Set A Feeding Schedule
What you definitely need to take into consideration whether youre feeding an older cat, a kitten, or both, is having a regular mealtime schedule. Living a predictable life with a daily routine might not be your dream but its the perfect environment for cats. Knowing when theyre going to be fed, helps them feel secure.
Meals become a cornerstone event of the day around which other activities are added. A feeding routine helps your cat cope when there are changes in the household, as Ryan Llera, BSc, DVM, explains it perfectly.
Free feeding cats usually doesnt work, and with kittens, it could encourage binge eating, So, make sure you read the label on your package, or better consult your vet for the right portions your kitty will need and break them to at least two meals a day, or more regular but smaller meals if possible, throughout the day.
If a kitten is raised within this concept, it will create an eating habit which is especially important since any changes in your kittens appetite can be an early sign of illness you could spot!
Once youve established a regular eating schedule for both your older cat and kitten, its important to keep it synchronized. This way youll be able to keep an eye on both cats and make sure that they both ate their own meals, and most importantly that the little rascal didnt steal anything from the older cat.
What Happens If My Kitten Keeps Eating My Older Cats Food
The growth rate for each kitten can be individual, affected by their breed, genetics their environment, and of course what they eat. Nutrition is something we as cat parents can control and help set the foundations for a healthy cat life.
Thats why adult food shouldnt be part of a kittens diet. Krista Williams, BSc, DVM gives a perfect explanation to this by saying although the dry matter protein level may be adequate, other nutrients and energy content will not be balanced for optimal growth.
But even certain brands that sell kitten food might not have the appropriate nutritional value or theyre filled with fillers like corn, soy, wheat, or even vegetable. Ryan Llera warns that advertisements tend to promote taste, color, and shape rather than nutrition, so it is important not be influenced by these ads.
Feeding your kitty with over the necessary amount of fat, letting them freely graze, or overfeeding them can lead to fast growth, thus increasing your cats risks of becoming overweight. Likewise feeding them adult food can lead to an underfed kitten, or once again an overfed one since the somewhat lower protein intake will make them hungrier. Its important to mention that even cat food thats labeled for all life stages cant really cover the individual needs of each cat, especially that of a kitten!
Do More For Your Furry Friends With These Best Homemade Cat Food Recipes
Other than whipping up homemade cat food recipes to satisfy your fussy furry eaters, you can also show your fluffy pals some tender loving care by bringing them to the groomers! Check out these best places for pet grooming in Singapore to give your pets a good trim and pamper them with a spa treatment! Meanwhile, improve your pets indoor living conditions with these pet-friendly home decor ideas. Dont forget to join the Shopee Pawrents Club for exclusive deals on pet food, toys and more!
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Homemade Chicken Soup For Cat
Cat owners, we all know how hard it is to encourage your furry pal to drink up. Hydration is especially important for cats and even more so for those who depend on dry cat kibbles as their main source of nutrients. Dehydrated cats run a higher risk of getting urinary tract, kidney disease or other health issues. If regular water doesnt seem to appeal to your fussy feline, soups for cats can be a great solution. However, we recommend feeding soups to adults or senior cats only and ensure the soup contains little to no sodium. This chicken soup for cats is a tasty and easy-to-make alternative. Itll be sure to help your kitty hit their daily fluid intake!
Prep time: 5 minutes
When Is It Time To Switch Litter
If your cat uses her litter box every day, then you probably shouldnt change litter brands.
However, Its not unusual for cats to outgrow their litter and become averse to the box theyve been used for months. If you try a more a new litter, be sure to transition your cat slowly by combining old and new litters until she adjusts.
Clues your cat doesn’t like her litter:
- Two of her paws are in the box, two are out
- She doesnt dig to bury her waste
- She steps out of the box, shakes her feet
- She scratches the floor or carpet outside her box
- She urinates outside, not inside, the box
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What Are Healthy Activities For My Cat
By now, you should have a healthy exercise plan in place to help your cat from becoming obese, which can extend the quality of her overall health. Always check with your veterinarian to see if your cat has any existing issues that would preclude exercise and ask for recommendations on healthy activities specific to your cats lifestyle needs.
Tips for healthy play:
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Leave cardboard boxes and paper bags for cats to pounce on
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Play chase with toys, balls, feathered sticks, and flashlight pointers
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Get a cat tree and use catnip as an incentive to promote climbing
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Have a tall scratch post for her to stretch and scratch on
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Set up play dates with other four-legged pals consider adopting a sibling cat or even a pup
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Reward tricks with healthy treats. Train your cat to run to you from across the room or climb up her cat tree when you shake a bag of yummy treats
When Can Kittens Eat Cat Food
Kittens require about two to three times the amount of energy from their food as adults need, and about 30% of that energy comes from protein. As adults, cats no longer require this increased amount of energy.
