As your cat becomes less like a pet and more a member of your family you may neglect certain aspects of your cat’s diet. Human beings require a variety of foods in their diets to achieve proper nutrition. Quality, premium cat foods provide a balance of nutrition that your cat needs in a medium that can be readily absorbed by their digestive systems. Regularly adding human foods to your cat’s diet can upset the balance of nutrition provided by your premium cat food. This doesn’t mean you should never crack open a pouch of Albacore tuna as a treat; it simply means human foods should not be a regular part of your cat’s diet.
Milk for example is considered a food and should not be substituted for water. As cat food, milk is nutritionally incomplete and does not proved balanced nutrition to your cat. In addition, milk has lactose, which requires enzymes to breakdown that your cat may not have in sufficient quantity. When this happens your cat will have diarrhea. Raw eggs are also not nutritionally complete for your cat. Regularly adding egg to your cat’s diet can lead to inflammation, stunted physical development, and hair loss.
Be careful feeding raw fish to your cat. Certain types of fish can contribute to a deficiency of thiamine. This can lead to a total loss of appetite, weakness, and seizures. Under certain conditions raw fish could even kill your cat. Any type of raw food, meat or fish could have bacteria or parasites. Cooked meats may be high in saturated fats and do not contain the proper balance of nutrients your cat needs. Feeding your cat raw liver could lead to toxic levels of vitamin A. Be careful not to give your cat bones as they could get splinters in their mouth or throat.
When you feed your cat a balanced diet of premium cat food it is not necessary to give your cat vitamin supplements. Remember, table scraps do not offer balanced nutrition for cat; scraps offer mainly empty calories and fat. You should not feed your cat scraps from the table.
Varieties of Cat Food
There are three varieties of cat food. They are dry food, canned food, and soft & moist food. Premium cat foods today are carefully designed to provide your cat balanced nutrition; don’t skimp when it comes to cat food.
Dry Cat Food
Dry cat food consists of crunchy kibble. This crunchy food helps keep your cat’s teeth tartar and plaque free. Dry cat foods will stay fresh longer than other varieties once the bag is opened.
Soft & Moist Cat Food
The soft and moist variety of cat food offers greater palatability compared to dry cat food. This variety is easy to store and serve to your cat.
Canned Cat Food
The canned variety of cat food has the greatest amount of palatability compared to the other varieties. You should always store unused canned food in the refrigerator; because of this do not leave canned food out for more than a couple of hours.
The difference between the three varieties of cat food, (wet, dry, and moist) affects the density of nutrients per ounce of food. Dry cat food contains the highest amount of protein, fats, and other nutrients. Wet foods require your cat to eat larger amounts to receive the same nutritional value as dry foods.
