Cat Nutrition: Makes For Good Health as Well as a Long Life

The food a cat eats is a very important factor for its health as well as longevity and knowing everything there is to know about cat nutrition would help one to read food labels as well as learn to choose the best cat foods and also know which cat foods need to be avoided and the reasons why.

In the perfect world, cats would get the most nutritious foods possible and the ideal cat nutrition would contain plenty of raw diet as well as a combination of dry and premium canned food. Cat nutrition is an area where the cat owner may spend most of his or her money on feeding the feline and is second only to veterinary care and proper cat nutrition would eliminate or delay visits to the veterinarian, and so the cat owner needs to know why some foods are preferable to others and learn all about these mysterious ingredients.

Ideally, good cat nutrition should include foods that are rich in proteins such as meat, fish or poultry products, taurine which is an essential amino acid and also certain other vitamins, enzymes and fatty acids as well as minerals. Plenty of water is another big factor in ensuring the right nutrition.

Say No to Carbohydrate Rich Foods

Cat nutrition should not be rich in carbohydrates and even though some amount of corn, wheat, as well as rice is used to filter canned as well as dry foods, this amount needs to be curtailed. Some canned foods also contain preservatives and coloring to satisfy the cat's aesthetic tastes but these should not be given in excess and also should not be left out for long periods of time.

According to a number of nutritionists, cats need different kinds of food that include both dry as well as canned foods and the reasons for this are such foods can be left out for free feeding, canned foods contain water, and there are also many near-perfect foods that are rich in minerals as well as vitamins.

Another point one should note regarding cat nutrition is that foods should be changed as the cat may become bored with the same food given day in and day out and one may also need to be on the side of caution when feeding the cat foods that it may be allergic to.

This does not necessarily mean that the cat should be fed different foods everyday but one needs to give various high-quality canned foods that are supplemented with dry foods that should add spice to its diet and prevent it from becoming finicky about its food.