Saloni Nagar 
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc. & A.H., PGDAW Cats process protein in a distinctive way. Their liver maintains relatively high activity of enzymes that break down amino acids, even when dietary protein intake falls. Unlike many other species, cats have a limited ability to reduce the activity of certain amino-acid-processing … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc. & A.H., PGDAW Cats cannot produce enough niacin (vitamin B3) from tryptophan to meet their dietary needs. One important reason is an enzyme called picolinic carboxylase, which diverts a key intermediate in the metabolic pathway away from niacin production. As a result, niacin is a … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc. & A.H., PGDAW Cats have a limited ability to convert beta-carotene into vitamin A. Unlike many other mammals, cats cannot rely on this conversion to meet their vitamin A needs. They require a dietary source of preformed vitamin A, which their bodies can use directly. … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW If your cat’s coat has lost some of its usual shine, you may start wondering whether the food provides the nutrients your cat needs. Iron and zinc are essential trace minerals in feline nutrition, and researchers have investigated how these and other minerals interact … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW Copper is essential for normal pigmentation in cats, but there is no confirmed evidence that dark-coated cats need more dietary copper than lighter-coated cats. Copper supports tyrosinase, a copper-dependent enzyme involved in melanin production. However, that biological role does not prove that a copper … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW Cats are famous for turning away from foods that humans find irresistible. Offer a lick of frosting, a spoonful of ice cream, or a taste of birthday cake. Most cats will sniff it once and walk away. Dogs, by contrast, may go to great … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW 7-dehydrocholesterol is the compound humans and dogs use to convert UV light into vitamin D3. Cats do not rely on sun exposure for this process. Instead, they must get vitamin D directly from their food. This is a basic biological difference, not a matter … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW Whether an obese cat needs vitamin supplements depends entirely on which specific nutrients are deficient. That can only be determined through veterinary testing, not by symptoms or guesswork alone. Giving fat-soluble vitamin supplements without a confirmed deficiency carries a real toxicity risk because these … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW An obese cat needs food that is higher in protein quality, not just protein percentage, along with adequate levels of taurine (an amino acid cats cannot produce enough of on their own), L-carnitine, choline, and fat-soluble vitamins. These nutrients need to be delivered in … Read more
By Saloni Nagar, Medically Reviewed by Dr. Jimisha Shah, B.V.Sc & A.H., PGDAW If your cat has been carrying extra weight for a while, you may already suspect that being obese and being well-fed are not the same thing. The biological reason for this gap is rarely explained in plain language. Obesity changes a cat’s nutritional requirements … Read more