yes Jericho eats mice.
he eats a mixture of ground whole carcass mouse, pinkie mice, and adult mice.
let's see how commercial cat food compares.
hey friends it's jess and jericho from caticles.com here to teach you how to feed your cat better.
this cat nutrition guide is based on the cat's natural prey. a mouse.
so here is the ground whole carcass mouse label.
we have 80% moisture, 11% protein, 6% fat, and 3% fiber.
if your cat's eating kibble, you've already lost.
the average moisture content in kibble is around 10%.
every type of kibble has very low moisture because it's cooked three times.
ingredient quality aside, kibble is not appropriate for cats because it's too low in moisture.
i've had many people tell me "but my cat drinks plenty of water"
but cats rely on food for moisture.
one mouse is 80% moisture.
this is an anatomy and physiology book that i read as part of my nutrition program.
and it says "mammals consist of about 70% water.
a loss of as little as 10% of its water can cause serious illness in most animals and
a 15% loss would be fatal without immediate treatment.
the amount of water that is needed daily by an animal in milliliters is equal to the amount
of its daily energy requirements in calories."
This is the NRC's pdf your cat's nutritional needs and it says for an adult cat weighing
9 pounds to maintain that weight would need to consume 250 calories daily.
250 milliliters is equal to 8.4 ounces.
so honestly, does your cat over 8 ounces of water each day?
water is also necessary for proper digestion.
so when you feed kibble, you're robbing the body even further from moisture that it needs.
wet and raw foods have a much higher moisture content ranging from 70-80%.
if you only take one thing from this video or my channel.
let it be this.
if youre feeding kibble, at the very least absolute minimum, transition from kibble to
wet food.
ANY wet food is better than kibble simply because there's an appropriate moisture content.
next we'll talk about the remaining guaranteed analysis numbers.
but we have to convert these numbers to a dry matter basis.
that means to remove moisture.
11% protein including 80% moisture is equal to 55% protein on a dry matter basis.
most kibbles don't reach this amount.
but if they do, the majority of that protein content comes from plant-based ingredients
instead of meat-based ingredients.
you'll have to learn how to read cat food labels properly to decipher the ingredients,
product name, and how to convert guaranteed analysis numbers to a dry matter basis.
I'll put my playlist for how to read cat food labels properly in the top right corner and
in the description below this video.
the only plant material in a mouse is the stomach contents. and that only equals about
2% of the entire meal.
however, most kibbles range from 25-50% carbohydrates.
many wet foods even have high amounts of carbohydrates on a dry matter basis.
this is why it's super important to learn how to read cat food labels the right way.
so what's the difference between meat-based protein and plant-based protein for cats?
going back to our anatomy and physiology book, it states "in fact, meat products contain
all of the essential amino acids for many species and are therefore called complete
proteins.
however, animal-based protein is more expensive than plant-based protein, so many pet foods
contain primarily plant-based proteins, such as soy.
cereals, rice, nuts, and legumes, such as beans, are protein rich, but their proteins
are nutritionally incomplete."
meat-based protein is much better for cats because it's a complete protein.
since many pet food companies use plant-based proteins aka incomplete proteins, they have
to use multiple sources of plant proteins to make it a complete meal.
they can't rely on only one source of plant-based protein.
pet food manufacturers may also add back amino acids into the food to complete the nutritional
profile.
the danger here is that cats aren't getting natural sources of this complete protein.
so the body has to do extra work during digestion.
this creates more work for the body and takes away from the body's natural ability to heal
itself.
now let's talk about fat something that everybody fears but shouldn't.
6% fat including 80% moisture is equal to 30% fat on a dry matter basis.
so the natural prey of cats is about 1/3 fat.
so why is animal fat important and how does it help our cats?
again, our anatomy and physiology book comes in handy.
it states "neutral fats are amazing.
they contain over twice as much potential energy by weight as proteins or carbohydrates.
fat is easily digestible, makes food taste good, staves off hunger for long periods of
time, and helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins a, d, e, and k.
stored, subcutaneous fat is an important insulator, and fat also surrounds and cushions vital
organs, such as the heart, kidneys, and eyes."
so if your cat is overweight, a low-fat diet doesn't really make sense.
there's birds out there.
fat provides twice as much energy when compared to protein and carbohydrates.
your cat needs fat to have energy to burn. of course we can't rely on exercise alone
if your cat needs to lose weight.
we also need to have a proper diet.
a good natural source of neutral fats is animal fat.
but of course the quality of that fat matters.
for example, many commercial cat foods just list "animal fat" which isn't descriptive.
it doesn't tell us which animal the fat comes from.
this is a dangerous mystery because it could be literally any type of animal.
instead, look for ingredients that list the exact sources.
for example turkey, turkey liver, turkey kidney, turkey spleen.
unfortunately, there are very few kibble and canned foods that list the exact sources of
each ingredient.
however, raw diets always list the exact source.
next we'll talk about fiber.
3% fiber including 80% moisture is equal to 15% fiber on a dry matter basis.
here we have half as much fiber than fat from our mouse.
here is feline nutrition foundation.
the question is "do cats need fiber in their diet?"
it states "Many commercial cat foods contain plant-derived fiber.
But, do cats need it?
The short answer is no.
Cats are obligate carnivores.
They do not require dietary fiber.
However, the natural diet of cats would consist of the whole prey, including fur, tendons,
bone collagen, ligaments and cartilage.
Most of these are not digested or are incompletely digested, so would function as fiber.
They would pass through the intestinal system as bulk and not be assimilated and may or
may not be fermented."
jericho is eating the whole carcass mouse so he's getting the fur, the collagen, and
all of the ligaments.
so his poops are very small and they don't stink.
"A study in 2012 on captive cheetahs determined that those fed a whole prey diet of rabbit
carcasses showed a more favorable fecal fatty acid profile than those fed beef meat plus
a vitamin/mineral supplement.
These findings suggest that a small amount of it is indeed beneficial in the feline diet
and may even be necessary for optimum gut health.
The question then becomes is plant-derived fiber an adequate substitute for what the
cat would consume in the wild?
High fiber may also decrease the secretion of pancreatic enzymes necessary for digestion
of protein.
Cats already have a lower amount of pancreatic enzymes than other mammals, so a high amount
in the cat's diet is likely to result in decreased absorption and assimilation of nutrients.
I have seen this in many cats fed a commercial prescription diet known to be high in fiber.
Their coats become dry and flaky and their stools become huge."
i've witnessed this a lot working as a cat sitter.
their litter box deposits were long, large, really stinky, and they looked like they were
difficult to pass.
"In addition, it has been touted as a way to get cats to lose weight.
However, most cats do not readily accept a high-fiber food as they naturally crave protein
and fat."
so again, we see that animal-based source ingredients are much better than plant-based
ingredients.
based on this information, the most natural diet containing the usable sources of energy
and nutrition is a properly balanced raw fresh meat-based diet.
if you're ready to switch to raw, check out this video right over meow.
thanks for watching!