With all the buzz about nutrition, let’s set a few things straight about feline food.

Some folks think it’s best for cats to eat raw meat. That might work if a cat kills and immediately eats enough prey to meet dietary requirements, but that’s not realistic for pets. Without consuming the whole carcass, cats are at risk for serious mineral deficiencies. And if a cat eats raw meat that’s been handled and transported, there’s a risk of bacterial infection—for the cat as well as other animals and people in contact.

You might also have heard that cats don’t need carbohydrates, but that’s another myth. In fact, results of a recent study show that left to their own devices, most cats would design a diet containing about 12 percent carbs. After all, most prey animals eat carbohydrates, which also get eaten by the feline predator.