Just like us, eating a variety of foods can help your animal thrive. If you’re struggling to diversify your cat’s diet, check out these tips!
As a responsible pet parent, you want your cat to be healthy and happy. Part of that means planning her diet so that she not only enjoys her meals, but gets all the necessary nutrients from them. The question is, how do you properly diversify a cat’s diet without hurting her well-being – or causing her to turn up her nose? Read on for some helpful tips.
Why your cat needs a diverse diet
Some pet parents believe they should feed their cat the same food all the time, and some vets support this idea. Depending on your kitty’s health requirements, it might be best for her to stick to one formula her entire life. But in most cases, a diverse diet helps support your feline’s nutritional needs by offering her a variety of different nutrients. No matter how rich in vitamins and minerals your cat food is, the same recipe probably won’t provide her with all the elements at once.
It’s also important to note that your cat can develop an allergy to her food over time. This is especially true with recipes that contain cheap fillers, or common proteins such as fish, beef or chicken. So even if your feline is picky about food, make sure to rotate recipes from time to time to avoid allergies.
Last but not least, rotating her food satisfies your cat’s natural need for variety. When living in the wild, cats don’t eat the same meal all the time. Insects, grass, lizards – wild felines consume all of these regularly for better nutrition.
How to safely diversify a cat’s diet
Most tips regarding a diverse diet for cats center around rotational feeding. This practice involves alternating food – its type, protein, or both – instead of keeping cats on the same diet all the time. The benefits of rotational feeding include a stronger immune system and better digestion.
Here are some tips for diversifying a cat’s diet with rotational feeding:
1) Give a few types of food
Make sure you pick a high quality food and mix both dry and wet recipes when feeding. You can also try giving her different types of wet recipes: pates, minced, stews, etc. Start small, and introduce new food to your cat slowly and sequentially.
2) Feed several different proteins
Over time, you’ll discover which proteins your cat loves: fish, duck, turkey or anything else. But make sure to show her all the available options, and consider feeding several different recipes at the same time. For example, give her chicken for breakfast, fish for dinner, and offer her some beef treats in between.
3) Give other products
Try healthy treats that are specifically designed for cats, or diversify her diet with salmon oil (mix it with food to encourage eating). Healthy products like these can have a positive impact on a cat’s brain, fur, skin, and overall immunity.
Not sure what foods, treats and supplements are okay to give to your cat? Consult your vet about her dietary needs and ask for some options!
AUTHOR PROFILE
Jimmie has a tremendous experience with cats. He is a proud dad of Ronnie the cat and he is an owner of CatPet.club — an online magazine about feline nutrition and behavior.
