Do you have a cat? Well, as a cat owner, it’s important to provide the right nutrition to help your cat stay healthy and happy. With so many options available, choosing the best cat food can be overwhelming and difficult. In this article are some tips on which foods are best for your cat.
To pick out the best food for you and your cat’s needs, you need to turn to the ingredients. As you probably know, cats are carnivores. So, when hunting, the only fruits and vegetables possibly found would be in an animal’s stomach. This means there should be little to none to best mimic what your cat would eat in the wild. Also, just as much fat as you would find in an animal would create the perfect meal for a cat. You should also stay away from fillers and preservatives. Scientists who study cats have found that cats like fresh organs most. Stay away from cat food that says meat scraps on the label, but instead opt for organs like, for example, lamb liver.
Naturally, a cat’s prey would be full of moisture and would provide a lot of your cat’s hydration needs. However, dry kibble does not have that same effect. Diets and lifestyles have changed, but your cat’s disinclination to drink water from a bowl hasn’t, so make sure there is a lot of moisture in the food.
On a nutrition label, the contents are labeled from the ingredients with the largest amount to the ingredient with the least amount. The first three ingredients on the cat food label should be meat. If corn, peas, or rice are in the first, second, or third spot on the cat food label, you shouldn’t buy it. While these ingredients may be good in small amounts, too much can lead to health problems. You should stay away from anything that says some animal by product, poultry, or meat meal because these are often unsafe and full of preservatives. An example of a bad list of ingredients would look like: Poultry By-Product Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Wheat, Animal Fat (Preserved with BHA and Citric Acid), Meat and Bone Meal.
There can be lots of bad things around your home, too. Maybe you came home with some daffodils, but then your cat got sick the next day. That is because there are lots of bad plants for your cat. Some of them are amaryllis, crocus, chrysanthemum, daisy, lily, spanish thyme, and tulip. Even if you don’t have plants, you should watch out for some things like human foods. Chocolate, grapes, and raisins are also bad for cats. Other popular kitchen foods are green tomatoes, raw green potatoes, avocados, onions, garlic and other closely related root vegetables, raw eggs, and fish. Also, make sure your cat also stays away from crumbs and plastic at all times, and don’t feed them scraps from your table.
Now that you know the proper nutrition for your cat, you can buy the best cat food based on their needs. You can also make sure there are no dangerous items laying on your kitchen counter. All these tips can help your cat live a long, healthy, and happy life.