How to choose the right cat food

✔ Some foods contain cellulose (or cellulose powder/lignocellulose) as a binder. This ingredient is of poor quality and can cause allergies and gastrointestinal problems. Sometimes dried or brewer's yeast is added to the feed – it is used to increase volume and can cause allergies. Cellulose (and nutshells, which are also sometimes added) from the moisture swell up in the stomach and fill it, and the cat is not satiated and asks for food again.

How to choose the right dry food depending on the age of the cat?

There is still a perception that dry food leads to urolithiasis. But the most important thing is not the consistency of the food, but its composition. In today's article, we'll look at the features of food and the rules for feeding cats of different ages.

For many manufacturers, dry food is the most common product used by pet owners. In addition to the economy class, there are premium, super-premium and holistic foods. In our stores you can buy food of any segment. We recommend buying super-premium food: it's more expensive than basic, but you don't have to worry about a balanced diet for your four-legged friend.

What exactly is "super-premium"? Most often it is the so-called professional food. The components in the composition perfectly harmonize with each other and bring health benefits, taking into account the individual performance of the animal. Professionals say that a dry cat food should have a balanced content of proteins, fats, taurine, vitamins and minerals. Naturally, for the best choice, you should carefully study the composition, not the price. The meat percentage should always come first, and the amount of grains and vegetables should not exceed 50%. Even better if the grain content is less than 25-30%. If there are any by-products in the composition, they must be specified.

Super-premium class is definitely the best choice among dry foods. Make sure that the bowl of water is always full when using it all the time, preferably using ceramic bowls.

If you have any concerns, you should contact your veterinarian, who will help with the choice and take into account all indicators of the cat's health. Many cat people choose their own food and often this leads to one or another disease.

Very simple rules for choosing a quality cat food

Choosing a quality and healthy food for our kitties is an extremely important issue for every responsible cat owner. Belief in a certain brand is a good thing, but only when it is based on an informed and quite rational choice. It is foolish to choose a food just because "I saw an advertisement about it on TV" or "the salesperson in the store said it was good. The choice must be a conscious one. Let's agree in advance that we are choosing food for a quite healthy and cheerful cat. What are the first things to look for?

✔ The food components are listed on the package in descending order, so we look carefully at the first five positions. They determine the first impression of cat food. Our cat is a carnivore, so it is only right that one or more meats are at the top of the list. A quality cat food is sure to indicate exactly what kind of meat the manufacturer used. It can't just be poultry meat, for example. The cat owner has the right to understand what he is buying: turkey, duck or chicken. Otherwise – a minimum of disrespect to us, the buyers, the maximum – suspicion in the quality of the food offered.
✔ If the first ingredients in the food are corn, wheat and soy, it is better to refuse such a purchase. You can't feed a cat like that unless you want future health problems.
✔ Don't buy into fresh trout fillets or organic rabbit meat grown in alpine meadows. This is nothing more than a marketing ploy. When processed, such meat will lose a significant portion of its weight and roll back from the first positions of the composition. It is better to prefer dehydrated meat or meat meal.
✔ Do not take a food that contains only vegetable oils, they are very poorly digested, animal fat is needed. And, again, it must be written, whose fat was used, for example, chicken fat or salmon oil.

Life hacks: Read the contents of dry cat food properly.

Nowadays, there is such a variety of dry cat food that it is very difficult to choose a really good quality food for your pet.

All foods are divided into 4 classes (in ascending order by class): economy class, premium class, super-premium and holistic cat food.

Accordingly, The price is higher for those foods with a higher class. And the higher the food class, the better it is digested. That is, when feeding economy food, your cat will be more hungry and more likely to ask for food. Also, if you regularly feed a low-quality food, your cat may develop obesity or other health problems.

Of course, you should not only focus on the label on the package "super-premium", "holistic cat food", "recommended by veterinarians, "natural", etc. To choose a good food you have to know the contents of the food and be able to understand it. In the composition of the food components are always listed in decreasing order of their mass fraction. The first five items constitute 90% of the food itself, and this is what the cat is fed with.

First on the list of ingredients should be meat. Ideally, it should occupy the first 3-5 positions in the composition. If meat has only one item, it should be first in the lineup. And yes, it should be "meat" and not by-products, meat products or anything else. Good foods spell out in full exactly what meat is included and the percentage of it in the food. Meat can be natural, dehydrated (dehydrated, dehydrated), and meat meal can be included. Meat and bone meal is, of course, the worst option offered, as it is not clear what exactly is included in this meal besides meat – it may be feathers, beaks, bones in an unknown ratio.

