Wellness CORE Grain-Free Indoor Cat Food

Cats are obligate carnivores, and high protein reflects that

Unlike dogs, cats have hard dietary requirements that come only from animal sources:

That is why a high animal protein content in a cat food is a coherent formulation choice rather than a marketing angle, and it is also why vegetarian cat food is not a reasonable option and home-cooked cat diets go wrong far more often than home-cooked dog diets.

What an indoor formula changes, and what it cannot

Indoor cat foods typically reduce calories per serving and add fibre to move swallowed hair through the gut.

The calorie part is the one that matters. Indoor cats are less active, and feline obesity is strongly associated with diabetes, arthritis and a shorter life.

What the food cannot do is replace portion control. A cat free-fed from a permanently full bowl of indoor formula will still gain weight. The food is one lever; the feeding routine is the other, and the routine is the stronger of the two.

The dry food and water question

This is the most useful thing to understand about feeding cats, and it applies whichever dry food you buy.

Cats descend from desert animals with a weak thirst drive, adapted to take most of their water from prey. A cat on dry food alone takes in far less total water than one eating wet food and does not fully compensate by drinking more. Low water intake is part of the picture in feline lower urinary tract disease and in the kidney problems common in older cats.

This is not an argument against dry food, which is convenient, keeps well and is cheaper. It is an argument for either including wet food in the routine, or making water easy and attractive — several water points around the house, away from the food bowl and away from the litter tray, and a fountain if your cat prefers moving water.

If your cat is male, has ever strained in the litter box, or has a urinary history, discuss it with your vet.

Grain-free in cats, honestly

The FDA's diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy investigation from 2018 concerned dogs. The picture in cats is much less studied, and taurine-deficient DCM in cats is a historically well-understood problem that led to mandatory taurine supplementation decades ago.

Grain-free in cat food is largely a marketing category. Cats are carnivores and grain was never a large part of a well-formulated cat food to begin with; removing it changes less than the label suggests, because the starch that binds kibble is replaced with legumes or potato either way.

Grain allergy in cats is uncommon. The more frequently reported feline food allergens are proteins — fish, beef, dairy and chicken among them.

Hairballs, and what fibre does

Added fibre helps swallowed hair pass through the gut rather than coming back up. It works, modestly.

Brushing works better, and for a long-haired cat it does far more than any food.

Worth knowing: frequent vomiting is not normal in cats. "Just hairballs" is a common misattribution, and a cat vomiting weekly should see a vet — inflammatory bowel disease, food intolerance, hyperthyroidism and other conditions present this way.

Switching a cat's food, carefully

Cats need longer transitions than dogs, and there is a medical reason to take it seriously: a cat that stops eating altogether for a few days can develop hepatic lipidosis, a serious liver condition, and overweight cats — precisely the population being switched to a weight-control food — are at higher risk.

Transition over ten to fourteen days. If your cat refuses, go back to the old food and try again more gradually. Never wait a cat out.

Cats are also far more neophobic than dogs. A cat that refuses a new food is behaving normally, not being difficult.

Who should look elsewhere

If your cat has a urinary history, diet is a veterinary conversation and therapeutic diets exist for it. If your cat is significantly overweight, a structured plan with your vet beats switching bags, because cats must lose weight slowly. And if your cat vomits regularly, see a vet rather than buying a hairball formula.