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. Ensuring that our pets get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy is a big responsibility, but it needn’t be complex if we understand a few simple things about diet and cat health care.
Hydration is really important for both us and cats. If a cat is not given access to fresh water it can become seriously ill within just a few hours. Dehydration can lead to grave cat health care problems and eventually death.
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, for example, are highly toxic to felines.
Cats naturally eat several small meals a day, so as far as possible we should try and allow this. Obviously, cat owners may have work commitments which mean they are unable to be at home feeding their cats frequently. This problem can be overcome by leaving dried food down for the animal to nibble on throughout the day.
Finally, at the same time as considering diet we must consider obesity which is one of the greatest threats to cat health care. Obesity can lead to heart problems, breathing problems, diabetes, arthritis and eventually death, so it must be avoided. A short haired cat is generally considered a healthy weight when its ribs can be felt but not seen. Pay close attention to the instructions for serving sizes on cat food and always see a vet if you believe that your cat’s weight is a problem.