Diet plays an integral role in the overall health and performance of cats. A balanced diet guards’ cats from different diseases and helps her in growing well.
Feeding management is one of the critical components in keeping your Scat healthy and active. Feeding mistakes by the owners can lead to several health complications in cats. Many cat owners ask different questions like how to feed cats? What are the various feeding mistakes? What are the health risks associated with lousy feeding habits?
Here, we will highlight some common feeding mistakes that cat owners commit to preventing health complications in cats.
A cat cannot speak and tell you her problems unless she gets sick. There are some common feeding mistakes that you must avoid to keep your cat sound.
WHY OVERFEEDING IS A BAD THING FOR YOUR CAT?
One of the serious mistakes which cat owners make is overfeeding. Some cat owners don’t bother monitoring the feeding frequency and partition the cat's meal. This is the biggest issue. When you offer a cat her meal at once, Remember, this is the instinct of cats to eat everything. If a cat sees a bowl full of food, she will eat it all in one sitting. This thing leads to obesity in cats.
According to Joe Bartges, professor of medicine and nutrition, at the University of Tennessee, «Obesity is the primary nutritional disorder in felines. Moreover, this has been scientifically documented that obesity is a gateway to other health complications in cats such as diabetes, urinary tract, and joint problems in cats. »
According to Marilyn Krieger, a registered cat behavior consultant and owner of the cat coach in the San Francisco Bay area explains that free feeding is one of the significant mistakes that cat parents should avoid. As free food is a substantial reason for weight gain in cats. Instead of this, cats should be fed several times a day, and they should do some struggle while getting food.
Composition of cat’s diet, exercise, and feeding frequency are three main things that are literally useful in keeping the cat’s weight in control.
Overfeeding is one of the biggest mistakes that cat parents make. It influences cat’s health badly. It is essential to manage your cat’s weight and get a well-designed diet plan after consulting a registered vet/pet nutritionist.
Feeding frequency matters a lot in maintaining the weight of your beloved feline friend. According to Cornell feline health center, it is acceptable to feed an adult cat once or twice a day with a few exceptions.
NOTE: Other factors such as physical activity, breed, size, age, health status must also be kept in mind while defining a feeding frequency and diet plan for your cat.
Always divide the meal of your cat into parts. Don’t feed everything at once. Regular monitoring of your cat's body condition score (BCS) also helps you manage weight issues in her.
WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE AUTOMATIC CAT FEEDERS?
Automatic cat feeders help in programming the feeding frequency of your cat. If you work in an office or go somewhere else, leaving your cat home alone, then having an automatic cat feeder is an excellent idea. Automatic cat feeders have a timer, and you can also feed various instructions accordingly, like when to feed your cat? How many diets to feed? How many times do you want to feed your cat?
Due to these all-important features, automatic cat feeders are becoming so popular around the globe. According to ThePets, when choosing an automatic feeder, you need to know that it gives your cat a calculated amount of food during set hours of the day. This all helps in maintaining your cat’s weight and overall well-being.
WHY ARE TOO MANY TREATS NOT GOOD FOR CATS?
Giving treats to your cats is an excellent thing. It helps in strengthening the bond between you and your feline friend. Additionally, treats also play an important role in correcting several bad behaviors in cats. But a responsible cat parent should keep another aspect of the story in his mind. Offering too many treats, especially with high sugar content/calories, lead to several health complications in cats such as obesity and diabetes. So, this is highly recommended to give your cats treats on special occasions and make a proper schedule. Avoid giving too many treats unnecessarily.
NOTE: This is also important to check the ingredients of any treatment you offer to your cat. This is essential to keep your cat safe from health complications.
HOW TOO MUCH MILK INTAKE CAUSES PROBLEMS IN CATS?
Many cat owners feed a lot of milk to their cats. This is also considered as one of the significant feeding mistakes. Remember, milk is suitable for kittens, not for adult cats. The reason behind this is the lactase deficiency in adult cats. Lactase is an enzyme that digests the lactose (milk sugar) to simple glucose monomers. This is why; cats cannot utilize milk and milk products efficiently. So, giving too much liquid to your cat can put her into gastrointestinal troubles.
A responsible owner must be conscious while giving frozen treats made up of milk to his cat, such as ice creams, frozen desserts, etc. These things can also cause lactose intolerance in your cat. So, always be careful and stay in touch with your veterinarian.
HOW SUDDEN CHANGE IN CAT’S DIET BAD FOR HER?
This is another major mistake that cat parents make. Sudden changes in a cat's diet make her sick and lead to a variety of medical complications. This is always recommended to make gradual changes in the diet of cats. Whenever you switch to a new menu for your cat, kindly introduce that slowly. Your cat will accept it with time.
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