Cat Nutrition

Why Fresh Meat Matters

Cats love fresh meat for sensible reasons. A cat dies if it doesn’t eat meat. Cats cannot break down certain essential amino acids and fatty acids found in vegetable matter. They can only get them from eating mammals, birds, reptiles and fish.

Cat's Need Essential Nutrients

Animal fat contains essential fatty acids (EFAs) such as arachidonic acid and linoleic acid. The cat can’t manufacture these nutrients. A cat’s natural diet, small rodents and birds, contains a good balance of these essential nutrients, as well as essential amino acids such as taurine and arginine. So does fish, not a natural diet for cats but an extremely good one.

Home Cooking for Your Cat

Your cat will probably love you even more if you cook fresh food daily for it. There is information on home cooking on the internet, for example at www.cats.com
If you want someone else to do the cooking visit www.marro.com. We suggest feeding freshly cooked meals for your cat, supplemented with high quality dry food and bones such as chicken necks as treats.

Raw Food Can Be Risky

Raw diets from reputable manufacturers can be nutritious, but we do not recommend them. Raw meat may contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and parasites that cause toxoplasmosis, which can affect both cats and people. There have also been cases of cats contracting tuberculosis from raw venison diets. These risks are small but can have serious consequences. Feeding fresh, properly cooked food provides excellent nutrition while eliminating these food-borne hazards, making it a safer choice for both your cat and your family.

How Your Cat's Food is Made

Dry food is prepared by cooking then drying under pressure and spraying with fat to add stimulating odour to increase palatability. A preservative is added to prevent that fat from spoiling. Wet foods are cooked, heat sterilised and sealed in sachets or tins. Because wet foods are vacuum-sealed preservatives aren’t necessary. Nutritionally, one type of diet is no better than the other. Dry food is popular because it can be left in the bowl all day for your cat to graze on – and cats enjoy grazing – and it can also be used as hidden treats in activity toys or in paper bags, for your cat to actively search and find.

Nutritional Needs Vary Throughout Life

Growing kittens have higher energy demands than typical adults so kitten foods contain higher levels of vitamins and minerals and more protein than diets for adult cats. At the opposite end of the spectrum, older cats need more cellular protection so cat food providers increase the levels of free radical scavenger vitamins and minerals in

Feeding For Health

Some cats are genetically prone to lower urinary tract disease (LUTD), which is more common in overweight, inactive, indoor cats, especially males fed mainly dry food. LUTD can cause pain and, in severe cases, life-threatening urinary blockage. Specially formulated diets can help reduce the risk, while prescription veterinary diets are available to support cats with kidney disease, digestive disorders, obesity, and recovery after illness or surgery. We can advise whether a special diet is the best choice for your cat.

Bones Can Be Beneficial

Gum disease is the most common reason we are obliged to anaesthetise cats. Most tooth and gum disease can be avoided if a cat learns early in life to eat bones. We advise starting kittens at eight weeks of age on cooked chicken bones. There are possible drawbacks. Raw chicken bones may carry Salmonella bacteria, potentially dangerous to your cat and to people. A raw or cooked bone might get caught between the teeth in the roof of the mouth. This is exceptional and the benefits to a cat from gnawing on bones outweigh the risks.

Can You Give Cats Milk?

Cats love milk and cream but dairy products occasionally cause diarrhea. That’s because while kittens produce an enzyme called lactase to digest lactose, the sugar in milk, some adult cats don’t. They don’t have enough of the right bacteria in their intestines to do so. If milk upsets your cat’s digestion and causes diarrhea, offer it either ‘cat milk’ or ‘lactose-free milk’, either of which is available from large supermarkets

Tackling Obesity

Like us, fat runs in families. A cat’s body condition is influenced by what you feed but also by genetic factors. An indoor, urban lifestyle is not what cats were made for. It can be tedious and dull living in luxury so the most exciting event is feeding time. Deep down, most cat owners understand this. We know we aren’t providing our cats with the type of physical exercise they really want. While many owners of obese cats know they are living with unhealthy companions, some people don’t recognise when a cat is simply overweight.
Keep a record of exactly what your cat eats, including all the titbits. This makes you more conscious of all the extras it receives. Cut out titbits but if this is not possible replace them with bits of dry kibbles. We can provide you with a diet formulated to help your cat lose weight.

Identifying Food Allergies & Intolerances

A food allergy occurs when a cat’s immune system reacts to a component of its food. Food allergy usually causes itchy skin or diarrhea. Food intolerance is a reaction that does not involve the immune system but may cause vomiting, diarrhea or other clinical signs. Any cat at any age may develop a food intolerance.

Picky Eaters

Finicky eaters are made, not born. Don’t turn your kitchen into a feline restaurant with your customer choosing from a varied menu. From early in life offer your cat a fresh, tasty and nutritious diet. Home cooking, by you or a commercial business is best. As time moves on, modify that diet according to your cat’s unique demands. If your cat goes outdoors, provide more nutrients as the weather gets colder. Weigh your cat routinely. Steady weight is just about as good a simple sign of good health as there is. Weight increases or losses mean that the natural balance has been upset. Almost certainly something is wrong and central to resolving the problem may be changing nutrition.

Weight Gain After Neutering

Weight gain after neutering is simple to prevent. When your male or female cat is neutered make sure you know his or her exact weight and arbitrarily reduce food consumption by 20 percent. Chances are your cat will retain its pre-surgical weight. If it is losing weight, return to the former meal size.

Changing Your Cat's Diet

Special Veterinary Diets for Medical Conditions

A variety of health problems from obesity to kidney disease to bladder stones to diabetes can be partly treated through diet.
Good cat food makers formulate diets to treat or control a variety of health problems. We often use special diets provided by the French pharmaceutical company Virbac.

VETERINARY HPM® – Advanced Nutrition for Dogs & Cats – Virbac UK

We can advise you whether a special diet may be beneficial for your cat.