How Much Should I Feed My Cat
Every new cat owner wonders "How much should I feed my cat?" Since all cats are unique, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. But here are some good basic guidelines.How much food a cat needs each day depends on a variety of factors like age, size, and activity level, but a good rule of thumb is that a normal, healthy adult cat probably requires about one ounce of food per pound of body weight per day. The total calorie requirements for an adult cat are in the area of 20 to 30 calories per pound. An eight-pound cat would require about eight ounces of food, or a total calorie consumption of 160 to 240 calories.Most vets agree that a cat diet should include both dry and canned food. The canned food is high is water content, which cats need, and the dry food will help reduce the buildup of tartar on the teeth. When figuring out how much to feed your cat, include both canned and dry food in the total - for instance, you could meet an eight-ounce food requirement with four ounces of canned food and four of dry food.All major cat food brands include feeding instructions and it's important to follow them, because they're written for the specific nutrients that particular food contains. It's also important to consider the cat's stage of life. Kittens actually require more food than adult cats, and pregnant cats need additional food as well.Don't forget to provide clean water for your cat at all times, especially if dry food makes up a significant portion of the diet. If your cats don't seem to want water from a designated water bowl, try leaving some filled glasses of water in cat-accessible spaces (like on the sink in the bathroom). Just remember not to reach for it yourself on a sleepy morning.Most cats like milk, but it should be reserved as a treat, rather than considered the cat's primary drink. Milk isn't a requirement for health in the diet of an adult cat and many don't digest it well. If your cat develops diarrhea after drinking milk, try substituting a small amount of cream. Most cats love it, and the butterfat in the cream is actually good for cats (in small amounts).Feeding twice a day is a good regimen, and for people who are away from home all day it makes a lot of sense - feed before you go off to work, and feed again when you come home. It can be helpful to keep a dish of dry catfood available to the cat at all time. Like us, cats tend to enjoy snacks.Cats can be pretty finicky about cleanliness, and if their food dish smells like yesterday's meal they may refuse to eat. Ceramic bowls are good for cat food because they don't absorb odors, as plastic dishes tend to do. Room temperature is best. Food that is very warm or very cold may lead to digestion problems in some cats.
The Horrors of Commercial Pet Food What Every Dog and Cat Owner Should Know
Some of the ingredients that end up in commercial pet foods are truly shocking. What's more, many of these will not appear on the label and others are hidden under umbrella terms such as ‘meat meal' and ‘meat by-products'. How can this happen? The pet food industry is highly unregulated. As Ann Martin, author of Foods Pets Die For, writes in her article The Pet Food Industry and its Questionable Practices, ‘Governments in the USA and Canada regulate the labeling of the food, the name and address of the company, the weight of the product, and whether it is made for a dog or cat - nothing more.'
The meats used in pet food can be extremely low grade and unfit for human consumption. Summarized as the ‘4 D's' (dead, diseased, disabled and dying), these can include roadkill, zoo animals and infected and cancerous meats.
At the rendering plants ingredients are highly heated and processed, destroying nutrients and enzymes, with strong preservatives added which do not appear on the labels. These include fat stabilizers such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene), both of which are known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction and Ethoxyquin, a suspected cancer-causing agent. Semi-moist dog foods may also contain propylene glycol, a relation to ethylene glycol (anti-freeze), which can destroy red blood cells.
Pets in your pet food
Though reportedly not the case today, it is well recorded that dogs and cats have ended up in dog and cat food. In his 1990 article How Dogs and Cats Get Recycled Into Pet Food, John Eckhouse, an investigative reporter, wrote: ‘Each year, millions of dead American dogs and cats are processed along with billions of pounds of other animal materials by companies known as renderers. The finished products -- tallow and meat meals -- serve as raw materials for thousands of items that include cosmetics and pet food.'
Doctor of weterianry medicine Wendell Belfield in Foods Not Fit For a Pet (Earth Island Journal, 1996), reports that ‘federal and state agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and medical groups such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association, confirm that pets, on a routine basis, are rendered after they die in animal shelters or are disposed of by health authorities, and the end product frequently finds its way into pet food.'
Toxic Grains
The very use of grains in pet food is questionable as grains are ill-suited to the digestive physiology of carnivores. This is especially so for cats who are obligatory carnivores and meet their glucose requirements through amino acids in their diet. Further, the grains used in dog and cat foods may contain mycotoxins, fungi that can cause chronic conditions and even death in both humans and animals. As the grains used in pet food are low grade, they are dealt with last in the handling process and because of this are often left in storage where insects, mites and mycotoxic molds can grow.
The consumption of dead mites can cause skin allergies. If your pet has skin allergies, change their diet first before turning to steroids which can be seriously detrimental to your pets health.
Alfatoxin poisoning, a common mycotoxin that grows on corn as well as other foods, has been reported for over 50 years. Vomotoxin is another mycotoxin found in wheat products. Where large doses of mycotoxins can cause cancer and even rapid death, small continuous amounts may suppress the immune system and damage organs over time, leading to long-term chronic health conditions.
