If you are concerned with feeding your cat, we want to help you make the right decisions. Here at All About Cats Veterinary Hospital, our Las Vegas cat veterinarians have been treating cats since 2001. Our primary mission is to improve the quality of life for your felines. Feeding is a major aspect of cat care. Learn how you can maintain your cat’s weight while also giving them the proper nutrition.
Benefits of Cat Nutrition
To begin with, you want to provide your cat with the proper nutrition. We recommend nationally recognized brands that have stood the test of time. Avoid generic brand foods that you have never heard of. We highly recommend Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin as they both have long-standing commitments to nutritional research and are the market leaders in this field. Both these companies put a great deal of effort into disease management through nutrition and focus also on palatability. We trust the foods from both of these companies & sell them both at All About Cats.
Beware of nutritional trends. Many buzz words like grain free, holistic, raw, and vegetarian are taken from the field of human nutrition. Be cautious as cats are true carnivores and have different nutritional needs than dogs or humans. Also, take into account common myths about pet foods.
For example, corn is a source of vital nutrients for pets and is highly digestible; it is not simply a filler food. Another myth is that pet food should be gluten free. Again, this is a human food trend, and celiac disease is quite rare for animals.
In general, it is best for you to choose a commercial product that is nutritionally balanced. If you want to formulate your cat’s food at home, we highly recommend consulting with your cat veterinarian in Las Vegas as certain life-threatening nutritional deficiencies often occur if the recipe is not correct.
To better understand the nutritional information listed on pet food labels, please read "How to Read a Pet Food Label."
Weight Control and Feeding
An underweight or overweight cat is simply not in good health. View the Purina body condition score chart to determine if your cat is overweight or too thin.
Overfeeding is very common. Generally, people are leaving dry food out all day and cats are getting obese because of overeating. However, this also occurs because dry food is high in carbohydrates. As cats are true carnivores they don’t require a lot of carbs, so they gain weight more easily.
We recommend a few basic guidelines for feeding your cat.
- A canned food diet is better for cats than dry food for preventing or treating obesity.
- Cats that have unlimited access to dry food will likely become overweight.
- Meal times and portion control may need to be instituted if your cat is overweight.
- If cats are forced to make food changes too quickly, they can and do starve themselves into liver failure instead of start to eat.
Be patient with any changes to the routine, introduce things slowly, and give your cat one to three months to get used to a new regimen of meal times or new types of food.
To be at optimal health you want to feed your cat a balanced and complete diet. At the same time, feeding transitions and diet choices should be supervised by your vet team. This is super important!
Food Puzzles for Felines
A food puzzle for cats makes a game out of eating. By using foraging toys, you can reduce boredom at meal time, while also combating environmental stress. These food puzzles require cats to work to find their food, which can help them to get moving more for increased exercise. Your vet in Las Vegas can help you choose the best food puzzles for your cat.
Services at All About Cats Veterinary Hospital
Here at All About Cats Veterinary Hospital, we work with you to determine the nutritional needs of your cat. As cats grow and develop, and subsequently age, their nutritional needs vary. Therefore it is important to continue with regular pet exams to maintain a good handle on what your cat currently needs via nutrition. Dr. Koppe can also provide you with vet-approved recipes for home formulated foods for cats with special nutrition needs.
Schedule An Appointment To Meet Your Las Vegas Cat Veterinarian
As your Las Vegas cat veterinarian, Dr. Koppe and her staff are well versed in the nutritional needs of cats of all ages. If you are worried about your feline, or simply want to give your cat the best quality of life, let us assist you. Contact All About Cats Veterinary Hospital at (702) 257-3222 to schedule an appointment with your Las Vegas cat vet. Please ask about our current specials including a discount on new patient exams and free second opinions.