What you need to know about high-fiber cat diet

  

Date Posted: 12/6/2012 10:12:51 AM

Posted By: sashoo  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 382

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There is some bit of controversy revolving around high fiber cat diet. Most people tend to imagine that high fiber food is not fit for your cat, while some do believe that it is. Yet, both categories of thoughts are right. Why? A diet rich in fiber must be void of bad fiber. High fiber food will do no good if it’s comprised of bad fiber sources. Bad fiber, in this case, is the sort of fiber that can’t be fermented at all. For this reason, it should cause more harm than good to the cat. High fiber food that’s comprised of good fiber sources, on the other hand, will be more than beneficial to your cat—of course, it can be fermented.

Good fiber sources will comprise of oats and rye, while sources of bad fiber should include wheat and corn.

The argument above already should make us realize that foods marked to be of high fiber may only be misleading. Yes, it might not be the case. In other words, high fiber diet could be loaded with lots of bad fiber (wheat sources including corn gluten meal). This is particularly so if the diet is dry. Which is why if you happen to come across some cat food with high fiber percentage, you might want to look at the ingredients. In fact, you must look at the ingredients.

High fiber food boasts of numerous benefits. High fiber food will give your cat a full feeling at a considerable period of time. It’s because high fiber diet is renowned for staying in the stomach for quite some while. As a result, it’ll reduce the quantity of carbohydrates consumed by your cat, reducing complications associated with increased carbohydrates in the body.

High fiber diet also will maintain a healthy digestive system. Actually, good fiber does

lubricate the entire digestive tract. Let’s face it; cats are fond of licking their fur, consuming some of it in the process—but the lubrication provided by high-good-fiber diet will help move swiftly the bits of fur throughout the digestive tract, which should only limit the quantity of balls of hair that a cat might have. As well, if you did not know, removal of cat hair in the digestive system reduces constipation.

Bad fiber, on the contrary, can never be fermented. When consumed, bad fiber will barely stagnate in the stomach, preventing your cat from absorbing some of the most vital nutrients from food. Also, due to its stagnant nature in the stomach and intestines, bad fiber will cause flatulence and bloating.

Therefore, when ordering high fiber cat diet, ensure you consider the ingredients present in the food—it doesn’t matter if the food is of high fiber caliber, but it may as well be full of bad fiber sources.

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