Mary Allen
Unlike their wild ancestors, domestic cats hardly have to put in any effort for their food. In indoor cats, this often results in a lack of exercise. This can have dire health consequences. Read here what is important when it comes to feeding indoor cats.
Hunting is no longer essential for most house cats these days because they get their food easily and at any time from people in their bowls. Here and there there are also delicious snacks on top – the physical effort for the cat to eat has fallen to a minimum.
Dangerous Convenience
House cats often take in more than the 300 kilocalories they need every day, although the possibilities for burning calories are limited, especially for indoor cats. This creates health risks for the cats because the naturally perfect hunters need enough exercise to stay slim and healthy.
Between 40 and 50 percent of all cats in industrialized nations are said to be overweight. The causes for this are a lack of exercise in connection with the intake of too many calories.
Health Consequences For The Cats
Unfortunately, being overweight is still underestimated as a health risk by many cat owners. This is fatal because overweight cats have a four times higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
Overweight cats also suffer far more frequently from the following diseases than their lean counterparts:
- urinary tract diseases
- liver damage
- indigestion
- Joint diseases, e.g. arthrosis
- skin diseases
Indoor cats also suffer significantly more frequently from urinary tract diseases such as bladder infections, urinary stones, or urinary gravel than outdoor cats. Obesity, lack of exercise, and, above all, insufficient fluid intake are risk factors for these diseases. Symptoms include difficulty and pain in urinating and blood in the urine. If the cat is unable to urinate at all, this is an emergency that requires immediate veterinary care.
To prevent urinary tract diseases, there are special foods that stimulate fluid intake, strengthen the mucous membranes and, thanks to their special composition, make the formation of urinary crystals more difficult. It is important that the cat is examined by a vet beforehand because the wrong diet can harm it.
It is therefore very important to ensure that the cat remains slim. If a few extra pounds are already making life difficult for the cat, it should lose weight slowly. If the animals lose too much fat too quickly, there is a risk that their liver will fail. It is best to get individual advice from your veterinarian.
Healthy Nutrition For Indoor Cats
In order for a cat to remain fit and healthy even as a purely indoor cat, you should pay attention to three main aspects when it comes to nutrition:
Adequate Fluid Intake
Indoor cats often drink too little. The consequences of dehydration are cystitis, urinary stones, and constipation. How to encourage your cat to drink:
- Place water bowls at a distance from the feeding area and toilet
- Set up watering holes near the cat’s favorite spots
- cat drinking fountain
- Moisten the wet food a little
- Flavor the water in the bowl with a little milk or meat stock. However, the delicious mixed drinks spoil quickly, so throw them away after an hour and clean the bowl.
The Right Amount Of Food
It is important that cats do not consume too many calories on a daily basis. A common feeding mistake is the always full dry food bowl. Many owners want to enable their cats to be able to eat a little something at any time. This corresponds to the natural eating behavior of cats, but it is important that there is only as much dry food in the bowl as the cat actually needs.
If she is also given wet food or treats, the calorie content of these foods must be subtracted from the dry food ration. And if the cat has already eaten its daily ration after a few hours, the bowl stays empty for the rest of the day! Natural eating behavior also includes not eating for a few hours. This is no different in the great outdoors than in a purely residential environment.
Enough Exercise
Getting enough exercise is important for all cats. This can also be combined with feeding: play with your cat and let it work for its food, for example by hiding the dry food all over the apartment. The exercise is not only fun and brings variety to the cat’s everyday life, it also prevents obesity and diabetes mellitus and also promotes digestion.
Checklist: Food For Indoor Cats
In order to avoid lack of exercise, obesity, and diseases, you should consider the following aspects when feeding your cats:
- Determine the cat’s daily calorie needs
- never feed more than a daily amount of calories
- Combine wet and dry food
- Wet food keeps cats hydrated
- Dry food gets the cat moving (feeding games, foraging)
- in case of illness ask the veterinarian for special food
- Weigh the cat once a week: adjust the amount of food accordingly