Have you ever seen your kitten walk away from its plate in disgust? For many kitten owners, this is a daily occurrence. This is because felines are fussy and unpredictable eaters, regardless of their age.
Unlike dogs, most little cats do not thrive on a diet of household scraps. They need to follow a proper feline diet for optimal health. While planning your pet feline’s diet, there are two main options that you need to consider: dry kitten food and wet kitten food.
Cats are naturally carnivorous animals and even the most domesticated kitten may prey on insects, lizards, rodents and perhaps birds too. Therefore, your kitten’s natural diet will provide him with protein, water and fat. The carb content in your kitten’s diet should be less than 10%. This is because cats do not use carbs for energy; their bodies are adapted to utilizing fat and protein for energy. Dry kitten food usually contains around 35% to 50% of carbs. Moreover, a diet high in such food can be dehydrating for your cat. Therefore, it is important for you to ensure that your cat’s diet includes an adequate amount of canned of wet kitten food.
As a responsible cat owner, you probably want to feed your pet nothing but the best wet kitten food. However, there is no particular brand that is the best in canned cat food. Your cat may prefer a certain brand to the others. You need to read the labels carefully and ensure that the brand you pick contains a high amount of protein though.
The most important factor in kitten food is the nutrient content. However, the wet kitten food ingredients also matter to a great extent. Some of the ingredients that are good for a feline diet include –
• Beef and veal
• Chicken, chicken broth and chicken liver
• Cottage cheese
• Duck
• Egg products
• Fruits like apples, blueberries and cranberries
• Rabbit meat
• Rice or preferably brown rice
• Salmon, sardines, catfish, crawfish and cod liver oil
• Turkey meat and broth
• Vegetables like carrots, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and broccoli
Like many pet owners, you too can prepare your own wet kitten food at home. This will allow you to choose nothing but the finest ingredients for your little pet. However, ensuring that your cat gets an adequate amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids and other essential nutrients can be a little challenging. For starters, you could try out the simple recipe given below –
Kitty Mince Surprise
Ingredients
• Minced meat – 100 Grams
• Brown rice – 3 Tablespoons
• Chicken broth (or gravy) – 1 Tablespoon
• Corn oil – 1 Teaspoon
• Water (optional) – 2 to 3 Teaspoons
Preparation
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the minced meat for around 15 minutes or so. The meat should take on a brownish hue. • Pour some water, if the meat sticks to the bottom of the pan • Add the cooked brown rice to the meat and mix the ingredients well. If you want the dish to be a bit soupy, you can add another spoon of water. • Stir in the chicken broth or gravy and cook the dish for a few more minutes. • Allow the dish to cool before serving it to your cat
There are many such healthy and easy-to-prepare recipes readily available both over the internet, and in book stores. If you do decide to try out wet kitten food recipes at home, make sure that the ingredients used are fresh. Since homemade cat food does not contain any preservatives, it may go bad a lot faster than canned food. Therefore, you need to get rid of any leftovers within a day or two.
Never make any sudden or drastic changes in your kitten’s diet. Speak to your vet, in case you need any help in introducing new foods into your pet’s diet.
References
• http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/Products/AnimalFoodFeeds/PetFood/ucm2006475.htm
• http://www.cvm.missouri.edu/news/backus07x2.htm
• http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resources/brochure/feedcats.html
| 