If you have a cat, it’s very likely that you have first-hand experience with hairballs or trichobezoars, if you want to use the scientific name. While the hairball is a well-known phenomenon, the science around it isn't very developed, which leaves us, cat guardians, wondering what is normal or not. In this article, we will see what hairballs are and their causes, as well as how concerned you should be if your cat regularly throws up hairballs. Finally, we will investigate the possible remedies in the case of hairballs. What are hairballs? As you very well know, cats groom themselves by licki ..read more

Guest Article by Albert Colo from Outdoor Bengal Cats are curious, especially living inside the house. They don't have much entertainment, aside from what you give them. So anything new for them will be a different experience. Providing some adventure to your cat can increase activity, decrease mental stagnation and prevent different issues. An enriched environment will allow cats to create positive experiences in an open space. The goal is to create a safe and secure environment that provides conditions that ensure good health and welfare. Cats are Designed to Eat Meat and Thrive Outdoors Cat ..read more

After talking about the health issues of brachycephalic cats, like the Persian, and Scottish Fold cats, we are going to talk about another controversial breed: Munchkin cats. Munchkin cats, also called dwarf cats, have a genetic mutation causing them to have short legs. In this article, we will discuss what we know about their genetic mutation, their health, and if this breed can be considered ethical. The history of the breed Reports of cats with short legs were already present in 1944. However, the history of the Munchkin breed is more recent. In 1983, Sandra Hockenedel found a pregnant fem ..read more

Zinc is one of the minerals often said to be lacking in a raw diet. Today, I’m going to go into more detail about this, and see when you need to supplement it. I will explain what zinc is and its roles, how much zinc your cat needs, in which foods you can find it, and more! What is zinc and what are its roles? Like iron, manganese, and iodine, zinc is a micromineral or trace element. This means that it’s an inorganic element present in very small quantities in the body.  However, even if it’s present in small quantities, it doesn’t mean that zinc doesn’t have an important role in the bod ..read more

In the article “what my cats eat in a day”, I showed you an example of 3 daily meals for my cats. I mentioned that I supplemented iron in that diet. Today, I’m going to go into more detail about iron, as it’s an essential mineral for cats. I will explain what iron is and its roles, how much iron your cat needs, in which foods you can find it, and more! What is iron and its roles? Iron is a mineral or–more precisely–a micromineral, also called a trace element because it’s present in the body in very small amounts: generally 0.005% of the body weight. Iron is mainly a component of the protein m ..read more

Preparing a balanced homemade diet can be overwhelming: it requires some nutritional knowledge, and time for prepping and shopping for all the different ingredients. In this article, we are going to talk about meal completers which can greatly simplify the process and guesswork in a homemade diet. We are going to see what are the advantages, the drawbacks and a comparison between different meal completers. What's a meal completer? A meal completer is an all-in-one supplement made to balance a meat-only diet. As we have seen in a previous article, a diet made of only meat has several deficienc ..read more

This article is part of the series in which we explore the science of nutrition. In the previous article of the series, we talked about macronutrients: protein and fat. In today’s article, we are finally covering the last (and most disputed) one: carbohydrates. We will see what they are, what their role is, and some controversial subjects such as the benefits of low-carb diets. What are carbs? Carbohydrates are molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They generally have the formula Cm(H2O)n  which explains their name as “hydrated carbons”. Carbohydrates are the major components of ..read more

Turkish Angora and Norwegian Forest cats often get mixed up because they are both long-haired. You’ll see that, with a few tips, telling the two breeds apart is easy!   Disclaimer: The following tips will only help you to identify the two breeds based on visual cues. However, the only way to know for sure if a cat is a Norwegian Forest cat or a Turkish Angora is to check the cat’s pedigree! So, if your cat matches some of the following criteria, it does not necessarily make it a Norwegian Forest cat or a Turkish Angora. For example, just because your cat is long-haired, it doesn’t ..read more

People take more and more care of their cats and, especially, of their diet. For this reason, nutrition services have become very trendy and it can be challenging for pet parents to find a qualified professional. In this article, I will tell you what to look for and the red flags when looking for a pet nutritionist to formulate a homemade diet for your pets. Disclaimer: I am myself a feline nutritionist. This is my advice if you are looking to hire a colleague. You can find my services here. Who can be a nutritionist? In many countries such as the USA, France, some provinces of Canada, and A ..read more

Let’s keep exploring the micronutrients our cats need and how to supplement them (if needed). In this article, we are going to talk about manganese: what it is, why it’s important, and its sources, like the blue mussel or green tripe. What is manganese? Manganese, like iodine, is a mineral (an inorganic element) and—more precisely—a micromineral or trace element: it’s present in the body in very small amounts. To give you an idea of how small these amounts are, the body of a 4 kg cat (8.8 lbs) contains around 2.3 mg of manganese. Even if manganese is present in very small quantities in the di ..read more