Proper nutrition of a cat with natural products. How to feed a cat at home: natural food or purchased food

What kind of food is right for your cat is a very important question, so you need to seriously study it. It is categorically not recommended to save on food by sending the remains of your own meal to the cat's bowl - the treatment of an animal that cannot withstand such a diet will cost much more than balanced diet. A properly selected menu will prolong the life of your pet (cats can live up to 15 years or more, contrary to the common misconception that 8-9 years old is old age for them), help avoid problems with his health, and will also be useful in matters of cat education - accustomed to the cat will not climb for tasty food in the master's plate. In this article, we will look at the best food for your cat, as well as tips and advice on cat nutrition.

What is the best food for an adult cat?

There are two types of cat diets, each with its own advantages and disadvantages:

Ready professional food.
Natural food.

The choice in each case should be individual, since much depends on the preferences of the animal, the presence or absence of an allergy to any product and sensitivity to the quality of the feed.

Professional feed

The composition of such feed does not always correspond to that indicated on the package.

Advantages

The main advantages of this type of feeding:

practicality,
convenience,
economy.

As a rule, ready-made feed is cheaper than all the necessary products for natural diet. In addition, the owner of the animal does not have to bother with preparing cat food, 2 minutes are enough to fill the pet's bowl and continue to do their own thing.

An equally important advantage is the balance of such a diet - all the necessary substances, vitamins and minerals in the right quantities are already included in the finished feed. In addition, a very convenient feature of professional food is the presence of various variations:

for sedentary or very active animals;
for lactating cats and small kittens;
for neutered and non-neutered cats.

An individual approach allows you to find the "key" to the heart of any fluffy gourmet.

Among other things, dry food helps clean the cat's teeth and prevents the formation of tartar.

Flaws

This diet also has its downsides.

The main one is that it is necessary to understand various types of feed so as not to buy a low-quality economy option. Before choosing any brand of food, be sure to consult with experienced felinologists.

In addition, some cats are allergic to ready-made food - in such cases there is no choice, you have to transfer animals to natural nutrition.
Another serious drawback is that what is written on the package does not always coincide with what is inside. Serious mistrust has spread among cat owners to food that is produced or packaged in Russia, since quality food is often replaced with a cheap substitute. In addition, there are "tricks" that are used by manufacturers: for example, meat products in the composition of the feed can easily turn out to be ground bones, tendons and other waste, and not meat.

To choose the right food for your pet, carefully study the varieties of dry food.

If you want to be sure that your pet still gets “on the table”, the second option will be closer to you - a diet from natural products.

natural nutrition

Natural nutrition is healthier for the cat's body.

Advantages

The advantages of this type of diet:

Firstly, you know exactly what your cat eats, you can choose the products yourself and monitor their quality.
Secondly, natural nutrition is more beneficial for your pet's body, it can be adjusted so that the ratio of various elements - proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fiber - is optimal. For each pet, you can create a completely individual menu, taking into account all its features.

Flaws

Preparing a complete menu for a cat takes a lot of time, you have to buy additional products specifically for the animal, which can be expensive, given that there should be meat in the cat's diet.

In addition, you need to take a very responsible approach to compiling a diet, since an excess or deficiency of any substances may not be noticeable until it affects the health of the animal with serious problems. It is important to understand that it is not always possible to vouch for the quality of purchased meat or vegetables.

In addition to ordinary meat, be sure to add meat by-products to the cat's menu - chicken heads and necks, tendons, internal "offal".

In order for the animal to get the necessary amount of vitamins and fiber, it is required not a large number of vegetables daily. It is better to give them boiled and pureed, mixing with meat, so that the cat does not disdain plant foods.

From time to time, the pet's diet should include:

eggs (once a week is enough);
dairy products(not milk!);
fish fat;
sprouted oats or wheat will be a very useful supplement.

What not to include in a natural diet

Foods that should not go into the cat's bowl:

Fish, seafood (leads to urolithiasis). Here the opinions of experts are divided, but everyone agrees on one thing: fish should not be the basis of a cat's diet.
Cereal porridge, flour products(not absorbed, cause bowel disease).
Milk (little kittens are fed with mother's milk or special mixtures; an adult animal does not need milk at all).
Any food from the human table (salt, spices, fried foods - poison for a cat!).
From vegetables: tomatoes and eggplants (contain substances harmful to cats), potatoes.

