Pets are the most loving creatures that can boost your mood even on the dullest of days. Cats are the best pets to cuddle with. Pets only love you if you love them too. Since you can’t communicate with them through words, you have to adopt other ways. Providing them the food that they need is not just essential for the pet’s health but also helps build a loving relationship between the two of you. Here’s how to figure out which food is good for your cat and which isn’t.
[BUTTONS1]
Cats love meat
Big wild cats or little pet cats, all cats love meat. Lions and tigers hunt their meat out in the wild. But, cats are dependent on you. You should always go for cat food that has high quantities of meat. Certain cheap cat foods advertise that they include meat. However, take a look at the ingredients to make sure that the quantity of meat is actually higher than the grains.
[BUTTONS2]With that being said, the cat food shouldn’t entirely comprise of meat alone. There must be a few other ingredients to ensure the healthy balance of your cat’s diet. Wet cat food is a good option in this case. You can also serve your cat pure, boiled meat for when you want the cat to have a high protein intake. Wet food is also great for cats who don’t have a good water intake. If your cat drinks enough water, you can go for dry food without a worry. Otherwise, wet food is the safer option.
What to avoid
What’s important is that a few grains and ingredients must not be included in the diet. The reason is that most cats are allergic to these grains and sometimes, the ingredients are harmful since they contain chemicals.
The grains that you must avoid at any cost are soy, wheat, and corn. Moreover, high grain quantity is something you should avoid in any case. Also, the cat does require high protein but that doesn’t include plant protein. In fact, plant protein cat foods are something you should avoid. Plant proteins lead to excessive weight gain along with digestive issues.
Naturally, the digestive system of a cat doesn’t include enzymes that can digest carbohydrates. If you notice stray cats, they don’t consume carbohydrates at all. Good cat food will not include more than 1% to 2% carbohydrates per serving. Surprisingly, bad cat food can have up to 50% carbohydrates!
Some cat foods come with carrageenan. It is an ingredient extracted from seaweed, used for thickening. If you think about it, it is a completely unnecessary ingredient that has no purpose in cat food. Instead, it is highly harmful for a cat’s body. It can lead to gastrointestinal issues such as ulcer and tumor. In the longer run, the inflammation can get permanent and the digestive organs may suffer for chronic diseases. Eventually, the immune system gets too weak to fight against the most minor illnesses too.
Lastly, avoid any cat food that has unusual by-products. These cheap and harmful ingredients are added to make it seem like the cat food includes a lot of nutrients when in reality, they’re useless. Also, steer clear of food dyes.
Whichever cat food you end up buying, make sure you go through the ingredients thoroughly. Good brands will have mentioned which meat is included along with details of every other item. Cheaper brands would not give details probably due to the unhealthy components. Do not take the risk of buying cheaper cat food. You could end up putting your cat through extreme health issues.