If you’ve found a cat, you want to take care of, but you wonder. What can’t cats eat, what do cats eat? Only 3 minutes is enough to examine your fridge, freezer and pantry, and you’ll probably find some food you can give your feline.
Discover various options and ideas, so you know how to replace your cat’s food, but we’ll also talk about their nutritional needs based on their age and what they should and shouldn’t eat. Let’s look at everything together.
You want to know what cats eat?
Cats have particular nutritional requirements, depending on their age. For this reason, their diet should be combined primarily with protein and fat and vitamins, fatty acids, or minerals.
Feeding cats will depend on whether they are adult cats or babies, whether they are obese or have any disease type. In these cases, it is the veterinarian who can best indicate to us, the specific kind of feeding that is required in each case.
What do baby or small cats eat?
During the first month, kittens should drink breast milk exclusively. This is essential in the early stage of the puppy, as it strengthens the immune system.
If the kitten’s mother has not been able to breastfeed it for some reason, the puppy will have to be fed formulas and using a bottle or syringe.
After the fourth week of life, the kitten is ready for weeding and can start eating easy-to-swallow solids.
In the market, we will find various options, which are eaten by small cats, and it is recommended to be well informed of each stage’s nutritional requirements and opt for the best choice to cover them.
Therefore, we recommend that you consider these three guidelines.
From weeding up to 6 months: dry nutrition for your baby cat.
When the cat is weeded with breast milk, it received the necessary input to strengthen its defences. Now you need to develop healthy and strong bones and muscles, develop your urinary and digestive system, enhance vision and brain. To develop healthily, it requires many proteins.
Your little cat will experience the highest peak of all growth at this stage and will be very sensitive to infections. It is mandatory to continue providing nutrients in your diet that increase your immune system.
It is also important to note that the food to choose should be easy to digest so that you will avoid diarrhoea and of course, avoid prohibited cat foods.
From 6 months: dry nutrition for junior cats.
From the age of 6 months, your kitten is still a puppy, but they grow very fast, and you would be ready to change their diet. Its development is slower at this stage and requires fats and proteins in your diet.
At two months of age, you can start incorporating kitten feed into your diet, although you still won’t have healthy teeth, you can mix the meal with special milk for them or water, while the kitten gets used to the new food.
There are feeds and feeds in everything, and indeed, not all are the same based on their composition. Here we talk about the best cat feed, with a list of the most valued and recommending.
Another option for kittens: wet nutrition
Choosing a wet diet for your baby cat is wholly valid and beneficial. This type of diet provides the same nutrients as the dry diet, with the advantage of providing more water, so necessary in the diet of a domestic cat, to avoid widespread kidney problems in cats, in the future.
But wet feeding has a disadvantage: it’s more perishable and doesn’t last like feed in your cat’s feeder.
As you can see, what small cats eat should change according to the requirements of the stages of their growth.
A consistent and quality diet in the first months of life guarantees a healthy organism and strengthens its defenses.
What do adult cats eat?
Cats are carnivores by nature. That means they eat only animals of prey. People generally do not feed their cats to prey animals. Currently, most cats in the domestic environment are fed food adapted to their needs.
Street cats often survive with the food they find in the trash, if they are not lucky enough to be part of controlled colonies, also called CES. Its life expectancy in these conditions is very short, concerning a domestic cat.
On the other hand, in the domestic environment, cats have become accustomed to feeding and wet food (sometimes because it is more comfortable for us) and it is complicated to replace the croquettes or canned food they usually consume, even if there are other alternatives.
In any case, their health care goes through a quality diet, which is why domestic cats usually triple their longevity if compared to the feral or stray cats.
Home-cooked cat food
This type of diet usually has approval, although it will always depend on the foods chosen and the palate of our feline.
- Raw diet: this diet concentrates on offering natural or semi-raw foods to feline(BARF food), either chopped or processed by a chopper. It is important to note that food must be previously frozen before giving it to them, to prevent parasites.
