Your cat needs a diet tailored specifically for his/her health needs. Avoid food fads and consult your veterinarian.
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning their nutritional requirements have changed over time. Make sure your feline friends are receiving enough protein-rich food sources so they can live long and happy lives!
1. Protein
Protein is an indispensable element of your cat’s diet, essential for organ and muscle development and maintenance as well as providing essential building blocks for enzymes, hormones and antibodies that keep claws and fur healthy.
House cats are obligate carnivores and require plenty of animal proteins and fat in their diet. A high protein cat food diet is an effective way to ensure a long and happy life for your feline friend.
Search for pet food certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) that contains all essential nutrients without additional supplements. This will ensure your cat receives optimal care without extra supplements being needed.
The best cat food contains fresh, high-quality animal proteins as the first priority on its nutrient panel (or guaranteed analysis). A good way to measure how nutritious each serving of food is is by reviewing its nutrition facts label on the back. Canned food will likely have more protein per serving due to being water-rich, for instance.
2. Fat
A healthy cat requires a balanced diet consisting of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and fibre. Therefore, commercial foods labelled “complete” are best to ensure your feline companion lives an enjoyable life.
Protein is the essential macronutrient for cats. This macronutrient provides essential building blocks to form all kinds of body tissue and gives your cat energy to chase a laser pointer around the room or pursue that pesky rodent. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that their protein must come from animal sources such as meat, fish and organs.
When selecting a protein source for your cat, be sure to select one with high digestibility scores such as chicken. Avoid ingredients with lower digestibility scores like legumes (like pea protein ) as these will be difficult for their system to break down.
Be mindful of how much protein there is in your cat food as too much can lead to urinary tract issues such as cystitis and kidney stones, and be sure that cats are fed at set times throughout the day to prevent overeating which could lead to obesity and health conditions such as diabetes.
3. Carbohydrates
Carbs provide quick energy for cats with diabetes, but too many carbohydrates in their diet could lead to an unexpected spike in blood sugar, leading to fatigue or even life-threatening consequences.
An optimally nutritious diet must consist of only small percentage of carbohydrates. Complex carbs such as starches and non-starchy vegetables provide essential nutrition. Refined sugars found in processed food should be limited in order to avoid unnecessary calories and spikes in blood sugar levels.
Cats, being carnivorous animals, do not naturally consume the high level of carbohydrates found in most dry kibble and canned food products; Mother Nature never intended for our feline friends to consume such high levels of carbs!
When selecting food for your cat, be sure to carefully read through its ingredients on the label in order to determine whether it provides a complete and balanced diet. Consulting your veterinary health care team about current food may also assist in deciphering pet food labels and ascertaining quality levels in feed for your pets.
4. Minerals
Food-grade minerals play an essential role in bone development and enzyme function, among others. They can be divided into two categories: macrominerals (calcium, phosphorus, sodium potassium magnesium chloride etc) and trace minerals such as iron zinc copper manganese selenium and iodine.
Domestic cats and other true carnivores have evolved consuming diets rich in animal tissue rich in minerals easily digested by their digestive systems, so it should come as no surprise that certain minimum requirements of certain minerals are not well established in this species. A diet solely composed of fish could even lead to secondary hyperparathyroidism due to an imbalanced calcium-phosphorus ratio.
Vitamins are crucial components of human and feline body functions, including vision, bone growth and metabolism. A diet rich in vitamins can support healthier teeth and bones as well as an immune system which remains strong. Whiskas Adult cat food provides all the vitamins your feline friend requires – at exactly the right amount! To help ensure their continued wellbeing.
5. Vitamins
A cat’s body needs many vitamins in order to function normally. Unfortunately, most cats cannot produce most of these essential nutrients themselves and must get them from their food sources – the good news being that many quality commercial cat food contains essential vitamins.
Water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C, B1, and B2 aid your cat in digesting carbohydrates and fats while supporting nerve impulse transmission and maintaining healthy skin and eyes. Vitamin K promotes blood clotting to support skeletal growth and maintenance while Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant supporting cellular health and increasing immunity levels in cats.
Minerals such as calcium and sodium are necessary for bone and muscle function in cats. Taurine is also an essential nutrient essential to keeping their heart, nervous system and vision functioning at optimal levels – unfortunately cats cannot produce their own Taurine so it must come through food sources.
Most commercial cat food supplies all of the essential minerals and vitamins a cat needs, but some felines may need supplements as an additional source. Before giving them supplements to your feline friend, be sure to speak to their veterinarian first.
