Understanding Cat Nutrition
If you want your cat to live a long and happy life - and who doesn’t?? - you need to feed them a healthy diet! Cats will feel and look their best when they are eating foods that suit their needs.
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat. That’s why they have such impressive canine teeth. A high protein diet is necessary for cats - think fish, poultry, and sometimes rabbit or beef too. Carbohydrates are not so great for cats because their bodies cannot process them as well. They can’t even taste sweet flavors!
Why and When You Should Transition Your Cat’s Food
If you are feeding your cat a not so optimal diet, it’s important to transition them slowly over the course of a few weeks to their new and improved diet so their bodies can adapt to the change in nutrients and flavors.
The Importance of Wet Food
Wet food (or even raw or air-dried food) is very important for cat health. If a cat is not eating enough wet food, they are at an increased risk of developing a urinary obstruction and they are likely not getting enough hydration. Water helps flush toxins out of cats' bodies and wet food is an easy way to get it into your cat. A high protein diet will give your cat energy and keep their coat shiny and bright.
A small amount of dry kibble every day is fine so your cat has something to snack on throughout the day. However, their two main meals should be protein heavy, low carb wet food. Think of kibble as a treat for when they need a little pick-me-up, much like a bag of potato chips or a few cookies would be for a person. There’s not much of a health benefit and it’s rather mindless eating, but it sure tastes good at the moment. Because of this, cats who eat primarily dry food are often overweight. While everyone loves a fat cat - who wouldn’t want to rub that big ole belly?? - obesity in cats can lead to diabetes and other health issues that can affect their hearts, their mobility, and shorten their lifespans.
To offset the calories, you can make your cat work for their kibble. Put the kibble into an interactive toy and let them “hunt” for it. This will help their mental health too by stimulating them to act like a wild cat and earn their treat.
Tricks to Transitioning Your Cat’s Diet
Adding some warm water to your cat's wet food will not only increase the hydration, but should bring out even more of the food's smells, enticing your cat to try it. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh fish??
There are so many kinds of wet food. It’s just a matter of finding what your cat likes best. There are different consistencies to try like pate, grilled, or stews. And so many flavors like salmon, tuna, chicken, duck, turkey, and even lamb! Cats can be finicky so luckily there are variety packs available too. Once you find what your cat enjoys best, you can start to understand what their body wants and needs.
Litter Box Benefits
When a cat is eating a diet high in protein, their body is using most of the nutrients. This means there is little waste to excrete. Which means smaller, less stinky poops for you to clean!
Cats’ bodies don’t need that many carbohydrates so most of the ingredients turn to waste. If your cat eats an abundance of dry food, particularly if they have access to a never-ending bowl of kibble and snack a lot, this usually turns to diarrhea. And neither you nor your cat wants that!
For healthy, solid poops, a high-protein, low carb diet is ideal.
Wrap-Up
The goal is to find what YOUR cat likes best. You can read a few articles and talk to some friends and get all sorts of advice from the Internet, but it’s all about what your feline friend wants and needs. Figure out what food gives them energy, keeps them active and long and lean, makes their coat bright and shiny, and gives them healthy poops. These will all help to let you and your beloved cat have a long and happy life together.
Love, Nala
