Introduction
According to Matt Davies Harmony Communities, you need to pay a lot of attention to your feline’s diet to ensure its health and make sure it lives a long and happy life. A healthy diet doesn’t just provide nutrition but also acts as preventative medicine. Let’s check out a few diet tips for a healthy cat.
Tips & Tricks
1. Don’t shun canned food – Unlike humans, felines are strictly carnivorous. That means they eat meat to obtain nutrients for their body and stay healthy. Dry food simply doesn’t cut it and doesn’t fulfill their needs as well as wet food. If your cat’s diet contains kibble, it’s best to switch it with canned food.
Unlike popular belief, canned food isn’t just healthy for your cat, but contains enough water and animal protein and is low on carbs. While high-quality canned food can be a bit more expensive than kibble, it does save you money in the long run on vet bills.
2. Prepare food at home with caution – If you decide to cook food for your cat, you need to be very careful about it. Talk to your vet about it and make sure to serve your cat a balanced diet. Cat food you buy at the store is usually formulated to carry all the essential nutrients required by your cat.
For instance, if you read the label on store-bought cat food, it should contain a statement from the Association of American Feed Control Officials(AAFCO) that says the food is balanced and complete to meet your cat’s nutritional requirements. When you prepare food for your cat at home, you don’t have that option. Your vet can suggest supplements or vitamins that can be added to homemade meals.
3. Avoid toxic food – While this seems obvious, it can be tricky to avoid toxic food for your cat. Food that is healthy for you may not be good for your cat. That’s why you can’t casually share the food you’re eating with your cat. For instance, caffeine, chocolate, grapes, dairy products, garlic, onions, raisins, and yeast dough are some of the common human foods that can be toxic to cats.
4. Try to keep your cat at an ideal weight – Cats are carnivores and in the wild, their ancestors used to hunt several times a day to stay healthy. That’s why vets recommend you feed your cat several small meals throughout the day to mimic their natural routine.
However, it’s also important to make sure that your cat maintains an ideal weight. If the portion sizes and the ingredients aren’t strictly checked, it can lead to obesity. Obesity in cats can increase their risk of diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more such ailments.
Conclusion
Matt Davies Harmony Communities suggests that you use the above-mentioned tips to maintain a healthy diet for your cat. It keeps your cat healthy and helps to avoid several diseases and complications that would be painful for your cat and expensive for you.