New cat daddy

jofo

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Hey, as the title says I'm new cat daddy and on my avatar you can see my adorable 6 month old kitten. 

I'm from Republic of Macedonia (Europe) and thus I'm very limited when it comes down to food. There are some products from Royal Canin and thats it. All the rest is second class garbage (Wishkas, Kitkat, Friskies). So far I feed her with dry and wet food combination. I leave a bowl full of dry food at her disposal and give her wet food three times a day and of course fresh water all the time. This is what my vet told me to do. Now I read on the forum that I should avoid dry food by all means and I probably should start changing the diet to raw. When it comes down to raw, can I give her fresh sardines or other smaller fish and what is the best age to start? 

Also when it comes down to probiotics I'm limited to regular yogurt, which I can't make her drink it at all.  

I'm looking forward to any suggestions concerning nutrition and if I'm missing something please feel free to add.  
 
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jennyr

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Good for you for researching the needs of your new companion! I sympathise with you as I lived in Sarajevo for ten years, and had great difficulty finding decent food. It is true that some of our members do feel a raw diet is best as it mimics the diet of a cat in the wild. However, a raw diet needs to be researched very carefully as in the wrong hands (even with the best intentions) it can do a cat more harm than good. For example, it is a myth that cats should eat fish - in the wild they eat hardly any, and most fish contains too many minerals that can damage a cat's kidneys and liver. They can certainly have some, but more as a treat than as a main diet. Fish-flavoured cat foods are fine,as they are formulated to take account of any imbalance. Cats also need fibre and other things that are not usually present in raw muscle meat so bones and even feathers can be added. This is not easy for a new owner.

So basically I would say, buy the best that you can afford. Nutrition advice has changed over the last few years, so that most experts now agree that wet food is better than dry. But millions of people feed their cat a mix of the two, as lifestyle and preference must play a part. I feed my cats two wet meals a day and leave them a small bowl of dry croquettes daily to snack on. But I do try and buy grain-free food so that they are not filling up on starch and cellulose that cat digestions cannot absorb. Look at the ingredients and choose something that does not have huge amounts of cereals added. Royal Canin is not the best of the best, but it is not bad either. You can certainly feed raw food, including bone-free fish, sometimes.

AS for pro-biotics I use Greek yoghurt or goat milk, both low in lactose, not a necessary part of the diet for healthy adult cats, but good for kittens and also as a treat. My cats, I have to say, love both. I was able to get both in Sarajevo so I guess you can too.
 

emandjee

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I feed my cats sardines once a week or so, for the omega-3s. It's the canned variety that is packed in water, not oil, and is unsalted. I do not feed fish otherwise. Cats can become addicted to fish, and fish has high bone and phosphorus content, not something recommended for a cat that is prone to UTIs, or kidney disease, for example. Exclusive fish meals can also make a cat deficient in thiamine, something you do not want, either. 

My cats get a combo of raw and canned, but you don't have to go raw. I chose to do so because I didn't like many of the ingredients in most canned foods sold here at the prices we have. Cats are carnivores, and obligate ones at that. They cannot metabolize or absorb plant based products very well, and have no real use for them in their bodies to begin with. I also see no need for them to consume fruits or vegetables unless they absolutely need the fiber. So in a nutshell, they basically need a high protein, moderate fat and very little carb (less than 10%) in their diet, and consume foods with water in them since they naturally have a low thirst drive being descendents of desert cats. Kibbles are a great food for convenience sake on the humans, and some cats do very well on them. There's no way to know if your cat will do great eating a lifetime on kibbles, so I chose not to take the chance on my two. I want them to reach a ripe old age and be healthy throughout their lives. Nutrition is a big part of that.

Before you decide to go raw, it would be highly recommended you do a lot of research about the best way to go about it. You can't just feed your cat chicken breast daily, for example. There's more to it than that. Small amount of kibbles are fine for a growing kitten, but may be addictive and not very healthy for some cats. Getting one that is grain-free, low carb is better. 

If your cats don't like plain unflavored yogurt, you can try raw goat's milk for probiotics, or give them the human supplement probiotic powdered capsules sprinkled and mixed in the wet food. There are pet probiotics sold too, but they often cost more. Raw goat's milk is usually taken in well by most cats, and don't produce stomach upset like cow's milk. It is, however, very fattening, so it can provide good healthy fats for a young, active kitten. I personally wouldn't give it to a couch potato adult cat unless it's an occasional treat. You may also find some older threads on probiotics in detail if you choose.

Congratulations on your kitten. I hope this site provides a good source of valuable information to you on felines in general. My cats have indeed made a postive impact on my life since late Oct 2013! 
 

catmomjulia

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What you are doing is great, her diet is mainly wet food which is what she needs. I give my cat a mixture of the two, 2 meals wet and 1 dry. It is not necessary to do a raw diet unless it is something that you are able to do. A good thing you can do to make sure she is getting the necessary water intake is to mix some water (a table spoon or two) into the canned food when you feed her :) (works great with gravy type canned food)
 
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