Food and Nutrition

Types of Formulations; Equipment; Feeding Schedules

Kittens start experimenting with solid food when they are about 3-5 weeks of age, while still nursing at their mother’s side. The decisions you and others make about the type of food and the feeding schedule from that time forward will affect their wellbeing—for the rest of their lives. Once kittens are weaned, they stop relying on Mom Cat, and rely on you instead to meet their nutritional needs.

Offering the right amount of a high quality complete and balanced diet can help your cat enjoy excellent health from kittenhood through the golden years.

Types of Formulations

Top:Chunks In Gravy

Right: Soft (canned, wet)

Bottom: Semi-moist

Left: Kibble (dry)

A number of different options are available for feeding, and each formulation contains a collection of key nutrients such as fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Though you may not think of water as a nutrient per se, it is an essential and important part of the diet.

Dry kibbles

Most people select dry kibble formulations because of their convenience. Kibble tends to have lower average cost when compared to gravy, semi-moist and canned formulations.  Dry foods contain about 6-10% moisture, and kibbles come in a range of shapes, colors and sizes. Because of the low dietary water content, the cat must drink a moderate amount of water separately to remain well hydrated.

Contrary to popular belief, clinical studies have not shown dry food in general to be effective in reducing dental problems. However, some specially formulated dry food and treats may help in the prevention of plaque and tartar buildup and thus contribute to good oral health. This is accomplished in three ways:

• Increasing the size of the food pieces, which facilitates more chewing;
• Giving the surface of the food an abrasive texture, which produces a mild scrubbing effect on teeth and gums;
• Including antiseptics, enzymes, or other substances in the food which further clean teeth and gums and possibly provide a hedge against bacterial invasion.

Note that dental diets and treats are no substitutes for brushing your cat's teeth (with toothpastes and washes designed specifically for cats) and regular veterinary exams.

Because they are relatively resistant to spoilage, dry foods are convenient to store and feed.

Canned soft

These preparations are about 75%-79% water—and contain enough water to meet most of the cat’s daily requirements. One still needs to offer free-choice clean water separately though. Cats like wet foods best—they have very high palatability. Their strong odor is very attractive.

Soft foods are ideal for cats that are prone to bladder stones because the water supply in the food is substantial. Soft foods do not scrub the teeth in the same way that dry foods do, so home care such as tooth brushing should be applied even more diligently for cats eating wet foods. A disadvantage of canned foods is that they spoil and dry out quickly, and any left in the bowl after an hour or two should be discarded. In hot weather, the food can also attract flies.

Semi-moist

These foods are spongy in texture, and contain the same nutrients as the other types, plus a filler to give the chewy texture. The moisture levels fall in between hard and soft foods.

Chunks in gravy

These are very palatable and consist of a chunky preparation of food mixed with liquid gravy.

Food Additives

Modern manufacturing and distribution systems require foods that will stay fresh. To meet the need for unspoiled food, the manufacturers use additives called antioxidants to prevent oils from going rancid. Artificial antioxidants are frequently replaced these days by the natural antioxidant vitamin E, but shorter shelf life is the result. Keep food in the bag because the liner of the bag often contains some of the antioxidants for freshness. Food should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place.

Other additives are used to adjust texture, color or palatability.

Caloric Density

Another measure used to assess diet is calorie content of the food, which is the measure of the energy content. Diets can be formulated to contain a set number of calories in either a small or larger volume, and we term this the caloric density of the diet. What this means is that in a calorie-dense diet, less food needs to be eaten to provide a set amount of energy.

Concept of Life Stage Feeding

In our homes, we substitute nature’s prey with store bought food. Commercial diets are formulated to meet the specific needs of each life stage.  

Kitten foods are more calorie-dense and have higher levels of some key nutritional components, including protein and fats, to meet the needs of rapidly developing tissues. Kittens are generally fed free-choice during the growth spurt to meet their high energy needs. If it is a purebred cat of a breed known to have higher incidence of hip and stifle problems, as with dogs, limit feeding during growth might be wise.

Between weaning and about a year of age, if the kitten is thin, it is OK to feed your kitten as much of the kitten formulation as needed. For round kitties, start feeding meals according to the label instructions, but adjust it as needed to maintain a lean condition. After she is spayed, or he is castrated, you will almost always need to begin limiting the feed. 

Late pregnancy and early nursing queens are fed kitten food free-choice to help meet their higher needs unless they are overweight, then they are meal fed.  Near weaning, food is cut back for the Mom cat to help her dry up her milk.

Adult maintenance diets are moderate in caloric density, and formulated to maintain good health and body weight.

Senior diets are formulated to meet the evolving needs of the aging cat and contain different levels of certain minerals and protein—they tend to be calorie-dense since older cats have less efficient digestion and reduced appetites, and tend to slowly lose condition and weight. Most nutritionists recommend changing over to senior diets around 7-9 years of age.

What Does Complete and Nutritionally Balanced Mean?

