Every cat owner sooner or later faces the question of how to feed a pet. This is really important, because the health of a pet directly depends on nutrition.
There are several types of food: natural, dry food and mixed.
How to choose?
All people want their pets to stay healthy and active, as well as live a long and rich life. Perhaps this sounds implausible, but properly chosen food is a guarantee of pet's health.
Going into a supermarket or pet store, eyes run up from a variety of cat food. In this case, it is important to remember that should not be carried on bright packaging and advertising, as appearance is often deceptive.
Manufacturer - an important criterion when choosing a pet food. Most of all trust producers of such countries as the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, England and the United States deserve.
You can not rely on advertising - most often the advertised brand is not of good quality. A good product, on the contrary, unfairly remains unknown. The good quality of the food is also indicated by the division of dry food by age and state of health. There is also a special food for pregnant cats.
What to watch out for?
Below are a few negative factors that you should pay attention to when buying.
- Cellulose. Although some fiber is beneficial, it can be harmful if it is oversupplied. It is also important what is its origin. Sugar, caramel, as well as the dye E127 - this is what provokes cancer in cats eating such food. Not less harmful additive is the dye Propylene glycol.
- Preservatives, flavors, flavorings.
- Antioxidants - especially E324, E320 or BHA, E321-BHT. These preservatives are dangerous because they adversely affect the liver, eventually destroying it.
- If the buyer saw the word "meat" in the composition without explanation, then you should not hurry with the acquisition of such feed, because this word includes various concepts. On the packaging of high-quality food should be indicated what kind of meat.
- It is important to consider the serving size, which is indicated on the package. The greater the volume of feed, the lower the energy value of the product. And this, in turn, leads to an overload of the kidneys and their possible diseases.
- You also need to pay attention to the percentage content in the product by-products.. If the ratio is quite large, it is better to put food aside, since by-products can be understood as beak, feathers, bones, leather and other waste.
- The inscription "with taste" should cause suspicion of the buyer, as it indicates the presence of artificial additives.
- Meat 100%. This product is definitely not worth buying, since such a percentage of meat in dry food is simply impossible. And, therefore, it is dangerous to trust this manufacturer.
What should be included?
It is equally important to know what must be in high-quality pet food.
This will be discussed below.
- Meat. It can be chicken, beef, rabbit, and turkey or fish. This component should be located in the first place and make up at least 35% of the total mass.
- Taurine. This is also an important component. Amino acid ensures good heart function and excellent vision.
- The presence of B vitamins and minerals - this is, of course, a plus.
- The second place in the composition should be protein (egg or milk). Its concentration is usually about 20%.
- Cellulose must be present in the composition. Its amount is not more than 20% of the total mass.It is also important to pay attention to the type of raw materials used. Cereals, cereals and vegetables - high-quality fiber.
- Quality meat by-products must not contain more than 10%. Under offal refers to the kidneys, liver, heart, lung and other components.
comparison table
In the table below you can find a comparison of dry cat food. Perhaps not everyone knows that this product is divided into several classes: economy, premium, superpremium, holistic.
Class | Economy | Premium | Superpremium | Holistic |
Short description | Low cost feed that you can often see in advertisements | The budget option has a slightly higher quality | Fodder superior to previous in price and quality | Elite expensive feed, consisting only of natural products |
Features composition | Corn, soy flour, poor-quality offal, gluten, flavors and flavorings. Lack of meat and excess pulp | Vitamins, minerals, a small amount of meat, cereals, fat, flour, offal, slightly exceeded the amount of fiber. | Enough meat and fiber, no offal, vitamins, minerals. | The absence of offal and additives, meat and fiber of the highest quality. |
pros | Low price | Low price, division by age | All necessary substances are present, division by breed | Only natural products |
Minuses | Addiction, the development of diseases of the digestive tract. | May provoke diseases | High price | High price, narrow division by purpose |
Absorption (%) | 60 – 65 | 70 – 75 | 80 – 85 | 90 – 100 |
Stamps | Whiskas, Kitekat, Darling, Friskies | Pro Nature, Nutra, Happy Cat | Hills, Royal Canin, ProPlan | Eagle Pack Holistic, Evo, Orijen, Felidae |
Where to buy | Supermarket, pet shop | Supermarket, pet shop | Vetapteka, pet store | By order |
Based on the table, we can conclude that the advertised dry food most often prove to be hazardous to the pet's health. To provide a pet useful and proper nutrition, we need fairly large cash costs.
It is worth considering whether it is necessary to save on the stern, in order to later, perhaps, pay for the expensive treatment of a pet and spend your own time and nerves.
A detailed review of popular cat food in the next video.