Cat Nutrition - How Protein Rich Foods May Harm Senior Cats

We all know that cats are carnivores thus their natural diet should consists of protein rich meat such as beef, chicken, and fish. Cats require a significant amount of protein for optimal growth, repairing muscle tissues and as a source of energy.

Senior cats on the other hand, require less protein than their younger counterpart due to their weak vital organs. Senior cats, in general, are less active therefore vital organs, such as the kidney and liver, will start to deteriorate thus the need to reduce their protein intake.

When a cat consumes protein rich food, its digestive system will proceed to breakdown the proteins in order for the body to absorb the nutrients as efficiently as possible. The breakdown process will produce harmful toxic products, which the kidney and liver will remove from the cat's body via feces or urine.

Since senior cats' vital organs have deteriorated, too much protein will cast a large strain to the kidney and liver, making it difficult for the body to flush out toxins during the breakdown process. Also depending on the senior cat's age, the kidney might not be fully functioning at all so the body will act upon this, by urinating more than usual in order to remove some of the toxins.

You should start reducing protein intake once the cat reaches the age of ten, cats at this age are considered as senior cats. You can purchase foods that are formulated specially for senior cats as this type of foods have low protein content, also consider purchasing a liver aid for your senior cat to help boost its liver functioning.

Please make sure that you consult the vet as well, so that he can assess your senior cat's condition, and prescribe type of food and diet that is most suitable for the cat.

Haziga Slamil is a long time cat owner and currently owns 12 happy and healthy cats. Check out her website to obtain more tips and advice on topics regarding cat nutrition, behavior, grooming and health care. Visit http://www.bubucats.com

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Cat Food Reviews for Wet Cat Food

Picking food for your cat can be a difficult thing to do if you want to make sure your cat gets high quality stuff. Wet food is generally better than dry food, so you are off to a good start. However, there are so many poor quality wet foods available that you really have to make sure what you are feeding your cat. Companies have perfected ways to cheaply make cat food, all while tricking you into thinking that the food is high quality.

The ingredients list is very important. The grain content in wet food is generally lower than in dry. However, lots of grains can still be present. It is important to ensure that the first couple of ingredients listed are from meat sources. The very first ingredient should be for sure. If it is not, move onto another brand. Ignore the word 'by-product.' It may have a meat source in front of it, for example chicken-by-product. This is actually a garbage ingredient that is unhealthy. If the first ingredient has this word, move onto another brand. You want to see words like 'chicken' or 'turkey' alone. That's the quality stuff.

After that first ingredient, make sure that the following ingredients are not full of grain sources. Words like 'corn meal,' 'gluten,' or 'wheat' will tip you. It is very possible to have the first ingredient listed a meat source, yet the wet food is still mostly grain.

When doing your cat food reviews for wet cat food, another important aspect to take into consideration is the use of artificial ingredients. This means artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives. This is important because it will tell you a lot about the brand of cat food. The use of artificial ingredients is generally a lot cheaper to manufacture than natural ingredients. A company that cares more about profit than providing a quality product would use artificial means. If you see artificial ingredients, perhaps it is better to move onto another brand.

Don't be discouraged when doing your cat food reviews. It is important to read over the ingredients and understand what you are looking for. The fact that you are interested in finding a high quality food for your cat is great. If you are having difficulty, there is no need to worry. Luckily, there are great cat food reviews tools available to assist you in determining the best food for your cat.

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