There is quite a range of quality and price in cat food products.  The cat food aisle can be an intimidating place.  Dry food, wet food, semi-moist, beef, chicken, lamb and rice, prescription, 4lbs, 8lbs, 20lbs.  It can be enough to make you grab whatever is on sale and run.

But slow down!  It's not hard to narrow that huge list of choices down to a manageable selection. Here are some simple tips to help you choose which foods will keep you and your cat happy.  And remember, no cat (or dog!) should eat the same food for months or years on end...find a few high quality selections that agree with your cat and rotate them every few months.

• Cats are carnivores and must be fed a food that includes meat as the primary ingredient.
• More expensive foods tend to be better quality than cheaper foods.  Cat food is an investment that will pay off in the long run with a healthier cat, a longer life, and fewer veterinary bills.
• Pet food stores tend to have much higher quality food than grocery and department stores.
• Cat foods preserved with Vitamin E tend to be better than those preserved with man-made chemicals.
• Experts recommend feeding a natural diet that is free of poor quality ingredients and chemicals such as: by-products, animal digest, ethoxyquin, BHT, BHA, or propyl gallate.  There are several products on the market that use only human quality ingredients.
• Semi-moist food and lots of cheaper dry and canned food is loaded with sugar, salt, and preservatives and has very little nutritional value.

A cat that is eating a good diet will be active, have bright eyes, a smooth, shiny coat, have compact stools, and not drink much water.  When changing foods, the cat may experience diarrhea so change foods slowly and gradually.  Start with just a bit of the new food mixed in with the old.  Over the next two weeks or so, slowly increase the amount of the new food and decrease the amount of the old food.

Once you have chosen a food, the next question is: How often should I feed? Free feeding (leaving food out all day) is the most convenient, but can result in stale food, and makes it difficult to use food as a bribe (for medication or training). It is also difficult to regulate the amount of food that the cat takes in (see section on obesity). Canned food should not be left out for more than 30 minutes because it will dry out.

Scheduled feedings are a bit less convenient, but make it easier to keep track of how much food the cat is eating. Also, if there are multiple cats with different diet requirements, scheduled feeding is the best way to go.

What about a bowl? Stay away from plastic. Cats can develop allergies to plastic, and tiny scratches on the bowl will harbor bacteria. Stainless steel, glass or ceramic are the best types to go with. Food bowls should be washed daily.

You should have one food bowl per cat, but several cats can share the same water bowl. Again, steel, glass and ceramic are the best. The water bowl should be washed and changed daily.

Where to feed? Keep the food and water bowls away from the cat's litter boxes. Cats in general prefer to eat and drink as far away from their litter boxes as possible. Cats also need to feel safe and relaxed to enjoy a meal, so feed in a quiet, low traffic area.

For more information on nutrition and commercial pet food, check out Dr. Pitcairn's Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, and Foods Pets Die For (more details on these and other books are available on the cat resources page.