We want our cats to have the best life possible. While you are making every effort to do that there are common mistakes that you can make without even knowing that you are doing your cat a disservice. Here are the top 7 conventional mistakes that get made:
Offering Milk to Your Cat
Once your cat is weaned, most cats become lactose in tolerant. Milk can not be a replacement for water as it will lead to dehydration.
Too Much Tuna
Giving your cat tuna as a treat or coupled with another protein is absolutely fine. However, if tuna is the main staple in your cats’ diet then you may cause malnutrition. Tuna does not have enough adequate amounts of Vitamin E for them. Tuna can be alluring to your cat and if they always have it, they may start to refuse other proteins, which is why owners and veterinarians might refer to their cat as a “tuna junkie”.
Feeding Raw Fish
Raw fish contains an enzyme called thiaminase which destroys thiamine, one of the B vitamins, and the destruction of it can cause adverse effects in your cat. Cooking fish destroys the enzyme which makes a raw fish diet out of the question.
Overfeeding
This is an easy common mistake when feeding a pet. Obesity is the largest nutritional disease seen in cats, long term it can cause diabetes, arthritis, and urinary tract disease.
The recommendation to feeding is to give your cat between 24 to 35 calories a day per pound and this will maintain a healthy weight. Of course, if your cat needs to lose weight, you can switch the food to a best light cat food. Consult with your veterinarian to determine the ideal weight for your cat and any health concerns that you may have.
Too Many Treats
Treats are delicious and can be a great reward when training or for behavior modification. Just be mindful that treats are not a replacement for a well-balanced diet. Treats don’t have the necessary nutrients needed to keep your cat healthy.
Not Enough Water
Water is vital to all living things, including cats. Cats need about 4 ounces of water per 5 pound of body weight per day. Cats are not particularly fond of drinking out of a water bowl so it may be hard to ensure enough water is consumed.
A way to help get enough hydration in your cat is by using canned cat food in your cats’ diet. A can of wet food contains about 70-80% water, so half of their daily water intake is covered.
Vegetarian or Carnivore
You may wonder if your cat could have a vegetarian diet like everyone else in the house. Cats are natural carnivores and their stomachs are designed to digest meat. Your cat will not get all of the nutrients it needs on a vegetarian diet in addition to your cat not being able to digest plant materials well.
As in a human’s life everything in moderation and well-informed decisions when it comes to feeding your cat. A well-balanced diet with a wide variety of healthy high quality cat food products that your cat will love and so will you is the best way to go. Quality over quantity will keep you and your pet safe and out of the veterinarian’s office as much as possible.
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