Mature Cats And Senior Cats
Cats in these two categories are placed firmly in the middle stages of life. In human years, these furry friends are in their early 40s through early 70s comparatively to humans. While your kitty won’t experience a mid-life crisis, she may become a little more finicky with her food choices, and you’ll need to ensure she gets the nutrients she needs while staying properly hydrated. Always make sure your cat has access to clean, fresh water.
This also is a time of life when cats’ nutritional needs shift, whether because of medical issues or simply aging. In some instances, too much or too little of any one ingredient may impact her health. During this stage, you’ll want to keep an eye on your cat’s weight as her activity level may decrease, which could lead to obesity. Avoid the calorie-rich food formulated for kittens and young adult cats instead, look for foods that are formulated with her needs as an aging cat are kept in mind like Youthful Vitality cat food. Watching her calorie intake not only keeps her weight in a healthy range but also reduces the risk of diseases, such as kidney disease, certain cancers and osteoarthritis.
How Often Should You Feed Your Kitten
How often you feed your kitten depends on several factors such as how old your kitten is and what you are feeding him. Very young kittens need to be fed several times per day. We all know that kittens are very active they burn up a lot of energy! They have to replace that energy every few hours so you should plan to feed a very young kitten at least three or four small meals per day, whether you are feeding dry or canned food. However, kittens are small and they cant eat very much at a single meal, so dont expect your kitten to eat huge meals. Some people who feed dry cat food do like to free feed kittens so they can snack whenever they get hungry. Most people dont encourage free feeding of cats because of potential problems with obesity , but in the case of young kittens this should not be a problem. You can put your kitten on a feeding schedule when he gets a little older. Free feeding can also help kittens that are a little underweight or that are growing slowly. Of course, if you are feeding your kitten canned food then free feeding is not an option because you cant leave canned food sitting out for more than a few minutes or it will spoil.
As your kitten gets a little older you can cut back dry meals to two or three times per day. If you are feeding canned food you should continue to feed three or four meals per day until your kitten is older. This is the best way to make sure your kitten is getting sufficient calories at each meal.
Are Prescription Diets Good For Cats
There is no law saying that prescription foods can be sold only with a veterinarians prescription. They are not drugs or medication. Theyre food.
Quoting the FDA/CVM Communications Staff Deputy Director: Prescription diet is an industry-coined term and holds no legal meaning.
In many cases, prescription foods are perfect for the condition for which theyre marketed. Some prescription cat foods, however, are no better than the average food sold on a grocery store shelf.
A particularly ironic example is prescription dry food for urinary tract health. Because dry food can promote urinary tract disease, this marketing slant adds insult to injury. The final word on prescription cat food is that it can be both good or bad. Stay skeptical and evaluate each product on an individual basis. If youre unsure about evaluating prescription food options on your own, your veterinarian can help you.
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Where Nature Meets Innovation
CoreyTEC puts the full power of science into every pet formula we produce. Raising the bar beyond typical pet food formulation techniques, weve developed a series of production innovations that guarantee a finer, fresher, nutritionally dense food for the pets we love.
Our commitment is to the highest quality standards, without compromise. When innovation meets nutrition, the result is healthy pets and happy families.
What To Feed A Puppy Or Kitten
Because of their rapid growth rate, puppies and kittens possess calorie requirements that exceed those for adult or mature pets. For this reason, it is important to feed developing puppies and kittens diets labeled for growth. There is a general consensus amongst veterinarians which recommends feeding a puppy or kitten formulation until the pet has achieved 90 percent of its adult size. Generally, cats stature maturity is reached at 10 months, small and medium dogs at 12 months, and large-breed dogs are usually fully-grown by 18 months.
When it comes to large-breed dogs such as Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers and Great Danes, nutritional recommendations are different than those for their smaller counterparts. Because large-breed puppies have a genetic propensity for rapid growth, they are prone to skeletal abnormalities. Feeding a diet that is labeled for large-breed puppies is recommended. These diets are formulated to regulate the calories and calcium intake needed to minimize the risk of developmental problems such as hip dysplasia and osteochondrosis, a condition in which there is disruption in the normal maturation of cartilage to bone. The failure to feed a diet formulated for the specific needs of large-breed puppies can result in pain secondary to arthritis and the possible need for corrective surgery.
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What To Feed A Sick Kitten
If your kitten is feeling under the weather, minor diet changes may be helpful in the recovery process. Digestive issues in kittens can be caused by many things, but most commonly, it can be the result of your kitten eating too much or eating something that they arent supposed to.
This could be people food or the food of another pet in your house. If your kitten is teething, then they may chew on things that arent food, like furniture, fabrics, or even wood.
If you suspect your kitten is sick, the first step should always be to call your vet for advice. Ruling out serious issues will allow you to treat minor digestive concerns from home with some small diet changes.