Food should not be constantly in the bowl, as not every cat will be able to stop in time, and obesity leads to serious ailments. But there should always be access to clean, fresh water. In this regard, cats are very demanding - the water must be changed at least once a day, better - more often. Choose a larger water bowl, then the cat will drink more willingly.

It is impossible to overfeed the animal, especially when it comes to dry food.

Some videos about feeding cats:

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What kind of food do cats need? In order to answer this question, you should understand what the pet eats in the wild. The diet includes mice, birds, lizards and insects. In other words, meat, carbohydrates found in grass and grains, calcium and other minerals from bones.

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What is included in natural nutrition

An adult pet should be given approximately 100-150 grams of protein, 50 grams of carbohydrates, water and a variety of vitamins. It is not required to stuff the cat with food from the table. Benefits do not carry substances such as spices with spices, sweets, onions, canned foods and sausages.

Protein in the diet

The sources of the "building element" in food are:

Lean meat products. We are talking about beef, veal, offal (internal organs). Before you feed your cat, you need to cut the meat into small cubes. It is not recommended to saturate the cat with minced meat. Pre-freeze the meat and scald it before feeding.
Bone-free fish. It is better to use the sea. If a river was purchased, it must first be welded. Fish should not be the basis of a cat's diet. It is recommended to give it no more than 2 times a week.
Eggs are a source of protein for cats. They also contain vitamins and minerals. Boiled yolk should be given once a week. Quail eggs will bring more benefits to the cat's body.
It is recommended to feed the cat natural food like dairy products. It includes cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt. It should be noted that not all fluffies can digest whole cow's milk. This is due to the lack of an enzyme. The most useful is goat milk. They can feed the kitten.

Carbohydrates in the diet

You need to feed your cat with carrots, cabbage, apples, greens. All of these can be eaten raw. It is allowed to cook by adding vegetable oil.

You can not exclude meat from the fluffy diet. In the body of a cat there is no special enzyme that can break down cereals.

The use of vitamins

A properly composed diet should include foods rich in vitamins.

From the position of the source of the vitamin, grass can be used. For example, oats.
Yeast is rich in B vitamins. But you should know that some cats have this group an allergic reaction occurs.
You can use ready-made complexes for cats. However, it is recommended to control such nutrition. Hypervitaminosis will do a lot of harm.

Feeding frequency

Composing proper nutrition for cats, you need to understand how often to give them food:

A kitten up to 3 months old should be fed about 6 times, 120-150 grams per day.
A kitten from 3 to 4 months should be fed 5 times a day.
A 4-5 month old pet should eat 4 times a day in the amount of 40 grams per kilogram of weight.
A 5-6 month old fluffy needs to be fed 3-4 times a day.

Disposable food for cats is not welcome. AT wild environment they come out to hunt when they want to eat. They don't have any restrictions. It is necessary to feed the cat every day at the same time, observing the regimen.

You need to pamper the fluffy with warm food. Choose a secluded place for feeding where no one will disturb the cat. If the pet is not alone in the house, it is recommended to purchase several bowls. Make sure everyone eats their portions.

If there is a dog in the house besides cats, it is recommended to feed them in different rooms. It is necessary to saturate your fluffy even if he constantly catches mice. After the food is finished, the pet loves to sleep. Do not distract from this cat.

The video will talk in more detail about how and what to pamper your pet.

When is a diet necessary?

The right nutrition for pet should take into account its state, activity.

There are a few things to be aware of:

Feed your pregnant cat more often. The number of servings should be increased gradually. A nursing pet needs about twice as much food.
The cat-manufacturer should be pampered with an increased amount of proteins and vitamins E.
Adjust the diet of an elderly cat or cat. This is due to the fact that activity will decrease, teeth will grind off, pickiness to food will arise. In this case, it is better to feed in small portions. In this case, the food should be digested fairly easily.
A neutered cat does not have high activity. His metabolism is at a low level. There is a danger of obesity. In such a situation, control over the amount of food is required.
Sick cats require a special diet that a veterinarian can recommend.

