NOVA BREEDING CENTER BARCELONA

Russian Blue: Food

Felines are carnivores by nature and in the wild their diet is mainly based on protein. The expression "we are what we eat" should also serve as a guide in this case and if we want healthy cats, we must worry about feeding them properly.

  • Always use logic.
  • Don't skimp on expenses when buying food for your cat: it is an investment in its health. Quality food has a higher price than the rest but probably in the long run it will save us a lot of veterinary costs and a lot of headaches.
  • Once you have chosen the optimal diet for your cat, do not change it continuously, since continued changes can cause intestinal disorders because its digestive system cannot adapt to the different components that we supply it. The best thing is to try a diet, see for a few days how you accept and digest it and if it doesn't suit you at all, look for other alternatives; If, on the other hand, you like it and digest it properly, go ahead with it! If it works, better not touch it.
  • Any change we make to its diet must be gradual and we will gradually introduce it over approximately 4 weeks, which is how long it will take the animal to tolerate a full ration. It is normal that during the first days we observe softer stools and even some vomiting and we can help in their digestion with a natural prebiotic supplement.
  • Cats can also have allergies, regardless of how old they are, so although it is not common, we must pay close attention whenever we change something in their diet.
  • In breeds with long or semi-long hair, it is necessary to supplement with malt or catnip to make it easier for the cat to expel the hairballs it ingests.
  • Cats also get stuffed: if you see that they eat everything that falls into their clutches and eat too quickly and vomit everything after hours, it's normal. Simply take care of regulating the daily amounts and distribute them into several doses.
  • The water container should preferably be made of glass or transparent plastic so that the cat can see the bottom (they like it better!) and be in a different place than the one they usually go to eat. If we put a feeder and drinker together, it can happen that the animal goes to drink water but when it smells the food it “forgets” its thirst and chooses to eat, thus causing digestive disorders.
  • They do not tolerate lactose well as adults, so it is better not to give them milk on a regular basis. You may like yogurt (always natural) in some cases; I only use it so that they take some specific medication and very sporadically.
  • We can also give them hard or soft SNACKS as a reward or treat, but without abuse. In this case it is important that they are not excessively fatty and if they also serve as a vitamin source, all the better. If you have not tried freeze-dried ones, it is a pleasure to see how well they are accepted. Another good option is dry protein without additives.
  • Regarding the preparation of homemade recipes for your cat, if you are not an expert in nutrition, do not make this type of intake their main diet and complement it with quality dry food and wet food so as not to omit any essential nutrients.
  • The ideal is to create eating habits from when the cat is very young, since at an early age they are more open to change, but in the event that your cat came to you as an adult, nothing is impossible either.

Dry Feed:

He DRY FEED It is currently the most present option on the market. There are multiple brands and qualities, with recipes of all kinds adapted to each specific case. There are well-known brands on the market that meet high quality standards and that will provide all the necessary nutrients to our animal.

Broadly speaking, analyzing pros and cons, the advantages include the reliability and stability of the products, their easy conservation, a much lower price than any other option and the ease of consumption by the cat (generally everyone gets used to eating dry feed Very easily).

The big drawback is that these are ultra-processed products, which due to the production process itself contain toxins that the cat will be consuming regularly but that can harm its body.

They are usually very palatable and addictive products, making it difficult to implement changes once they are used to it, but nothing is impossible.

When choosing a feed, let's always prioritize the feed that the cat already consumes and that it is tolerating adequately. Only if the quality of said feed is doubtful, will we reconsider a change.

Be careful with cheap feed: they contain little protein and large amounts of cereals; This decreases its price but at the same time we are feeding our cat with a low quality product and low meat/fish content, which can cause serious health problems.

It will always be much better if the label specifies not only the percentage of protein that the feed contains but also its origin (a product that specifies the specific type of meat from which the feed is made will always be of higher quality than one that receives “protein of animal origin”, where everything has a place). The clearer the product label is, the more reliable it will likely be.

Wet Food:

The WET FOOD It is of great help on occasions when water intake is not among the cat's vital priorities. Wild cats feed on small prey that provide them with nutrients and a significant portion of water, but domestic cats generally do not have these hunting opportunities and are not always sufficiently hydrated. It is very important, if we do not want our cat to develop obesity, that it be of high quality and that we carefully read its composition before deciding to buy one brand or another. Giving them a can of anything we buy at the supermarket is counterproductive.

Fortunately, there are excellent nutritional options on the market. Unlike dry feed, many of these cans are not ultra-processed and at a conservation level, they are a very advantageous product, with no special requirements.

Be careful with putting their food too cold because it could induce vomiting. It should be at room temperature and even a little warm. To heat it, never put it in the microwave. His thing is to improvise a simple bain-marie (you can heat a bowl of water in the microwave and put the can or plastic envelope inside for a few minutes) and if you're in a hurry, you can add a little hot water to the food to heat it up. . If you don't finish the can at once, you can store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days at most.

In my case, I have opted for organic brands or high-quality brands with a high protein content and I also buy them online and they serve them at home, which is extremely convenient.

Raw meat:

The current trend is to introduce RAW MEAT (diet BARF either RAW FOOD DIET) in the domestic cat's diet, trying to emulate the behavior of the feral cat as much as possible. Along with quality cans, it is the healthiest option and in accordance with its nature. There are more and more brands that sell raw with specific recipes that include the essential amino acids that our cats need; Although these recipes include some meat and fish that cats in the wild would not have access to because they cannot hunt them due to their size, they will always be a better option than an ultra-processed and low-quality product.

The great drawback of this option is that it is important not to break its cold chain upon receipt (it is usually sold frozen) and that it cannot be left on demand under certain temperatures, since bacteria that are extremely dangerous for the cat's health can be generated.

The great advantage is that these are anti-inflammatory and preventive diets for serious diseases and the cat's general state of health will, in all probability, be much better.

At all levels, it will always be interesting to consult with a specialized feline nutritionist who can advise us on the best diet for our cat, according to its circumstances. Although we believe that our cat has been on the same diet for too many years and introducing changes may seem complicated, guidelines can always be implemented to improve their health and in this sense, a veterinarian nutritionist will be of great help.

To conclude, a small reflection: a cat does not eat in industrial quantities, so switching to a much healthier diet does not mean an unaffordable increase in spending and it will make us calmer and our cats healthier and happier.