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 CAT
DIETS:
What foods are available for my cat?
A visit to the supermarket, pet shop or veterinary practice
will reveal a bewildering range of food for your pet cat. Tinned
food has been the classic pet diet for several years but more
recently we have seen the emergence of a number of dried foods.
These initially had limited varieties but more flavours have
recently been developed. Food with a higher energy content is
available for kittens and we can also provide specially formulated
diets for geriatric cats. At veterinary practices we can also
supply specialised prescription diets which are designed to
help cats with certain disease problems. Most foods are complete
and contain all the nutrients a cat needs but some are designed
to be complementary to staple diets, so always check the label.
How often should I feed my cat?
Very young kittens need to be given small regular meals four
or five times daily. As cats get older, the number of meals
can gradually be reduced, so that by the time they're around
8 months old they can be fed once daily. Most owners opt for
two meals per day - a small one in the morning, and a bigger
evening meal.
Should my cat be given a varied diet?
If you're feeding a complete food produced by one of the "big
names" in the pet food industry, it's not absolutely necessary
to vary the diet. We humans are naturally omnivores (that is,
we can eat a variety of foods), and we tend to assume that our
pets have similar requirements to our own. In the wild, the
cat's natural diet would be small mammals and birds and not
much else, so there wouldn't naturally be a big variety in its
diet. If your cat is fed a complete balanced diet it will have
the essential nutrition in its food.
Will dried diets harm my cat's kidneys and bladder?
In the early days of dried diets, there was a noticeable increase
in cats affected with bladder problems. Crystals developed in
the urine and caused cystitis-like signs or, even worse, caused
a blockage of the urinary tract, a problem which can rapidly
become life-threatening. There was a strong link between the
development of crystals and the levels of certain minerals in
the food. The acidity or alkalinity of the urine also affected
the likelihood of the crystal development, and this is turn
was also affected by the composition of the food. There has
been a huge amount of research and development of cat foods
over the past few years and we're now at the stage where we're
using dried foods to help treat cats with kidney and bladder
problems. If a problem develops while your cat is on dried food,
it's more likely to be a problem with the cat than the food.
Can I feed my cat a vegetarian diet?
In a word - NO! Evolution created a natural carnivore in the
cat. The cat's body assumes that it is going to get all its
nutritional requirements from a typically carnivorous diet so
time has made some parts of the metabolism lazy. Dogs have the
ability to metabolise or create certain substances but cats
have an absolute requirement for these substances in their food.
For instance, taurine is an amino acid (protein building block)
which is only found in animal flesh. If a cat is offered a diet
deficient in taurine, it will develop heart failure and blindness.
Vegetarian diets have been created which have synthetic taurine
added to them but we think you have to question taking on a
natural carnivore as a pet and then feeding it an artificial
diet.
Can I give my cat milk?
If you're feeding a complete food, milk isn't necessary, but
some cats seem to love the taste. Many cats can happily drink
milk without any side effects but some have an inability to
digest lactose, a sugar which is found in cows' milk. For these
individuals, milk will cause diarrhoea. Commercially available
cat milk is available in which the lactose has been removed.
It's best to look on this as an occasional treat for your cat
rather than a regular food supplement.
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