Use of dry food

Natural nutrition is the best choice for a cat or cat. But at the same time, it also has disadvantages. It takes time and knowledge to formulate a diet. The storage time of protein products is not too long. Therefore, you can switch to dry food

The finished product with a balanced composition does not contain any additives. You can store it for quite a long time. In addition, on present stage you can choose food for cats with different composition, which is selected taking into account age, activity and condition.

Finding the right food is not always easy. It is not suitable for all cats equally well. Therefore, first of all, observe the reaction of the pet, its activity, wool and stool. If the food was chosen correctly, it is not worth changing it.

When using dry food, it is necessary to be guided by the interests of the cat or cat. Explore the composition with special attention. Cheap dry food is not of high quality. Such food can be harmful. In addition, special components are added to it that attract pets.

Feed preferably with dry food that contains meat.
The share of carbohydrates should not be more than 30%.
The food in the composition should not have chemical preservatives and dyes.
Feed should not contain sugar and empty fillers.
If you feed a low-quality dry product, this will affect the condition of the pet.
Quality food is not cheap.
Cats don't need exotic ingredients.
Feed may vary by class. And it is better to give your pet super premium food.

Combination with other products

You can completely transfer the cat to food, or you can combine it with canned food of the same brand. With natural food, manufacturers do not recommend using a dry product. However, some breeders do not follow this recommendation. Several times a week, they feed their pet with natural food, adding proteins to the diet.

If you do not want to switch completely to food, remember that nutrition must be balanced. In addition, a cat or a cat should be pampered not only with food, but also with clean, fresh water.

Possibility of obesity

At the cat overweight can arise only for the reason that there is no possibility of free movement. If not enough physical activity, then in combination with improperly selected food, this will lead to obesity.

If the cat was castrated, then the likelihood of obesity will be increased several times. The same expects a sterilized cat. In this situation, nutrition must be properly adjusted. If you indulge in unnatural food using dry food, you need to buy products with the appropriate labeling.

Natural or dry food should not be constantly available compared to water.
You can transfer to feed, but this should not be done abruptly. It is better not to combine natural and dry food.
Form proper nutrition, a certain type of diet and stick to it.
Fish and seafood should not be much.
A cat and a cat do not digest porridge from cereals, flour products.
Milk is not always good for furries.
A furry creature should not eat food that is on the table.
Do not feed the cat with tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes.

Video "Dangerous Products"

Not all foods are good for pets. And the video will describe some of them.

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The cat is a predator, its natural diet is quite poor by human standards. Common food for cats is mice, birds and insects. What she caught, she ate. It is strange to imagine a mustachioed predator reasoning: “Yesterday a sparrow, today I will look for a mouse, and tomorrow there will be a dove for dinner.” The cat does not need culinary delights. To maintain health, she needs a balanced diet, a sufficient amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. This is what the responsible owner should be aware of in the first place. Gastronomic experiments are not for the cat.

Meat and offal

The most important thing to remember is that you can not feed the cat raw meat unless the owner is a farmer. Meat sold in Russian markets is pumped with antibiotics, hormones, and in 70% of cases it is infected with helminths. In addition, pathogens are deadly dangerous diseases, which can be found in meat, remain active for weeks even after freezing. Healthy food for cats - chicken, beef and veal meat. Sometimes - rabbit meat, game. Never - any fatty trimmings, pork (even "lean"). The liver is a product loved by many cats, but you should not succumb to “persuasion”. Boiled liver can cause difficulty in defecation, raw, on the contrary, diarrhea. But the heart, kidneys, lungs, stomach must be included in the cat's diet. But only lean.

Method of preparation of meat and offal: first we cut the meat into pieces (such that it is convenient for the cat to chew them, but not swallow them whole), and then we lower them into boiling water for 5-7 minutes. Prolonged cooking reduces the value of the product.

Is fish natural food for cats?

To please the pet, the owner is ready to feed her even with what you can’t feed a cat in principle: “Let him eat. She loves fish! My cat is smart, will not eat what is harmful.” The "fashion" for feeding cats with fish arose for a simple reason - in most countries, fish is cheaper than meat. In nature, cats do not eat fish and seafood at all. Fish contains too many minerals and protein for a cat to eat it constantly without harm to health. An excess of fish in the diet leads to urolithiasis and vitamin K deficiency.

