The 10 best cat breeds for children

 What Do Cats Eat?

With the feeding of some pets such as dogs , there is always the question of whether they are carnivores or if they are omnivores. I think that with cats there is not much doubt that they are carnivorous animals: when asked what cats eat, the reasonable and logical answer is meat and fish, but it does not prevent them from taking other foods that are beneficial to their health.

The ideal diet for your cat should be composed mostly of proteins of animal origin, fats and to a lesser extent vegetables and fruits.

From meat, cats will not only get protein, but also other essential nutrients for their health, such as taurine, arginine, niacin, pyridoxine and thiamine.

Fruits and vegetables will provide starch and fiber which, although they are not essential in the cat's diet, promote intestinal activity.

A suitable combination of meats and vegetables will also provide the minerals they need for their proper development, such as calcium (present in vegetables) and phosphorus (present in meats).

What can cats eat?

What food attracts cats?

 When we have a pet, our affection with it is total, we not only want it to be healthy and healthy, we also want it to be happy.

As happens to us, the basic needs of your cat are to eat well, sleep (they need a good bed ), play and feel loved.

These are the foods that you can offer your cat:

meats

The leanest meats are chicken, rabbit, turkey and beef, which should make up between 60% and 80% of your diet.

They should also be fed other fatter meats, such as lamb or duck, although they will only account for between 15% and 20% of the total of what your cat eats.

Organ meats and fish

The organ meats will provide you with vitamins and minerals that you will not find in other foods.

Oily fish will provide you with very good fats for growth and development , such as Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Sausages

As if it were a prize, our kitten will be delighted if you offer him cooked ham or turkey breast , as long as they are low in salt.

They are high-protein foods, which drive them crazy.

Vegetables that cats can eat

Cats do not like vegetables very much ( they are not rabbits ), but they can and should be part of their diet, although in a very low proportion.

If you want to include some, cats can eat carrots, chard, zucchini, and beets.

The feed cats balanced , the usually include. If we want to make our own cat food, we must include it in very small pieces so that they eat it.

Fruits cats can eat

Not all fruits are good for cats, and some should be avoided. Among those that if they can eat we have watermelon, melon, peach and pear.

It removes the skin of the melon and the watermelon, it also removes the seeds of all, including the pear.

Dairy products

We all have a mental image of a kitten drinking milk from a plate. Dairy products do not suit cats too well, however we can offer them "a little" of natural yogurt without sugar.

Eggs

Cooked eggs can be part of your cat's diet. In the BARF diet they use raw egg yolks and eliminate the white, it is a detail that I will clarify a little later.

Cereals

The intake of cereals by a cat is a controversial subject.

Many commercial feeds include cereals in their composition , such as wheat, corn and rice.

In a natural state, no cat would eat cereals, so in biologically appropriate premium diets and feed , cereals are not present.

This does not mean that cats cannot eat them, but they are not exactly a very appropriate food and we should not offer them. I mean, we shouldn't give them breakfast cereals.

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Raw or cooked food to feed your cat?

This is another point where there are different points of view. It is evident that if we feed our cat raw meat, fish or entrails, it could become ill.

One of the most common diseases would be Toxoplasmosis , a disease caused by a protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii. But it would not be the only one, they could also be affected by salmonella, listeria and E coli.

Those who see the problem in this way recommend using only and exclusively food prepared for cats , even if it is based on the BARF diet, wet food prepared for cats or cooked food, which we prepare especially for our cat.

In the BARF diet, which proposes to use only fresh food (in the eggs, only the yolk),fresh food is chopped, rolled into balls and frozen for three days "to kill any bacteria."

What can't cats eat?

There are foods that cats cannot eat, because they do not tolerate them well and can be harmful to their health, but other foods are toxic to cats and we have to avoid them at all costs.

Vegetables and fruits forbidden for cats

There are vegetables that your cat should not take under any circumstances:

1. Oranges and lemons. They cause stomach discomfort and upset.
2. Grapes. They cause kidney problems.
3. Avocado. It contains Persin, a toxin that is toxic to cats, which we must also avoid in the diet of dogs. They cause intestinal irritation, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, respiratory distress ...
4. Onions, leeks and garlic. They cause damage to the red blood cells of most pets, generating anemias that can lead to more serious problems.
5. Mushrooms Many of those that we tolerate can be harmful to cats, it is better not to give them any type of mushroom.

