneyBee]

I'm rewatching this again, and good golly Jackson. You're a real gem. This is genuinely pro-cat, educational, and funny! I needed a good laugh. I love this. Thank you!!!

[TheOBOM]

Man, I do not only agree totaly with wat you're teaching us all here - as a Cat Dad with over 50 years of experience I should know something by now too - but the way you present and tell it!! You're ACE boyo, so please DO keep up the good work and spreading the word; I wish I had your presentation skills (and looks too)! My little PiPi-puss sends you her love from over here in The Netherlands where cats are plentifull <3 <3 <3 By the way: I really, really learned something new from this one; having been feeding my cat dry food for years ... I feel so ashamed right now and promise to better my life and cat-dad behaviour!!!

[LuzuVlogsGamer]

Thank gosh they are people like you to actually link the article in the description :)