Tips on Feeding your Cat
As a general rule, cats are obligate carnivores – which essentially means that they need a diet which is rich in protein to be healthy. of course, they can eat certain other items like sugars, yet since they have short digestive tracts their systems are not very well equipped for digesting vegetables and the like, especially as a major part of their diet. Because of this, you might want to hold off on switching Kitty to a vegan diet.
What should your cat’s food contain? When you read the food label, the first ingredient listed should be protein. What you don’t want to see are a lot of by-products, which are basically those parts of animals and plants that are not eaten by humans. Furthermore, you don’t want to see a lot of fillers. For me, I suggest a premium cat food like Life’s Abundance from Dr. Jane Bicks. For me, premium is simply the only way to go.
Fillers are normally made up of grain, some of which cats find hard to digest – such as corn. Some cat foods may contain as much as half grain as filler. Now, you can imagine what this will do your cat if he finds the food difficult to digest — that will be one unhappy cat. Giving your cat this type of food, depending on the cat, could result in some health issues, or in a cat that simply will not eat.
When you do go shopping for the food, be certain to check the expiration date, as cat food, even though it is of the dry variety and made with preservatives, does not last forever. Furthermore, once opened, even dry cat food will lose much of its freshness after a few days, so be careful not to buy huge heaping bags of cat food if you do not have airtight containers for it.
Giving your feline dog food is a very large no-go because they simply will not thrive on this particular food and some of the elements vital to feline health, like the amino acid Taurine, for example will simply not be there or not in adequate quantities.
If your cat is picky like mine, you may find yourself going crazy trying to cater to your cat’s tastes, especially if you’re trying to switch them to another food. What can you do?
Mix a few pieces of a new brand in with your cat’s regular brand, to get them accustomed to a new food scent and taste, without it bombarding them. Also, don’t forget to give your cat plenty of fresh water to help with food digestion.