Balanced diet best for feline friends

Press, 12 May 1981, Page 12

Balanced diet best for feline friends

Consumer watch

Anne Ingram

How much does your cat cost to feed? Perhaps you are feeding it too much. •Apparently we have a tendency to over-feed our animals and judging by the fat cats (the four-legged variety) padding around our neighbourhood, I suspect that this is probably true. Of course, no-one wants a lean and hungry cat for a pet. Plump cats are satisfied cats, and their presence contributes a sense of well-being to the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, the fact remains that most of us do over-feed our cats. By reducing their intake to a more sensible level, we can also reduce their food bill and reducing any kind of bill in these times seems a sound proposition. The average adult cat weighs 4-5 kgs. His daily dietary needs can be supplied by 120-180 g of food which contains about 30 per cent protein. A 425 g tin of cat food supplies up to three days nourishment at. a cost of 20c to 30c per day (depending on whether you pay the manufacturer’s recommended retail price or the supermarket discount price for your tin). The same weight of gravy beef apportioned into three meals would cost 40 to 50c per day. Fish pieces labelled “Pet Food” can often be bought from fish shops for as little as $1 per kg. If this amount were divided up into eight meals it would cost only 12c a day to feed your cat. On the other hand, if ordinary fillets of fish were bought, this cost would be quadrupled.

The new dried cat food in the form of small biscuits costs from 22c to 36c per day depending on the brand used. A 500 g pack of Roly’s Cat Food gives seven days feeding at a cost of $1.56. A 350 gm pack of Chef Biscats gives four days feeding at a cost of $1.53.

The best buy then is pet food bought from the fish shop. However, it is wise not to feed fish to your cat at every meal because too much of it can give him a thiamine deficiency. Giving fish two or three times a week is recommended. If you do feed your cat with fish, cook it first.

The next best buy for the cat is tinned food. Commercial tinned cat foods are well balanced in ingredients. They contain a certain amount of

carbohydrate, some protein (the labels do not tell us how much) and added vitamins and minerals.

They provide most of the nutrients a cat requires, and are convenient to use.

But they do not provide any opportunity for a cat to chew. As with dogs, chewing raw meat and biscuits keeps the gums in good condition. Gravy beef or shin of beef, ox heart and sheep’s heart are ideal meats for cats. They do not need to be cooked and the pieces should not be cut up too small. Liver should not be given too frequently as it has a high proportion of vitamin A and if taken exclusively could lead to arthritis. Liver should be given a maximum of two or three times a week.

Dried cat food compares well in price with tinned cat food. These packaged biscuits are nutritionally balanced and come in a choice of meat or fish flavours. They are available in a variety of shapes such as small fish or stars.

The shape may be gimmicky, but cats seem to enjoy chewing this food and it does provide exercise for teeth and gums. It also has the advantage of keeping well once the packet has been opened. It is ideal, therefore, when

you have run out of food for the cat’s dinner and you can’t get to the shops.

Milk, of course, is the traditional drink for cats. It is also a food and useful in that it supplies both fats and protein.

Cats require a high level of fat in their diet, and 20 to 25 per cent of the total calories given can be made up of fat. This does not mean that you should give your cat fatty meat — it would probably not be tolerated anyway.

Fat is best supplied basically from milk. A certain amount will be gained from meat.

Don’t omit water from your cat’s diet. A vet says that too few people supply their cats with adequate fresh water. This is especially important when using dried cat food which should always be given with a bowl of water alongside. Finally, it is not necessary to give your cat vitamins in the form of vegetables or commercial supplements. A cat’s digestive system is ill equipped to handle fibre and most of the vitamins and minerals a cat, needs are contained in meat and fish. Those that are not, the animal obtains for itself by selecting and eating grasses.