Feeding of cats

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Feeding goes by the natural way. The owner either prepares the food himself or use the canned goods. The latter is the most useful. It is necessary to get the cats used to various food from the time when they are kittens.

 Remember! It is better not to feed cats with the same dish often because it’ll get used to it soon. If you give it usually only one sort of food and your cat eats it with pleasure then, perhaps, it will refuse another kind food. And it may easy cause the illness because it is scientifically proved and proved that the cats which have free choice of food do not always choose it in a right way taking into account the normal quantity of necessity substance.

The quantity of food is connected with many facts. The age plays an important role: young growing animals need more food than adults. The other facts are size of body, weight and also temperament and spending of energy. The latter means biological pressure on female cats during the period of feeding kittens.

Don’t forget about the conditions of environment and support. It is not the same when your cat lives in the heated flat or in cold cage. The differences will be shown, first of all, in the different doses of food. While preparing food you should remember that your cat needs much albumen. With the other unadopted secondary albumen and carbohydrates are relate to each other as 2:1.

Weight

Adult cats in connection with breed and sex have a breed of form 2.4 to 4.6 kg. But many cats “step over” this border. It wouldn’t be correctly to make up the rations of such animals on the basis of their weight. It is over normal and that is why it is better for fat cats, like for fat people, sometimes to weigh themselves and then to lose their weight to normal. And it would be better to cat’s owner to weigh yourself together with your cat because the plenty of weight causes shortage of life not only to animals... (Advice: you may do it in the following way: first of all weigh yourself together with the cat and then weigh only yourself and subtract your own weight from the first one).

Norm of food

Adult cat needs daily 100-150 g of food which contain albumen (meat, fish, eggs, curds, beef pulp, soy bean flour) and 50 g of addition food which contains carbohydrate including those that are not adopted because of some substances (oats flakes, grass, rice, different vegetables such as carrot, spinach, cauliflower, green beans and the other less useful greens).

Meat and fish are normally adopted by cats when they are unbaked; food which contains carbohydrates is better to use boiled or baked. It will grow its adaptation. And if you add to the food 5-10 g of oil 2-3 times a week you’ll cover the lack of fat acids in the cat’s organism (on condition that the fat which contained in meat will be useful for cat).

Dose of food

Here you must remember that among cats like among people you can meet some with the bad appetite. The most often reason of this is not only the function of digestion organs but also is connected with exchange of substances. Because of castration the exchange of substances often changes and the cat eats less.

Thoroughbred cat is usually given to the new owner at the age of 10 weeks. That who sells it must inform the new owner about the general regulations of keeping and feeding of the cat. Especially it is important to know the components of food and how often you must feed the cat. Good owners, who are interested of normal growing and health of kittens they bought, always have notes where the most important figures and dates are written. Of course, the information about the food which is given to the new owner must really correspond to that the previous owner was giving to the cat and not to be just “a wish”.

At the age of 10 weeks feeding must be 4-5 times a day and contain from 120 g to 150 g. Remember about quick growing of the animal and care about the rich quantity of albumen and about mineralization (with calcium) of food. At the age of 4 months cats need for the quantity of food which adult cats need. Feeding must be still 4 times a day. At the age of 5 months it falls to 3 times and of 7 months to 2 times a day.

Number of doses of food

The owner may choose himself how many times he must feed the cat. It won’t be harmful for the cat if you give it all day portion in the evening. The experience shows that it will be more useful for the cat to eat this meat supper, than during the day eat food which is often not good for the animal, for example, chocolate. Fresh water is always necessary together with food.

Dish from which your cat eats must differ from your dishes. At first, for hygiene, and at second, the dish is an optical sign which says to the cat that its food just here. Those who don’t do in this way, are not right. And if you see that your cat eats from your plate you should not be surprised... Cat’s dish must be as clean as your own.

There is another approach to feeding: cat must be fed when it wants. Perhaps it’ll be some times a day. If it isn’t difficult for you and your cat doesn’t overeat then, to my mind, this approach is better. Besides you may provide your cat with the constant access to dry food (remember about water!) and then it may eat it when it wants.

Time of feeding

You must feed the cat daily at the same time. Its organism is used to this and it includes doses of food in the daily rhythm. Animals which have free opportunity to walk outside usually come back to time of feeding.

Food must be warm

Hot or just taken from refrigerator food is not useful for cat. Our cat, like its relatives in the wild nature, needs the quiet place for eating. Each owner should take this fact into account.

