Part 2: All About Cat Food
Like any other beings on this lively planet, food is a core need for cats. A balanced diet is necessary (just like humans). So meat and veggies must be given on equal portions. Whenever, wherever...a fresh clean water for drinking must always be available.
Is there an eating pattern to be followed like breakfast, lunch and dinner? Not necessarily. Cats should be fed only twice in a day. This will allow saliva to cleanse the mouth. If there is constant access to food, the cat will be prone to dental problems like the formation of tartar or gingivitis aside from causing your cat to be overweight.
Establish this eating pattern by pre-conditioning your cat to eat at a sound of a bell or other means of sounds which will make it recognize that it is time to eat. In my case, I would tap their plastic eating bowls a number of times while calling their names. This means, that they have to come over and food is about to be served. My cats would come running to me wherever they are coming from.
To begin with, start to ring a bell or your chosen sound media before each meal, so the cat associates the sound with the feeding. Take note that when the cat gets used to it, the sound of the bell (sound of feeding) is more important that the person who rings it. The most suitable feeding time is 7:00 in the morning and 7:00 in the evening. However, if you are alone at home or you have work to do, you can set up the most convenient time for you as long as the feeding is done every 12 hours.
What about when kitty starts whining asking for food in between "official" meal times? Discourage it by not giving in. Otherwise, the correct eating pattern (twice a day) will not be followed. If you give in to your cat's whining, kitty will form this habit of begging/ asking for food at no definite time.
- And you thought that cats eat only rats? False. Cats play with their prey until it dies out of exhaustion or suffocation especially when the prey is taken by the throat. But as per veterinarians, rat meat is sometimes good for the cats' digestive system. So you should not discourage your pet cat to hunt.
- Cats love to munch on fresh greens from time to time. Grow pots of grass and catnip for them. Catnip is an aromatic herb of the mint family. It contains some oils to which cats are strongly attracted. Its scientific name is nepeta cataria which has spikes of small purple-dotted flowers. Catnip has been used as a seasoning and medicinal tea for colds and fever. Because it is so attractive for cats, catnip are used as stuffing to cat toys.
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| Catnip (nepeta cataria) |
- Like dogs, chocolates are also toxic for cats. Although the effect of chocolate on cats are less deadly than the dogs, it is better to sure. Keep those away from kitty.
- Cats are designed to eat raw meat, but cooking destroy disease-producing organisms like salmonella. So in the same way that you would cook food for your own use, the same should be cooked for kitty, too.
- Cat foods are available from the pet stores and pet supplies shops. With too many brands to choose from you will never know which ones are best for your cats. Always remember to check the label for the ingredients. Common are wheat, ground corn, corn gluten, and rice. Check for the minerals too as these are important to a cat's diet. Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, pottasium and magnesium. However, among these minerals, see to it that the phosphorus level is within normal proportion with the other minerals. Some cat food manufacturers would increase phosphorus content so that the cat's urination and bowel movement will be reduced. However, doing this would increase the risk of your pet having kidney-related illnesses.
- Never give kitty a piece of fried chicken. The chicken bones are deadly for both dogs and cats as its edges are small and sharp which may hurt the animal's digestive tract.
Lastly, feeding Kitty requires common sense. A nutritionally complete and balanced diet maintains a cat's proper weight and will keep it happy and healthy.
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