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Adult (Start
Feeding Cat At 1 Year Old)
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Cats with normal
nutritional needs, normal body weight and normal
activity levels should be fed a quality cat food
without being offered nutritional supplements.
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Adding
supplements to a normal adult cat’s diet can cause
serious, even life-threatening medical issues by
creating a nutritional imbalance with too much of a
given vitamin or mineral present. A veterinarian
should always be consulted before a supplement is
given to a normal adult cat.
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Cat food offered
to an adult cat must have proper levels of essential
vitamins and nutrients like Vitamin A, taurine and
essential fatty acids that the animal cannot make
herself.
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Feeding schedule
– With healthy adult cats, the question isn’t how
often to feed, but how much. You should
follow manufacturer’s directions regarding portion
size and adjust them up or down depending on the
cat’s weight and activity level. Many cat owners
prefer to free feed their pets dry food during the
day, then top off this portion with an
appropriately-sized canned food meal at night.
Canned food should never be left out more than one
hour. Always provide a cat with a constant supply of
clean, fresh water.
Senior (Start
Feeding Date Varies By Individual Cat When Necessary)
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A cat that is
healthy and active with a lean body mass does not
need to be taken off his food and put on a senior
diet just because he has reached a certain birthday.
Cats age at widely different rates, just like people
do, so the health and condition of the pet, not an
arbitrary age, should determine whether or not a
switch to a senior diet is in order.
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However, you should bear in mind that a cat’s digestive
system becomes less efficient at processing food as
he ages. The end result of this deterioration is
that, in some cases, more of the food an older cat
eats passes through his system without being broken
down into vital nutrients. This leads to a drop in
lean muscle mass and body fat, which compromises the
cat’s life sustaining body systems.
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This problem can
be compounded by the fact that some older cats may
experience a diminished sense of smell and taste,
which contributes to a loss of appetite.
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Senior foods
address this issue by providing protein, fat and
other vital nutrients in a more digestible
easy-to-use form. Many senior formulas are also
designed to be very palatable to encourage an older
cat to eat.
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Food needs to
have reduced protein and phosphorus if the cat has
been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, using a
therapeutic diet prescribed by the cat’s
veterinarian. Reducing the protein intake of a
senior pet without chronic kidney disease is not
recommended since it erodes support for the immune
system and makes it more difficult to support muscle
and lean body mass.
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Food may have
increased fiber to aid in digestion and protect
against constipation.
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Food has more
digestible fat to provide older cat with energy. A
cat’s ability to digest protein can deteriorate with
age
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