How to Cook Cats

Learn about your cat’s nutritional needs. A cat’s nutritional needs are far from the nutritional needs of humans, requiring careful consideration and forethought about the foods to feed them. Cats need to eat a diet rich in protein and fat. In fact, cats need twice as much protein as dogs. ^[2] Don’t do it yourself – get your vet to recommend an animal nutritionist who can make sure your cat gets the nutrients she needs. necessary maintenance.

• A cat’s diet consists of about 85% meat, fat, offal and bone; Vegetables and fiber make up only 15% of a cat’s nutritional needs. ^[3]
• Formulating a nutritionally balanced cat’s diet is not an easy task that even animal nutritionists find difficult. If you do it wrong, your cat won’t show any symptoms for a few days or weeks, but the problem will develop for months or years. Don’t change your cat’s diet without consulting a nutritionist and don’t be fooled by the feeling that the cat seems fine and healthy.

Get to know every ingredient of a healthy cat diet. A healthy cat diet should include the following: ^[4] clean water (available and easily accessible), protein (most cats won’t eat food with less than 20% protein content), fat (cats need fat for energy, essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and flavors), vitamin A (cats need adequate doses of vitamin A, which is abundant in liver, eggs, and milk, but be careful when using these ingredients) , B vitamins (cats need B vitamins and will tolerate brewer’s yeast if they show signs of a B vitamin deficiency, such as a loss of appetite for a few days or a fever), vitamin E (vitamin E is needed for fat breakdown) unsaturated in the cat’s diet) and calcium (this is an important mineral in the formation and maintenance of bones).

• Taurine is an amino acid that is also essential in a cat’s diet. Processed cat food products (both dry and wet) usually provide the required amount of taurine, but your cat is at risk of taurine deficiency if you feed her homemade or vegetarian food. Taurine deficiency in cats can cause central retinal degeneration, leading to permanent vision loss and heart failure. That’s why it’s so important to add taurine to your cat’s diet.

Consider when and how to feed your cat. For example, cats of different ages will need different feeding times or types of food. While most cats can self-regulate their food intake fairly well, there are some situations where you’ll need to make adjustments.

• Kittens from 6 weeks to 3 months of age need 3-4 meals a day. When your cat is 6 months old, you can reduce the number of meals to 2 meals per day.
• Adult cats need to be fed when they want, plus snacks throughout the day. But if this is too difficult, they also need to be eaten at least a few times a day.
• If you have multiple cats with different diets, find a way to feed them so that they can’t eat each other’s food.

Value your cat’s health more than your own nutrition. Cats cannot thrive (or survive) on a vegetarian diet. ^{[5] [6]} There has been endless heated debate on this topic, but putting your cat’s natural needs first is always paramount to health and happiness of cats.

• While there are supplements (such as taurine) that some vegans often feed their cats, along with a wealth of advice on feeding a vegetarian cat, a vegetarian diet can lead to blindness and heart failure in cats. Not only does it require a lot of effort on the part of the owner, these diets also pose a risk of disease and shorten the life of the cat, especially when you feed your cat too many unhealthy carbohydrate foods.

Consult with your veterinarian and animal nutritionist and do thorough research before you start cooking for your cat. A completely home-cooked diet without the addition of high-quality brand-name cat foods requires a balance to satisfy all they need. This is not recommended unless you have done your research and talked to your veterinarian.

Note that cats are prone to becoming “addicted” to certain foods. If you don’t understand this, you may be disappointed when you try to change your cat’s diet. Don’t be surprised if all your cooking efforts are denied! Be patient and keep trying until you pique your cat’s curiosity. Occasionally removing familiar foods and replacing them with other foods is an important part of encouraging your cat to try new foods.

• Try gradually adding home-cooked food to the food your cat normally eats. This will train your cat to get used to the new textures and flavors of the food you cook for your cat.
• Don’t leave food that your cat won’t eat. Remove food if your cat has not eaten within an hour. Please try again next time.

Avoid giving your cat foods that are dangerous or toxic to them. Remember that not all food that humans can eat can be eaten by cats. Foods that you should not feed your cat include: onions, garlic, chives, grapes, raisins, chocolate (including white chocolate), sugar, uncooked dough, and seasonings that contain ingredients. kitchen cabinets like nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. ^[7]

• Other ingredients to avoid include: alcohol (which has the same effect on humans, but much faster – just 2 teaspoons of whiskey can put a 2.5 kg cat into a coma), dog food (wet or dry – dog food has a completely different nutritional profile), candies and gum (can cause liver failure if xyltp sweetener is present), coffee, tea and products containing caffeine, such as cold medicine, stimulant drinks and pain relievers (in large quantities these can kill a cat and have no antidote), and any medicine intended for humans ( acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be fatal to cats). ^[8]

Limit feeding cats non-toxic foods but also not good for cats if eaten a lot. Cats need a well-rounded diet, but this doesn’t mean they need all the nutrients in bulk.

• Limit feeding cats fat and bones. You should not feed your cat cooked bones, and the fat can cause pancreatitis in cats. ^[9]
• If you want to feed your cat raw eggs, you should only feed the yolk. Cook the eggs thoroughly if you plan to feed the whites to your cat. Consider always cooking eggs, as raw eggs can carry Salmonella bacteria. Even if they don’t get sick, cats can be carriers of Salmonella , which can be passed from cats to people. ^[10]
• Raw meat needs to be frozen before giving it to your cat, unless you are absolutely sure of the source of the meat.
• Feed your cat liver no more than 2 times a week.
• Tuna is very addictive, and cats eating too much tuna will lead to thiamine deficiency. In general, a diet high in any type of fish can lead to a similar deficiency.
• Milk and dairy products can cause gastrointestinal upset and itching. Talk to your veterinarian if you want to continue giving your cat milk; Not all veterinarians or cat owners think that cats have a hard time with milk intolerance.

Use caution when you want to long-term feed your cat food you cook yourself. Feeding your cat completely home-cooked food can lead to nutritional deficiencies and harm your cat, unless you are confident you can ensure a balanced nutrition. Many veterinarians discourage giving cats a home-cooked diet simply because they know that most people are untrained or knowledgeable in this, and many cat owners may not practice it. Follow the recommended recipes to provide optimal nutrition for cats due to tight time. ^[11] In addition, veterinarians are concerned that cat owners lack knowledge about nutritional needs and do not pay attention to the cat’s diet due to busy lives. ^[12]

• If you love to cook for your cats outright, it’s still possible, but you have to do a lot of research (often to the contrary) and consider the different ingredients available in your area.
• Consider your life. If you are often away from home and have to ask someone else to feed your cat, can you make sure that your home-cooked cat food is nutritious? If you work all day, can you prepare multiple meals each weekend to feed your cat all week?
• Some people like to feed their cats raw food. This is controversial for a number of reasons, including the risk of infection with parasites and bacteria that are not destroyed by undercooked. Raw cat food diets are not currently recommended by veterinary organizations such as the American Veterinary Association because the potential risks outweigh the benefits.