You can feed a cat with fish, but not more than 1-2 times a week. The fish should be sea, without bones and viscera, and always boiled (5 minutes in boiling water). Feed your cat fish that live in fresh water, not recommended - the risk of infection with helminths is too great.

Drink, children, milk - you will be healthy

Homemade food for cats necessarily includes fermented milk products: kefir, cottage cheese, curdled milk or fermented baked milk 1-2 times a week (you can add a boiled egg and a few drops of vegetable oil to cottage cheese). But only kittens digest milk - adult cats drink it out of habit, without getting any benefit. If the pet normally digests lactose, you can treat the cat cow's milk room temperature 1-3 times a week, in small portions. It is hardly worth offering yoghurts to a mustachioed gourmet, they contain sweeteners, flavors and dyes (even in “natural” colorless ones). Huge harm to the liver is caused by cream and sour cream, even fat-free ones - these products must be completely excluded from the diet.

Shchi and porridge - our food

Many owners use the leftovers of their meal as food for cats - this should not be done in any case. Our food is salted, spiced and overcooked. Cats should not be fried, smoked, sausages and any canned vegetables or fruits - such food is harmful even to humans, and the body of domestic muroks is much more sensitive. Mushrooms are absolutely unnatural food for cats, in her body there are no enzymes for splitting mushrooms into components (the cat cannot digest them). In addition, a cat can be seriously poisoned even by mushrooms edible to humans. It is extremely dangerous to offer a cat alcohol and coffee! There are known cases of death of cats who ate a small piece of bacon, pickled tomato, fried cutlet. Don't risk your pet's health!

I love pasta

Some cats love pasta and flour products, enjoy buns, pies, spaghetti with pleasure. However, this diet can lead to serious problems with health, from banal colitis and constipation to obesity, heart failure and other "charms". Also, cats should not be given peas and beans (any legumes). But then what can you feed a cat to meet its need for carbohydrates? Of course, cereals with the addition of meat and vegetable oils. Cat-safe cereals - rice and buckwheat, not steamed (for cereals fast food glycemic index almost twice as high). Cats should not semolina, oatmeal, millet, corn porridge - a useless "ballast" and an unnecessary burden on the digestive system.

Let's crunch?

Any bones, heads, paws, tails are useless and dangerous food for a cat. The use of such products leads to intestinal obstruction and injuries. digestive tract. If the cat likes to "crunch", offer her special treats - dried entrails, "bones" from the veins.

vegetable diet

Homemade cat food should include some vegetables. Fiber promotes correct work digestive organs, removing toxins and maintaining the intestines and stomach in good shape. In addition, vegetables contain vitamins necessary for the health of the pet. However, an excess of vegetables in the diet leads to diseases of the digestive tract: gastritis, colitis, stomach and intestinal ulcers. Vegetables should be added to food 3-4 times a week, raw or stewed: carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, cauliflower. You can not offer a cat tomatoes, onions and garlic, eggplant (toxic to cats!), white cabbage and broccoli, potatoes. If a cat greedily eats vegetable food, try replacing vegetables with herbs (sprouted cereals, "cat" grass). Occasionally, young dandelion leaves, mint, chamomile flowers can be added to the salad (only freshly picked in countryside, feed a cat with herbs growing in the city, it is impossible in any case).

And what's for dessert?

Most cats are indifferent to sweets, not perceiving them as food. However, there are also those with a sweet tooth who love ice cream, sweets, chocolate, cakes and pastries. The owner must remember that any sweets cause great harm to the cat! Such frills lead to disruption digestive system, diseases internal organs, diabetes. Chocolate is completely toxic to a cat, eating it can lead to heart rhythm disturbance and even death. Any cakes are an unnecessary burden on the liver. By the way, fruits also contain too much sugar, so you should not treat a gourmet with bananas, pears and apples, melons, watermelons. Some fruits, especially exotic ones, are dangerous for a cat - avocado, persimmon, mango and pineapple. Grapes and raisins cause intoxication. The cat is unable to digest nuts, which, in addition to their uselessness, are also dangerous because they can provoke the strongest allergic reaction up to edema and respiratory arrest.

