Having a hard time choosing the cat food that suits your cat the best? Let’s figure out what the cat really needs and learn how to choose the right feed!
You Cat’s Dietary Needs
Obligate carnivores and Paying attention to grain foods
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they have to digest and absorb high-quality animal protein. This can be seen from their tooth structure: Mostly in razor-sharp, which helps tear the food.
Also, some cats are allergic to grain. It’s important to pay attention to the ingredients to check whether grains are included and how your cat reacts to the food. If your cat has allergic reactions, you should pay attention to the Nutrition facts label when selecting cat food.
Paying attention to water intake
Rather than direct water intake, cats get water naturally from prey. However, inadequate water absorption can result in Dehydration, or serious problems such as Renal Disease, Cystitis, Urinary Tract Infection, and urethral calculus. Although dry cat food is easy to feed and contains higher calories than wet cat food, its moisture content is relatively low. If you only give your cat dry food, then you should be aware of your cat's water intake. Because of the above reasons, some cat owners would rather choose wet cat food or cook for their cats, or feed the cats wet food if they have no time to do so. In addition, you can try mixed feeding, it’s the most convenient way to provide enough water and nutrition for your cats.
How To Choose Cat Food/ Canned Cat Food
Reading the list of ingredients
It is recommended to take heed of the ingredient list (Food Label) when choosing cat food or canned cat food. Give priority to products with a high percentage of meat and canned cat food certified by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). Moreover, it’s important to take a look at the expiry date, brand, and manufacturing country to avoid purchasing products from unknown origins.
About Canned Cat Food: Complete Balanced Food VS Complementary Food
There are two kinds of canned cat food: Complete Balanced Food and Complementary Food. Complete balanced foods are formulated with professional nutrient ratios. In addition to basic protein and water, it also consists of necessary nutrients such as minerals and vitamins. Its average moisture content is over 70%, which can be fed as the staple food. Canned cat food labeled with “AAFCO Certification” or “NCR Certification” are most likely to be Complete balanced food. Complementary foods are usually fed as treats. It’s strong in taste and good to add water to canned food to trick cats into drinking more water. However, it should be noted that using complementary foods as staple foods for the long term can lead to cat malnutrition because of its imbalance and insufficient nutrients. Also, food with a strong taste can cause your cats to become picky eaters if they are frequently fed. There are also risks of cats being overweight or having other diseases.
Paying attention to carbohydrate intake
Cats are weak in disgusting carbohydrates as they have lower insulin levels than other animals. Therefore, if they absorb too many carbohydrates, their blood sugar spikes, and the sugar gets converted to fats by the pancreas, causing them to become overweight or even suffer from Diabetes and require regular visits to veterinarian. In fact, there are numerous studies stating that cats are liable for overweight and diabetes if eating too many carbohydrates. Therefore, catkeepers should pay attention to carbohydrate intake in cat food, especially when it is higher than 10%.
Kittens’ Dietary Needs
Newborn Kitten
They can drink milk to get the nutrients they need and it lasts about 2 months. Sometimes, breastfed is not enough for a litter of kittens, thus you can feed your newborn kitten with milk replacer powder.
1-2 month old Kitten
Kittens' teeth start to grow in around 3-4 weeks and they will be interested in solid food. However, please do not feed them solid foods right after weaning. It is better if you can feed them dry kibble with kitten milk or water, or wet kitten food to allow their stomachs to get used to it gradually.
Over 2 months old Kitten
At this age, they can start eating solid foods. Kittens need more nutrition than adult ones, so remember to buy kitten cat food, which contains more energy and nutrition than adult cat food.
Dry Cat Food Recommendations
Nulo FreeStyle’s formulas are grain-free, with ingredients like sweet potatoes and chickpeas as low-glycemic, whole-food carbohydrate sources. On average, 83-90% of the protein in our FreeStyle diets for cats comes from animal sources, providing plenty of the protein that cats need. It’s one of the recommended cat foods for their health and growth.
ROYAL CANIN FHN Cat Indoor contains a highly digestible protein (L.I.P.) that's specifically selected for its very high digestibility. This protein also helps to reduce the quantity of cat's stool, as well as reducing the smelly stool odor that occurs when cats have a lower intestinal transit due to a lack of exercise. Psyllium, which is included in the formula, helps to stimulate the clearance of ingested hair - resulting in a significantly reduced amount of hairballs.
Canned Cat Food/ Wet Cat Food Recommendations
Canagan is a special grain free canned cat food formulated by the experts to deliver nutrition, close to their nutrition ratio of ancestral diet, 65% nutritious animal ingredients and 35% vegetables & botanicals. Rich in high-quality protein, vegetables, and botanicals, it offers enough nutrients for the cat.
Lily’s Kitchen wet food with a soft, smooth texture that makes it extra-lickable. Its grain-free recipes with no sugars added provide all the nutrients that cat needs and also create no burden to cats.
Tuna and Shrimp contain high-quality protein, all the necessary amino acids, and low saturated fat. These ingredients also provide Nicotinic Acid, Iron, and Vitamin B12, which help in absorbing phosphorus selenide, essential vitamins, and minerals.
Cat Treat Recommendations
Riverd Republic muddy flesh cat treats consist of pure material. The Chicken Fillet is produced with no Additives, Gluten, Food coloring, and Sweeteners. A delicious and healthy choice for your cat!
DentaLife dental treats are a special kind of cat food with an extra porous texture compared with the traditional one. This helps cats on surrounding all sides of their teeth when biting to reduce tartar buildup. The scrumptious taste makes it a sought-after snack among cats. Let the cats enjoy delicious food and clean their teeth at the same time!
Conclusion
Since cats are carnivorous animals and naturally do not like to drink water, therefore please read the ingredient list and check whether there is enough meat content and water content when choosing the cat food. The ideal case is feeding wet cat food/canned cat food, but if you do not have enough time to prepare wet food and choose to feed cat dry food, you can also feed some complementary cat food or cat snacks, which can induce them to drink water. Choosing cat food is important, only choosing high-quality cat food can make cats obtain enough nutrition, and let them grow up happily and healthily.