What and how to feed Maine Coons?

Domestic cats, regardless of their breed, belong to carnivorous mammals, in their natural habitat food for them are small rodents and birds, as well as insects, because the diet of cats kept in captivity must meet the needs of the beast. No exception and pets Maine Coon.

The diet of Maine Coon cats should be made taking into account their physiological requirements:

• the main building material for organs and tissues are plant polysaccharides;
• As the main source of energy cats use carbohydrates - these ingredients are actively involved in metabolism, stimulating intestinal motility, however, we must remember that excessive consumption of carbohydrates can cause obesity cats;
• the main advantage of lipids and fats is their high energy value, the lack of components can lead to a variety of ailments and abnormalities of the internal organs;
• proteins and proteins are important in metabolic processes, they are necessary for the animal to grow and fully develop, to stimulate the protective function of the immune system, arginine is important among them, the lack of which may even cause the death of Maine Coon.

Maine Coon is a rather large cat, so it eats more than cats of other breeds. Caring for such a pet is by no means the cheapest pleasure, especially considering that the cat's organism is extremely demanding on the quality of food: in this case, the pet's food should be exclusively of premium class.

Maine coons are fed twice a day, in the mornings and evenings. There is an opinion that Maine Coons do not tend to overeat, unlike many other breeds, so food for them should always be left open to the public. This is indeed the case; moreover, this tactic significantly increases the animal's internal confidence in themselves and their masters.

In addition, this feeding scheme is considered to be an excellent prevention of eating disorders, in which the pet tries to sip on "good luck" without even feeling any sense of hunger. However, each cat is unique, therefore Often, such overeating leads to obesity, which leads to serious malfunctions of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems.

The diet of an adult animal should be made so that for each kilogram of body weight of the animal accounted for about 60 kilocalories and 10 grams of protein. Thus, a pet should be given 200–250 grams of feed per day, while 100 grams of feed should be:

• 320–380 kilocalories;
• 30–45; proteins;
• 10–30% fat;
• 2% fiber.

If you translate it into products, the consumption rate will look like this:

• 70–130 grams of meat or fish;
• 25–65 grams of dairy products;
• 10–30 g croup;
• 15-50 grams of vegetables;
• 1⁄2 art. l beer yeast.

The diet of the Maine Coon usually consists of ready-made feed formulas or naturalka, mixed food is not used.

For the full growth and development of the Maine Coon requires the following types of natural feed.

These are the most useful components, the cat's digestibility of the cat is about 90%. Chunks of meat are pre-frozen to reduce the risk of infection with helminths, and then cut into pieces of 1-1.5 cm. For babies, kittens, meat is better to scrape, but the beloved beloved by many breeders should not be given - for sharpening and cleaning the incisors, cats should definitely get solid food.

Meat products for feed is best to take beef, turkey or chicken, but pork is allowed, but rarely, in small quantities and only boiled. Chicken paws, heads and necks are most often bought from by-products; bird's stomachs are especially useful because in natural habitat the lack of plant foods of cats compensates for the stomach content of birds caught by them, therefore domesticated cats are genetically predisposed to high digestibility product.

Very useful for big cats. The product is necessarily cleaned and cut into small pieces, while the sea fish is usually raw and the fish is boiled. Keep especially in mind that pollock and cod are contraindicated to Maine Coon, and all other fish are allowed no more than 1-2 times a week. It is desirable not to offer canned fish to cats at all.

It is considered that all cats adore dairy products. However, the Maine Coon’s organism digests the cow’s product rather badly, so it is recommended to include it on the menu only for very small kittens that are not under one month of age. Adults are better to treat sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese or cream. But goat milk cat catches the body perfectly, so it can be offered to both kids and big cats.

Chicken eggs are extremely important for Maine Coon, they are considered to be a source of biotin useful for animals. It is best to offer cats only one yolk.Since avitin present in the protein is a blocker of the action of biotin. Eggs can be offered any - chicken, duck or quail.

A great source of potassium and phosphorus are bones, but you have to keep in mind that Maine Coonas are allowed only the cartilaginous bones of broiler chickens.