Plants harmful to cats

Honestly, I have never seen a cat eat a plant that could be harmful to it, but it should be borne in mind that there are plants that are poisonous to our pets, such as oleander, lily of the valley or poinsettia.

What do cats eat to shed swallowed hair?

Catnip . If, as I have told you, cats are not stupid at all and recognize that herbs are good and bad for their health ... this does not mean that accidentally or while playing, they cannot chew some type of grass that does not suit them.

Cats are very clean pets. They constantly lick to clean themselves and swallow hairs in the process.

If they have a proper and healthy diet, these hairs are expelled through the stool. But sometimes they stay in the stomach and form balls.

In this case, it is the cat itself that seeks to purge itself, to cause vomiting and expel them.

They do it by eating catnip, which is usually wheat, barley ... its ingestion causes them to vomit, through which they expel the hairballs that have remained in their stomach.

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Industrial sweets, sweets, sugar in general

All the sweets that seem most innocent to us, cookies, buns ... contain a lot of sugar, which is fatal to cats.

What if cats eat chocolate?

If sweets are bad in general, chocolate is toxic. Chocolate contains theobromine, a substance that can become toxic, depending on how much the cat takes.

As a reaction to its intake, your pulse would accelerate, you could have diarrhea, vomiting and if the amount is high, death.

Coffee or tea are also stimulants that can cause symptoms similar to chocolate, and we should avoid giving them under any circumstances.

Alcohol

It is obvious, but it is better to remember. No pet should ingest alcohol , they do not metabolize it well and it can cause them many problems.

Best food for adult cats

At the beginning I have shown you the foods that "yes" a cat can eat, from which you can make your own recipes.

However, and if you don't want to complicate things, you can always buy dry ( I think for cats ) and wet food , specially prepared to feed your cat.

My recommendation, obviously, is that you don't buy cheap cat food. The continued use of these poor quality feed has been shown to cause urinary problems: cystitis, kidney stones and the formation of kidney crystals, which are very painful and would force us to provide a veterinary diet.

What do baby cats eat?

Baby cats do not have teeth when they are born and their digestive systems are underdeveloped, as is the case with all mammals.

1. Newborn cats and up to four weeks of age should be fed only mother's milk , which will help strengthen their immune system. If that is not possible, you can always get kitten formula.
2. What do month-old cats eat? What about two-month-old cats? From 4 to 5 weeks of age and up to two months, baby cats can start on wet food. We can also give them food prepared by us, in which we can include: boiled chicken or turkey, Greek or natural yogurt without sugar, wounded chicken liver and heart, boiled carrots and boiled fish without bones.
3. After two months, we can gradually introduce them to dry kitten food , but at first mixed with water or goat's milk.

How much does a cat eat

The "dry" food or I think a cat should eat on a daily basis, is closely related to its size, age and lifestyle. The food that a baby cat needs is not the same as that needed by an adult. As a measure, the diet that an adult cat should eat based on its weight is:

1. A cat that weighs two kilos should eat between 30g and 40g of dry food.
2. If you weigh about 3 kg, you should eat between 40g and 55g of good quality cat food.
3. For a cat weighing 4 kg, the food it eats has to be between 45g and 65g.
4. Cats that weigh 5 kg, have to eat between 55gr and 75gr.
5. For large cats over 6 kg, they should eat 11 grams per kilo of weight.

How many times does a cat eat a day?

As with raw or cooked food, there is no consensus on how many times a cat should eat per day.

According to some experts, cats are hunters (we all agree on that) and if they were free they would spend the day hunting and therefore should eat small amounts of food throughout the day, simulating that situation.

Others claim that cats tend to self-regulate in their diet, so it is not necessary to distribute food intakes in so many per day, so that an adult cat could be offered its daily ration of food once a day, or split it into two servings during the day.

If we let ourselves be carried away by the first current, we should be aware throughout the day of what our kitten has eaten or has not eaten. I find it too stressful, so my recommendation is that you break it into one, two or three doses at most during the day, when it is more comfortable for you and your cat.

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