I don't recommend supplements. The reason being that pet foods are balanced, and if we give supplements, we can cause an imbalance as far as nutritional supplements and vitamins go. If you're going to give a supplement to your cat, try some canned food, if you're not doing that already. It's like giving them water. A water fountain also encourages more water intake for cats. Then your Pounds treats are okay for good behavior and kitty cat enrichment. But, unless we've prescribed something, supplements aren't necessary if you have good quality cat food.

That canned food is not good for a cat. Canned food is good for enrichment and studies are showing cats do better with canned food added to their ration. At James, they used to say that dry food is better for their teeth, but most of the commercial pet foods disintegrate when any pressure is put on them. So there's doubt on whether they're benefiting the teeth unless they're prescription or certified food made for dental care. With dogs, we don't push canned food a lot, but with cats, we encourage it.

It's highly possible. You can free-choice feed, I don't have a problem with that, you just need to measure feed for each specific cat. It's hard to leave one bowl out for four cats because some will be thin and some won't.

Human food can make your cat overweight. Once again, it's all about calories. Also, cats are made for a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, so carbohydrates can add to obesity.

No, that's just natural cat behavior. They are hunters and tend not to have the scavenging ways as much as dogs do. It is a natural behavior for cats. They'll hunt bugs in your house, but that's just what cats do.

It depends on if your cat has a specific condition or disease that requires a prescription diet. Renal or kidney disease is very common in aging cats, so we put them on prescription diets for that. Those diets have, for instance, good quality and a bit less protein. It's not necessarily better but it is essential for cats with certain diseases.

Wet food isn't necessarily more nutritious. It contains 75% water, and cats are notoriously not big drinkers. They tend to drink less water than dogs. Consequently, they sometimes walk around a little bit dehydrated. So the wet food gives them extra water that they could use. It also gives them more enrichment as it resembles their natural diet because of the little chunks. Sometimes your cat will growl while eating the canned food, so I do think it’s more enriching. It adds to their fluid balance, which helps them with other diseases later on.

Nope. Cats can not eat vegetarian diets. Some scavengers would, but cats have to have meat because they are obligate carnivores. They cannot produce essential amino acids that are important for their heart and other health. They have to get it from meat. It's unfortunate for some people, but that is a reality.

Not necessarily better in quality, but if your dog is on a prescription diet, it usually has a medical need for that diet. The prescription diets are all of excellent quality. Are they better than the regular commercial diets? Not necessarily, but there's probably a reason we're asking the prescription to be fed. They're formulated differently for diabetes, kidney disease, all kinds of things. So it's maybe not appropriate that they eat an over-the-counter ration because of whatever disease they've been diagnosed with. It's almost like a heart diet. If you've been diagnosed with heart disease, you can't have salt and fat. They’ll put you on a prescription diet.

Not necessarily. Wet dog food is 75% water. It tends to be higher in fat than dry dog food, consequently, dogs love it. Is it more nutritious? Not necessarily. It has the same AFCO requirements as dry foods and they are nutritionally balanced. They're more expensive to feed. Because they're higher in fat, some dogs are going to have more intestinal upsets with them. Dogs really like them, so they tend to get more selective and picky about what they eat. Is it wrong? No. But for ease of feeding and cost and general gastrointestinal health, you're better off with dry foods and only feeding canned foods as a treat.

If you feel that your dog needs both, you can mix them. Some dogs become selective for the canned food and they hold out for it, but most dogs are happy with their good quality, dried ration. Often, they're getting other treats for positive reinforcement for good behavior. Canned foods aren't necessary, but it's not harmful to feed it to them unless you have certain breeds that are sensitive to intestinal upset. Diabetic animals shouldn't have canned rations.