Weight comes down to calories in versus calories out, so if we're feeding a full calorie count with cat food and then adding human foods on top, we will end up with an overweight kitty. However, if we're being aware of how many calories are going into our kitty each day, and maybe reducing some of the kibble when we want to give a little treat with some boiled chicken or something like that, that's fine. You just want to be aware that some foods are maybe not the best for cats. Limit the amount of dairy they take in because sometimes they're not tolerant of dairy. I would also not feed anything that's high salt or high fat, as that could cause stomach upset.

He's not missing something in his diet, but he may be missing something in his mental stimulation or enrichment. It's a very natural behavior for cats to hunt—that's really what they're built for. And when you think about cats in feral situations or in the wild, most cats will eat anywhere from 10 to 20 tiny meals a day. And they spend almost their entire waking time hunting because some of those hunting adventures are not always successful. When we think about cats getting some enrichment, if you have a cat that goes outdoors and can do so safely, then hunting is an excellent opportunity for them—provided they're not significantly affecting our local wildlife populations, especially songbirds. That's something to keep in mind. But we can also mimic this sort of enrichment with certain toys and puzzle feeders and things like that in the house or other safe environments.

If your cat has a health problem that your vet recommended a prescription diet for, then yes. Otherwise, prescription diets are suited for specific medical conditions. And so there's no health benefit to your average, young, healthy cat to eat, say, a kidney diet or liver diet. They may become unhealthy in those circumstances because certain nutrients are limited in those diets. And so we wouldn't want to feed them without a true recommendation from your veterinarian.

I wouldn't say it's more nutritious. There are some advantages to it. Wet food has a higher moisture content. It is also often higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates, which is more similar in makeup to small rodents and other things cats might eat in a more natural environment. I think that many kitties can maintain weight better on wet food diets, and they also get higher moisture and therefore stay better hydrated. But in terms of just baseline nutrition, a cat should be able to maintain a dry food diet if that's what is best for your lifestyle or your cat's lifestyle.

Sadly, no. Cats are what are considered obligate carnivores, meaning that they need to have a meat-based diet. That's different from dogs that are considered omnivorous, so they have a lot more variety in their diet. Cats need to eat a primarily meat-based diet. That being said, we also need to keep in mind that it needs to be a balanced diet, so just throwing some meat chunks at your cat every day is not going to work out. And we'll talk about that more later, but we want to look for a meat-based diet balanced by a veterinary nutritionist and comes from high-quality commercial pet food.