Your Cat or Kitten Will Love You More, When You Follow this
Guide to Feline Feeding
You can take the easy option and throw some discount cat feed
into a bowl for your feline friend, but will she remain your
friend for long if you don't give a bit more thought into what
you feed her? Here is some advice that will have her purring
with delight at feeding time, and keep her healthy at the same
time.
In order to keep your cat or kitten healthy, you need to choose
quality foods that will provide him with nutrients he needs.
But, what are they? You can't just give your cat any type of
food that is available. There are several things you should do
to improve your cat's nutrition.
Kitten Food
During the first few weeks, the food will come from mom cat.
But, when he begins to reach the age of four to six weeks, he
needs to supplement his foods with canned kitten food or you can
provide him with dry cat food that is softened with water. At
eight weeks, he should be weaned from the mother and eating
kitten food solely. The breeder at this point can allow him to
be adopted and should provide you with some of the food that he
is eating. If you plan to switch brands, you can do so but make
sure that you mix the food together until he is used to it.
Growing kittens will eat a good amount of food. They are growing
very fast and need it. They will eat more than once a day. They
are likely to eat up to four smaller meals until they are six
months old. You should give him plenty of clean water as well.
Remember, kittens have smaller stomachs and need smaller amounts
but use a lot of energy nonetheless.
As Your Kitten Gets Older
At six months, the cat will begin to taper off in growing. He
will likely be less active as well. This means you can cut back
to feeding him to two or three meals a day. You should not
change from kitten food to adult food since he is still growing.
At a year, you can provide him with adult food. Adult cats will
eat when they are hungry so you can simply leave a dish filled
with dry food for him. But, if he overeats and becomes
overweight, he will need to be limited to eating twice a day
instead. If you give him canned food, you can still offer dry
food as well. Canned food should not be left out all day.
What Kind of Cat Food?
To purchase cat food, you should look for the types that have
protein sources in the first few ingredients that are listed.
You should make sure that the food is well balanced too. If the
cat has problems that are health related look for foods designed
to help with these conditions.
Many cats will enjoy both wet and dry food. But, some are
finicky about it. If your cat does not seem to like dry cat
food, moisten it or provide him with regular check ups at the
vet to keep his teeth clean. Providing well balanced food for
your cat will allow him to live a healthy, long life.