The health and well-being of pets is the number one concern for owners and a balanced diet is what most benefits them for healthy development.
A strong trend among caregivers is natural food for cats, which is made at home and replaces industrialized dry and wet food and found on the market.
But is natural food really good for feline health? How should the menu be for a cat that eats only natural ingredients? Learn now about natural food for cats and see some recipe options!
What is natural food for cats?
A very common confusion is to think that AN is about offering the animal the remains of food from family members. Or that “natural food” means that the menu must be vegetarian.
That's not it! Cats are carnivorous animals and need a lot of protein and fat for healthy development, in addition to other nutrients.
Natural food (NA) is food made with fresh ingredients, found in nature and prepared by tutors at home, with minimal processing.
Within the studies of natural food for cats, there are defenders of cooked food and BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food), which basically refers to raw food.
Disadvantages of feed based feed
Inferior quality feeds can present harm to the animal, such as:
Larger amounts of carbohydrates than indicated.
Insufficient amounts of good absorption proteins, which can harm your animal's development.
Little amount of water, usually only 10% of what is needed daily (when we talk about dry food), which can cause dehydration and kidney problems.
Presence of preservatives and carcinogenic dyes, such as BHA and BHT.
These problems could be avoided with a controlled natural diet. However, good quality feed (Premium and Super Premium types) have all the nutrients your cat needs, as they are already manufactured considering the breed, age and size of the animal.
Disadvantages of natural food for cats
Natural food for cats is more work, as you will have to prepare all the food, and it ends up being more expensive, considering that it is a diet that includes a large amount of meat – and you should know well, the price is “salty” on the market.
In addition, despite facilitating the absorption of nutrients, if AN is raw, it can result in the transmission of diseases and zoonoses (passed from animals to humans) and must be very well controlled.
Cats with kidney failure
Before replacing your cat's food with AN, it is important to talk to the veterinarian so that the amount of food and nutrients is balanced.
Otherwise, you run the risk of leaving your animal malnourished or even with an excess of vitamins, which can harm the liver and kidneys.
Cats with kidney failure, prone to the formation of kidney stones (kidney stones) and severe liver diseases should not receive natural food, as any change in diet can overload the organs and cause your cat to lose quality of life.
Natural food menu for cats
As we said, cats are carnivorous animals and it is important that the daily menu contains the amounts indicated by the veterinarian of:
Animal proteins: found in fish, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, lamb and eggs.
Animal fat: which help in the digestion of expenses, synthesis of hormones and absorption of vitamins. They are also found in olive oil and coconut oil.
Carbohydrates: Cats have little predisposition to ingest carbohydrates and glucose. Offering foods such as corn, potatoes and rice can cause hyperglycemia. The ideal is to include foods such as broccoli, zucchini, carrots, etc.
Vitamins and minerals: mainly found in meat and viscera (liver, spleen, kidney, gizzard and chicken heart, pancreas and others). The viscera are excellent oxidants for cats and contain taurine and carnitine.
Omega 3: present in fish oil or fish meat, such as salmon.
A study published in the Journal of Comparative Physiology B showed that cats need a diet with approximately 52% protein, 36% fat, and a maximum of 12% carbohydrates.
When opting for natural food, it is very important to take care of the amount offered so as not to disrupt the levels of nutrients and hormones in your cat's body. To do this, use a scale. Thus, you also prevent your cat from becoming overweight.