[Nepeta]

I found a book on Raising Cats Naturally by Michelle Bernard. She adds certain supplements to pure meat, some ground and some just chunked.

A very wise animal nutritionist I once knew--a real nutritionist--would ask, "What is natural?" Indeed. Natural for cats is small animals and birds, but that diet is not without problems, and the animals who subsist in this manner don't live very long compared to indoor cats.

Again, I don't think I'm too stupid to feed myself and make choices, and I don't think I'm too stupid to feed my cats decently.

The last time I checked, there was a major difference between stupidity and wisdom. Stupidity is the inability to understand or process information. Wisdom is the acquisition and integration of information, and putting it to practical use.

However, cats are supposed to eat meat, not grains. Why must we be afraid to feed animals unless our choices are vetted by some "expert"?

Because science, real science, is not a philosophical exercise. Nutrition is a matter of chemistry and biology. The need for taurine in the feline diet was not determined by pondering the matter, nor was the fact that cats are indeed obligate carnivores, but by feeding trials. That's the way real nutrition is done.

[pbmaltzman]

Because science, real science, is not a philosophical exercise. Nutrition is a matter of chemistry and biology. The need for taurine in the feline diet was not determined by pondering the matter, nor was the fact that cats are indeed obligate carnivores, but by feeding trials. That's the way real nutrition is done.

I'm more than somewhat leery of "experts." "Experts" are the ones, complete with fancy degrees to "certify" them, who have given us the "low-fat"/high-carb hysteria for the last several decades. It looks to me as if paleo (low-carb and higher fat) does better things for people.

It's also "experts" who have foisted statins on us, with which I totally disagree.

And while I'm glad that surgery has advanced to the point where scary operations such as bypass and valve replacement can be routine, I find it horrible that so many people "need" them. There are also major questions about whether people live much longer after undergoing these operations.

Again, I'm not too stupid to feed myself, and I'm not too stupid to read about cat nutrition and figure that out.