There are so many questions about cat food like, what type of food, if your cat is allergic, feeding habits or times and also which type of dishes to feed out of. There is no dumb question to ask and there are so many but here are some frequently asked questions about cat food and nutrition.
Q. What kind of food can I get for my allergic cat?
My cat is allergic to beef, rice, wheat, and chicken. The cat food given by the vet which is venison, my cat refuses to eat. Is there a good brand of cat food that does not have these ingredients?
A. “Limited ingredients” cat foods were developed to help cats with food allergies. They are generally used for three purposes:
- For purposes of eliminating allergens to discover which ingredients cats are actually allergic to.
- As a long-term diet for cats with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)
- As a long-term diet for cats with food allergies
The brand with which I’m most familiar, because one of my own cats has eaten it, is IVD (Innovative Veterinary Diet), manufactured by Royal Canin. IVD foods contain a single protein source (duck, lamb, venison, rabbit) and a single carbohydrate source (whole green peas and green pea fibre). These foods are also supplemented with “Omega 6 and 3 EFAs to provide the optimum in anti-inflammatory effects these nutrients can provide,” according to the manufacturer.
If your veterinarian does not stock these other products, they can be ordered, but only by prescription. Nature’s Variety also makes a number of canned cat foods that contain none of the ingredients you mentioned. Nature’s Variety also makes several dry cat foods, although some of them contain rice, which is an allergen for some cats.
Hopefully, your cat will find one of more of these foods palatable, and he will be on the road to good health soon.
Q. If you feed cats dog food, can it cause them to go blind?
I know it’s a strange question, but I’ve read that dog food is harmful for cats. It looks and smells much like cat food and my cats seem to like eating it when we run out of cat food.
A. It’s not a strange question at all. There’s nothing in dog food that will directly harm a cat within a short period of time, but the point is what is lacking. Simply put, dog food does not provide the nutrients required by cats. Eating a little bit of dog food won’t kill a cat. But a cat fed exclusively on dog food can not only go blind, but can develop a heart condition, called feline dilated cardiomyopathy.
The difference primarily is taurine, found in muscle meat, heart, and liver. Studies have also been done that showed pregnancy failure in queens with long-term taurine depletion, including increased resorption of fetuses, reduced litter size, and increased incidence of stillborn kittens.
Taurine supplement has been added to commercial cat foods for several years, for these reasons.
I would never suggest feeding cats dog food, but rather food specifically formulated for their own, unique nutritional needs.
Q. How much food do I have to feed to meet an adult cat’s daily requirement’s?
A. Unfortunately there is no hard and fast answer to your question. Nutritional requirements for cats vary, even for cats of the same age. Factors that may affect nutritional requirements for cat food include:
- The Cat’s Weight
A 17 pound cat with a muscular build and large bone structure will require more calories and associated nutrients to maintain his weight than a nine pound cat with a more slender build. Likewise, a cat who needs to gain or lose weight will need differing quantities of food.
- The Cat’s Activity Level
Likewise, two identical 17 pound cats as described above will vary in their requirements, depending on their activity. A three year old cat who races around the house may require more than an eight year old who sleeps most of the day.
- The Cat Food Content
Fish flavors in particular, should be fed in minimal amounts.
- Although most cats love the taste of fish, an exclusive fish diet has the potential for harm. The Cornell Feline Health Center says, “Diets containing large quantities of fish can cause yellow-fat disease (steatitis), a result of vitamin E deficiency.” This is especially true with the lower quality fish protein often used in cat food. If your cat enjoys fish, try eliminating fish-flavored cat food; instead, give him a small treat of human-quality albacore tuna occasionally.
- Quality of the Cat Food
As a rule, many cats fed a high quality premium cat food will eat less than they did on poor-quality “grocery store” food. Their bodies have an innate ability to judge when they have reached the proper nutritional level, and they will stop eating when they reach that level. As a result, feeding these high quality foods has the added result of making them actually more economical.
- Supplemental Dry Food
Cats that are “free-fed” with dry food in addition to their regular meals of canned food, will eat less of the canned food.
To make it easier for you, most cat food cans and packages give you a feeding guidelines printed right on the package. Alternatively, you can check the web sites of the food manufacturers. PetSmart has a calculator for the basic foods it sells. You can input the cat’s age, weight, and activity level, and it will give you the results for your specific cat.
Generally, if your cat seems healthy and active, and is not constantly begging for food, you can assume that he is getting the proper amount of food, especially if the quality of food is superior.
Q. Is Milk ok for my cat?
My cat enjoys milk, and I give her a small amount two or three times a week. Will this help or harm her? I’ve read somewhere that milk is not good for cats.
A. Generally speaking, milk is not recommended for adult cats, as many of them are lactose-intolerant, and have problems digesting it.
However, If she’s not throwing up or having diarrhea, she’s probably okay with it. Some experts advise that cream is better than regular milk if you must give it to cats, probably because cream has less lactose than whole or skim milk. But again, a small amount of skim milk seems to be okay for your kitty, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Also, recently, several new lactose-free milk substitutes for cats have been developed, such as CatSip, which may also be found in some food stores and most large pet supply stores. If your cat enjoys milk, she may like these products too.
Q. Why does my kitten paw the floor after eating?
A. The rest of the story:After my kitten eats or drinks, he paws the floor as if he is digging or burying something. Since I have never had a cat before I have no idea what he is doing or trying to tell me. Do you?
The pawing and digging your kitten is doing is an amazing exhibit of instinctive behavior (in that he probably didn’t learn it from mom-cat). In the wild, cats often bury their food remains (as well as their feces) as a protective measure so their enemies can’t track them. Conversely, they also spray their territory with urine as a warning to other predators to stay away.
Your little kitty is demonstrating this wonderful instinct, and it’s a very positive sign that he is making your home *his*. Be sure to have him neutered at an appropriate age, so he doesn’t follow through with urine marking.
Q. How can I keep a kitten out of the adult cat food and vice versa?
A. You are correct that kittens and adult cats have different nutritional needs, and that it is important that kittens get the nourishment specifically found in kitten food.
A new kitten should be separated for awhile with its own food dish and litter box. You may find that by the time you’re ready to introduce the newcomer to your existing cat, they’ll each gravitate to their own food dish. If not, you might want to put the older cat’s dish in a high place so the youngster can’t get to it. If the older cat wants to sneak a bite of kitten food now and then, it certainly won’t hurt her (just be sure the kitten gets its own daily requirements.) The extra exercise the older cat will get by playing with the kitten should keep excess pounds off.
With canned food (which is really better for all ages than dry food), you may have to either feed the two in separate rooms, or feed the kitten first, with the older cat confined in another room. After 20 minutes, take up the kitten food and discard it. Then, switch places and feed the adult cat, also discarding the remainder after 20 minutes.
Another option is to use a premium food formulated for all ages. Felidae is an excellent choice in this category.
I hope this information helps with some of your questions, there are so many more questions that are asked but these are the ones that I found around to be the most asked.
Source Of Information: Franny Syufy