Just recently at the end of 2005, over 100 dogs were killed in the United States because of alfatoxin found in pet food, with some 19 brands of Diamond dog food being recalled. It is likely there were many more deaths than those reported, and as alfatoxin attacks the liver it is likely surviving dogs may develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer in the future.
Toxic Chemicals
The toxin sodium pentobarbital, a chemical is used to euthanize animals and pets, has been found in commercial pet foods. The US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine performed two studies (1998 and 2000) to test for pentobarbital. Of the 74 samples analysed, over half were found to contain pentobarbital. What's more, none of the 43 brands and product lines that tested positive warned of its presence on their labels.
The FDA researchers also tested the food for the presence of dogs or cats but reported none present. It was believed the pentobarbital residues were entering pet foods from euthanized, rendered cattle or even horses.
The FDA say the small amounts of the drug found in these foods were harmless, but not all veterinarians agree. Long-term continual doses, even at small levels may be increase the onset of chronic and degenerative diseases.
Aside from the toxins and base ingredients of commercial pet foods, these harshly processed and high-carbohydrate products in no way match the natural diets dogs and cats would have eaten in the wild. They are species-inappropriate and ill-suited to canine and feline physiology. I recommend healthy, homemade, raw diets or optimum natural, holistic alternatives for the health and well-being of your dog and cat. Before embarking on a raw food diet (otherwise known as BARF - ‘biologically adequate raw food'), thoroughly research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.
The meats used in pet food can be extremely low grade and unfit for human consumption. Summarized as the ‘4 D's' (dead, diseased, disabled and dying), these can include roadkill, zoo animals and infected and cancerous meats.
At the rendering plants ingredients are highly heated and processed, destroying nutrients and enzymes, with strong preservatives added which do not appear on the labels. These include fat stabilizers such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene), both of which are known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction and Ethoxyquin, a suspected cancer-causing agent. Semi-moist dog foods may also contain propylene glycol, a relation to ethylene glycol (anti-freeze), which can destroy red blood cells.
Pets in your pet food
Though reportedly not the case today, it is well recorded that dogs and cats have ended up in dog and cat food. In his 1990 article How Dogs and Cats Get Recycled Into Pet Food, John Eckhouse, an investigative reporter, wrote: ‘Each year, millions of dead American dogs and cats are processed along with billions of pounds of other animal materials by companies known as renderers. The finished products -- tallow and meat meals -- serve as raw materials for thousands of items that include cosmetics and pet food.'
Doctor of weterianry medicine Wendell Belfield in Foods Not Fit For a Pet (Earth Island Journal, 1996), reports that ‘federal and state agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and medical groups such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association, confirm that pets, on a routine basis, are rendered after they die in animal shelters or are disposed of by health authorities, and the end product frequently finds its way into pet food.'
Toxic Grains
The very use of grains in pet food is questionable as grains are ill-suited to the digestive physiology of carnivores. This is especially so for cats who are obligatory carnivores and meet their glucose requirements through amino acids in their diet. Further, the grains used in dog and cat foods may contain mycotoxins, fungi that can cause chronic conditions and even death in both humans and animals. As the grains used in pet food are low grade, they are dealt with last in the handling process and because of this are often left in storage where insects, mites and mycotoxic molds can grow.
The consumption of dead mites can cause skin allergies. If your pet has skin allergies, change their diet first before turning to steroids which can be seriously detrimental to your pets health.
Alfatoxin poisoning, a common mycotoxin that grows on corn as well as other foods, has been reported for over 50 years. Vomotoxin is another mycotoxin found in wheat products. Where large doses of mycotoxins can cause cancer and even rapid death, small continuous amounts may suppress the immune system and damage organs over time, leading to long-term chronic health conditions.
Just recently at the end of 2005, over 100 dogs were killed in the United States because of alfatoxin found in pet food, with some 19 brands of Diamond dog food being recalled. It is likely there were many more deaths than those reported, and as alfatoxin attacks the liver it is likely surviving dogs may develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer in the future.
Toxic Chemicals
The toxin sodium pentobarbital, a chemical is used to euthanize animals and pets, has been found in commercial pet foods. The US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine performed two studies (1998 and 2000) to test for pentobarbital. Of the 74 samples analysed, over half were found to contain pentobarbital. What's more, none of the 43 brands and product lines that tested positive warned of its presence on their labels.
The FDA researchers also tested the food for the presence of dogs or cats but reported none present. It was believed the pentobarbital residues were entering pet foods from euthanized, rendered cattle or even horses.
The FDA say the small amounts of the drug found in these foods were harmless, but not all veterinarians agree. Long-term continual doses, even at small levels may be increase the onset of chronic and degenerative diseases.
Aside from the toxins and base ingredients of commercial pet foods, these harshly processed and high-carbohydrate products in no way match the natural diets dogs and cats would have eaten in the wild. They are species-inappropriate and ill-suited to canine and feline physiology. I recommend healthy, homemade, raw diets or optimum natural, holistic alternatives for the health and well-being of your dog and cat. Before embarking on a raw food diet (otherwise known as BARF - ‘biologically adequate raw food'), thoroughly research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.
