Happy Pets

The cat is a meat-eater and its digestive system is not designed to handle a lot of vegetable matter; meat or fish form its principal diet. A cat’s body simply cannot extract the right nutrients from vegetable foods, and whereas we — and ourdogs — get most of our energy needs from carbohydrates, a cat cannot so easily digest them. Cats need protein to fuel their energy reserves; and protein means meat.

This does not necessarily mean the best fillet steak, however. In the wild, a cat would eat the whole of a carcass — guts and all — and so obtain essential vitamins and minerals. If you pamper your pet with prime steak, these will be missing, and must be provided with supplements. Fortunately, most pet food manufacturers have researched the cat’s needs and produce carefully balanced foods that have all the right constituents.

However, even though your cat may, like those in the advertisements, decide that a particular brand is its favourite food, you should not give the same product all the time. Cats can become very fussy eaters and, when over-indulged in a particular taste, may refuse to try something unfamiliar later, so offer a range of foods. Otherwise, if a commercial brand goes off the market or changes its recipe, or if a source of fresh food becomes unavailable, you could be in for a frustrating time.

If you are feeding a large number of cats, fresh foods prepared in bulk may prove more economical, but the convenience and reliability of proprietary foods makes them the obvious choice for many people — but you should feed fresh food too, perhaps one day each week. Encourage cats to take semi-moist and dry foods as well.

Most cats seem to be convinced that `the other bowl is always tastier’ and that stolen food is tastiest of all. The skill with which some cats will snatch a steak from right under your nose may gain your admiration, but if food is given from table or thieving encouraged you will not only find such behaviour difficult to stop but may find it much more difficult to get a cat to take interest in the food you officially provide.

Feeding patterns

Always offer food at regular times and in the same place. Do not serve it outdoors, where it is likely to be exposed to flies and go off more rapidly. The adult cat may be satisfied with only one meal each day, but most owners prefer to feed in the morning and evening. Pregnant and nursing females and young cats need tobe fed more often.

Kittens should be given their food in four or five meals daily, reducing to three by the time they are about nine months old. For their size, kittens need much more food than adult cats, for it must provide for growth as well as maintaining their physique and supplying energy. Recently weaned kittens need about 20 per cent of their own body weight in fresh or canned food each day, dropping to about 9 per cent when they are about six months old, and to as little as 6 per cent for an active adult cat.

Canned and fresh food contains a great deal of moisture, so quantities will be accordingly less for semi-moist and dry foods. Even with the most moist of food always have a bowl of fresh water available — and if you feed dry foods, check that the water is actually drunk, for it is absolutely essential for the cat‘s health. The quantities recommended by pet food manufacturers give you a reasonable guide. For some cats they may err on the generous side and, if your cat fails to eat all that is given, it may be more than it needs. The best guide to correct food intake is when a cat not only seems healthy, but maintains a consistent weight.

But how are you going to weigh your cat? Do not try to suspend it by its collar from a spring balance, nor expect it to sit quietly in a pan while you pile up the necessary weights. With a small and fairly co-operative cat, put it in a cardboard box and place it on the kitchen scales. Then weigh the box empty. The difference between the two will be the weight of the cat. Alternatively, you may find it more convenient (and easier for handling a less co-operative cat) to hold the cat while you stand on your bathroom scales, then let the cat jump down, check your own weight — and work out the difference. The kitchen scales will probably have more accurate calibration, but the bathroom technique still gives a reasonable guide — even if it is a nagging reminder to watch your own weight!

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 12:18 am and is filed under Cats, Collars, Fish, Foods, Health, Kittens, Supplements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.