Cat food

Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cat Food: Navigating Cat Nutrition

Exploring the Pros and Cons of Preparing Cat Food at Home versus Commercial Options

Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cat Food: Is homemade cat food better than store bought? Homemade food is preferred by many people. However, homemade cat food will be deficient in adequate amounts of vitamins, fiber, fats, and carbohydrates. This is the major limitation of homemade cat food in comparison to store-bought. 

It may contain a lot of consideration and love, but can it fulfill the dietary requirements of a cat? Giving cats a bowl of meat would not still satisfy their needs. They still require a balanced meal. A meal that consists of all the necessary nutrients for a cat to carry out its day-to-day work.

Nutritional facts of a Cat

The very basic information you need when considering homemade food over store-bought food is the number of nutrients required by your feline friend, and the source of the nutrients. This will help you prepare balanced diets for your cat at home.

Proteins and Amino-acids

Cats derive most of their protein from fish, meat, and other animal products. Plant protein is harder for the body to break down than animal protein.

Concluding them as obligate carnivores.
The dietary protein contains about ten types of amino acids that cannot be produced by cats themselves. They may be able to provide carbon chains to break those amino acids into suitable products for themselves. For example, breaking down the carbon chains into glucose
for energy consumption. It is therefore suggested that providing them with a high-quality protein meal is a necessity for cats.

A single deficiency of amino acids can lead to multiple health issues in a cat. Their main requirement is taurine, an amino acid that is involved in multiple body processes in cats. Mostly, taurine is produced by mammals themselves, but for cats, it is not possible.

They depend on meals that can help them get taurine and carry out their day-to-day lives as usual. If enough taurine is not provided to cats, they can get sick. Sick to an extent that they might go blind from retinal degradation and even suffer from some heart diseases.

Other nutrients necessary for them are arginine. Arginine, if proven deficient, can lead to high levels of ammonia in the blood of cats. Arginine is an essential component that helps excrete ammonia
via urine in felines. Taurine is either absent or not present in plants, but it can be found in large amounts in fish and meat.

Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cat Food

Fats and Fatty Acids

Dietary fats that are obtained from animal fats and plant seed oils are considered the most concentrated source of energy in the diet. Fats contain more than twice the amount of energy per gram than proteins and carbohydrates.

These dietary fats provide the essential fatty acids that can act as carriers of fat-soluble vitamins, which cannot be produced by the body itself. The maximum amount of fat in the cat’s diet can be relatively high with no known negative consequences.

Fat accounts for 50% or more of the energy in many cat foods. According to
research, cat foods with even higher fat content are safe. Cat foods should have a minimum fat content of 9 percent dry matter.

Omega-3 is one of the essential fatty acids. Its deficiency can lead to multiple abnormalities. They help maintain the skin of a cat. Followed by other significant psychological effects in the
body of a cat.

Vitamins

Vitamins are organic compounds that participate in a variety of metabolic processes. Vitamin deficiencies can result in a variety of health issues. Some vitamins cannot be synthesized by
cats from dietary precursors (pre-vitamin structures). For instance, they must obtain all of their vitamin A and niacin requirements directly from the
food they consume.

Vitamin A deficiency can have a negative impact on eye health. Adult cats deficient in niacin will lose weight and may die as a result. Many cats’ diets, particularly canned food containing fat-laden fish products, make them more susceptible to vitamin deficiencies, such as vitamin E. Vitamin E, as an antioxidant, protects against oxidative damage.

Some vitamins are not only necessary in small amounts, but they are also toxic in large amounts. Too much vitamin A, a natural result of feeding growing kittens large amounts of liver, can cause hypervitaminosis A, a condition characterized by a variety of skeletal lesions.

Making Cat food at Home

Cats require healthy food. Veterinarians can prepare balanced meals for pets. Making a balanced diet at home takes precision.

Ask board-certified vets. Web users claim to know the optimum balanced diet. Just the contrary. It’s not their job, thus they may not know cat care.

Long-term, those meals can harm your cat.
Your poor kitty shouldn’t suffer. Cat food-savvy vets can help you feed cats at home. Commercial cat food is advised.