Do I need to salt the cat's food, add seasonings to enhance the taste, warm up the food?

No, no and NO. The food should be at room temperature or a little higher, you can’t add salt (the cat has enough of those salts that are contained in the products), and seasonings should be direct to disorders and chronic diseases digestive tract.

To the delight of gastroenterologists, the man has elevated food intake to a cult. Cats are much smarter than us in this regard - they eat to live, not live to eat. You should not impose human vices on these beautiful creatures.

Cats and cats are the most common pets in the world, but not everyone knows how to properly feed them. But these fluffy uglies bring not only joy to our lives, but also additional worries. This is especially true for feeding cats, which raises a lot of questions from owners. On the most popular of them: what to feed a cat at home? We will talk about this today.

It is difficult to overestimate the value rational nutrition to maintain the vital functions of a cat on optimal level. After all, health, life expectancy and normal work the reproductive apparatus of the cat. A diet that can compensate for the need for proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and trace elements can be considered acceptable for a cat. Otherwise, there is a high risk of the emergence of pathologies initiated by metabolic disorders.

Many cat owners believe that since their pet is a predator by nature, then the ideal diet for him should consist only of animal products. Indeed, wild cats get their livelihood exclusively by hunting, tracking down and attacking mice and birds. However, meat alone will not be enough. It turns out that the products plant origin contain in their composition irreplaceable components, without which the normal development of a cat is simply unthinkable. You have probably seen how your pet was happy to eat vegetables or just nibbling grass. Do not worry, because such actions are quite understandable. Just a cat in this way makes up for the deficit minerals in your body.

A few rules for proper nutrition

Cats are very picky eaters. They start eating slowly. Cats will never eat what they don't like and a good owner should understand this when choosing what to feed the cat.

Don't make a mess in a bowl. In vain, some try to make a homogeneous mash from the individual components. The cat will still choose only what she likes. All the rest, even the tiniest pieces, will remain in the cup after dinner is over.

This circumstance does not allow manufacturers of cat food to treat their products with disdain. Only properly selected food, made from high-quality raw materials with the addition of ingredients that enhance the smell and taste, will be appreciated by cats.

Cats are very sensitive to food temperature. Instincts play a big role here. Indeed, in the wild, cats begin to eat prey immediately after have a good hunting until she gets cold. In addition, it has been experimentally proven that cold food is absorbed by the cat's body much worse.

Experiment. The organoleptic properties of cat food are also extremely important. However, in this matter, each individual has individual preferences. One, for example, loves experiments and is happy to try what the owner offers. new food, while the other, on the contrary, is more conservative, skeptical about everything new and prefers the usual diet.

As mentioned, cat food manufacturers add flavor enhancers to their products. However, choosing the right supplement is very difficult. After all, if, for example, dogs are very fond of sweets, and in this regard, you should not think for a long time, then cats treat such additives with coolness. In addition, even tasty, from the cat's point of view, food must have a certain size and consistency.

How to properly feed a cat with ready-made food?

So, in order to understand how to feed a cat at home, you need to understand what choice we have. There are several types of industrial cat food - dry and wet, as well as several product classes, such as economy, premium and super-premium. Let's take a closer look at the features of each of the species and understand how to feed a cat with ready-made food.

Dry food

Feeding your cats ready-made dry food relieves the owner of many worries. This is especially convenient when moving or traveling, when there is no time or opportunity to cook something for your pet on your own. Just open the package, pour right amount granules in a bowl, put clean water nearby and that's it, your cat is full and happy. When fed dry food pure water next to the bowl is very important. After all, the moisture content in such feed does not exceed 12%, since otherwise mold will appear during storage. However, this fact does not affect the composition of the feed, which is not inferior to wet food in terms of nutritional value.

The main thing is that the cat has free access to clean drinking water, as well as the food you give the cat was complete. And that's it. If your mustache likes food, feels good, looks great, then dry food is the most convenient option for the owner.

wet food

In addition to dry food on sale, of course, there are also wet ones. They can be sold as canned food for cats or simply packaged in pouches. In any case, wet food is no worse and no better than dry food - they also have their advantages and disadvantages.

In canned food, 85% moisture is considered acceptable. Before going on sale, such food is sterilized and hermetically packaged. Do not buy bulk cat food sold from open containers. Wet food is highly perishable and can cause severe poisoning in your pet.

