Diet

Feeding is a big question for parents. First of all, remember that cat is Carnivore, which means they don’t need much vegetables and carbohydrates in the diet.

Let’s look at the different types of food and factors to consider about the diet.

Types of food:

1. Kibble (dry; cooked)

2. Canned food (wet; cooked)

3. Freeze-dried (dry; raw)

4. Commercial raw (wet; raw)

5. Homemade (wet; cooked/raw)

Factors:

1. Health condition

Some cats have sensitive digestive system.

2. How you feed

If you don’t have time to prepare homemade food, then you would likely choose commercial food. And choose the food based on your budget as well.

3. Water consumption

If your cats don’t drink much water, you would likely choose wet food to provide extra moisture.

4. Nutrients

Cats need a high amount of protein, moderate amount of fat, and a minimum amount of carbohydrates along with other nutrients including vitamins, minerals etc.

Now, let’s look at the pros and cons of each type✅.

Kibble

Pros:

-Good for teeth healthy

-Easy to feed

-Low cost

Cons:

-Not enough moisture

-Usually have a high amount of carbohydrates

-Health issue such as obesity

Brands that we recommend: Instinct, Orijen, Farmina, Fromm

Canned food

Pros:

-Provide extra moisture

-Easy to feed

-More similar to cat’s natural diet

Cons:

-Canned food only diet is not good

-More expensive compare to kibbles in terms of the same calorie

Brands that we recommend: Instinct, Rawz, Farmina, Feline Natural, Fromm, Open Farm, Lotus, Tiki Cats, Ziwi Peak

Freeze-dried

Pros:

-Easy to feed

-High in natural nutrition

Cons:

-Not enough moisture

-Most expensive among the others

Brands that we recommend: Bixbi, Feline Natural, Primal, Stella & Chewy's, Vital Essential, NZ Natural Pet Food Meow, Ziwi Peak

Commercial raw

Pros:

-More similar to cat’s natural diet

-High in natural nutrition

Cons:

-Risk of pathogens

-Need to defrost ahead of time

Homemade

Pros:

-Complete control over the ingredients

-Good for cats with dietary sensitivities

Cons:

-Risk of pathogens for raw

-Time consuming

-Hard to ensure nutritional balance

⚠️Before you do homemade food, please ensure you have checked what kind of food cats can eat and supplements that you need. And please do NOT feed human food❌.

**If homemade food is less than 30% of the diet, you don’t really have to add supplements because commercial food usually contains balanced nutrients. However, if homemade is more than 30%, then you need to add supplement to ensure your cats have all the nutrients that are required. For example, Calcium.

Considering all the factors we choose a mixed diet of dry and wet, cooked and raw. We choose canned food with additional kibble as our main meal. Homemade cooked food, freeze dried and raw are usually occasionally or specially prepared for cats that need high-quality nutrition.