Is Homemade Cat Food Healthy?

Homemade cat food can be healthy if prepare with the cat’s nutritional requirements in mind. When we prepare a homemade meal, we only make use of what is available, the food may look beautiful in your eyes, but they don’t meet the cat’s nutritional needs.

The drawbacks in commercial foods are artificial colouring and flavors, preservatives, and the presence of grains. If you are discerning enough to source out natural canned food–the best for you.

Homemade cat food can be beneficial to your cat if you know enough about the illness your cat could be susceptible to–you can then make tailored meals to keep your cat healthy and prevent those diseases. You also need proper knowledge of the cat’s calorie needs–this will ensure you keep your cat energized daily with its proper calorie requirements.

What homemade food can cats eat?

The homemade food your cat could eat includes proteins like a rabbit, lamb, duck, pork, chicken, eggs, and turkey–for cats who won’t let you brush their teeth, the neck of a chicken or turkey will help clean out plaques, making their breath fresher.

The fiber requirements include foods that can aid digestion and metabolism. Some cats are okay eating fruits and vegetables, get expert advice from your vet. Bones, ligaments, and cartilage could be used as animal-based fiber.

The vitamins needed include A, D, E, K, B1, B6, B12, niacin(also known as Vitamin B3, they can be gotten from the liver, chicken breast, tuna, salmon, and turkey), riboflavin,  folic acid, pantothenic acid, and taurine. The thing with homemade food is: that you may not be able to measure the vitamins in their right quantities.

Store Bought Cat food

Cat food meets their nutritional needs. It includes vitamins and amino acids based on cat needs. Domesticated cats are natural carnivores and can consume rats, birds, fish, and cooked meat, making them opportunistic eaters. Their meal lacks veggies.

Commercial cat food is balanced and designed to their needs. The types are dry, semi-moist, and canned.

Dry Cat Food

Cat food that is dry. Easy to feed and measure out. Simple to measure and give to cats. They come in many shapes, sizes, and tastes, so it’s easy to find one that your cat likes.

Cat owners sometimes buy too much dry food. Good food until the bag opens. Oxidation gets rid of minerals and food. Get enough food or bags for six to seven weeks.

Your cat’s nutritional needs change as it gets older, so talk to the vet about food.

Semi-Moist

Weight-wise, 35% moisture. It has more salt and sugar than canned and dry meals. Some cats can’t eat this. Artificial colors, tastes, and preservatives make most semi-moist cat food a treat, not a diet.

See your cat’s vet before opening and placing this food into the bowl.

Canned Food

The most expensive canned food, with about seventy-five percent moisture can be suitable for some cats.

The high-water content means that the cat can enjoy a larger portion per meal to
provide calories equivalent portion of kibble. Some cats prefer the palatability of canned food over dry cat food. It has been shown that these canned meals are good for you..

They can be effective at managing diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure. However, they ought to be used to canned food. Because of a sudden change in texture food may not be what every cat prefers.

These canned may contain more energy per calorie than kibble, but they may lead to a periodontal disease in some cats. Put open canned food in a container that won’t let air in and put it in the fridge. It is best to mix dry and canned cat food.

While ensuring consultation with a veterinarian regarding daily portions for a cat. Overeating can lead to obesity in cats.

Can cat food be made at home?

Yes, cat food can be made at homes. However, maintaining a good nutritional value of cat food at home can be difficult.

To make an efficient and effective healthy food for cats, it is recommended to consult a vet certified by the board. They will help you pick out the perfect ingredients to make a healthy diet for cats at home.

Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cat Food

Conclusion

Provide your cat with homemade foods only when you understand their required vitamin, fat, and carbohydrate needs. An only chicken or only fish diet will be sufficient for your cat.

We could write you endless recipes of things you could make, but you need to make meals that are best for your cat’s breed type or your cat’s health. If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section.

AEM

I am Joshua kaynard, an avid cat lover. Our pets provide an excellent way of connecting with nature; I am committed to helping you understand all the aspects of your feline friend's life. Enjoy!

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