My cat prefers grain-free food. Is it truly bad for her heart?

They are starting to see a link of grain free food and heart disease, mainly in golden retrievers. I would recommend gradually switching off until they know exactly what brands is causing it. I cannot say if it will give your cat heart disease but I wouldn't risk it. There is still not enough information but a lot of warnings right now. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It could be that food that is causing this behavior. While cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they have to have meat in their diet, grains are actually beneficial to them. They provide a source of energy in their diet, and helps them feel full. By feeding Jazz a grain free food, you are taking that source of energy away and that could be why he's now eating paper and peas. He's looking for that extra source of energy. Grain free diets are actually a fad and a marketing ploy, and in truth, grain allergies are extremely rare. There is no scientific research that I am aware of that proves grain free diets are beneficial at all to animals who do not have this very rare grain allergy. I recommend putting Jazz back on the food you had him on before if it contained grains, or putting him on a diet with grains. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. You can get an indoor cat version of these foods, which will be lower calorie and help him maintain a healthy weight. You can also feed a mix of dry and wet food. Wet food has a higher moisture content, and thus fewer calories. I hope this helps!

Grain free diets are not recommended. They are marketing hype to cater to owners that think grains are bad for dogs. They are not. These grain free diets have been linked to causing heart disease in dogs. Please do not feed these diets. ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/health/grain-free-dog-food-heart-disease.html ) If you need a nutritional consult you should speak to your vet. That is what they are there for. There is no "best " diet. Diets are subjective. Each vet has their favorites. It doesn't mean one is better than another.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Copper. I do not recommend feeding a grain free diet. You are correct that some of these diets have been linked to heart disease. Furthermore, most of these diets are higher in carbohydrates and calories. This can lead to unnecessary weight gain. I recommend a well balanced puppy food from a reputable company. Depending on his projected adult size, you may consider a large breed formula. I personally recommend Purina Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin as they put an extensive amount of research into their diets. They have veterinarians on staff and perform feeding trials on dogs as opposed to laboratory analysis. These are benefits small boutique pet food company just cannot provide. I hope this information helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If the study you are talking about is referring to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) in large breed dogs, I believe the correlation they are making is between grain-free diets and the development of DCM. Grain-free diets are very trendy right now, and there is NO benefit to feeding your dog a grain-free diet. Many small pet food companies are not well regulated for quality control, and oftentimes the nutritional information they provide on the bag is nowhere near what is actually in the food. Legumes and potatoes can be substitutes for grains, but they lack many of the essential nutrients that grains provide to dogs. This lack of specific nutrients can make dogs, especially large breeds, more prone to developing heart disease. I recommend feeding your dog a food formulated for adult large breed maintenance. Excellent brands are those like Hills, Royal Canin, Purina, and Blue Buffalo. These larger pet food companies are very well-regulated and nutritionally balanced for dogs. I hope this is helpful!

It sounds promising that she has started to improve. She would be very unlikely to get fatty liver as they really do have to starve for some time, however it is not impossible. The issue with cats is their fussiness, she could be very stubborn about not eating it. You could try heating it or adding a little chicken or tuna to make it more appealing. If she diesnt eat it by tomorrow give her some chicken on its own. If she hasnt started to eat it over the weekend I would discuss with your primary vet to try and find another path. You may have to gradually add it to her 'bad' food but discuss this first! Good luck.

In general, it is not recommended to feed dogs a grain free diet unless they are known to have a grain allergy (which is very uncommon). There are many misconceptions about pet nutrition circulating. While the link is not yet understood and has multiple factors, something about the grain free diets may be allowing heart disease to develop in certain dogs. I recommend to feed a high quality brand with a good reputation and minimal problems with food recalls. The brand I like the most is Royal Canin. They conduct feeding trials to measure the digestibility of their diets. Most pets who eat this brand have excellent coat and stool quality. They also tend to produce minimal stool which is a sign the diet does not contain fillers and is highly digestible. I also recommend Nutro and Purina Pro Plan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.