Canned products are not affected by mold and putrefactive processes. However, when buying wet food, you should make sure that the packaging is not deformed or depressurized. The jar should not show signs of corrosion or swelling. It is also worth buying only in trusted places, because in this case you can be sure that the canned food was stored correctly and you will not buy an expired product.

Features of the composition of finished feed

The composition of cat food can be considered balanced. This includes ingredients such as meat, fish, organ meats and herbal ingredients. Further, manufacturers enrich the resulting mixture with vitamins and mineral elements. The feed is given the necessary consistency. Of course, wet cat food is the most preferred, because it looks very appetizing, nutritious, and well absorbed. Moreover, it is not difficult for the owner to feed his pet with such products.

When purchasing canned food for cats, you can be guided by the same considerations as when buying ordinary canned food produced for people, since they are almost identical in appearance. The jar must contain the manufacturer's data, including address and contact information. The terms and conditions of storage should also be specified.

Medicated food for cats and cats

Visiting a modern pet store, the cat owner may be confused by the assortment finished products for his pet. In addition to the usual ones, medicinal foods are widely presented on the shelves, designed to help your pet in the fight against various pathologies. However, compassionate owners should be warned against the uncontrolled use of such products, because otherwise you can only harm your health. It is possible to feed a cat with medicated food only as prescribed by a veterinarian and under his supervision, since an accurate diagnosis must first be made.

Sometimes you can hear from a cat owner that he feeds his pet food against urolithiasis as a preventive measure. This approach cannot be considered correct, since, on the one hand, the composition of such feeds can vary greatly, and on the other hand, such prevention can hit the family budget hard, because feeds against ICD are much more expensive. Remember self-treatment cats can cause irreparable harm to her health.

Feed economy class. Is there a savings?

When choosing an industrial food, it is important to understand the difference between classes of cat food. Sometimes cat owners go to the other extreme and, wanting to save money, buy economy-class food, forgetting that ingredients with questionable quality are used for their production. nutritional value, for example, waste from the processing of meat and fish. Moreover, in low-quality cat food, you can find potentially dangerous additives for the animal, designed to somehow improve food intake.

Savings in feeding your cat an economy class food is deceptive, as your pet will eat it in large quantities and still remain hungry. But premium food made from natural meat and fish is eaten in much smaller quantities and makes the cat feel full for a long time.

In our age of high speeds, ready-made food has become for cat owners not a luxury, but a forced necessity. Manufacturers make sure that the use of cat food is convenient and easy. To this end, on the shelves of pet stores you can find all kinds of forms of packaging, which, importantly, are disposable. In other words, the packaging of feed is designed for one serving. Thus spoilage of a forage at storage in the open air is excluded.

In order for the cat to be active and healthy, you must follow the recommendations indicated on the container. Moreover, when consuming premium feeds, there is no need for supplementary feeding with vitamin and mineral premixes. It can be said that combined feeding, when natural products such as meat, fish, milk are used along with ready-made feeds, adversely affect the health of cats, cause metabolic disorders, and also lead to overweight.

If the owner wishes, he can pamper his pet natural products. In an ordinary grocery store, you can buy meat and fish, as well as offal, milk, eggs and vegetables. However, before serving, such food is additionally enriched with vitamin and mineral premixes.

What food is good for cats: video

Natural feeding of cats

What to feed a cat if ready-made food is not suitable? Then it makes sense to turn your attention to natural nutrition - in other words, "from the table." Sometimes cat owners mistakenly believe that their pet will be quite enough to eat leftovers from the dinner table. And it's not about the quality of the food, but about its composition. Here, first of all, it is important to feed the pet not to everyone in a row, but with an understanding of the issue - after all, if you systematically feed food that does not contain all the necessary set of microelements, you can easily plant health for the pet. How to feed a cat with natural food?

Fish and meat

Therefore, half-measures in the preparation of a cat's dinner cannot be dispensed with. Food will have to be cooked separately, using meat as the leading ingredient, which is rich in essential amino acids, fats, vitamins and iron. Cats love to eat meat. Just be careful not to overuse pork, as it is too fatty. In addition, a meat-based menu contains little calcium, which must be replenished separately.

