The old adage says that you are what you eat. Whilst this is not literally true, everybody recognises the importance of our diet in our health and the same is true of the importance of diet in cat health care. It’s a big responsibility to ensure that our pets get the nutrition they require to stay healthy but as long as we understand a few simple points it doesn’t have to be complex.
We all know the importance of keeping hydrated and this is important to felines too. If a cat is denied fresh drinking water it can become seriously ill in a matter of hours. Serious cat health care problems and even death can result from dehydration.
The diet of a cat must be very specific. Because they are obligate carnivores, felines cannot survive on a vegetarian diet. Depriving a cat of meat in its diet cause such cat health care problems as malnutrition, blindness and death.
As owners we must be careful not to upset the fine balance of our cats’ diets. However harmless they might seem, giving leftover human food can lead to cat health care problems. The food we eat is generally too high in calories and fat and could even be toxic to a cat. Onions are an example of the foods we consume which are toxic to cats.
In the wild, cats would eat several small meals everyday and owners should try to accommodate this. In many cases school and work commitments might mean that owners are unable to be at home to feed their cat during the day. This problem can be overcome by leaving dried food down for the animal to nibble on throughout the day.
Lastly, as well as diet we must think about obesity, which is one of the most common cat health care problems at the moment. Obesity can cause heart and breathing problems, arthritis and eventually death, so pet owners must try to avoid it. A short haired cat is generally considered a healthy weight when its ribs can be felt but not seen. Always follow the instructions on portion size on cat foods and consult a vet if you think your cat’s weight is a problem.
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