Feline Nutrition
When looking after your cat, you want to be sure that you’re feeding them not only something tasty that will be eaten every time, but also that it provides all of the useful nutrients a cat needs to stay healthy. With so many different brands about, telling you what cats want, it can be very confusing to remember what a cat actually needs. Animal Friends is here to clear up any confusion.
Key points
Cats need a number of nutrients and vitamins in their diet to maintain good health, but here are a few tips on those important ingredients you should be looking for in feline food: Animal Proteins, a decent level Carbohydrates and water content. These are key factors for a number of reasons.
Animal proteins are prominent as cats require amino acids to form hair, muscle, skin and enzymes; all incredibly important parts of cats build. Most dry foods use plant proteins rather than animal proteins, and whilst a cat can survive on this substitute animal proteins are far richer in these fatty acids.
Another problem with dry food is a very high level of carbohydrate, which acts as a sort of filler. It will fill your cat up, true, but too much is excessive as the fibre is not easily digested. Carbohydrates are a good source of energy, but food with too much will mean that the other, more important nutrients are lacking, and therefore the food may not be the healthiest option.
Water content is especially important for cats to reduce the workload on their kidneys and to keep urine dilute. Ideally, 50% of the diet should be water, but a mix of dry/canned food is good enough to ensure your cats health. Certainly, to prevent tartar build up you can and should use dry food treats which are designed to help stop this.
Remember
Common diet problems with cats are diabetes and kidney failure, so keeping a close watch on what your cat is eating is the perfect way to prevent these serious illnesses. Remember that cats can have an allergic reaction to their food at any age, so changes in diet are recommended.
Finally remember that if your cat is unfortunate enough to contract a dietary illness, on-going vet bills can leave a real dent in your pocket. Animal Friends offers a wide range of comprehensive cover, so phone us on 0845 55 70 300 and ask how we can help your animal friend today.
