Feeding Your Cat
One of the most important factors in your cat’s health and longevity is nutrition, so your most important responsibility to your cat is to provide them with the necessary nutrition for its growth and health. To do this properly, it is first necessary to understand what their diet should consist of.
Carnivores’ Nutritional Requirements
Cats are carnivores. They are different from dogs and from humans, in what they need nutritionally. Cats are strict carnivores and rely on the nutrients present in animal tissue to meet their nutritional needs. In the wild, cats are hunters that consume other animals that are high in protein with some fat and small amounts of carbs. Cats require minerals, fatty acids, vitamins, and amino acids. These are the building blocks of thier body tissues. They are essential for transporting substances into, around, and out of the body; for chemical reactions (metabolism, catabolism); and for supplying energy for growth.
It’s important to know that your cat needs the correct amount nutrients, particularly vitamins and minerals, but no more. It is not good if they have too much of the vitamins and minerals. Supplements are not needed and can be potentially dangerous to your pet’s health. Remember that cats are neither small dogs nor human. Because of your cats’ unique metabolism, what might be good for you might hurt your cat. A high-quality cat food gives your cat an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals, so food supplements should never be given to your cat unless a veterinarian has directed you to do that.
Water is an important nutrient and affects your cat’s overall health. Water helps your cat to digest food, eliminate waste, regulate body temperature, lubricate tissue, and allow salts to pass through the body. You should give your cat access to clean, fresh water all the time.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
Your cat’s eating habits can be affected by environmental conditions, like noise, heavy-traffic areas, dirty food containers, other animals, or nearby litter boxes. These can all stop a cat from eating. Try to be aware if your cat’s eating behavior, and make changes to give them the best eatting conditions.
Cats vary greatly in the amount of food they need to consume to maintain the best weight and health. Don’t overfeed your cat. Overfeeding can cause obesity> The most common nutrition-related problem in cats is obesity. Cats that are overweight are prone to other problems like diabetes and arthritis. There are commercial pet foods created specifically to help your cat lose weight if required. Ask your vet to help decide what the ideal body weight is for your cat. Follow any suggestions your vet might have about how to change your cat’s diet to get to and stay at that weight.
Many cats are happy to eat one, single product, some cats can become picky eaters and very selective about their food. If you feed your cat two or three help your cat from developing a preference for a single type of food.
Cat that stop eating can have serious medical problems. These problems can be present in sick cats can lose their appetite, cats on a diet, and for the picky cat that refuses to eat. Any cat that refuses to eat and is losing weight should be seen by a veterinarian.
