Page 217 - The Complete Cat Breed Book (DK)

F OOD AND FEEDING 215

Special diets
Your cat’s dietary needs will change throughout his life.
Kittens need lots of protein, fat, and calories to support their
rapid growth. Use specially formulated kitten food to avoid
deficiencies that could cause problems later in life. For the
first week after bringing your kitten home, give him the
same food that he has eaten since weaning. To introduce
a new food, replace 10 percent of the original food with the
new food, increasing the proportion by 10 percent daily
until your kitten is eating only the new food by the tenth
day—this will prevent diarrhea. If he does get an upset
stomach, revert to a higher proportion of the old food and
take longer to make the switchover.
A pregnant cat needs extra protein and vitamins, and will
want to eat more in the final stages of pregnancy. This may
mean giving her smaller meals more frequently if she cannot
eat as much as usual at a time. She will also have increased
nutritional requirements when nursing. Older cats use less IT’S TREAT TIME
Rewards for learning new tricks will reinforce training,
energy, so they need fewer calories in their diet. They may
while treats given when you leave for work and return
need special food to aid a more delicate digestive system. home can be something your pet looks forward to.
For cats with medical conditions and overweight cats, use
a diet recommended by your vet. An approved weight-loss diet
ensures that an obese cat loses weight but stays nourished
and still eats a satisfying volume of food. Food allergies in cats
are rare, but when they occur the only way to find the cause
is through a food-elimination trial supervised by your vet.

The role of treats
Whether given as rewards in training or to aid bonding with
your cat, try to ration treats to avoid weight gain in your cat.
Ensure that 10 percent maximum of your cat’s calorie intake WHICH TREAT?
comes from treats. Some treats may give nutritional benefits Treats come in
many different meat
that your cat won’t get from his normal food; others contain
and fish flavors.
filler ingredients with little nutritional value and a lot of fat.
Whatever you choose,
Learn to distinguish good ingredients from bad. make sure you don’t
overfeed your cat.
FEEDING YOUR CAT
ADULT WEIGHT 4.5LB 9LB 13.5LB 22LB 26.5LB

100–140cal 200–280cal 300–420cal 400–560cal 500–700cal
Inactive
(4oz wet/1oz dry) (8oz wet/2oz dry) (12oz wet/3oz dry) (16oz wet/4oz dry) (20oz wet/5oz dry)
lifestyle
140–180cal 280–360cal 420–540cal 560–720cal 700–900cal
Active
(6oz wet/1.5oz dry) (12oz wet/3oz dry) (16oz wet/4oz dry) (24oz wet/6oz dry) (28oz wet/7oz dry)
lifestyle
200–280cal 400–560cal 600–840cal 800–1120cal 1,000–1,400cal
Pregnant
(8oz wet/2oz dry) (16oz wet/4oz dry) (24oz wet/6oz dry) (32oz wet/8oz dry) (44oz wet/11oz dry)
female