Almost all people love cats. And many contain such pets in apartments and country houses. Of course, in order for a cat to be healthy, it should provide proper nutrition in the first place. The diet for such animals should be designed in such a way that they receive absolutely all the nutrients and minerals necessary for their body.
So, how to feed a cat? The nutrition of such animals can be organized according to two main schemes. Many cat owners offer them exclusively natural food. In other cases, cats are kept on finished industrial feed - dry or wet.
When choosing a menu for such a pet, among other things, one should, of course, take into account his age. Kittens are usually offered a slightly different meal than adult animals. A special diet should also be developed for pregnant or lactating and sterilized cats.
How to choose a bowl?
We will talk about how to properly feed a cat below. The diet for such animals should, of course, be balanced. However, it is equally important to choose the most suitable feeding bowl for your pet.
Many owners of such animals give them pieces of food at a time when they have lunch or dinner themselves. In no case do this. In doing so, unfortunately, you can easily raise a pet annoying beggar from your pet. In addition, such snacks can be very harmful to the health of the animal. With such feeding, cats often have indigestion, and sometimes even some serious gastrointestinal pathologies occur.
There is such a pet should solely from his own bowl and his own food. The capacity for feeding a cat should be chosen in accordance with the following recommendations:
the bowl should be wide enough;
the sides of the feeding container should not be too high;
The bowl should be heavy enough and not move on the floor from any touch.
The width of the bowl and the height of its sides should be such that the cat can easily get food without touching the mustache for anything. If this rule is not observed, the animal will most likely subsequently begin to pull pieces out of the container and eat them on the floor.
Of course, a cat bowl should be made from environmentally friendly material. Porcelain and metal containers are best suited for feeding such animals. You can, of course, purchase a plastic bowl for your cat. But when buying such dishes, you should make sure at least that it does not emit an unpleasant chemical smell.
Good metal bowls, among other things, are complemented by a rubber gasket at the bottom. This prevents the container from slipping on the floor. A light plastic bowl should additionally have beveled “sides”.
Advantages and disadvantages of using dry pads
Such food, in principle, is a good answer to the question of how to properly feed domestic cats. On such a diet, many owners today contain their pets. The advantages of dry prepared industrial food include, first of all, ease of use for the cat owners themselves. When using such feeds, the owner of the animal does not need to cook porridge for his pet, acquire meat, chicken, fish and process them, etc.
Convenience of transportation is considered to be another advantage of dry food compared to natural food. Bags with such food weigh very little, and they can be taken with you on any trip.
The advantages of using dry feed include, of course, the possibility of their long-term storage. In sealed packaging, such food may remain usable for up to 1.5 years. The balance of ingredients is another definite plus of the food of this variety. On such a diet, the cat will be guaranteed to receive all the nutrients she needs, micronutrients and vitamins.
Of course, in addition to the advantages, dry feed has certain disadvantages. Veterinarians and experienced pet lovers do not recommend buying cheap cat food of this variety. Foods such as "Whiskas" and "Kitty Cat", unfortunately, are not very suitable for constant use. They make such pillows not from meat, but from offal, bones and feathers.
For cats, only premium and super premium feeds should be purchased. Products of this type are truly balanced and beneficial for the animal. But, even when purchasing premium feed, you should definitely look at the manufacturer’s brand, among other things. Buying for your pet is worth only the products of companies that have earned a good reputation. If there is not enough money for such food, it is best to read our article further and find out how to properly feed a cat with natural food. In any case, offering cheap pads to your pet is not worth it.
Wet finished feed: pros and cons
Such food can also be successfully used to properly feed the cat. With its use, the owners of the animal, as in the first case, will not have to spend time preparing food for him. However, for feeding the cat, of course, you should also use only the highest quality products of this type. That is, the diet of the animal in this case, as with the use of dry food, will, unfortunately, be quite expensive.
How to feed cats with food?
Giving such food to a pet should, of course, in compliance with certain recommendations. In most cases, cat owners use a combined scheme of feeding finished products. That is, they offer their pet both dry industrial feeds and wet ones.
The ratio of food of one or the other variety in a cat's diet can be, for example, half to half. But to reduce the cost of the diet, such animals are more often given 75% of dry food and 25% of wet food. A ratio of 50 to 50 is a good answer to the question of how to properly feed cats with cats, for example, right before the shows, if the cat is a thoroughbred.
The advantages and disadvantages of natural food
There are, of course, many supporters of dry and wet cat food. But most often, such animals, and especially outbred animals, are still kept on natural food. Indeed, in such a feed there are guaranteed to be no dyes, chemicals or other harmful ingredients. Natural food with a properly composed menu simply can not do any harm to the animal.
In addition, natural products are usually cheaper than quality cooked food. Including therefore they are an excellent answer to a question on how to properly feed a cat.
Some of the disadvantages of such a diet is the difficulty in choosing balanced ingredients. Also, such products deteriorate quickly enough, and the owner of the cat each time has to offer her new fresh food.
Natural food: how to feed?
Eating this variety can be very beneficial for your pet. However, the owners of the animal using such a feeding scheme should first of all be aware of what natural products should not be given to him. Such food includes, for example:
raw pork, ducklings and turkey;
sweet - sweets, cakes, chocolates;
smoked meats and pickles;
food containing many thin bones;
vegetables, except cabbage, carrots, pumpkins and beans.
