What are the Benefits of Feeding Your Cat Natural Organic Food?
Just like humans, your cat needs a healthy diet. This thus makes feeding your cats so complicated. Therefore, trying to find the healthiest lifestyle for your cat involves many questions and a lot of research. Such questions may include whether you can trust commercial pet food to be fully nutritious or whether organic cat food is a better choice.
What is Organic Cat Food
Organic food may make us think of food that has been grown naturally or simply without chemicals. However, the terms ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ have subtle differences. We thus have to understand what is organic to be able to pin down exactly what you can expect when you buy organic food for your cat. It’s a good idea to have a grasp of what you should be looking for before you go out there to get your cat a healthy mean, don’t you think? Walk this brief journey with us:
Basically, organic cat food refers to the food that is produced without the use of pesticides for the control of pests and weeds. The use of such chemicals can cause a lot of damage to the environment and beyond. The following are some of the greatest criticisms surrounding the use of pesticides which you should definitely have in mind:
- By definition, they are toxic. They, therefore, can devastate local biodiversity by endangering local species and affecting the balance of the food chain.
- They often reach to water sources, spreading the toxic effect to other areas beyond the intended pasture. This means that they may destroy crops and the animals in and along the water sources that entirely depend on these sources for growth and nourishment.
- They may pose a health risk to humans especially when you drink water contaminated by these excess pesticides, and other consumers, such as to our beautiful cats when they consume products or even water that is contaminated by the toxic components in the pesticides.
Did you know that you could have all along been feeding your cat with unhealthy foods? Well, we don’t all know everything that is right for our pet’s health because of the galore of available options on cat feeds. In the same line, many studies have actually found that non-organic human foods, while having more traces of pesticides, do not usually present to be harmful.
Why don’t we proceed to the rules and definitions for organic food as established and determined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)? They have determined that organic food is:
- Crops grown in a field that have been free of pesticides for a minimum of three years.
- Livestock that is fed on organic crops, are reared with access to the outside, and are not given antibiotics or growth hormones.
It’s therefore only natural produce that meets these standards that can be labelled ‘organic.’ However, many people and cat owners are ridded by the question of how many organic ingredients are needed for an entire product to be termed as being organic. Here’s what we have for you:
For cat food, the Association of American Feed Control has created four distinct categories of organic food. These are:
#1 – 100% organic
For any food to be 100% organic, none of it should have had contact with pesticides during the growing and rearing process.
#2 – Organic
An ‘organic’ product is not 100% organic. However, you’ll not be far off with your organic stash, as only foods that are at least 95% organic can be given this label.
#3 – Made with Organic
This label is given to food that uses more than 70% organic ingredients and less than 95%, which is still reasonably high, depending on how organic you wish it to be.
Less than 70% Organic
Other foods can describe themselves as less than 70% organic, which is exactly what it says on the tin. However, here you should be pretty careful because food that is 1% organic and one that is 69% can have the same label, so watch out.
Benefits
In trying to understand the term ‘organic,’ it is useful, to ultimately want to know why you should be making a switch to organic cat food. By now you perhaps already have your reasons why you’d want to go organic, and we’re just here to guide you through it. There are essentially two key arguments for making the switch to organic cat food:
- Go moral?
We can all agree that pesticides are bad for local biodiversity. Unfortunately, possible alternatives such as handpicking for the removal of pests and weeds in our farms, crops and even stock, are time-consuming and costly in terms of finances and labor. This is a thorny issue with passionate voices on both sides.
If you think about it, anyways, a major benefit for buying organic cat food is that you know for certain that you are not contributing to the destruction of wildlife through the introduction of toxic chemicals. Organically reared animals are also often more ethically treated, with access to the outside for fresh air and exercise.
- Go healthy?
Most act owners, and probably you too, are most motivated by this factor to switch your cat’s feeds to organic. The benefits of organic cat foods for your cat are therefore not disputable. Many articles like to argue that your cat will have a longer life, a shinier coat, and better digestion once they are free of chemicals in the normal cat food; which are relatively true.
It is a scientific fact, that would do you some good to know, that there are significantly fewer pesticides found in organic food than non-organic food, so if you have concerns about the effects that these chemicals may have on your cat, try to switch to organic cat food.
Why Organic Cat Food is Better
Conclusively, while organic cat foods may be slightly costlier than regular cat foods, they bag with them a load of benefits and good for your cat, things you’d want to have for your cat’s health and continued happiness. Consider it a worthy investment, and something both you and your kitty will be happy about. We present to you organic cat foods with so much confidence that the information on their benefits and why you should choose them over non-organic cat foods will help you take your cat’s diet to a whole new and desirable level.
