4 ms·

My extended family has always had a ton of cats, and I don’t remember the last one that was seriously ill without it being due to old age. Most of them were “ou

My extended family has always had a ton of cats, and I don’t remember the last one that was seriously ill without it being due to old age. Most of them were “outdoor cats” in a small country town. Is there something in modern cats’ diet / habits that makes them more susceptible to disease? These concerns read like hypochondria, coming from this background.

drakonka 5y ago
I wouldn't call something hypochondria just because I personally haven't had to deal with it. It's really great that you've never had this issue and I hope you never have to, but if we're going by anecdotes, there are several in this very thread from people who have. Diet can be a contributing factor, yes. I mention it a bit in this comment, with a link to a journal issue that talks about these issues in dogs and cats, including some information on frequency and contributing factors: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29864189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29864189
reaperducer 5y ago
Since we're trading anecdotes... My experience with six cats over the last 25 years is that the outdoor cats lived much longer and got sick less than my inside cats. I have no idea why, but i don't think it's diet, because they've all eaten the same food.
- mdpye 5y ago
  > they've all eaten the same food Heh, that's what you think... Ever watched one of those lighthearted documentaries where they GPS tag and attach cameras to a whole neighbourhood's cats? They mostly wandered around eating each other's food :D
- 3np 5y ago
  Just like with humans, exercise is a major factor in health. Outdoor cats generally get way more. Another factor for this observation (that I also made) could be genetics - generally "pure-bred" (aka more likely to suffer from disease linked to genetic factors) are more likely to be strictly-indoors while outdoor cats are more often "mongrels".
  - reaperducer 5y ago
    In my case, they were all mongrels, except for the current one, who is an indoor cat. Fingers crossed!
JohnBooty 5y ago
I don't know about the indoor/outdoor thing w.r.t. UTI incidence in particular. But for those of us not living in small country towns, outdoor cats are not generally a viable option so it's all about giving them the best indoor life. Generally speaking, indoor cats tend to live much longer. Generally they make it well into their teens. Of course it all depends I guess. Indoor/outdoor cats living in an ideal rural situation probably have the happiest and healthiest lives of all. (Although, of course, depending on local fauna they may eat a lot of birds, so there's that cost to consider too...)
mancerayder 5y ago
Doesn't a urinary infection cause that? For an indoor cat, I strongly suspect there's a problem with canned food sometimes. When I had a cat a long while back, every so often you'd open a can of cat food and it'd have worms, or the cat would (after being extremely excited as you were opening the can), sniff and propel himself away from the food. You'd look and notice it was off (like it had something crawling in it).
- 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
  Wait, cat food is not pasteurised and sealed in the tin?
  - jimmygrapes 5y ago
    It should be, but there's likely not the same level of quality control as there would be with food for litigious and/or cautious humans.
trhway 5y ago
>Is there something in modern cats’ diet / habits that makes them more susceptible to disease? The cheap supermarket dog/cat food can hardly be called a food. It is an epitome of bottom line optimization. Grain and the "by-products" - frequently the 1st/2nd ingredients - which is hides/hooves/beaks/horns/etc. flooded with industrial chemicals back at the China's giga-meat-factories and powdered.

drakonka 5y ago

I wouldn't call something hypochondria just because I personally haven't had to deal with it. It's really great that you've never had this issue and I hope you never have to, but if we're going by anecdotes, there are several in this very thread from people who have. Diet can be a contributing factor, yes. I mention it a bit in this comment, with a link to a journal issue that talks about these issues in dogs and cats, including some information on frequency and contributing factors: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29864189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29864189

reaperducer 5y ago

Since we're trading anecdotes... My experience with six cats over the last 25 years is that the outdoor cats lived much longer and got sick less than my inside cats. I have no idea why, but i don't think it's diet, because they've all eaten the same food.

mdpye 5y ago
> they've all eaten the same food Heh, that's what you think... Ever watched one of those lighthearted documentaries where they GPS tag and attach cameras to a whole neighbourhood's cats? They mostly wandered around eating each other's food :D
3np 5y ago
Just like with humans, exercise is a major factor in health. Outdoor cats generally get way more. Another factor for this observation (that I also made) could be genetics - generally "pure-bred" (aka more likely to suffer from disease linked to genetic factors) are more likely to be strictly-indoors while outdoor cats are more often "mongrels".
- reaperducer 5y ago
  In my case, they were all mongrels, except for the current one, who is an indoor cat. Fingers crossed!

JohnBooty 5y ago

I don't know about the indoor/outdoor thing w.r.t. UTI incidence in particular. But for those of us not living in small country towns, outdoor cats are not generally a viable option so it's all about giving them the best indoor life. Generally speaking, indoor cats tend to live much longer. Generally they make it well into their teens. Of course it all depends I guess. Indoor/outdoor cats living in an ideal rural situation probably have the happiest and healthiest lives of all. (Although, of course, depending on local fauna they may eat a lot of birds, so there's that cost to consider too...)

mancerayder 5y ago

Doesn't a urinary infection cause that? For an indoor cat, I strongly suspect there's a problem with canned food sometimes. When I had a cat a long while back, every so often you'd open a can of cat food and it'd have worms, or the cat would (after being extremely excited as you were opening the can), sniff and propel himself away from the food. You'd look and notice it was off (like it had something crawling in it).

2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
Wait, cat food is not pasteurised and sealed in the tin?
- jimmygrapes 5y ago
  It should be, but there's likely not the same level of quality control as there would be with food for litigious and/or cautious humans.

trhway 5y ago

>Is there something in modern cats’ diet / habits that makes them more susceptible to disease? The cheap supermarket dog/cat food can hardly be called a food. It is an epitome of bottom line optimization. Grain and the "by-products" - frequently the 1st/2nd ingredients - which is hides/hooves/beaks/horns/etc. flooded with industrial chemicals back at the China's giga-meat-factories and powdered.