How to feed a cat at home?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 12:45

Cats are loved by almost all people. And many keep such pets in apartments and country houses. Of course, for a cat to be he althy, it should first of all be provided with proper nutrition. The diet for such animals should be developed 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 ready-made industrial feeds - dry or wet.

When choosing a menu for such a pet, among other things, one should take into account, of course, his age. Kittens are usually offered slightly different food than adult animals. Also, a special diet should be developed for pregnant or lactating and sterilized cats.

How to choose a bowl?

Let's talk about how to properly feed a cat below. Diet forsuch animals should certainly be balanced. However, it is equally important to choose the right feeding bowl for your pet and the most suitable one.

Many owners of such animals give them pieces of food at the time when they have lunch or dinner themselves. Under no circumstances should this be done. By doing this, unfortunately, you can easily bring up a real annoying beggar from a pet. In addition, such snacks can be very harmful to the he alth of the animal. Cats fed this way often experience indigestion, and sometimes even some serious gastrointestinal pathology.

Eating such a pet should exclusively from their own out of the bowl and their own food. The container for feeding the cat should be chosen in compliance with the following recommendations:

• the bowl should be wide enough;
• sides of the feeding container should not be too high;
• the bowl should be heavy enough and not move around 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 whiskers for anything. If this rule is not observed, the animal will most likely subsequently begin to pull out pieces from the container and eat them on the floor.

Of course, a cat bowl should be made of environmentally friendly material. Porcelain and metal containers are best suited for feeding such animals. You can, of course, buy a plastic bowl for a cat. But when buyingdishes should at least make sure that they do 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 sliding on the floor. A light plastic bowl should additionally have bevelled "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. Today, many owners keep their pets on such a diet. The advantages of dry ready-made 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, purchase meat, chicken, fish and process them, etc.

Another advantage of dry food compared to natural food is ease of transportation. Bags with such food weigh very little, and they can be taken with you on any trip.

The advantages of using dry food include, of course, also the possibility of their long-term storage. In sealed packaging, such food can remain usable for up to 1.5 years. The balance of ingredients is another undoubted advantage of eating this variety. On such a diet, the cat will be guaranteed to receive all the nutrients, trace elements and vitamins it needs.

Of course, in addition to the advantages, dry food also has certain disadvantages. Cheap cat foodvarieties of veterinarians and experienced pet lovers are highly discouraged from buying. Feed type "Whiskas" and "Kitty-cat", unfortunately, have a composition that is not very suitable for constant use. These pillows are made not from meat, but from offal, bones and feathers.

Buy only premium and super premium food for cats. Products of this type are really balanced and beneficial for the animal's body. But, even when purchasing premium food, you should definitely look at the manufacturer's brand, among other things. It is worth buying for your pet only 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, you should not offer cheap pillows to your pet.

Wet ready-to-eat food: pros and cons

This food can also be successfully used for proper feeding of a cat. When using it, the owners of the animal, as in the first case, do not have to spend time preparing food for it. However, for feeding a cat, of course, only the highest quality products of this type should also be used. 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 the right food?

Giving such food to a pet should, of course, be subject to certain recommendations. In most cases, cat owners usecombined scheme of feeding finished products. That is, they offer their pet both dry industrial food and wet food.

The ratio of food of one and another species in the diet of a cat can be, for example, half and half. But to reduce the cost of the diet, such animals are often given 75% dry food and 25% wet food. The ratio of 50 to 50 is a good answer to the question of how to properly feed cats with food, maybe, for example, immediately before exhibitions, if the cat is purebred.

Advantages and disadvantages of natural food

Supporters of dry and wet cat food, of course, there are many. But most often such animals, and especially outbred ones, are still kept on natural food. After all, in such feed is guaranteed not to have any dyes, chemicals and other harmful ingredients. Natural food with a properly composed menu simply cannot do any harm to the animal.

In addition, natural products are usually cheaper than high-quality ready-made food. This is also why they are an excellent answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat.

Some disadvantage of such a diet is the difficulty of selecting balanced ingredients. Also, such products spoil quickly enough, and the owner of the cat has to offer her new fresh food every time.

Natural food: how to feed?

The food of this variety can be very he althy for a pet. However, the owners of the animalusing such a feeding scheme, you should first of all know what natural products should not be given to him. Such food includes, for example:

• raw pork, duck 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 should you add dry food to the diet of an animal grown on natural food. This can lead to liver disease, dysbacteriosis, intestinal coprostasis, etc.

The answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat is primarily products such as:

1. Beef, lamb, chicken. Such food is an indispensable source of protein, iron, phosphorus, calcium, useful amino acids.
2. Fish. This product also contains a lot of phosphorus and protein. It is believed that it is best to give cats sea fish and only fillets.
3. Milk, kefir, cottage cheese, curdled milk. 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, it is still recommended to give cats milk food no more than 20 ml per 1 kg of body weight per day.
4. Eggs. It is also very good food for cats. But it is recommended to give eggs to these animals only in boiled form. Otherwise, the cat may catch salmonellosis.
5. Porridge. Cats are, of course, carnivores. But such food from time to time will be very useful for them. Feeding wheat, oatmeal and barley porridge can be especially beneficial for a cat's he alth.

Vegetables, oddly enough, can also be the answer to the question of how to properly feed a cat with natural food. Carrots, pumpkin, cabbage and beans contain a lot of fiber. When eating it, the animal's stomach motility improves significantly.

Features of feeding kittens

Thus, we found out how to properly feed a cat with dry food and natural. In both cases, it is quite possible to provide the animal with good nutrition. However, when developing a diet for a pet, among other things, of course, its age should also be taken into account.

Cats are hardy and unpretentious animals. Small kittens are usually independent and, being separated from their mother, very quickly get used to the new food offered to them. But the diet for babies should be developed, of course, as carefully as possible.

The menu of a kitten usually consists of the same products as an adult animal. However, when developing a diet for babies, it is worth following, among other things, the following rules:

• s alt in the kitten's food should not be contained at all;
• raw vegetables are not given to such animals until six months;
• don't offer kittens too hotfood;
• don't change your baby's diet too drastically.

Before you offer the kitten food, you need to check it with your finger. The food in the bowl should be slightly warmer than the air in the room. No more than one product can be added to the kitten's diet each day.

Of course, the menu of a small pet should definitely try to make it as varied as possible. The kitten needs to be given not only tasty, but also he althy foods. Otherwise, in the future, he will grow up picky. In addition, with a varied diet, the baby is guaranteed to receive all the nutrients and vitamins necessary for his growing body.

When used to feed natural foods to 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. It is also a good idea to add some chalk to the animal's food.

You can, of course, keep small kittens on food from bags. We have already figured out how to feed a cat with wet food and dry food. For small pets, when using such food, the same rules should be followed. However, in this case, of course, it is worth choosing pads designed specifically for kittens. Adult foods for these pets are not very suitable.

Food for pregnant cats

Waiting for the addition of a cat, of course, needs special attention from the owners. Menu of a pet during the period of bearing offspringusually do not adjust too much. The only thing is that they try to introduce more feed containing calcium and phosphorus into the cat's diet. It will also be useful to mix a small amount of some quality mineral and vitamin supplement into the food of such an animal.

Some owners are also interested in how to properly feed a cat with dry food if she is pregnant. In this case, you can give the animal the usual pads, but a little more. You can also buy your pet and special dry and wet food made specifically for pregnant cats.

Food for neutered and spayed 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.

Beef should be given to such cats less often, not to mention pork. A very good solution would be to include more dietary chicken and lean sea fish in the diet of a castrated animal. Porridge can also be useful for such a cat.

Dry and wet ready-made food for such pets should be used only special. Many companies now produce pads designed specifically for neutered 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 such an animallean. The same goes for meat. Broths, as well as cereals cooked in milk or water, will also be very useful for sterilized cats.

How to feed a cat: how many times a day should you offer food?

The menu of such an animal, therefore, must contain all the vitamins and nutrients necessary for its body. Cats should be offered only high-quality and balanced food. As for the number of feedings, many experts believe that the cat should have food in the bowl almost constantly.

The gastrointestinal tract of these animals is arranged differently from that of humans. A cat, unlike a human, eats little and very often. Therefore, how to feed a cat correctly and how many times it should be done per day is actually a very important question.

Dry pads, of course, can be kept in the animal's bowl all the time. 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 animal's stomach.

If frequent food changes in the bowl seem tiresome to the owners of the cat, you can, of course, feed your pet at certain hours. Nothing particularly terrible will happen in this case. When using this method, adult cats usually put food in a bowl 2-3 times a day, kittens - 4-5 times. This number of meals is sufficient in most cases.

So, how many times a day to feed the cat correctly, of course. Some changes to such a schedule need to be made only for pregnant women and sterilized or castratedanimals.

An expectant cat's body needs a lot of nutrients. Therefore, a pregnant animal is usually given food also little by little, but somewhat more often. The bowl of such a cat should be filled at least 3 times a day. For castrated and sterilized animals, nutrition, as already mentioned, is usually somewhat limited. Food for such a pet is most often offered 1-2 times a day.