Feeding cats -what should you be feeding your cat?
What should you be feeding Cats? before you decide on your cats diet you need to consider what cats will need in the wild to determine the best food sources for them.
In the wild, cats will eat mice and birds, and drink water. Obviously this is a diet high in protein and it is essential that your cat gets sufficient protein to maintain a good healthy diet.
What many people don’t realise is that cats can get diabetes from having a diet that is too high in carbohydrates.
By constantly feeding your cat carbohydrates it can become insulin resistant and unable to keep its blood glucose levels at a suitable level.
Some signs that your cat is becoming diabetic include drinking a lot of water and eating considerably more than they usually do.
You might also notice a sign of weakness in the back legs as they tend to wobble a bit when walking.
The only way to be sure whether your cat is developing diabetes is to give it a blood test.
This is the best way to determine whether the cat has diabetes or not, although you can do a urine analysis to check blood glucose levels, but this is not as accurate.
Unlike humans and other animals it is possible for cats that have diabetes to go into remission provided their diet has been changed with an elimination of high carbohydrate foods.
More protein will help to stabilize the blood glucose levels.
Dry biscuits are particularly bad for cats as they are generally very high in carbohydrates and even though your cat might love eating them, because of the additives that have been put into these dry foods, it certainly won’t do their health a lot of good.
The reason why these dry biscuits are so popular is because of the convenience and the fact that cats are very fussy eaters, and most cats like dry biscuits except possibly those that have been found straying in the wild.
What to Feed Your Cat
Always try to feed your cat at the same time every day as cats become used to regular feeding times and it is a lot easier to feed them at these times.
Even though you might see your cat eating bits and pieces off the ground outside it is very important to ensure a high level of hygiene is maintained at all times.
If food has been left out for a day, throw it in the rubbish and give your pet fresh food with each meal.
If you find that you are throwing out too much food then this is a sign that you’re giving your cat too much on its plate at each meal.
Reduce the portions and you’ll find you won’t be wasting as much food and you will be able to give your cat fresher portions each time.
Don’t mix fresh food with leftovers when feeding your cat
Always clean the cat dish between feedings using hot water only, and no detergents or cleaning agents that could
affect its health.
If you have both cats and dogs in the household, you need to be aware of the fact that cats need a diet that is a lot higher in protein than dogs so it is not good for the cat’s health to regularly feed it with dog food.
If your cat is becoming overweight, reduce the portions that you put out with each meal rather than making it skip a meal.
An overweight cat can lead to diabetes and the resultant need for blood tests and insulin injections creating more work on a daily basis.
feeding youur cat
For snacks you might like to feed your cat a little bit of yogurt provided it is low in sugar and carbohydrates, some forms of baby vegetables in small amounts provided once again that they are low in carbohydrates, and the occasional cooked egg yolk.
Egg whites will destroy the vitamin B that they get from their food so these are not suitable, and many vegetables can be high in carbohydrates so be very careful.
Also, any foods with garlic or onions in them are not suitable to be fed to cats.