Keep feeding your feline her special kitten formula until her first birthday. At that time, you can transition from kitten to adult food. As always, ask your veterinarian for the best natural, high-quality food options now that your kitten is an adult.
The amount you feed your adult cat should be based on her size and activity level.
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This article is part of a series on how to spot signs of a healthy cat. You can learn more about the key signs here.
Cats dont lack personality thats for sure. They can be shy, outgoing, snuggly, independent, energetic, relaxed and everything in between. Yet some breeds tend to exhibit certain traits more strongly than others. Here are our picks for what were calling the Cat Personality Awards.
What Else Do Young Kittens Need
Mothers milk is an important source of nutrition during the early days and weeks of your kittens life, but as your kitten grows its essential that they develop a healthy appetite for solid foods and begin to wean. Most kittens will steadily wean themselves onto a kitten food, and eventually wont need their mothers milk anymore.
The litter becomes less enamoured with mums teats and begins to show interest in their mothers food, stealing mouthfuls and enjoying meat rather than milk. Weaning tends to happen at around four weeks of age, so good quality kitten food should begin to be available around this age.
Dr Holly Graham graduated from the University of Nottingham and has been working as a first opinion small animal veterinarian in the North of England for 3 years. She is a locum vet, which means that she works at a range of different practices, treating anything from dogs and cats to tiny hamsters and mice. She works both in routine practice – giving vaccinations and health checks, and busy hospitals often performing emergency surgery. She has special interests in imaging and small mammal medicine, so performs lots of ultrasound examinations and sees lots of rabbits and guinea pigs! Holly has two pets a fluffy black cat called Boris with neurological problems, whom she adopted as a stray, and Fergie, who is a black house rabbit.
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When Can Kittens Eat Dry Food
Kittens can begin eating solid food at around four weeks old. Begin by feeding your kitten soft or wet canned food. As they grow used to eating solid food and their teeth continue to develop, begin to mix in dry food moistened with a bit of water. Gradually increase the amount of dry food over several days, paying attention to the feeding instructions on the back of the bag. To learn more about feeding your kitten, read our article on how much to feed your kitten.
When To Switch To Adult Cat Food
Kittens grow and develop every day. They require a food that meets the high-energy demands of their bodies. As your kitten becomes an adult cat, you may need to adjust her diet.
How do you know when to switch to adult cat food? Sometimes its hard to know when to stop feeding kitten food, but generally, you should begin slowly transitioning your kitten to adult food when she is one year old, or when your veterinarian recommends doing so. There is an exception with larger breed cats, such as the Maine Coon, which do not reach adult maturity until they are 18 months of age. Spread out the transition process over a seven to 10-day period, gradually increasing the amount of her new food each day.
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Choosing The Right Canned Or Dry Foods
Picking the right food for you Egyptian Mau can be simplified if you use a brand name you trust. If you are reading labels you can first make sure that the company meets the standards as defined by the AAFCO .
*Please note that this is only to make sure that the packaged food satisfies the bare minimum of dietary requirements and doesnt mean it is the best food for your Egyptian Mau.
For the most part, you can ignore hype labels like premium or gourmet as there is no regulation on these words in relation to the cat food.
Once you have decided on a few trusted brands, you will need to test them on your cat for a taste test. So best to choose a few variations of quality cat food and then serve them to your Egyptian Mau and see which one it prefers most. This is important as your Egyptian Mau may decide to not eat at all if the food isnt to its liking and then it runs the risk of other health issues.
With each breed of cat comes with it a specific set of nutritional needs, possible risks, and illnesses. This is even more-so with the Egyptian Mau.
Can My Cat Get Sick From Eating Kitten Food
Older cats may become sick from kitten food. It is not possible for healthy older cats to become ill from kitten food. Nutritionally, they are similar, but they differ in their ratios of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. In other words, if older cats are fed kitten food for a short period of time, there is no risk of diseases or health problems.
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Consider An Automatic Pet Door
A different option that could help keep your cats feeding time separate would be an automatic flap door. This option is perfect for those of you who have a spare room, or a door that leads to your garage, providing that its a safe place for your older cat.
Its better for the automatic cat door to be placed in a room where only your older cat has access, so your kitten wont be able to steal their food. Its a great choice for those of you who are away from home most of the day and cant control your kittens actions.
