The best food for Maine Coons: veterinarian advice. What to feed Maine Coons?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Maine Coon is a cat that has been very popular lately. This breed differs from others in its large size, character and behavior. But growing a beautiful and he althy animal is not so easy. The fact is that such a cat especially needs a carefully balanced diet. The advice of experienced veterinarians presented here will help you choose the right food for Maine Coons.

What to feed?

Most owners of cats of this breed make a huge mistake, believing that an animal can eat any food, even the one that people eat themselves. This is not true, and such a diet can lead to big he alth problems. Only a properly balanced menu, preferably from natural products, will help to raise an animal without he alth problems, with a silky coat and a playful character.

The main nuance to consider when choosing food for Maine Coons is the stomachrepresentatives of this breed is quite conservative, so it is strictly forbidden to mix types of food. If you started feeding your pet with natural food, then you should not add artificial mixtures to the menu. The same goes for dry food. Starting to feed the animal with a special mixture for Maine Coons, you do not need to pamper him with natural food - this will upset the balance of minerals and vitamins.

Proper diet from childhood

The Maine Coon cat, whose price varies within 500 euros, is quite an expensive animal. Accordingly, taking care of his he alth should be in the first place, and the correct diet of the kitten will be the key to excellent well-being for life. It should be remembered that the nutrition of a small Maine Coon is fundamentally different from the diet of an adult. A kitten under the age of 4 months should be fed at least 4-5 times a day, and especially large babies should eat 6 times every 4 hours.

At this age, you need to decide what you are going to feed your pet in the future: artificial mixtures or natural food. If it is dry food, then you need to gradually increase the amount of the mixture, because the kittens grow fast enough, and hunger can come much earlier. In the first few days, it is better to soften the artificial food with boiled water, and only then gradually transfer the kitten to completely dry food. When choosing natural food for Maine Coons, you should remember that the animal can only be fed raw, boiled or steamed food.

Progressive introduction of products intodiet

After three weeks of age, it is worth starting to wean the kitten from mother's milk and introduce adult food into the diet. Raw beef is perfect for this. Scrape off a small piece of frozen meat, wait until it thaws and give it to your pet. It is worth increasing the amount of food gradually, adding a portion every day. If the kitten does not have problems with digestion, then after a few days you can add a little low-fat cream to the menu. And after a couple of days it is worth feeding the kitten with egg yolk. If there are no problems with the intestines, then cottage cheese and other products can be introduced into the diet.

The best food for a kitten will be porridge cooked in chicken broth and seasoned with finely chopped boiled fillets. To avoid stomach problems, it is better to give food warm. Doing everything right, after a month you can see how the Maine Coon kitten has grown. The size of these animals is quite impressive, respectively, and it costs more to feed them than ordinary felines. Once a day, it is worth giving a small Maine Coon a piece of scalded beef - this will help improve the condition of the animal's teeth.

Allowed Foods

The Maine Coon cat breed is quite extraordinary, and it is worth feeding them only with properly selected food, food from the master's table is not suitable for this. Meat should be purchased only from trusted sellers and before being fed to the animal raw, it should be frozen for at least 5 days - this will destroy the parasites. Preferred varieties:rabbit, beef, turkey or chicken. You can also give offal, such as the liver, heart, kidneys. But it should be borne in mind that the calorie content of such food is significantly reduced, therefore, portions should be increased in volume. And of course, food should not contain s alt or spices. It is better to feed meat products with cereals boiled in water, because cereals are needed in the animal's diet. But you should avoid oatmeal, which leads to carbohydrate imbalance.

Sour-milk products such as cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir or natural yoghurt without additives must be present on the menu of the Maine Coon breed - the cat has a weak intestine, and such food helps to stimulate the microflora. It is worth remembering that a small fat content should be present in these products. The only thing to avoid is milk, because it is poorly absorbed by such animals. Be sure to introduce raw or boiled vegetables into the diet, such as cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers, beets and others. They should be mixed with meat instead of porridge in a ratio of 1 to 2. Be sure to add chicken or quail eggs to your diet.

Forbidden foods

Fish is not recommended - a high fluorine content can cause urolithiasis, especially for neutered animals. An exception may be marine varieties, no more than once a week. It is strictly forbidden to give Maine Coons chicken or fish bones - this leads to damage to the stomach and esophagus. Because of the fat content, pork is not suitable. Banned are fried, s alted,smoked, peppered dishes, sausage, canned food. Also, do not give cats sweets, such as cakes, sweets, chocolate, etc. From vegetables, potatoes should be avoided, because starch is not absorbed by the intestines of such animals. Do not add legumes such as beans, peas or soybeans to the Maine Coon menu.

Artificial food for Maine Coons

Ready mixes are a huge time saver. But for Maine Coon cats, cheap and widely advertised foods such as Whiskas, Friskis, or Kitiket are not suitable. This is a completely poor quality product that uses skins, bones or feathers to fill with protein, and such nutrition can lead to various diseases.

Dry mix should be purchased only from trusted manufacturers using by-products for filling, such as Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Hills, Nutro, Iams, Eukanuba. These companies specialize in feed for the Maine Coon breed. The coat, appetite, he alth and playfulness of an animal fed on such mixtures are worthy of all praise. But you don't need to mix foods from different manufacturers, because this can bring down a carefully calculated balance of minerals, vitamins and nutrients.