How to read labels: what should be in the food

Usually the ingredients on the label are ranked by weight. For example, a wet food may have beef, fish, chicken and turkey at the top of the list, while a dry food may end up at the bottom, due to the removal of excess moisture. Experts warn that there may not be complete information on the package. If in doubt, it is better to consult a doctor or go to the manufacturer's website and ask for support.

How to read the label:

The first step is to – Look at the name and compare it to the composition. It should be 35-95%, not counting water, of the product that is stated in the name. For example, if it is a rabbit food, the main ingredient should be rabbit meat.

Cats are descendants of semi-raptors, so they need plenty of protein, a moderate amount of fat, and a minimum of carbohydrates. Also, vitamins, minerals, fat and amino acids. So check for animal protein – cats need taurine and omega-6 arachidonic acid, which can only be found in animal and poultry meat or by-products. It is impossible to get these elements from plant foods, so vegetarianism is contraindicated for cats.

Useful and harmful ingredients in cat food

• Protein – beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit – at least 35%.
• Fiber – oats, wheat, rice, and carbohydrates – no more than 25%, otherwise the cat may have an upset stomach.
• By-products – at least 30% of the composition.
• Vitamins and mineral supplements:
  Taurine, omega-6 arachidonic acid, calcium, vitamin A, E, K, B vitamins, ascorbic acid, zinc, copper, amino acids. Vitamin D is essential for kittens.

• The dye E127 – can provoke cancer.
• Oxidizers E320 and E321 – can damage the liver, cause seizures and neurosis.
• Waste products – skin, cartilage, feathers, horns, beaks, hooves. If the specific source of protein is not listed on the package, the manufacturer may be hiding the fact that the feed is made from waste.

Natural foods: preparing the menu yourself

For those who have decided to feed a cat natural food, there are some important recommendations.

• Do not try to replicate the menu from the wild – you do not need to prey on rodents and birds.
• Do not give raw meat – it may contain parasites. The meat should be scalded with hot water or put in the freezer for three days.
• Do not feed your pet from your own table – most human food is contraindicated for cats. Either prepare special food for the pet, or order properly frozen mixes of natural products from pet stores on the Internet.

Natural products: What you can and can't give cats

"Natural food does not imply pure meat – there should be vegetables, vitamins and trace elements. Therefore, "natural food" should be considered by those who have free time, as well as the desire and skills to prepare a separate meal for the pet and monitor the balance of the diet."

HOMEMADE CAT FOOD

Even if you are prepared to spend time preparing food for your cat and are happy to chop up each vegetable and each piece of meat into tiny pieces, from a nutritional point of view your actions will do more harm than good.

The composition of the high quality foods available on the market is so balanced that it is pointless to try to provide your cat with all the necessary nutrients in the right ratio on your own.

And to conclude with a bit of advice: Spend some time studying the labels on the food, feed your tailed pets balanced, healthy food. Good luck to you and your pets!

For more on how to put your cat on a diet, read our article, "Diet for Overweight Cats."

What to feed your cat. So that he's healthy, and so that he doesn't go broke.

Я don't pretend for competence in this matter, I'm not a veterinarian, I describe only my own experience with the motive to help the owners of cats and cats to understand what to feed their fluffy (or not) friends. If you have any constructive advice or rebuttal to my prescriptions, I would love to hear.

We love our cat, and we want him to live with us for a long time. A healthy, happy cat.

To die a natural death from old age in fifteen or twenty years, and not from some disease or forced put to sleep (again, because of some disease).

What is needed for this? The first and most important – is to feed your pet properly..

Because of aggressive advertising of cheap foods such as Whiskas, Kitiket and Friskas, people have the impression that to feed your pet with these foods is the norm. That's why it became normal that cats get kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases. Like, what else could it be? Everybody gets sick and dies, the kidneys are the weakest point in cats, it's the norm.

Foods are divided, in a simplified way, into cheap, medium price, and expensive. The price of food is directly proportional to its quality. It's directly proportional. If it's cheap – then, sorry, it's crap. If very expensive – then it's really useful, balanced, with vitamins, minerals, and everything you need.

Dry food

It may seem "frivolous" to most people, and is often used as a supplement to other "staple" foods. But for a complete diet, dry food and water is sufficient. If a cat eats it all day long it will get all the daily dose of nutrients needed for health and well being. True, we are talking about full-fed food, experts clarify.