Also, in no case can dry foods be added to the diet of animals grown on natural foods. This can lead to liver diseases, dysbiosis, intestinal coprostasis, etc.
The answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat is primarily products such as:
Beef, lamb, chicken. Such food is an indispensable source of protein, iron, phosphorus, calcium, beneficial amino acids.
A fish. This product also contains a lot of phosphorus and protein. It is believed that it is best to give cats saltwater fish and solely fillets.
Milk, kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt. Such food is also considered a very good answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat at home. Protein and amino acids in such products are contained in a more balanced form than in meat. However, giving cats milk food is still recommended no more than 20 ml per 1 kg of body weight per day.
The eggs. It is also very good food for cats. But to give eggs to these animals is recommended only in boiled form. Otherwise, the cat may catch salmonellosis.
Porridge. Cats are, of course, predators. But such food from time to time will be very useful for them. Feeding wheat, oatmeal and barley porridge may be especially beneficial for a cat’s health.
Oddly enough, vegetables can also be the answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat with natural food. Carrots, pumpkins, cabbage and beans are high in fiber. When it is consumed as food, the motility of the stomach is significantly improved in the animal.
Features of feeding kittens
Thus, we found out how to properly feed a cat with dry and natural food. And in that and in another case, it is quite possible for the animal to provide good nutrition. However, when developing a diet for a pet, among other things, of course, one should also take into account his age.
Cats are animals hardy and unpretentious. Small kittens are usually independent and, when separated from their mothers, very quickly get used to the new food they offer. But the diet for kids should be developed, of course, as carefully as possible.
The kitten’s menu usually consists of the same products as an adult animal. However, when developing a diet for babies, it is worth, among other things, following these rules:
salt in a kitten’s food should not be contained at all;
raw vegetables do not give such animals up to six months;
kittens should not be offered too hot food;
You can’t change the baby’s diet too sharply.
Before offering a kitten food, you need to check it with your finger. The food in the bowl should be slightly warmer than the indoor air. Every day, no more than one product can be added to the kitten's diet.
Of course, the menu of a small pet should definitely be made as diverse as possible. The kitten needs to be given not only tasty, but also healthy products. Otherwise, in the future, he will grow fickle. In addition, with a varied diet, the baby is guaranteed to receive all the nutrients and vitamins necessary for his growing body.
When using natural products to feed kittens, from time to time, among other things, it is useful to give vitamin D. The largest amount of this substance is found in fish oil. You can buy such a product in almost any pet store. Also a good solution would be to add a little chalk to the animal’s food.
You can, of course, keep small kittens on bags of food. How to properly feed a cat with wet food and dry, we have already figured out. For small pets, the same rules should be followed when using such food. However, in this case, of course, it is worth choosing pads designed specifically for kittens. Adult feeds for such pets are not well suited.
Food for pregnant cats
A cat waiting to be added, of course, needs special attention from the owners. The menu of the pet during the period of gestation is usually not adjusted too much. The only thing is that cats try to introduce more feed containing calcium and phosphorus into the diet. Also in the food of such an animal it will be useful to mix a small amount of any quality mineral and vitamin supplement.
Some owners are interested in including how to properly feed a cat with dry food if it is pregnant. In this case, you can give the animal the usual pads, but somewhat in larger quantities. You can also buy your pet and special dry and wet food, made specifically for pregnant cats.
Food for neutered and sterilized pets
The diet of such animals is also not much different from the usual menu. However, castrated cats, unfortunately, often show a tendency to obesity. Therefore, the menu of such animals usually still includes fewer foods containing a large amount of protein.
Such cats should be given less often, not to mention pork. A very good solution would be to include more diet chicken and low-fat fish in the diet of a castrated animal. Porridge can also be useful for such a cat.
Dry and wet prepared foods for such pets should be used only special. Many companies today produce pads designed specifically for castrated animals.
Exactly the same recommendations are the answer to the question of how to properly feed a sterilized cat. Dairy products should be given to non-fat animals. The same goes for meat. Broths as well as cereals boiled in milk or water will be very useful for sterilized cats.
How to feed a cat: how many times a day is it worth offering food?
The menu of such an animal, therefore, should contain all the vitamins and nutrients necessary for its body. Only high-quality and balanced food should be offered to cats. As for the number of feedings, many experts believe that the food in the cat’s bowl should be almost constant.
The digestive tract of these animals is not arranged in the same way as in humans. A cat, unlike a person, eats little by little and very often. Therefore, how to feed a cat correctly and how many times it needs to be done per day - the question is actually very important.
Dry pads, of course, can be kept in an animal bowl constantly. The same goes for regular food. But in the latter case, the food in the bowl will have to be changed often. After all, stale foods can greatly harm the stomach of the animal.
If frequent feed changes in the bowl seem tedious to the cat owners, you can, of course, feed your pet at certain hours. Nothing terrible will happen in this case. When using this method, adult cats usually put food in a bowl 2-3 times a day, for kittens - 4-5 times. This amount of food in most cases is enough.
So, how many times a day to properly feed a cat, of course. Some changes to this schedule should be made only for pregnant and sterilized or neutered animals.
The body of a cat waiting for offspring needs a lot of nutrients. Therefore, pregnant animals are usually given a little bit of food, but more often. A bowl of such a cat should be filled at least 3 times a day. Castrated and sterilized animals, food, as already mentioned, usually somewhat limited. Food to such a pet is most often offered 1-2 times a day.