Cats Diet 

Feeding your Cat

Your cat needs a balance of nutrients in his diet. cats have complex nutritional requirements: they are known to require 40 nutrients daily. A label indicating that a food is “complete and balanced” means that the food not only contains all of the known nutrients required by the animal but that those nutrients are in proper balance with the energy density of the food and with each other. Unlike human nutrition where we are encouraged to eat a variety of foods because no one food contains all the nutrients we require, pet food products do contain all of the known nutrients required.

What is so special about a cat's diet?

Cats differ from dogs and many other animals in being completely dependent on meat. Dogs can survive happily on an almost vegetarian diet which would make cat very ill. A cat needs two amino acids: taurine and arginine,which are not found in plant material. While dog are able to make those from building blocks found in vegetarian diet your cat cannot manufacture its own taurine or arginine and has to get them from animal tissue. Unless synthetic essential amino acids are added, some animal protein is necessary in the diet to prevent taurine depletion and development of feline central retinal degeneration or dilated cardiomyopathy. Your cat also needs vitamin A and a compound called arachidonic acid which can only be found in meat.

Is milk necessary for good health?

It is a myth that cats need to be given milk. Milk is certainly a good source of calcium for building bones but calcium is usually found in sufficient quantities in commercially prepared pet foods. As kittens are weaned they lose the ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in cow's milk. Too much milk may therefore give an adult cat diarrhoea. Water is the best thing for your cat to drink. Clean fresh water should be available at all times, and multiple water sources encourage consumption. The cat's ability to conserve water has led to the myth that the cat does not require much water. This may be true on canned food which is three quarters water. Cats fed on a moist diet may not be seen drinking much. However dehydration is a serious problem in disorders of the GI, respiratory, and urinary systems. A cat does need a regular supply of clean fresh water, particularly if it is being fed dried food.

What makes up a Balanced Diet?

Your cat also needs a balance of other nutrients. Nutritional diseases are rarely seen in cats fed good-quality commercial rations. In contrast, homemade diets derived from a single food item are not nutritionally satisfactory. For example, feeding predominately bone free meat such as chicken only diet to cats can induce calcium deficiency and secondary hypoparathyroidism. Feeding raw freshwater fish can induce a thiamine deficiency. Feeding liver can induce a vitamin A toxicity. Malnutrition has been seen in cats fed “natural,” “organic,” or “vegetarian” diets concocted by their owners, and most published home-made recipes have been only crudely balanced (by computer) using nutrient averages

What is the Best Diet for my Cat?

There are a wide range of commercially prepared foods to suit your cat's needs. However, if you see an unfamiliar brand in the shops be cautious . The well known brands are usually formulated to give your cat everything it needs and have been tested to prove that they will be enjoyed by most cats. Your vet or veterinary nurse will be able to give you impartial and well-informed advice on feeding your pets.

There are several stages during your cat's life when its Dietary Requirement will Vary:

The best feeding method is one that maintains optimal body weight and condition. The diet should not be changed abruptly; new food should be introduced gradually over 10 days.

Pregnancy - pregnancy, and lactation greatly increase nutrient demands over those of maintenance, and a kitten/growth diet may be fed. Growing kittens and pregnant and lactating queens should be fed ad lib or several times a day to meet their daily needs. During the latter third of gestation, the amount of food and level of nutrient intake normally increases by 25%. Some queens may eat less early in gestation and immediately before parturition; these lapses in appetite are normal and are of concern only if prolonged. Queens require two to three times the normal food intake during lactation, depending on litter size. Supplementing an already balanced diet is not necessary and should be discouraged.

Kitten - During their first few months kittens will grow exceptionally fast. The kittens should be given some solid food at three weeks and gradually giving more until they eat only solid food at about eight weeks old. Growing kittens are more sensitive to the quality of dietary protein and amino acid balance than are adults. We recommend putting your kitten on a specially formulated high energy diet to guarantee that it gets the right balance of nutrients needed for growth.

Old age - Geriatric cats should be monitored in a preventive health program that includes periodic assessments of body weight and condition. The incidence of chronic degenerative organ disease increases with age, and early diagnosis fosters earlier intervention and more effective nutritional management. There are conveniently prepared special diets available for the older cat which can be obtained from the surgery.

Is Obesity a Problem in Cats?

Generally cats are able to regulate the amount of food they eat. It is estimated that 40-50% of dogs and 20% of cats seen by veterinarians are overweight. Many of these dogs are obese; far fewer cats (5%) are obese. However there is a trend for obesity to increase in the cat population.

Weigh your cat regularly to make sure it is not gaining or losing weight and adjust the amount of food accordingly.

To weigh your cat first get onto the scales yourself and record your weight, then pick up your cat and record the weight of both of you, finally deduct your weight from the second reading to find how much your cat weighs. If your cat needs to lose weight we will be able to recommend a special low calorie diet but do not attempt to put your cat on a strict unsupervised diet. Dramatic weight reduction should not be attempted in obese cats unless hospitalized and closely watched; the primary concern is hepatic lipidosis, a liver disease induced by too a rapid weight loss. .

What if my Cat looses its Appetite?

Anyone who has ever looked after a cat will know that they are very particular about their food. They all have individual preferences about which types of food they will eat. Anorexia (partial or complete lack of appetite) accompanies many disorders or can be a reaction to a change in environment or diet. Pain is also a significant contributor to anorexia, and in most cases when the pain is adequately controlled, the anorexia resolves. The nutritional goal is to stimulate normal appetite and maintain adequate food intake - cats often seem to enjoy a varied diet but will starve themselves rather than eat a food they do not like. Sometimes, anorectic cats can be persuaded to eat by adding highly flavored substances to the diet (eg, animal fat, meat drippings, fish juices or oils). Should you notice a persistant lack of appetite in your cat please contact the surgery, we will be happy to advise you.