There are a number of vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, essential fatty acids, the stock of which the cat should replenish daily. There are daily norms, but it is worth bearing in mind that usually the lower bar and the upper one are specified. As for the lower one, it is derived from laboratory tests, when animals were fed different amounts of food and recorded any deviations from good health, if any. Based on such observations, the upper and lower bars were established.

It is important that a dry food label certifies that it is complete, balanced or suitable for daily consumption: Only then can you guarantee that your pet will not be left without important nutrients.

– Dry food also acts as a tartar preventative. The norm is usually specified on the package; it is important not to overstep its limits, – says Darina Berezina, veterinary therapist of Bliznets Clinic.

Do not forget about drinking. A cat should always have clean water.

– Cats are animals that come from subtropics and, like all the inhabitants of semi-deserts, their organism is arranged in such a way that they have a reduced sense of thirst. It's one thing when a cat eats a mouse – the rodent has enough moisture and doesn't need to drink. This is not the case here. So if your cat doesn't drink much, you should probably soak it or replace it with wet food", – sums up Ekaterina Nigova.

Roskachestvo examined samples of cat food from 39 brands. Three of them are high quality.

Wet food

Wet food (meat pieces in jelly – in sachets, jars and so on) is used more as a treat. It usually does not contain the daily dose of all useful elements, – Darina Berezina says. – On a package of such food one should look for the mention that the food is balanced and suitable for daily ration.

The doctor also thinks it is a good sign when the same producer makes both dry and wet food. Often these are the brands that offer complete foods.

Ideally, a bag or canned food should include all the necessary ingredients. This is meat (or products of its processing), amino acids, vegetable products (it can be potatoes, corn, etc., but most often such details are not specified in the composition), vitamins K, A, D, E, taurine, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, omega-3 and omega-6 acids.

Looking at the composition, pay attention to the ingredient that comes first, because the order of the composition is determined by the percentage of ingredients in the product. So, in our case, the first ingredient should be meat. Cats are carnivores, which eat mammals, the meat of which has taurine. Unfortunately, the body of cats cannot store this element, so they have to consume it regularly. It is necessary for vision, cardiac activity, and other physiological processes, – says Galina Chernova, veterinary dietician of the clinics "VetCat".

What you should consider when accustoming your pet to a new diet

• Before you change pet's diet you should talk to your vet, who will advise you on the best food for your cat;

• Transfer within 1 to 3 weeks, so that the body has time to adapt;
• make sure that the chosen food does not cause allergic reactions and other health problems, do not worsen the condition of the hair;
• choose dry pellets in a flavor the cat likes – almost all manufacturers offer several flavors, making it easier to accustom the cat to healthy food;
• Feed at the same time;
• choose a convenient bowl, the size of which corresponds to the portion size.

Our online store offers dry food from well-known brands, among which you will easily find the one your cat likes:

It is important to make sure that the cat always has fresh drinking water. If you are transferring your cat to dry pellets, he must drink more, even if he did not have such a need before, in order to get the necessary amount of liquid with food.

Top 10 Dry Quality Foods

If you are planning to transfer your pet to dry quality food, it is useful to study in advance the features of the products of the best manufacturers, offers for animals with different needs, reviews of cat owners.

In the top 10 according to the reviews of owners and veterinarians, the analysis of the composition and the level of sales, include the following brands:

When choosing a dry or wet food for your pet, the first thing to focus on is the brand. Manufacturers who have earned a good reputation, value it and maintain the claimed quality of products and avoid cheating by specifying the composition of products.

In the catalog of "MagiZoo" you can choose a quality product for your fluffy pet:

Royal Canin

Royal Canin – well-known French brand, which products for already 45 years prefer to feed their pets many experienced breeders from different countries. There are ranges for everyday, therapeutic and preventive nutrition for cats. The feed has a balanced composition, developed by experts taking into account the needs of a particular breed, age category, etc. Most of the products belong to the super-premium price segment, which guarantees a sufficient amount of natural meat or fish, vitamins, essential minerals in the pellets. The manufacturer does not use artificial additives, flavorings and flavor enhancers, which are dangerous to animal health and provoke the development of allergic reactions.

Orijen

The Orijen brand offers a good balanced diet for cats in the holistic price category. If you are serious about the health and appearance of your pet, and are willing to pay for decent quality, get him used to Orijen products right away. The manufacturer offers to provide the right food for adult cats and kittens, neutered and spayed animals, fastidious and with a sensitive digestive system.