Best cat food for indoor cats: urinary health, sterilised cats and what the label should say

The best cat food for indoor cats is not a flavour, it is a set of numbers. Indoor cats move less, are usually sterilised, drink less than they should and live longer than their outdoor cousins. A dry food built for them controls fat, protects the urinary tract and delivers the nutrients cats cannot make themselves. Here is what to look for, and how the three Bitesy Essentials Cat recipes cover it.

Urinary health: the indoor cat's weak point

Concentrated urine and a sedentary life are the two main risk factors for the crystals and cystitis vets treat every week. A food can help by keeping the urinary pH in the right range and by encouraging water intake. The Essentials Cat chicken urinary formula is built for this: 35% chicken, including 5% fresh chicken hydrolysate for palatability, at 29% protein and 12% fat. Pair it with a wet food or a water fountain and you have covered the two biggest levers.

Sterilised cats: same appetite, fewer calories

Neutering lowers a cat's energy needs by around a quarter while leaving its appetite untouched, which is why so many sterilised cats are overweight by the age of three. The herring formula for sterilised cats answers this with 26.5% protein and 10.5% fat, so a normal-looking portion carries fewer calories, and with herring as a fish protein cats find easy to digest.

Eyes, digestion and the everyday recipe

For an indoor cat without specific issues, the chicken and fish formula is the all-rounder: 30% chicken and 4% fish, 27% protein, 10.5% fat, with taurine for the eyes and heart and beet pulp and carob for digestion. It is also the recipe to choose for a household with several cats of different ages.

Taurine, always

Every Bitesy Essentials Cat recipe is supplemented with taurine, the amino acid cats cannot make enough of and without which heart and eye disease follow. It is not optional in a complete cat food, and it is the first thing to check if you ever consider a food that is not labelled complete. There is a full article on taurine in cat food on this blog.

Do's and don'ts for indoor cats

• Do measure the daily amount; free-feeding is how indoor cats gain weight.
• Do add water to the diet: a can of Essentials Cat wet food a day, or a fountain.
• Don't give milk; most adult cats are lactose intolerant.
• Do use food to make the cat work: a puzzle feeder or a scattered portion turns eating into exercise.
• Don't ignore a cat that strains in the litter tray or visits it repeatedly; that is a same-day vet visit.