Specialist cat food is a relatively new phenomenon.
It was only in the second half of the last century that cats started getting their own food.
Until then their diet consisted very much of what they could catch, scavenge or the left over from human meals.
It is the introduction of healthy cat foods plus advances in domestic pet veterinary services that has led to cats living much longer than they did before.
Just like humans cats prosper on a well-balanced diet.
These day most vets would throw their hand up in horror if they found you feeding your cat left over as they say our fat has too much fat and carbohydrates and not enough protein for a cat.
Some owners believe that cats are carnivores but this is not so.
Just like humans too much meat is not good for them.
But equally so cats are not vegetarians so you should not try and turn your cat into one.
Commercial food comes in all types and packaging.
Cans, (although you see less of them these days) sachets and boxes.
And as for the menus and choice the range is fantastic, there is meat or fish in gravy, jelly and these days even marinated.
There is dry food for kittens, young cats and seniors all containing the nutrients and vitamins that our pets need to thrive.
However, even with this wide choice you have to be careful, the experts say that you should never feed a cat exclusively on dry food.
When you feed your cat dry food you should always place some water close by as they will need to fluid to balance out the dry food.
If you do not do this it is possible that the cat could develop kidney stones.
It is strange that if you have a cat and a dog in the same house the cat will often develop a taste for the dogs' food.
This should be discouraged because dog food does not contain some of the essential amino acids such as Taurine which a cat needs to stay healthy.
Another fallacy which may surprise you is that milk is good for cats.
According to experts it is not and should never be given to a cat.
They say it can give older cats diarrhoea but nowadays there is milk substitutes produced by the pet food manufacturers that you can give your cat instead.
My own view is that if a cat likes milk give it some semi skimmed but that is going in the face of what the experts say.
But my cat prefers it to the special milk and it is considerably cheaper.
It was only in the second half of the last century that cats started getting their own food.
Until then their diet consisted very much of what they could catch, scavenge or the left over from human meals.
It is the introduction of healthy cat foods plus advances in domestic pet veterinary services that has led to cats living much longer than they did before.
Just like humans cats prosper on a well-balanced diet.
These day most vets would throw their hand up in horror if they found you feeding your cat left over as they say our fat has too much fat and carbohydrates and not enough protein for a cat.
Some owners believe that cats are carnivores but this is not so.
Just like humans too much meat is not good for them.
But equally so cats are not vegetarians so you should not try and turn your cat into one.
Commercial food comes in all types and packaging.
Cans, (although you see less of them these days) sachets and boxes.
And as for the menus and choice the range is fantastic, there is meat or fish in gravy, jelly and these days even marinated.
There is dry food for kittens, young cats and seniors all containing the nutrients and vitamins that our pets need to thrive.
However, even with this wide choice you have to be careful, the experts say that you should never feed a cat exclusively on dry food.
When you feed your cat dry food you should always place some water close by as they will need to fluid to balance out the dry food.
If you do not do this it is possible that the cat could develop kidney stones.
It is strange that if you have a cat and a dog in the same house the cat will often develop a taste for the dogs' food.
This should be discouraged because dog food does not contain some of the essential amino acids such as Taurine which a cat needs to stay healthy.
Another fallacy which may surprise you is that milk is good for cats.
According to experts it is not and should never be given to a cat.
They say it can give older cats diarrhoea but nowadays there is milk substitutes produced by the pet food manufacturers that you can give your cat instead.
My own view is that if a cat likes milk give it some semi skimmed but that is going in the face of what the experts say.
But my cat prefers it to the special milk and it is considerably cheaper.
SHARE