- Cooked or femicide homemade diets: to prevent the cat from acquiring viruses or parasites, many choose to cook the meat or seal it lightly in the pan. Finely chopped or a chopper can also give processed foods to facilitate intake.
- Dehydrated food: It is a type of diet that is increasingly booming, for its quality of nutrients and that is based on dehydration of fresh homemade and cooked food for cats, and that only needs to be rehydrated.
If you don’t have the time or food you need to make home-cooked meals, you may want to know that cats eat and what foods you have in your pantry or refrigerator, you can give them to them:
- Unused meat
- Unsalted fish
- Turkey slices (no salt or low salt)
- York ham slices (no salt or low salt)
- Chicken slices (uns salted or low in salt)
- Sugar-free skimmed yoghurt (occasionally)
- Eggs
- Lactose-free cheese
- Natural mussels
- Cooked prawns
What foods do cats love to eat?
Beyond the snacks, you can buy at the pet store and that cats love so much, many foods you have available in your fridge and pantry, can also “drive you crazy”. I’m sure you’ve already checked.
Remember, being fascinated doesn’t mean you feed them and feel good about them. Some foods cats really like are:
- Fish: salmon, monkfish and tuna. Remember to remove the thorns.
- Beef. Give it finely chopped.
- Chicken or turkey. Avoid giving him oily skin.
- Pork or ham. In all cases, and to avoid possible parasitosis in cats, you should give it cooked or previously frozen meat.
- Lactose milk and derivatives provide a lot of calcium. Give very moderately and on time. Cats don’t digest it well.
- Cheeses and ice creams (they are very attracted to them, but you should not give them to them)
- Yoghurt. You’d better offer the natural one, which isn’t flavoured.
- Rice is ideal for recovering if you had any gastrointestinal problems, especially when a cat has diarrhoea.
- Portions of pasta. Avoid accompanying them with sauces. They’re passionate about biting them when they’re tough and playing with them.
- Cookies. They get a lot of attention because of their smell.
- Fruits or vegetables. Some cats are purged with them.
What can’t cats eat?
Beware of foods that cats can’t eat, all calories count. You should be clear, and your cat should only get “extras” from time to time.
Your usual meals should be high-quality cat food. Overfeeding or poor feeding can cause an overweight cat and health problems.
If you’re going to share your dinner with your cat, take these foods away from their menu, as they are very toxic to them:
- Sausages, pizza, saladitos (salt is hazardous for them)
- Chocolate and sweets
- Regular milk (lactose not tolerated)
- Grapes and raisins
- Onions and garlic
- Nuts and nuts
- Digital an artificial sweetener found in gum and sugar-free candies
- Tuna and other canned animals are not recommended as they contain preservatives and non-acting salt for cats.
Remember to store harmful foods for your cat in a place he can’t reach. Here is a list if you want to know in detail all the prohibited and dangerous foods for cats.
Can you eat human food?
We have already given you a list, of the meals we can give to a cat, as well as foods that cat love.
But not all are the right ones, as they can cause digestive problems and even serious toxicity problems.
Below are foods that cats can eat safely and how their health can benefit.
- Meat, ultimately one of the foods that cats can eat, must receive this food’s proteins from having a strong heart, good vision and a healthy reproductive system. Cooked and unsalted beef, chicken and turkey are an excellent source of protein that feeds cats.
- Fish, is one of the foods that cats can eat, because of its high content of fatty acids, omega-3, that will allow the development of vision. It improves arthritis and prevents kidney disease and heart disorders.
- Eggs, they’re another super source of protein for your cat. But make sure they’re cooked. Only occasionally.
- Vegetables: Not all cats like vegetables, let alone fruits, but they are a rich source of vitamins and are loaded with fibre and plenty of water to digestion. Among the vegetables, cats can eat cucumber or fresh melon, steamed broccoli or fresh asparagus.
While balanced feeding, which domestic cats eat is homemade or commercial, it should depend on their weight and age.
Provide the required nutrients, although if your feline is fascinated by some extra food or treats, everything must be to its right extent. With the prior authorisation of the veterinarian, so as not to risk your healthy pet and know well what cats eat.