Taking Care of Cats
Cats are proving to be one of the most popular pets you can own. They are a domesticated animal that date back around 8,000 years and beyond. There are several different breeds of this animal with the most popular being Siamese and Persian. Like any other pet, including dogs, cats can cost money to take care of properly.
You need to think about the costs associated with keeping a cat. Obviously you will need food and
you will need to consider the costs of a veterinarian. You will also need litter for the litter box, which can get quite expensive as the years go by. Your cat will need a food dish and a water dish. You should also get your cat some toys as well, such as a scratching post, cat toys, pet carrier and a bed. An ID collar is a good idea also, just in case your cat gets lost.
The age of your cat will influence the feeding of your pet. Older cats require two small meals or one large meal for the day. Kittens, on the other hand, require several feedings a day until they get around the age of 12 weeks old. At three to six months of age, cats need to be fed three times a day. Canned food is good for cats, although any food that has been left out longer than 30 minutes needs to be thrown out. Canned food gets expensive very fast and you should always keep in mind that some may need to be thrown away when you buy it. Cats love canned food, although it doesn't have any benefits to their dental health like dry food does.
An alternative to canned food is dry food. You can leave a supply out for your pet. When you give your cat dry food, you should always make sure that he has enough water. Dry food costs less than canned food, and it can also help to prevent the buildup of tartar on the cat's teeth. When you buy dry food, you should always look in terms of health and benefits and stay away from generic food. Even though generic food may be cheaper, it may not offer the nutrients your cat needs.
If you have a kitten, you should only give him food designed for kittens. you will also need to clean and refill his water dish every day. You should avoid giving kittens and cats cows milk, even though they really like it. It can cause diarrhea. Treats are fine on occasions, but too many of them can cause your cat to get fat. Feeding your kitten human food is good on occasion, although you may have to mix it with cat food.
Cats stay fairly clean by themselves. You will need to give them a brushing at least once a day. You don't need to bathe them very often. Brushing reduces the risk of hairballs and keeps your cat's coat nice and clean. If you keep your cat indoors, you will need to have a litter box in the area that is easy for the cat to access. You should scoop it on a daily basis and clean it out once a week. Cats do not like to use dirty litter and will scratch it out onto your floor. They want it nice and clean.
Cats do require some work, but they are great pets that will provide you years and years of
companionship. As long as you take car of your pet, take them to the vet for checkups and generally love them, they should remain healthy and happy pets. A healthy and happy pet makes for a healthy and happy owner. They will get sick from time to time and knowing how to care for them will make a lot of difference.
You need to think about the costs associated with keeping a cat. Obviously you will need food and
you will need to consider the costs of a veterinarian. You will also need litter for the litter box, which can get quite expensive as the years go by. Your cat will need a food dish and a water dish. You should also get your cat some toys as well, such as a scratching post, cat toys, pet carrier and a bed. An ID collar is a good idea also, just in case your cat gets lost.
The age of your cat will influence the feeding of your pet. Older cats require two small meals or one large meal for the day. Kittens, on the other hand, require several feedings a day until they get around the age of 12 weeks old. At three to six months of age, cats need to be fed three times a day. Canned food is good for cats, although any food that has been left out longer than 30 minutes needs to be thrown out. Canned food gets expensive very fast and you should always keep in mind that some may need to be thrown away when you buy it. Cats love canned food, although it doesn't have any benefits to their dental health like dry food does.
An alternative to canned food is dry food. You can leave a supply out for your pet. When you give your cat dry food, you should always make sure that he has enough water. Dry food costs less than canned food, and it can also help to prevent the buildup of tartar on the cat's teeth. When you buy dry food, you should always look in terms of health and benefits and stay away from generic food. Even though generic food may be cheaper, it may not offer the nutrients your cat needs.
If you have a kitten, you should only give him food designed for kittens. you will also need to clean and refill his water dish every day. You should avoid giving kittens and cats cows milk, even though they really like it. It can cause diarrhea. Treats are fine on occasions, but too many of them can cause your cat to get fat. Feeding your kitten human food is good on occasion, although you may have to mix it with cat food.
Cats stay fairly clean by themselves. You will need to give them a brushing at least once a day. You don't need to bathe them very often. Brushing reduces the risk of hairballs and keeps your cat's coat nice and clean. If you keep your cat indoors, you will need to have a litter box in the area that is easy for the cat to access. You should scoop it on a daily basis and clean it out once a week. Cats do not like to use dirty litter and will scratch it out onto your floor. They want it nice and clean.
Cats do require some work, but they are great pets that will provide you years and years of
companionship. As long as you take car of your pet, take them to the vet for checkups and generally love them, they should remain healthy and happy pets. A healthy and happy pet makes for a healthy and happy owner. They will get sick from time to time and knowing how to care for them will make a lot of difference.