Most minor tummy upsets will pass, but you can help reduce symptoms and discomfort by tweaking her diet temporarily. Here are a few options for feeding a sick kitten:
Buy Good Quality Food For Your Kitten
Per the Merck Veterinary Manual, Growing kittens are more sensitive to the quality of dietary protein and amino acid balance than are adult cats. This means that its especially important to consider the source of ingredients when feeding kittens. You want to make sure you buy cat food that uses good quality ingredients, especially good quality meat proteins and ingredients that are properly balanced. While most of us have to consider our budgets, you should try to buy the best quality food for your kitten that you can afford. The food that he eats while he is growing will help determine his health throughout his life.
While you can find good quality dry cat foods as well as good quality canned foods , canned foods typically have a higher meat protein content than dry foods. This is largely because dry cat foods require starches for their recipes for a variety of reasons they need starches to make a batter/dough to go through the extrusion machinery, for example. Canned cat food is slightly less processed and it doesnt require the same amount of carbs/starches in its formulation. You will often find good quality cat foods with very high protein percentages by their dry matter basis. Growing kittens can benefit from eating good quality protein in canned form, especially if the food is designed for kittens or all life stages and meets their nutritional requirements.
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Natures Variety Instinct Original Canned
This premium kitten food features lots of high-quality protein to get your kitten off to a great start in life. Theres a mix of chicken, salmon, liver, and beef that exposes your little kitty to a variety of proteins early on. This great variety of ingredient can help reduce the chance of food sensitivities in the future.
Strangely, one of the things we love about this product is the things that arent included. Youll find no grain, potato, soy, wheat, corn, artificial colors, or preservatives. All that leaves is highly natural ingredients that your kitten will love. The pate texture is very popular for kittens because it is easy to chew for their small mouths.
With plenty of natural DHA, this wet kitten food is great for eye and brain development. Salmon, one of the top ingredients, is a great source of both the DHA and protein. Youll also find plenty of vitamins present, along with fruits and vegetables such as pumpkin, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, cabbage, kale, parsley, and artichokes.
Priding themselves on producing excellent raw food, the Natures Variety brand has endeared itself to cat owners worldwide. Were not surprised.
We Looked For Foods That Were Free Of Potentially Harmful Ingredients And Additives
The Best Cat Food Is Free Of Carrageenan.
This natural seaweed extract is a great binder and thickener for canned cat food, but it has a bad reputation. Studies have shown that carrageenan creates inflammation in the body and may exacerbate cancer.
The Best Cat Food Doesnt Contain Artificial Ingredients.
Artificial flavors are unnecessary if the food is made with nourishing meat ingredients. No cat needs artificial colors. In addition to being unnecessary, food dyes are tied to behavioral issues and cancer development in both humans and animals.
BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are popular preservatives that are associated with serious problems. Most pet foods have replaced them with natural alternatives including Vitamin E , rosemary extract, and other antioxidants. Although ethoxyquin rarely appears on the ingredient list, it may enter your cat food as a fish preservative.
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The Best Cat Food On The Market: Our Top Picks
At the top of the list is Smalls Cat Food. Its hard to beat this wet foods combination of outstanding protein content, emphasis on animal-sourced ingredients, and exclusion of additives that might harm your cat over time.
Though it satisfies our requirements for the best wet cat food, this product isnt perfect for everyone. Our product roundup includes options for cats and people of all kinds.
Youll find raw foods, products well-suited to cats with sensitive stomachs, and options that will help your cat lose weight.
Kitten Food Vs Cat Food
You can buy kitten food that is specially formulated for kittens or you can buy a good all life stage cat food. You should look for AAFCO approval on these foods, preferably foods that have been approved through feeding trials instead of nutrient profiles. While this can eliminate some popular brands, many nutritionists believe that feeding trials provide a better look at how a food performs when its fed to an animal. Its true that AAFCO and their feeding trials leave a lot to be desired, but they at least provide minimal standards.
You can see the current nutrient recommendations for kittens here in Table 4. Information for kittens is listed as Growth and Reproduction. As you can see, it is recommended that growing kittens have a minimum of 30 percent protein in their food, compared to a minimum of 26 percent protein for adult cats. Both kittens and adult cats are recommended to have 9 percent fat in their diets. It is recommended that kittens have a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.0 to 0.8, while adult cats can have a ratio that is nearly equal . Kittens also need almost double the Vitamin A that adult cats need and Vitamin A is an important vitamin for cats. Kittens also require slightly more of the amino acids Lysine and Tryptophan than adult cats.
You can continue to feed your kitten a kitten food until hes about a year old and then switch to an adult maintenance diet. If you are feeding your kitten an all life stage food you wont have to make any changes.