Relaxation after eating

“Cat needs relaxation after eating”. It is a motto of each cat. Digestion of food is the work of organism and cat doesn’t like when somebody plays with it at that time. Be careful at this period even if it is at the end of day when you have spare time. But not all the cats are the same. For example, my Shvaika plays just after eating.

Rest of food

Don’t let it stay in the dish. In summer or in the hot room the food with albumen is quickly spoilt.

Calories

You must do some easy calculation to know the necessity of food of your cat. Specialists calculated this for different ages, for period of pregnancy and of bringing up the kittens in kilojoules on 1 kilogram of the weight a day. But it is possible to remake kilocalories into kilojoules. You have just to multiply the number of kilocalories on 4.19.

The need of young cat (between the age of 7 and 12 weeks) is 838 kJ. Growing and pregnant cats need 419 kJ. Besides adult cats' need for energy is shortened before 335.2 kJ. Lactation cats must get 1047.4 kJ, and fat cats with the plenty of weight has only 251.4 kJ till their weight becomes normal.

The products which are sold have marks about the number of calories in them or you may find it out from the reference book. That’s why it won’t be difficult for you to find the quantity of food which your cat needs.

Digestion

Never forget that food which you offer to your cat is not always completely digested. You must remember that good digestion is about 75-80% when you calculate the number of food. On the other hand, don’t forget the individual specialties of the cat when you analyze the food. Need of energy grows because of low or hot temperature.

Traditional food

In such cases you must take the quantity of energy from special tables and then calculate calories on paper. If you take into account norms of albumens, fats and carbohydrates which you can find on the page “Cat’s food” then you may find out a suitable diet.

Cat’s aren’t lovers of dainties naturally and that fact that they prefer only one or some dishes is not providing that these dishes are really useful for them. You must get the cat used to the various food from early years, avoid feeding it with the same food for a long time, keep to balanced diet. It will help you to avoid cat’s caprices and to grow the healthy animal.

They say that the cat needs 30-60 g of food on 1 kg of its weight every day. Weight of adult animal is 2-4 kg. For those who prefer exactness we give approximate rations of cats (g/kg of weight, components are divided into little parts and mixed):

Menu 1

unbaked beef (fat) - 20,0
unbaked liver - 10,0
boiled oat flakes - 4,0
oil - 0,2
dry yeast - 0,1
water - 10,0

Menu 2

unbaked beef heart - 20,0
unbaked lungs - 10,0
boiled rice - 4,0
curds - 3,0
dry yeast - 0,3
water - 7,0

Menu 3

unbaked fish - 30,0
unbaked liver - 5,0
boiled oat flakes - 4,0
oil - 2,0
dry yeast - 0,2
water - 4,0

Menu 4

unbaked fish - 20,0
curds -10,0
boiled oat flakes - 4,0
oil - 1,3
dry yeast - 0,2
water - 9,0

Dry yeast which are offered, of course, brewery but not bakery. They are sold at the drugstore as vitamin medicines.

Also we offer you some menus for cats with the plenty of weight:

Menu 1

Morning. 40g of milk products
or special one for cats.
Afternoon. 100 g of boiled lungs without fat.
Evening. 20 g of commercial food.

Menu 2

Morning. 75 g of not fat curds.
Afternoon. 100 g of forcemeat.
Evening. 10 g of oat flakes and 2 teaspoons of mashed vegetables.

Menu 3

Morning. 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon of ground growing wheat seeds.
Afternoon and evening. 150 g of boiled fish without fat each time.

Feeding with commercial foodstuffs

Dry food. Most of the cats eat these products with pleasure especially if they're used to do it from early days. Veterinary will recommend to your cat a special individual diet. But the main problem of this food is the lack of fats. That is why if your cat gets dry food then it is necessary to add fats in it. In this case you may use this kind of food as the main one.

Soft food. It is also useful for the cats. It is a bit expensive than the dry one and also contains little fat. Liquid substances, preservatives and also the plenty of sugarhouse may cause indigestion of some cats. That is why such kind of food may be recommended only as additional to the main one. And use it carefully.

Canned food the most expensive but, at the same time, the most useful kind of food. Canned goods are usually prepared of meat and meat products or of grasses with the addition of vitamins and ashes. They help to complete balanced and useful ration. Avoid the canned goods which contain big parts of bones or blood and also other materials which the cat can not digest because it shows bad quality of the food.

If your cat gets either canned or dry food than read attentively the regulations of its using on the package.

 Remember! It is harmful for cats to feed them only with dry food. If your cat eats only this kind of food try to disaccustom it as quickly as possible (see: “Caprices in food”). If our advices haven’t helped try to use the more effective way - two or three days of hunger. It wouldn’t be harmful (remember about water!).

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