Cat Food – Vets Provide Info For Feline Owners

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There is a vast variety of cat food available on the market today. Apart from those, the Internet overflows with recipes for homemade cat food. A beloved feline will surely want for nothing given all the available food options. But don’t be too hasty in buying just anything for your cat; it’s imperative to understand what cat food is all about first. Provided here is some much-needed info on your cat’s main source of sustenance.

Cat Food Is Primarily for Health

Cat food, vets say, is not really intended for the gastronomic satisfaction of felines — rather, it’s for health. Cat food is prepared to meet the dietary requirements of cats so they will be healthy and live a long time. Therefore, all the labels on certain cat food products such as gourmet or premium don’t really matter so much; the important thing is for cat food to possess all the nutrients required for healthy development and a strong immune system.

Cat food should be rich in protein (because cats are natural carnivores). Taurine, specifically, is very important for eyesight and a healthy heart, and it’s only present in proteins derived from meat.

But Taste Matters, Too

Nutrition is indeed the most important thing, but taste matters as well in promoting good health for felines. Cats can be discriminating when it comes to taste, but every cat is different; what one might like is not automatically what another would love as well. As such, instead of opting right away for expensive options to feed your cat, it’s better to present them with a little bit of this and that to observe and determine what they truly like.

Also, do get advice from your vet on what type of food is most suitable for your cat, considering its breed, age, natural inclinations, and other factors. Catering to the preference of your cat will help create a good appetite, and a good appetite will prevent hunger strikes, which cats are wont to go on. Most felines would much rather go hungry than eat something that has no appeal to them — and this places them at risk of liver failure.

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About Portions, Feeding Schedules and Snacks

These considerations need to be discussed with a vet first because different factors can affect the portions of cat food that must be served, the time of feeding, and the provision of snacks. Vets claim that there’s a big difference in portions, snacking, and times of feeding between fully domesticated felines and those that are allowed to roam outdoors frequently. Aside from this, cats that are spayed also tend to have different dietary requirements.

A thorough consultation with the vet will determine the healthy weight range for your feline, the ideal calorie count, what food it should mainly stick to, and how often it should be given snacks since these tend to dilute nutrition. A vet-prescribed feeding program really should be followed for pet cats if you want them to become strong and healthy; inconsistent feeding can lead to feline obesity, which is a condition that is not easy to remedy.

Dry or Wet Cat Food? Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between dry and wet cat food would really depend on what your cat likes and whether or not they develop gastrointestinal issues. A taste test is definitely required to determine which is better for your cat to consume, judging by their appetite and certain behaviors that they manifest.

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Reading Cat Food Labels

 Here are the things that you should be mindful of when reading cat food labels:

1. Carbohydrate content – This should always be below 10% carbohydrate calories; anything higher will make your cat overweight and prone to diabetes.
2. Soy – This is a protein source that is sometimes used as an extender for cat food, be it dry or wet. However, it contains phyto-estrogens and soy also has a negative impact on thyroid glands. Hyperthyroidism is quite common in cats; therefore, soy shouldn’t be present in cat food. Hyperthyroidism doesn’t only result in swollen thyroid glands; it can also lead to severe joint pains for cats.
3. Fish, seafood, beef, lamb, corn, wheat – These are the most hyper-allergenic ingredients for cats. (Cartoons definitely got it wrong!)
4. High amounts of liver – While liver is very nutritious, it can be too nutritious for cats and therefore there should only be a very small amount in cat food.
5. Preservatives – BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are safety risks. Basically, these are synthetic components that can lead to allergies and other discomforts for cats. Some cat food brands already do away with these, opting for safer and more natural methods.
6. Natural, Premium, Vet-recommended – All these “quality” claims really should just be ignored as they are not reliable indicators of how truly beneficial a brand of cat food is. If you really want to know how nutritious a specific cat food is, go straight to the list of ingredients and nutritional values.

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Getting Stubborn Cats To Eat Their Food

Vets say these tricks often work well in outsmarting the pickiness of certain cats:

1. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on cat food (be it dry or wet) – Nobody really knows how this cheese lures cats to eat but it works. Don’t bother with fresh Parmesan; the one in the can is good enough.
2. Add raw meat (follow protocols in adding raw meat, though), baby food or deli meats. Most cats take to the new taste. Also, this will diminish the “crunch” factor of dry food, which is like a drug for felines that prevents them from exploring other nutritious food options.
3. Moistening cat food is a good way to rekindle the interest of cats in dry food that they’re already tired of. A quarter cup of water will create gravy that can enhance the flavor of the formerly dry cat food. Be sure to discard leftovers, though, because it only takes 20 to 30 minutes for moistened dry cat food to spoil.
4. Sprinkle a tiny amount of chicken meat to your cat’s meal.
5. Eat with your cat. Felines are social eaters; try feeding your cat while you’re eating and pet it occasionally to create a positive eating experience for it.
6. Schedule playtime before the meal. Physical activities can stimulate your cat’s appetite. It’ll be less discriminating with food since its body will be clamoring for sustenance.
7. Stop free feeding. This encourages a bad attitude of felines toward food. Just set a schedule for meals and let real hunger stimulate them to eat.
8. Fortiflora sprinkles stimulate cats’ appetites. Cats love this so much that you can sprinkle ¼ or less of a package over every meal to encourage them to eat. It’s a great way to outsmart their pickiness with food.

Dealing With Feline Hunger Strike

Picky cats are known to go on a hunger strike if they don’t like their food. If you simply aren’t successful in enticing them with all kinds of cat food, the smartest thing to do is to take your cat to the vet. If it has been more than 24 hours since your cat had something to eat, it can develop hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver syndrome. Only a vet can deal with this situation in order to help your cat.