The Importance of Diet in Cat Health Care

The old adage says that you are what you eat. Whilst this is not literally true, everybody recognises the importance of our diet in our health and the same is true of the importance of diet in cat health care. Ensuring that our pets get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy is a big responsibility, but it needn’t be complex if we understand a few simple things about diet and cat health care.

Drinking plenty of water is really important both for us and our pets. Without access to fresh drinking water a cat can become seriously ill within a few hours. Dehydration can cause serious cat health care problems and even death.

The diet which cats require is very specific. Because they are obligate carnivores, felines cannot survive on a vegetarian diet. A cat which is denied a meat based diet will develop cat health care problems including blindness and would eventually die.

As owners we must be careful not to upset the fine balance of our cats’ diets. Although we may think of it as a harmless treat, giving titbits of human food can have serious consequences for cat health care. Human food is often too fatty and calorific for cats and may even poison them. For example, onions are highly poisonous to cats.
As owners we should try and allow our cats to eat several small meals a day as they are naturally inclined to do. Obviously, work or school obligations could mean that feeding regular small meals through the day is not feasible. One option to overcome this problem is to give the cat dried food which it will be able to return to at regular intervals through the day.

Lastly, as well as diet we must think about obesity, which is one of the most common cat health care problems at the moment. Obesity can cause heart and breathing problems, arthritis and eventually death, so pet owners must try to avoid it. A short haired cat is generally considered a healthy weight when its ribs can be felt but not seen. Owners must be careful to follow the serving instructions on cat food and must take the cat to a vet if they are concerned about its weight.