Very good, if the cat loves vegetables and fruits, these products can be included in the daily menu. without any restrictions but only raw or boiled steamed. Very useful for fluffy pets carrots, broccoli, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin. It would not be superfluous to add to the main feed the germinated grains of oats, which are an excellent source of beneficial vitamins of groups B and C.

For full growth and development of the pet need cereals, however, keep in mind that Maine Coon grains should be soaked for 8–12 hours in milk, and not boiled. Sometimes it is allowed to periodically add bread, but only with fish - in combination with meat, it can cause digestive disorders.

Both small kittens and adult cats, breeders who prefer natural food, often prepare "Maine Coon porridge", it consists of several chopped and chopped products: beef, chicken breast meat, offal, vegetables, vitamin and mineral supplements, vegetable oil and fish. Ingredients for such a dish are interchangeable and are usually selected taking into account the pet's taste tastes and the principles of a varied diet.

With natural feeding it is necessary to keep the state of the animal under control, the reason for going to the veterinarian can be:

• vomiting;
• loose stools;
• deterioration in the quality of wool;
• strong molt;
• lethargy and apathy of the pet.

If the Maine Coon breeders make their choice in favor of the usual feed, they will need to spend a lot of time, money and effort on finding and preparing a nutrient mixture that will provide the cat with all the beneficial vitamins, micro and macro elements. It is much easier to bring ready-made food - its main advantage is that it provides a complete and balanced diet and already contains all the necessary vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

You can feed a healthy Maine Coon with ready-made canned food as well as dry mixtures of superpremium class, options from the "economy" category such as "Whiskas" or "Kitiket" for the Maine Coon is absolutely not suitable, because they do not meet the needs of the body of an adult cat.

Be sure to keep in mind that if you have decided to feed your cat with ready-made formulations, then the naturalk will have to exclude - The fact is that the digestion of wet and dry foods goes differently, and when mixing products the organs of the digestive system simply do not have time to rebuild, which often becomes the cause of intestinal obstruction or gastroenteritis.

If a maine coon eats dry food, it should drink a lot of water every day - the volume of liquid should exceed the amount eaten three times, so if you notice that your pet does not drink enough liquid, then go to canned food or naturalka. As an option - try soaking pre-dry food in water.

“Palm Primacy”, of course, belongs to the mixtures of Royal Canin from the special line for Maine Coon, since these food mixtures are made up taking into account the physiological needs of the breed. Also in the assortment of the manufacturer is the product line for small kittens up to 1 year old, and there are still special medical foods that can be eaten by weakened sick animals, as well as pregnant, lactating cats, neutered and sterilized pets.

Now, when you imagine what you can treat your pet, Let us dwell on the list of products that are strictly prohibited for Maine Coon:

• pork is too fatty, it can be given only boiled, very rarely and in minimal amounts;
• River fish that have not undergone heat treatment - the probability of infection with helminths present in it is high;
• potato - contains too much gluten;
• tomatoes;
• fish and bird bones;
• any sweets;
• smoked, salty and spicy foods;
• spices and spices.

Well and, of course, we pay special attention to the fact that if your pet is fed with regular food, all the necessary ingredients for “Maine Coon porridge” should be obtained only from their own farmstead or from a trustworthy seller. You can never be 100% sure how strangers grow vegetables, treat them, feed cows and birds before slaughtering and selling them - these products may contain chemicals, antibiotics and hormones, which leads to diseases Maine Coon.

Immediately after the birth of babies, Maine-Coon usually feeds the mother, but if it so happens that the females are not around, then care and feeding fall on the shoulders of the owners. You can purchase a special blend at a pet store or give a goat's baby milk. At this time, feeding is done about 6 times a day in minimal portions.After 1 month, the menu includes supplementation - it can be milk porridges and meat and vegetable puree, the number of feedings is reduced to 4.

At the age of 4 months, cottage cheese and other dairy products are already introduced into the diet, the use of chopped products also contributes to weight gain, and the intestines of birds meet this goal best. If the kitten grew up and gained the desired weight, then in six months, you can transfer the kitten to dry food.

For information on how and how to properly feed the Maine Coons, see the next video.