When choosing your cats food type to purchase at the store remember that they are huge meat eaters, also known as carnivores. “Cats are… different from us and from dogs,” says Louise Murray, DVM, vice president of the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in New York. “When it comes to nutrition, they are very inflexible, and owners must realize that.” Cats are a lot different from humans and they need a lot more protein from their meat than we do. “If we ate like cats we’d have heart disease by age 20,” says Murray. “They are not at all the same as humans and they are not little dogs.”
This is mentioned only because owners are commonly known to try to feed and treat their cats like dogs. Dogs are different in a couple of ways one being that they can eat several different kinds of food and keep their health in top notch condition.
Murray says that within time dog food is eventually very fatal for cats. It does not have any of their needs for nutrition and it has way too many carbs for cats. The dog food is very difficult for cats to digest.
“Cats get severe obesity problems from carbs, which can lead to diabetes,” says Murray.” A cat’s system is not designed for carbs. They are to be avoided.”
How to Be Sure to Meet Your Cat’s Nutritional Needs:
Read the labels on all cat food packages before you purchase them. It will list the possibility of it meeting the standards that are set by the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). These requirements are just for the minimum of a cat’s nutrition. A vet can tell you if you should be feeding your cat canned food or just dry food.
Only feed your cat a little bit of the new foods. Observe your cat to see if the cat has any stomach problems like diarrhea or throwing up or even if your cat doesn’t like the taste. If all goes well you know that it was a great choice for your cat.
If your cat does not like the food your cat WILL NOT eat it. You must be sure to have a different type of food on hand to offer. Cats would much rather starve than to eat something they do not want to eat. These spoiled protesting habits that cats pick up are very dangerous for the cat. Murray says, “A cat that won’t eat can suffer from liver failure and get fatally ill. They can get themselves into big trouble.
If for any reason you must change your cat’s food, give your cat small amounts of the new food over a weeks time. And then you can slowly increase the amount. Your cat is less likely to have stomach problems or even turn their nose up at the new food all together.
What Time to Feed Your Cat, About Snacks, and Portion Size for Food:
Determining the amount of food and nutrition your cat needs is based on a couple of unexpected factors. One factor to determine this, is the cat indoor or outdoor? Is your cat neutered or spayed? Surprisingly enough these things affect the ending result of the amount of food intake your cat will need. It is best to ask your vet what amount you should be feeding to your cat.
McGeorge says, “Be proactive about asking your vet about your cat’s weight and food.” Once an amount is recommended it is better to stick with the amount that the vet tells you. If you think your cat may need more, don’t do it, just remember that vets know how much to feed an animal to keep up with their nutritional needs but still keep the weight problems away. McGeorge says “For cats, it’s hard to get the weight off once they get overweight.”
Then you must plan out an eating schedule for your cat to stick with. Numerous small meals are actually more ideal for a cat. Just plan to always have another type of food readily available for the cat to decide. You can just put out only half at a time if that suits your lifestyle better to ensure the cat does not over eat. Be sure to keep snacks to a minimal amount. “Don’t let snacks dilute their nutrition,” says Murray. “Just like with people, you don’t want them on a diet of just salty things.”
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