As all cat lovers, we want to feed our feline bosses a healthy, species appropriate diet. But...finding a good food for your kitty may take a bit of detective work. Discounting advertising slogans such as "Wholesome" and "Recommended by veterinarians" along with the deceptive, yet legal, labels that allow "meat" to be the number 1 ingredient even though it is far down the list.

Unfortunately there are a number of ingredients in cat food that not only do not belong there, they can be detrimental to your cat.

Pet food companies go through some effort to make you believe that grains are "wholesome" for your pet. The truth is that grains are implicated with a slew of health problems. Grains are also not part of a cat's natural diet.

One of the worst ingredients in pet food is corn. It irritates the bowel, it is highly allergy producing and it has a high glycemic index.

I high glycemic index means that after your cat eats food containing corn, her blood sugar levels will raise. Cats do not have the necessary enzymes and hormones deal with an absolute onslaught of sugar in the blood. Cats are designed to get their energy from protein, not from carbohydrates.

While the diet of a wild cat contains approximately 3-5% carbs, many commercial kibbles contain 30-60% carbs. 10-20 TIMES the normal amount.

After eating a meal of kibble your cat's blood sugar level will spike because the body is not equipped to handle all those carbs.

The elevation in blood sugar is taxing for vital organs such as kidneys and liver. It taxes and exhausts the endocrine system. After time, the pancreas is unable to keep up and feline diabetes is a not uncommon end result.

Corn is also implicated in feline obesity. Cats do not register full from carbohydrates like we do. They register full from eating protein. In order to get their protein needs satisfied, the cat has to eat more food, thus becoming obese after ingesting foods rich in corn.

Switching your cat to a grain-less food frequently reverses diabetes, even if insulin has been given for some time. (A switch should be done ONLY with the cooperation of your vet, while monitoring blood glucose levels in order to prevent your cat's blood sugar to go too low which can be deadly.)

A grain free food for your dog or cat will make a real improvement in their health.