Schlagwortarchiv für: Taurin

Free-rangers eat up to 12 meals a day in the form of mice, birds, etc.! So they take their food periodically in smaller quantities. Unlike the dog, whose digestion is designed to take very large amounts of food at one time and then sometimes nothing for a long time.

From their prey, cats eat mainly meat and bones, heart and brain. Unlike dogs, cats usually leave the digestive tract of their prey lying around. They apparently do not need the plant nutrients it contains. Cats also cannot utilize carbohydrates for lack of the carbohydrate-splitting enzyme needed for digestion. They are pure carnivores!

What does this mean for the feeding of domestic cats? After all, their nutritional needs are the same as those of their free-roaming friends?
The best food you can offer your cat is a meal consisting of 95% fresh raw meat, fat, cartilage and bone and 5% fiber.

BARF for cats

  • The meat content may well include 25-30% whole or ground bones in addition to marbled muscle meat, liver, heart meat.
  • If the cat refuses them or you can not feed them, calcium must be added in the form of eggshell powder.
  • You can feed fiber in the form of coconut flakes, rice flakes, spelt flakes or sesame flakes. These fibers replace the fur of the prey animal and they stimulate intestinal activity.
  • Suitable herbs are parsley, catnip or cat grass.
  • Ideally, like the outdoor cats, your house cat will have the opportunity to eat its meals in several portions throughout the day.

Additives

  • Salmon oil is an important source of omega 3 fatty acids and arachidonic acid
  • the amino acid taurine, which is essential for the cat, should be supplemented daily e.g. by green-lipped mussel powder if the requirement is not covered by feeding e.g. chicken hearts (heart meat in general), lamb, fish (cod, fresh tuna) or shrimps/seafood with the meal.

The feeding quantity is always based on the target weight of the cat.

  • 2 - 6 months: 4 -5% of body weight in g
  • from 6 months: 3 to 3.5% of body weight in g
  • Seniors: 2 - 2.5% of body weight in g

There are now also BARF menus for cats with an optimal, ready mix. As an alternative, cold-filled wet foods are available. Since they are not heated to high temperatures, heat-labile nutrients such as taurine are also preserved and no synthetic vitamins or other nutrients need to be added again afterwards.

 

Fluid requirements
Cats cover their fluid needs in nature by the blood of prey animals and drink otherwise quite little. Therefore, feeding dry food is strongly discouraged, as cats will not automatically drink more. Lack of fluids and highly concentrated urine stresses the kidneys and can lead to urinary stones.