Surprising research on health risks

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Mollycat
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Surprising research on health risks

Post by Mollycat »

I stumbled on an interesting research review paper, it's old from 2008 but interesting as it challenges some of the widely held beliefs about how we care for our beloved cats and the health risks our decisions put to them. Health risks looked at are really obesity and diabetes.

I've added the link for anyone interested to read the detail but here's a broad summary of key points:

- Carbs are not necessarily evil, but what form they are in could be important ie sugars vs starches and grain vs flour

- HIgh fat food seems to be more of a health risk than high carb in the way it affects blood sugar

- Indoor only and inactive cats are at higher risk

- Dry vs wet food, dry alone or wet alone can be a health risk but a mix of both is better

- Grazing cats may be at less risk of obesity and diabetes than large meal gobblers

In short, this paper found no significant risk to cat health from dry foods or carbohydrates but did find that keeping cats indoors increased the risk of obesity and diabetes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... cvj49pg561
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