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Nutrition for cat

Nutrients for Cat Health Care

Nutrition for cats depend upon age and health issues of each particular cat and it is important to remember to not feed them scraps off the table as they some kinds of human food can be potentially harmful for the cat.



A cat’s diet requires arginine in particular, which is an amino acid and this is an important substance in their food as it helps them clear out the ammonia from the body. Human food can cause intestinal trouble and lead to bad breath; foods such as chocolate can even prove fatal for the cat.



Meat products that are raw or not cooked properly can turn out harmful as they contain a multitude of harmful bacteria and other parasites. Cats are carnivorous animals and require taurine for the healthy functioning of the eyes, heart, bile and reproduction.



Unlike dogs, cats cannot produce taurine internally and will have o eat meat to avail of it. Vitamins for cats are available in commercial cat food. These food products are fortified with essential vitamins and minerals and help maintain healthy eyes and teeth, a sleek coat and a strong immune system. However these food products sometimes lose their vitamins while being processed and care has to be taken to ensure that your pet gets adequate nutrition. While fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K are essential in a cat’s diet, if given in excess they can become a problem as these cannot be ejected while urinating.

As opposed to this, vitamin B and C are water soluble and can be passed out through the urine. Cats require high amounts of protein in their diet and if out in the wild, they would be consuming meat that is rich in protein and the necessary moisture content. Their diet should be low on carbohydrates while high on protein and when purchasing cat food, you will have t look at the ingredients to make sure they contain beef, chicken, fish or lamb as opposed to chicken meal. This is because chicken meal is usually chicken cooked at high temperatures which means that the nutritional value of the meat has been lost. Cats derive their energy from proteins rather than from carbohydrates and the latter will only serve in the animal putting on weight. High protein cat food should avoid ground egg shells and intestines as they are a poor source of protein when compared to whole meat.

 
  Submitted on May 7, 2010