'I don't feed stray cats,' she said, implying that the animals were hungry.
I have also learned not to feed hungry cats that find their way to the back door. We all know that giving food to cats is like giving money to most charities. They will soon be back looking for more, making you feel guilty if you refuse. Resident cats can become involved in territorial disputes. When I brought Sherpa to the vet to have her badly infected and almost detached tail amputated, I was told that tooth marks were visible suggesting another cat had been the culprit.
The cost of feeding a cat has risen by a rate greatly exceeding the rate of inflation. A 100g tray of the only brand of cat food Sherpa will eat costs over 50p per day, and a cat needs at least two trays a day. Per kilo this food, which contains about 4% chicken and 4% rabbit, costs around the same as the cheaper pot-luck minced beef sold by our local butchers. When it is first opened it usually has an appetising aroma, but very quickly - within minutes - the smell deteriorates. Our pair of resident magpies are the recipients of Sherpa's leftovers.
I'm left wondering whether the 8% refers to the dry or wet weight of the meat because, elsewhere on the tray it is stated that the food contains 10% protein and 81% moisture. Food composition tables show that chicken is made up of approximately 20% protein and cooked rabbit (assuming it can be compared to beef) about 25%. The mysterious brownish matrix must contribute the remainder of the protein.
When I look at the nutrition information on the back of a packet of dehydrated nuggets which both cats occasionally eat, I become even more confused. Kibbles contain 4% cereal and 4% animal or plant derivatives, but a massive 32% protein. If anyone from Mars (the makers of chocolate bars and cat food rather than inhabitants of the planet) happens to read this, could they possibly enlighten me?
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