What should you feed your cat?

Answer 1

I feed my cats a good brand of dry food for indoor cats.

Some people also provide a weekly can of "wet" food, but be careful until the recalls of those brands are settled (posted 4/07). Cats also do well with cooked chicken, or fish. We used to give our cats a small amount of milk periodically, but they don't need it. Avoid any chicken or fish bones, since they may choke on them. Individual cats may be fond of bananas and vegetables. Be sure that they always have fresh water available, too.

Improved Answer:

Wet food is best in the way of nutrition, if it is a high quality brand. Wet foods must be high in meat content and free of grain and corn. Meat provides lots of protein and fat - a cat's primary source of energy. Moisture is also a very important factor as cats are designed to get their moisture from their food (a trait that has been passed down from their wild ancestors), and therefore have a low "thirst drive" and will not often seek out water on their own.

Real meat such as chicken is also fantastic for a cat. However, cooked meat has very little nutrients as high temperatures kill off many of the molecules. Good, clean, organic raw meat is excellent food for a cat (after all, an outside cat will happily eat mice and birds it catches).