

#FOOD FOR FINICKY CATS FULL#
She may also stay full longer -ÔÇô and not cry for food while you’re trying to sleep in. Feeding a higher protein diet may increase energy levels and lead the cat to exercise more. If your fat cat is also lazy, she may be on the sugar roller coaster. (Chicken, lamb, and fish fall somewhere in between.)Įxercise helps, too.

If your cat has a weight problem, favor lean game meats like rabbit and venison over fatty meats like duck and beef. You should be able to feel the ribs easily but not see them, and the cat should have a waist. Kuck says, " then add a high protein diet … perhaps explains a lot about high incidence of chronic renal disease in old cats."Ĥ. Consult your veterinarian before making the transition to a high-protein diet late in your cat’s life. We need to focus on our cats’ kidneys the same way we prioritize the cardiovascular system in human health maintenance. (A sudden increase in thirst may indicate kidney disease or diabetes.) Cats prefer moving water to standing water. To encourage your cat to drink more, try a fountain. While it is not normal for a healthy cat to have to drink much water, a dry diet may result in a chronically dehydrated cat, which is hard on the kidneys. They get most of their moisture from flesh. Cats have a low thirst driveĪs they are descended from desert-dwelling creatures, cats do not naturally seek water. This is the case even in the high-protein brands. Dry kibble typically uses grains as a binder. Cats are obligate carnivoresĪ cat’s diet should consist of less than 5 percent carbohydrates. Here are some tips and issues to consider: 1. Get it right, and you may improve your cat’s health, lengthen his life, and even stop her from climbing on your head at 5 a.m. And then there is the 30-pound cat …"įeeding a picky feline can be a challenge. The male with urinary problems hates canned and loves kibble. "One is 19 years old, nearly toothless, and likes only the pate mixed with warm water. "Among my household and my sister’s household, we have 12 cats," she says. In the subsequent three years, she’s maintained a stable healthy weight.ĭonna Kuck, a retired veterinarian, empathizes with the cat-feeding dilemma. Within a few months, her belly fat was gone. I left the seminar with a bag full of samples, and to my surprise, the older, mellower Foxy ate every type of food I offered. What I learned turned Foxy’s life around. When a local pet-health-food chain in my neighborhood offered a cat-feeding seminar, I signed up. I worked in a holistic veterinary clinic and kept hearing that wet food was better. Once again, "weight management" kitty kibble proved ineffective. By age four, she had a big belly and tipped the scales at 14 pounds. Her weight fluctuated from vet visit to vet visit. When my next cat, Foxy, rejected her rich kitten food, I figured she preferred kibble, too.
