Top 9 Cat Feeding Mistakes

The main mistakes in the diet of cats

1. Fish and milk every day

Fresh fish and rich cow’s milk – it would seem that the perfect dinner for a cat!

However, milk causes diarrhea in most adult animals. And excessive consumption of fish can lead to steatitis, taurine and vitamin B deficiencies, accompanied by a complete loss of appetite, convulsions and failure of body systems. Of course, fish is healthy, but it must be properly prepared and fit into the daily feeding rate of a particular cat.

2. Feeding dog or other unsuitable food

If there are several pets in the house, the temptation to feed them all with the same food is very great. It’s such a savings!

Feeds are divided into lines not just for the sake of marketing, but in order to cover the daily need for nutrients for each particular pet. For example, a teenage kitten needs more high-calorie food than a spayed 5-year-old cat. And a cat with a tendency to KSD needs a special preventive diet that regulates the pH of the urine.

There are owners who are so irresponsible about the choice of food that they give the cat dog food, and vice versa. This serious mistake can lead to irreparable health consequences. Cats and dogs are animals of different species. Yes, they are predators, but they have different needs for useful elements. For example, dogs have little or no need for taurine, as their body synthesizes it on its own. A lack of taurine in a cat’s diet can lead to blindness. And we have not yet mentioned the different weight categories and lifestyle of pets …

3. Mixing food from the table and ready-made rations

It is important to decide what you will feed the cat: ready-made rations or self-cooked food. You can combine ready-made dry and wet food. But mixing any ready-made diets with human products is categorically not recommended. Especially if these are seasoned foods from your table. Such mixing disrupts the cat’s eating habits, has a bad effect on appetite, leads to food refusal, an imbalance of nutrients in the body, food intolerance and other unpleasant problems. The longer you feed your pet in this way, the greater the risk.

4. Vitamins without indications

But what if you give the cat a good balanced diet and feed it daily with vitamins? Then she will be the healthiest? Rather, on the contrary.

There can be many vitamins. An excess of vitamins in the body is just as dangerous as their deficiency. Therefore, any vitamin-mineral complexes are prescribed to a cat exclusively according to the indications of a veterinarian.

If a cat regularly eats high-quality, complete, balanced food, then she does not need any additional vitamins and minerals.

5. Vegetarian Diet

A balanced vegetarian diet is great, but only if we are talking about people, and not about obligate (obligatory) predators. In no case do not transfer your preferences to pets – it is dangerous for their lives!

Indeed, there are now vegetarian pet foods – and pets even eat them. But this is because there is no other alternative, and somehow you need to survive. Such nutrition is fundamentally contrary to the natural needs of cats. Over time, animals begin to get sick and their life expectancy is reduced several times. The cat must receive vitamin A and taurine from meat, and there can be no alternative opinions.

Please, if you are uncomfortable with the idea that there are meat products in your house, get a rodent instead of a cat.

6. Replacing food with treats

Treats are great, but only if they are really suitable for the cat and if they do not replace her main food.

It is important to choose healthy treats for your pet and give them as a reward during training or just as a treat. But treats should not replace a cat’s daily meal. They do not need the amount of nutrients and they will not bring satiety.

Excessive feeding of treats leads to a deterioration in appetite, the rejection of the usual feed and a set of overweight.

7. Constant feed change

Feed lines should be changed according to the testimony of a veterinarian, when there is a real need for it: dull coat, allergic reaction, vomiting after feeding and other health problems.

We often shift our needs to our pets. It would be difficult for us to always eat the same food – and we believe that pets always need different tastes too. But it is not. Animals have no need for food diversity and for a full life they have enough suitable food and healthy treats.

8. Overfeeding

Contrary to the admonitions of grandmothers, it is better to slightly underfeed a cat than to overfeed. Overfeeding is an easy path to being overweight and the problems that come with it. If your cat’s health is important to you, stick to the recommended amount of food. And direct your care in a more useful direction – for example, in active games!

9. Water depreciation

It happens that the owner observes all the rules of feeding, but completely forgets about water. And to be healthy, a cat must drink clean, high-quality water every day.

Wash the bowl regularly (no harsh detergents to avoid odor) and change the water. If your cat won’t drink from her bowl, try putting it somewhere else. Better yet, “start” at home 2-3 bowls in different places, and do not forget to change the water in them.

If your cat is prone to KSD or has very little water intake, introduce wet food into the diet. They will help maintain the water balance in the body.

It’s good if you already know about all the listed mistakes and never make them in practice. And if something turned out to be news to you, hurry up to correct it. Your cat will tell you: “Pur-mur-mur”!