New Years resolutions for all

Doodah - ready for
the New Year

I've always hated the smug diet and health advice that states, "Eat less, exercise more." How can something so simple be so hard? Well, now our cats need to live by this paradox too.

The Chicago Tribune reports disturbing news that our cats are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at increasing rates. The largest suspect for cause is overfeeding, with a focus on dry cat foods that are higher in carbohydrate and lower in protein content. An important point made is that while humans and dogs are omnivores (eating both plants and animals), cats are pure carnivores. The more protein in their diet, the better.

In addition to diet, exercise is important too. In nature, these nocturnal predators roam and hunt during the night. It's estimated that for every 30 to 40 attempts at catching prey, they succeed only four or five times. That's significant exercise they don't get now as they stay in the house with us.

If your cat is overweight, check out your cat food labels for protein content. As an example, the article talks about Catkins, a food that is 3 percent carbohydrate, 55 to 60 percent protein and the rest fat. It's based on the nutritional value cats would get from eating mice. Yum.

There's also value in wiggling strings and other games that will get them to move around, even when you don't.

And if you'd like to learn more about cat diabetes, check out http://yourdiabeticcat.com, a site run by Elizabeth Hodgkins, a veterinarian practicing in Yorba Linda, California.