Fish is also quite a valuable food item for cats, but is not as attractive in terms of its palatability. Fish fillet, like meat, is rather poor in terms of calcium content.

The cat is quite capable of cracking down on any fish. However, it is undesirable to give this product to a cat with bones, since large fragments can seriously injure the intestines of the animal, up to perforation, which can result in peritonitis and death. This is especially true of thoroughbred cats, which in the process of their development have moved quite far from their relatives from wildlife and lost many behavioral skills.

Milk for cats

Many cat owners consider milk to be the ideal product for their pet. This is partly true, since milk is unlikely to be compared with at least one other food product in terms of the balance of nutrients. But this statement does not apply to various powder substitutes.

Separate individuals, due to individual features your body, unable to absorb lactose, also called milk sugar. Drinking even a small amount of milk ends in severe diarrhea. In this case, it may be advisable to give your pet fresh milk to drink or, in the absence of such an opportunity, use dairy products, which rarely cause problems for cats.

Eggs

Cats love eggs, although owners often use this food to feed kittens. The egg is rich in protein, iron, folic acid and vitamins. However, you should be aware that a raw egg besides useful substances contains avidin, which is a biotin antagonist. Therefore, it is better for cats to feed boiled eggs.

Sprouted grains are an excellent source of proteins, thiamine and all kinds of vitamins. If it is not possible to germinate the seeds of cereal plants, then you should not try to treat your pet with whole grains. Cats won't eat it.

Vegetables

The beauty of using vegetables in cat food is to enrich the food with B vitamins. However, this does not make sense when feeding boiled vegetables, since all essential vitamins will be destroyed. Despite this, the benefits of vegetables are still there, since they are rich in fiber, which normalizes intestinal motility. adult and healthy cat eats about 200 grams of food per day. With a well-designed diet, 70% of this mass will be allocated to meat, and the rest to other additives, such as milk, vegetables or eggs. How to properly feed a cat so that the pet is full and healthy?

The daily portion should be divided into 3 parts and given to the cat at regular intervals throughout the day. For particularly picky individuals, the food can be homogenized in a blender. In this case, it will be very similar to the industrial one.

Differences between natural and prepared foods

The opinion of the veterinarian on feeding with natural and ready-made feeds on the video:

Features of feeding cats at different ages

Depending on age, the choice of what to feed a cat at home should shift towards age features animal. A kitten, an adult cat or an older cat needs a different approach in the diet.

Kitten diet

An extraordinary task may be the question of what to feed a kitten if the mother cat has refused them for some reason. As you know, feeding kittens with milk usually lasts up to 5 weeks. An alternative to mother's milk can be goat's milk with the addition of a chicken egg. If goat milk is not available, it can be purchased at veterinary pharmacy ready substitutes.

As soon as the kittens begin to try to eat on their own, they can be offered a mash of oatmeal porridge, eggs, cream and meat puree. Gradually they are accustomed to thermally processed meat and fish.

Of course, when feeding kittens, the ideal option would be to use ready-made feeds, since they satisfy all the nutritional needs of babies to the maximum. The daily portion should be divided into 6 parts and given at regular intervals throughout the day.

Feeding an old cat

Feeding problems deliver their owners and cats in old age. How to feed an older cat? Feed them, like kittens, should be small portions, offering high quality food.

An aging cat requires more attention, as it often completely refuses to eat. At the first sign of anorexia, it should be shown immediately veterinarian, because in the future, liver pathologies may occur. The consistency of the food also deserves attention, since a cat with dental problems is unlikely to be able to eat rough and hard food.

Pregnant cat nutrition

During pregnancy, the cat needs nutritious food. The developing fetus makes its own adjustments to the diet of the mother cat. During this period, the cat's body for normal functioning requires 2 times more energy than before. However, after a week of pregnancy, the diet should be reduced. The same applies to water, to which the cat must have free access around the clock.

From the diet of a pregnant cat, food that can initiate bloating is completely excluded. But the dose of vitamin and mineral supplements, on the contrary, is increased. Also, to normalize the weight of future kittens, feed rich in fat should be included in the diet. Such a measure can significantly improve the viability of babies after birth.