Complete and nutritionally balanced diets can be given as the exclusive diet for cats. Look for these words on the label. [Although, as we will point out in our future article about supplements, some nutrients in commercial cat food—notably enzymes and beneficial "probiotic" bacteria—may be destroyed during processing. In addition, a cat food may be "complete and balanced" according to a nutritional profile, but may include ingredients such as low-grade grain fragments or an overabundance of carbohydrates. Note that most of the cans and bags of cat food (not including treats) that had to be pulled from the shelves in the recent pet food recall because they caused serious illness and death were labelled as nutritionally complete and balanced. A future CatHealth.com article will explore the quality of common cat food ingredients in more detail.]

Dog food should never be used to feed cats as the protein levels and the levels of vitamins, minerals, and fats are inappropriate. The dog diet is also very taurine deficient. This amino acid is essential for cats, and deficiency can lead to heart problems, skeletal defects in growing kittens, reproductive problems and blindness.

Other amino acids such as arginine, cysteine and methionine are also required in cats. Cysteine is a precursor for felinine, an amino acid unique to the cat. The latter is present in high levels especially in intact tom cats. Tyrosine is an amino acid that is considered conditionally essential for cats. Deficiency of tyrosine turns black cat hairs a reddish-brown.

Grass and Catnip: A Little Greenery

A little box of grass indoors will provide Kitty with a safe source of greens, and help to prevent houseplant chewing. Catnip, which contains a hallucinogenic compound nepetalactone causes euphoric behavior in some cats, and can be grown out in your garden or bought dried at the store. Feed only small amounts since in large quantities, it can have adverse effects.

Equipment

Food and water bowls should be broad and shallow, not deep and narrow since cats do not like to have their whiskers inside the bowl, or get food on their delicate muzzles. Select metal (stainless steel) or plain unpainted ceramic. Avoid plastic. Make sure detergents are thoroughly rinsed off during cleaning. Keep them very clean.

Good ceramic bowl shape

 

 

 

 

A good no-tip stainless steel bowl.

 

 

 

Feeding Practices: How Much, How Often

Feeding one or two large meals to cats isn’t Mother Nature’s way. Small, frequent meals (5-7) spaced out evenly over the typical waking hours (for people) most closely approximates the natural feeding pattern of cats. A cat coming to a dish only twice a day may be really hungry and may tend to gorge too much in an effort to satisfy her hunger. It may be most realistic to provide 3 or 4 evenly spaced meals in a busy household where caregivers are away at work for a period of time.

Feeding for young, senior, and underweight cats

Free choice feeding is sometimes done for the first 7 months of life. This allows the kitten to mature properly. Pregnant and nursing queens are also often fed freely, with a switch to kitten food late in pregnancy to help them provide enough nutrients to the litter.

Senior cats with thin body condition, or cats recovering from illness and in poor body condition likewise may be fed free choice. Note that active healthy adult cats may sometimes be fed free choice without excess weight gain. Those that tend to be active and playful burn off more calories every day than the couch potato !

Preventing weight gain

Most adult cats must be limit fed to keep a healthy weight. This is because modern foods are made to be VERY tasty (remember the commercials!)—so tasty in fact, that many cats will eat too much of it; more than they need for maintenance.

Remember, cats weigh on average about 10 pounds. A weight gain of 2 pounds may not sound like much at first, but that is 20% of the whole weight . If that was a 100 lb person, that would be equivalent to gaining 20 pounds! A cat that at normal body condition would weigh 10 pounds, but has gone to 15 pounds would be gaining 50% body weight—in that same small person, that would become 50 pounds!

It is important to prevent obesity since overweight cats are documented to be at higher risk for lameness, diabetes mellitus, and skin problems. It is much easier to prevent weight gain than to diet a cat! Dieting in cats must be done with professional supervision, and very slow weight loss should happen. No crash diets for cats!

TIPS

• If an adult cat tends to obesity, hiding small lo-calorie meals and treats around the house will encourage exercise and provide a challenge for her to find sustenance. This can go a long way to prevent over-eating and weight gain.

• Another trick is to place moderate sized round stones in the dish so Kitty must slowly reach between the stones to get at kibble or soft food. Make them big enough so they cannot be swallowed, and just small enough that Kitty can nudge them aside to get at the bottom of the dish. This helps prevent eating too fast and adds a little game to the meal.

• If you feed both canned and kibble formulations, remember to cut down the amount of each so that you don't feed double . Try feeding about half of the amount given in the package recommendations for each food to start.

Changing diets

If you are changing diets, do it gradually over a week or two. Mix decreasing proportions of the old diet with the new to allow your cat to get used to the novel diet.

Regular feeding schedule

If you meal feed, keep meal times consistent and measure food going in and out of the bowl to help track appetite. You may limit either the number of minutes access to the bowl, or limit the amount of food offered. Each strategy allows you to control the total food intake of the cat.

How much to feed?

Regarding feline nutrition, the experts advise feeding whatever amount will maintain a good steady body condition. Cats have large differences in their energy (calorie) needs. Start with the amount you see recommended on the package, or with an amount recommended by your veterinarian. Package recommendations are only starting points though—individual cats often need much more or less than labeled amount.

Caloric density varies between brands so one cup of dry, or semi-moist or wet food brand is often not the same as another brand. If you look at the range of maintenance daily energy needs reported for cats, there is wide variation when compared to many other species.