Bravery666 said:
Long story short the cat food I give my cats, Acana, has recently came out with new kibble that is replacing their original recipe. The problem with this is that the amount of meat in their products is going down from 85% to 65-75%. I noticed with my cats that they are much more hungrier when eating the 65% products, so I am wondering if the amount of meat corellates with hunger. Now to add to that is that my one cat is on a diet bc he is overweight; however both cats are hungry when I feed them the recommended amount for their weight. Another thing to is that I found that my overweight cat's fur is more matte rather then smooth.
Hunger could correlate with the protein content, but I also think the flavor additives are more to blame. Some brands aren't as shitty as others, which can explain the differences. The flavor additive is that powdery crap they put all over the kibble balls. The kibble itself is just random ingredients they put together (normally way too many carbs, poor protein choice, and other unnatural-to-cat ingredients like veggies/fruits) then they nuke the shit out of it when they cook it. They then spray a flavor additive on top, just like Doritos and other junk food has. This flavor additive is addictive on human foods, let alone pet food products.
The average cat food brand is pretty terrible; it is like the equivalent of McDonald's for humans. Unfortunately, the better quality brands also cost more. You will notice they have all around better ingredients and compositions. Some even organic or cage-free meat options. I think if you spend a little more than the base products you can get a decently quality food without breaking the bank.
As far as your cat's fur composition, this can be due to the cat's constitution. If you think it is unhealthy or lusterless, this can be due to the diet. It is likely also due to dehydration. Cat's normally get their water from their prey itself, not from water bowls. So while they do drink out of the dish, their actual thirst drive is not strong enough to fully quench them. This results in chronic, low-level dehydration in cats. The solution to this is wet food. I have found that the most basic wet food, due to its nature, still has a decent ingredient composition and meat percentage, compared to dry food. This could therefore solve both problems at once.
Lastly, you will want to change your cat's feeding arrangement to a slow-feeder option. You can find some bowls on Amazon that are pretty good, and there are versions you can craft at home. One example is to use an egg carton, then slowly reduce the amount of food in it so it gets harder for them to eat fast. You can then work your way up to puzzle feeders that require the cat to perform more complicated actions.
Your cat will whine, at first, when switched to a more work-intensive feeding arrangement, but all cats will adjust, especially when they get hungry enough. Puzzle/slow feeders promote the natural hunt for food that both cats and dogs used to normally have. These feeding arrangements help treat depression, boredom, digestive issues, obesity, etc because they make the cat work for its food and allow their stomach's time to accept food over a more natural interval.
Btw, don't forget to clean their aura's. You shouldn't have to go out of your way to do this, instead just take a few minutes when you would otherwise be spending time with them.