There are three options for feeding your cat: natural food that you prepare yourself, industrial food, and mixed food, which includes both natural food and food. Which method to choose is up to you.

Ready feed

Feeding dry and canned food is very convenient. It has all the necessary vitamins and minerals, it does not need to be cooked.

However, such food must be of high quality. Always remember that good food is not cheap. Choose super-premium and holistic food.

Do not buy commercially produced feed by weight. It spoils quickly in stores, as it is constantly in open bags. When choosing food for your cat, consider her personality: age, lifestyle, physical condition.

It is impossible to mix dry food and natural food on the same day, since neither one nor the other food will be digested normally. If you feed the animal in combination, then alternate days, do not give food and natural foods at the same time.

A cat should always have a plate of clean and fresh water. You must give her the opportunity to quench her thirst when she wants to. Do not give your cat tap water. Water must be either bottled or boiled.

natural feeding

If you have the opportunity to cook a full-fledged natural food for a cat, then this will be the best option for her. The basis of a cat's diet is protein food of animal origin. In addition to meat, the cat's diet should include plant foods (vegetables, cereals, bran, vegetable oil, sprouted oats) in a small amount as well as dairy products.

In nature, wild cats feed on small rodents, birds, and eat them along with the skin and stomach contents - grains and herbs. Sometimes small birds come across in their menu, but they practically do not get fish.

In home conditions, as sources of protein in cat food, beef, chicken, liver, cottage cheese, cheese, chicken eggs(boiled).

There is an opinion that meat and fish are much healthier in their raw form, as this is more reminiscent of food. wild cat. Meat, liver is really better to give raw, with fish - it's more difficult.

River fish are very often infected with worms. The tissues of some marine fish contain harmful substances that destroy B vitamins, the so-called antivitamins. Any fish should be boiled before being fed to the cat and given no more than once a week. A cat's diet may not include fish at all.

Meat products are cut into small pieces, approximately 1-2 cm, so that the animal chews them for a while, and does not swallow them whole. Bones and fat are removed, and tendons and membranes are cut. Boiled bones are of no value. Tubular bones are simply dangerous for the animal. In the process of cooking, the bones lose all the most important nutrients. tubular bones very fragile, especially the bones of a bird, crumble easily, forming fragments that a cat can swallow. In this case, urgent veterinary intervention is required.

Despite the long-held belief that cats love milk and dairy products, whole milk should not be given to an animal, as it contains a lot of lactose. Not all cats can digest lactose; in many animals, milk causes diarrhea. Instead of milk, cats are given fermented milk products such as kefir and sour cream.

Cats, especially young and growing cats, need vegetable fats. They have a positive effect on the condition of the coat. Vegetable oil you need to add to food 2-3 times a week for 5-10 g, mixing with the main feed.

Many cats eat fresh vegetables and fruits, depending on individual preferences. Also, cats can boil carrots, beets, cauliflower, grate or finely chop, and then mix with meat. Do not give the cat beans, peas, corn.

Food should always be fresh and at room temperature. Frozen and hot foods are harmful to the animal.

It is recommended to include fresh grass in their diet. Pet stores sell wheat and oat seeds. They are grown at home. The animal eats young shoots with pleasure, which contain a large amount of vitamins.

Because cats have enough small stomach, they should be fed 2-3 times a day, and the portions should be small, and the food should be quite nutritious. On average, in order for a cat to feel comfortable, about 30 g of food is required per 1 kg of its body weight, the daily energy requirement for females is 250 kcal, for males - 300 kcal. However, there are cats that, due to the nature of their metabolism, need less or, conversely, more food. pick up daily allowance food should be in each case individually, but not forgetting to take into account average norms so as not to overfeed the pet or leave him hungry every time.

Castrated and sterilized animals differ from offspring capable of giving birth not only in features of physiology, but also in their way of life. The first rule of feeding a neutered pet is not to overfeed it. Otherwise, the cat may become obese. A neutered animal (both male and neutered female) requires less food than breeding and fertile cats.

How to determine how well-fed a cat is without scales and whether she is overweight? You need to run your hand along her back and hips and feel the bones: at normal weight, they should be well palpable, but not show through.

After eating, the cat needs rest. If you carelessly take the animal immediately after eating, it may vomit.