There are several brands that use different technologies to open and shut the cat flap, so lets take a moment to look at my favorites.
Best Overall: SureFlap-Microchip Cat Flap
Introducing Cat Food To A Kitten
Were not kitten around, young cats have different nutritional needs than adult cats, so its important to eventually switch from kitten to adult cat food when theyre ready. Just like human babies, kittens need different kinds of foods at various stages of their lives to develop and grow properly.
Unlike their pawrents, pets eat the same diet every day and develop microbes to digest that specific diet. When the diet is suddenly changed, the microbes do not have time to adjust and digest the new food. This can result in severe tummy trouble that may include vomiting and diarrhea. To avoid this, spread out the transition process over a 7 to 10 day period, gradually incorporating more of the new food in with the old.
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How Much Food To Give
Unless your vet has alerted you to specific portion requirements based on your cats breed or an underlying health condition, its usually safe to follow the manufacturers guidelines regarding portions.
AAFCO approved products base their labels on body weight, so monitor your cats weight weekly during this transition if you observe unusual changes in your cats body weight or condition, adjust the portions accordingly. Chat to a vet if youre not feeling confident about making portion adjustments on your own.
Can I Mix Other Food With Prescription Food
If your cat is eating prescription urinary food and doing well with it, dont make the mistake of mixing in other foods. The prescription urinary food depends on a delicate balance of ingredients to produce healthy conditions in your cats bladder. Adding treats, table food, non-prescription cat food or other supplements can change physiological conditions enough that the prescription food wont work.
If your cat doesnt like the prescription food hes supposed to eat, ask your vet to recommend a different brand, form or flavor. There are plenty of choices so you should be able to find something your cat likes.
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What Is The Best Food For Siamese Kittens
Siamese kittens should first nurse from their mother or drink kitten formula if their mother isnt available or isnt producing enough milk.
Once your kitten gets a little older, they should probably start to switch to wet food. Kittens are normally fully weaned by 6-7 weeks old. At this point, they should be eating either wet food designed for kittens or a combination of wet food and kitten kibble.
Some people let their kittens start eating kibble as young as seven weeks, but it isnt always a good option since kibble can be dehydrating.
Rapid Growth Stage: 2 To 6 Months
After kittens are weaned, they enter a stage of rapid growth, which lasts until theyre 6 months old. They need a high-quality, balanced diet with every bite packed with the nutrients and energy needed to sustain such rapid development. The best choice is a premium kitten food with animal-based proteins. It should be highly digestible, nutrient-dense and designed to meet kittens unique nutritional needs, such as Opens a new windowIAMS PROACTIVE HEALTH Healthy Kitten with Chicken.Kittens require twice as much energy as adult cats on a per-pound basis. But their smaller mouths, teeth and stomachs limit the amount of food they can digest during a single meal. Its best to divide the total daily food amount recommended on the kitten food packaging into three or four smaller meals.
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Tips To Help With The Transition From Kitten To Cat Food
- Switching your kittens food too quickly can make the process more difficult. Provide privacy and a quiet eating area away from loud noises and other cats.
- Hand-feed your cat, at least initially. The person offering the cat food should have a good relationship with the cat.
- Offer moist or canned cat food along with dry cat food.
- Ensure you store all of your cat foods appropriately to maintain the quality and freshness of the cat food.
Human Foods That Should Be Given With Caution
Avocado
Avocados pit, skin, and leaves contain persin which causes poisoning in some animals such as rabbits, goats, and birds. Even though theres no clear evidence that avocados are poisonous to cats, it might be better to stay on the safe side and not feed it too often to your kitty. The avocado flesh, which can be given in very small amounts, is also quite high in fat.
Peaches
You can safely feed a small amount of peeled peach but too much of it might cause stomach upset and diarrhea due to its high sugar content and because its difficult to digest. Be sure to remove the pit as it contains small amounts of cyanide and can present a serious choking hazard.
Potatoes
Many cats like the taste of potatoes and some cat food manufacturers even add these veggies to their products. Potatoes are rich in Vitamins B and C, as well as potassium. However, raw potatoes contain solanine, a toxin that can be very dangerous for your feline friend. The good news is, solanine disappears while cooking, so you can safely feed moderate amounts of peeled and cooked potatoes. Avoid feeding fried potatoes due to the high-fat content and be sure to serve them plain.
Spinach
If your pet has kidney issues or digestive tract problems, spinach should be avoided altogether. This is because it contains calcium oxalates that can cause stone formation in the urinary tracts.
However, healthy cats can safely consume small quantities of this green leafy veggie which is packed with vitamins and minerals.
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