What To Feed Old Cats - Keeping Your Cat Healthy
The fact is that older cats, in general, actually need an increase in calories; strange, but true.
In people, and even in dogs, our other faithful companions, a decrease in caloric intake is usually needed as old age creeps in.
In essence, what to feed old cats is the same as what we should feed young cats except in a slightly larger quantity.
Protein, protein, and more protein, this is what cats truly need to thrive.
Cats are carnivores and do not need a shred of plant material to function perfectly normally, they simply have a very different digestive tract than we do.
So, we must feed them what their bodies require, and that is meat, and lots of it, more as they age, so that they stay healthy and active into their twilight years.
More food and more protein will actually keep your cat trim and healthy, it has to do with keeping muscle mass intact, if the cat's muscle mass stays in a healthy range (by getting enough protein), then they tend not to accumulate fat.
The same is true with people, most grossly overweight folks have lost muscle mass and put on fat mass.
If you watch television shows like The Biggest Loser, you'll see that lifting weights and adding muscle is very important for weight loss and fat loss, well the same is true for your cat.
So, feed your old cat a lot of good protein to keep them well muscled and healthy for a life time.
Some older cats have trouble digesting fatty foods as they get older, just like we may.
The best cure for this is to feed your cat raw meat.
Why? Because raw meat retains its enzymes and enzymes help to break down food as it is digested.
Lipase is the enzyme that breaks down fats and raw meat retains its lipase making the fats in the meat much more digestible for your cat.
More and more cat owners are beginning to see the light when it comes to this method of feeding our cats.
Senior cats may also get easily constipated, which is super easy to do when they're eating dry, cooked cat food every day.
Cats are also very susceptible to kidney problems as well, so what do we need to do? You probably guessed it already, we need to be giving our oldest cats a lot more water.
This way our friends will attain an ancient age in good health.
If you have to feed your cats dry cat food or canned cat food mix in some water in order to bring the water content of the food way up.
The question of what to feed old cats isn't very different from what to feed young ones, just pay close attention to water intake, choose raw foods (if you can), and slightly increase protein intake and you're set.
In people, and even in dogs, our other faithful companions, a decrease in caloric intake is usually needed as old age creeps in.
In essence, what to feed old cats is the same as what we should feed young cats except in a slightly larger quantity.
Protein, protein, and more protein, this is what cats truly need to thrive.
Cats are carnivores and do not need a shred of plant material to function perfectly normally, they simply have a very different digestive tract than we do.
So, we must feed them what their bodies require, and that is meat, and lots of it, more as they age, so that they stay healthy and active into their twilight years.
More food and more protein will actually keep your cat trim and healthy, it has to do with keeping muscle mass intact, if the cat's muscle mass stays in a healthy range (by getting enough protein), then they tend not to accumulate fat.
The same is true with people, most grossly overweight folks have lost muscle mass and put on fat mass.
If you watch television shows like The Biggest Loser, you'll see that lifting weights and adding muscle is very important for weight loss and fat loss, well the same is true for your cat.
So, feed your old cat a lot of good protein to keep them well muscled and healthy for a life time.
Some older cats have trouble digesting fatty foods as they get older, just like we may.
The best cure for this is to feed your cat raw meat.
Why? Because raw meat retains its enzymes and enzymes help to break down food as it is digested.
Lipase is the enzyme that breaks down fats and raw meat retains its lipase making the fats in the meat much more digestible for your cat.
More and more cat owners are beginning to see the light when it comes to this method of feeding our cats.
Senior cats may also get easily constipated, which is super easy to do when they're eating dry, cooked cat food every day.
Cats are also very susceptible to kidney problems as well, so what do we need to do? You probably guessed it already, we need to be giving our oldest cats a lot more water.
This way our friends will attain an ancient age in good health.
If you have to feed your cats dry cat food or canned cat food mix in some water in order to bring the water content of the food way up.
The question of what to feed old cats isn't very different from what to feed young ones, just pay close attention to water intake, choose raw foods (if you can), and slightly increase protein intake and you're set.
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