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Five Weeks Old Kitten
Showing their independence, Darling, Denby, Corduroy, Tweed, and Wembley are beginning to demonstrate their individual personalities: Darling is a talker Denby is always up for adventure and a good wrestle Corduroy is brave and confident Tweed is sweet and loves belly rubs and Wembley is a cuddle bug and full of silly mischief.
Corduroy, brave and confident!
So Whats The Best Food
You have several choices when deciding on the best food for your cat. You can feed a homemade diet or you can feed one of several kinds of commercial diets. Homemade diets can be either raw diets or cooked. Both formulations have their supporters and some drawbacks.
Commercial diets can be dry, wet or frozen or freeze-dried.
Before making any choice its important for you to consider any special needs that your cat has. Some dietary needs are harder to meet than others and some are quite easy if you are willing to do a little research. If your cat has certain health problems you might be better off using a prescription formula cat food. The ingredients often look terrible but they often work well, in conjunction with your vets treatment. However, some health conditions respond as well, or better, to a homemade diet.
Determine your cats life stage kitten, adult, or senior. If you have a kitten you want to be certain that he is having all of his nutritional needs met because he is growing at this age. Nutritional deficiencies or excesses at this age can have health effects later in life.
After you have considered some of these factors, you can begin to decide if you would prefer a wet or dry, frozen/freeze-dried, or homemade diet for your cat.
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How To Shop For Cat Food
Unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores, warns Dr. Fox. They really shouldnt be on a vegan or vegetarian diet at all. In order for your cat to live its best life, youll want to make sure that whatever diet you pick packs an adequate amount of protein to support its growth and developmental needs. The way a cats GI tract functions is that it can only process and break down food that is meat, says Dr. Fox. So you definitely dont want to be giving your cat any plant-based food products.
Cats also require taurine, an essential amino acid that has important functions in the heart and brain, including supporting nerve growth. Since taurine can be found only in animal sources like chicken, beef, or seafood, thats another reason your cat needs a primarily carnivorous diet.
Weruva Cats In The Kitchen Goldie Lox Chicken And Salmon Recipe Au Jus
Buy Online : $1.87/6 ounce canThe Weruva Company follows the tagline, people food for pets. This is a reference to the fat that Weruva uses many human-grade and organic ingredients in their recipes recipes that are produced in human food facilities. Weruva offers four different product lines for canned cat food and the Cats in the Kitchen line is middle of the road in terms of price point. The Cats in the Kitchen line of products is essentially a cross between the original lineup of Weruva recipes and the Best Feline Friend line of protein-rich, low-fat recipes. The Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Goldie Lox Chicken & Salmon Au Jus recipe in particular is made with protein-rich white breast meat chicken as well as both tuna and salmon. Sunflower seed oil provides plenty of omega-6 fatty acids while salmon oil provides omega-3 fatty acids to balance it out. This formula contains 11% crude protein and 2% fat which translates to dry matter values of 66% protein and 30% fat.
Pros and Cons of Canned Cat Foods
Many cat lovers today recommend canned foods for the reasons mentioned above.
- Canned cat foods provide more moisture in the cats diet which is better for the cats urinary tract health.
- Their protein and fat percentages are closer to those found in the cats natural diet.
- They have fewer carbs and starches than are usually found in dry cat foods.
- Canned cat foods are slightly less processed than dry cat foods, which are cooked intensively.
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Why Its Important To Switch To Adult Cat Food
Kittens experience rapid growth and development, plus, theyre playful and have a lot of energy. Kitten food has higher calories and more protein and fat to support energetic, growing kittens.
Its also formulated with DHA to help support brain and vision development, plus vitamins and minerals needed for their developing immune systems.
Once they reach maturity, cats dont need the same amounts of those nutrients. Plus, theyre often less energetic, so eating a high-calorie kitten food could result in weight gain.
Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau Succulent Chicken In Chicken Consomme Canned
Buy Online : $2.42/6 ounce canThe Tiki Pets Company is known primarily for producing gourmet wet foods for both cats and dogs. The Tiki Cat line of products features whole, human-grade shredded or sliced meats and seafood, available in nearly twenty different flavors. In addition to being protein-rich, these formulas are cooked in a flavorful broth to preserve the moisture content of the raw ingredients. The Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau Succulent Chicken in Chicken Consommé recipe features shredded chicken breast meat simmered in a flavorful chicken consommé and supplemented with vitamins and minerals as needed to ensure complete and balanced nutrition. This formula offers 18.5% crude protein and 2.3% crude fat with 0% crude fiber. These percentages translate to dry matter values of 84% protein and 10% fat. The beauty of this recipe is that it contains a minimal amount of main ingredients and that it is not just grain-free, but carb-free. The chicken used for this ingredient is also sustainably sourced and free from both hormones and antibiotics.
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