What to feed a Scottish Straight cat?

This breed of Scottish cats has won the hearts of breeders all over the world. Interesting appearance and soft docile nature prompts more and more people to buy such a little fluffy miracle. However, in order for a cat to be able to fully grow and develop, care and proper balanced nutrition are very important for her.

For any cats, including the Scottish Straight, there are 3 types of food:

• feeding "natural";
• feeding with ready-made dry or wet food;
• mixed feeding, in which both natural products and ready-made mixtures are present in the diet.

There is no unequivocal answer to the question of which feeding is more rational - each type of menu compilation will be correct, so a decision should be made based on the pet's taste preferences and your free time. Please be aware that feeding "natural" requires a certain amount of time to find and prepare all the products necessary for a balanced diet of the cat.

When feeding "natural" 70% should be pre-frozen beef or white meat of chicken breasts. Once a week, you can add offal - it is best to take the liver and heart, it is often not worth introducing them into the diet - in this case, the pet may start indigestion.

There is an opinion that fish is good for all cats. This is not entirely true Even ordinary "yard" breeds should not be given this product more often than once a week, and the Scots can only be given low-fat varieties (carp and hake) in boiled form, in small quantities and no more than once every 10-14 days.

Another common misconception is that cats love milk. The fact is that the body of the fluffy secretes the enzymes necessary for the assimilation of this product only until the kitten reaches two months of age. Therefore, in older cats, milk is simply not digested and creates a load on the digestive organs. However, low-fat cottage cheese, sour cream, fermented baked milk or kefir are extremely useful for animals - once a week they must be given to your pets.

From time to time, you can offer the Scots boiled chicken yolk - two a week will be enough. Cereals are very important for cats; they are a source of energy, vitamins and minerals. Cereals such as oats, buckwheat, semolina and oatmeal are rich in carbohydrates, so they are mixed with meat and given to animals every day. If possible, you can supplement the mash with steamed vegetables - carrots, zucchini, cauliflower or green beans.

There are several taboos when feeding Scottish cats, and their observance is very important for animal health.

• You should not overfeed your pet - this is a very common mistake of Scottish owners: many believe that kittens need a lot of food in order for them to grow and develop. This is not so - the fact is that cats of this breed do not know the measure and often eat more than necessary, so the amount of the product received must be controlled.
• Any salted, smoked, spicy and fried food is prohibited - any products “from your table” that seem tasty and healthy to people are too heavy for the body of fluffies and can lead to the development of various pathologies of internal organs.
• In no case should cats be given bones, they can injure the animal and even lead to death. However, bone meal can be included in the diet from time to time.
• Pork and other fatty foods should be completely excluded from the menu.

A sufficient number of calories for a pet is considered to be one that provides the cat with high activity, maintaining the required body temperature, and allowing the digestive, respiratory and cardiovascular systems to function normally. The average consumption of an adult cat per day is 200-300 J for each kilogram of weight.

Thus, a pet weighing 3 kg needs about 1000 J every day, cats weighing 4 kg - 14 J, in 5 kg - 1500 J.

Option 1:

• 25 g of beef or veal;
• 5 g of lung;
• 10 g of water;
• 2 g of vegetable oil;
• 5 g yeast;
• 4 g cereal flakes.

2 recipe:

• 10 g liver;
• 25 g lean fish;
• 4 g buckwheat;
• 7 g of water;
• 0.2 g yeast;
• 5 g low-fat cottage cheese.

There are peculiarities of feeding small kittens and adult cats. But with any type of feeding, it is important to ensure that your pet has constant access to clean water.

In the daily diet of an adult Scotsman, it is imperative that there is a sufficient amount of balanced nutritious food that allows you to meet all the energy needs of the animal and maintain muscle tissue. Remember that cats spend a lot of energy playing and they need energy sources.

The quantity and quality of food directly depends on the lifestyle and size of the fluffy pet. The fact is that each domestic cat has its own level of activity and this must certainly be reflected in the calorie content and amount of food. So, for a cat with an average level of mobility, you need a basic amount of calories, and for balanced cats, leading a rather contemplative lifestyle, their number can be reduced by 10-14%. Mischievous teasers who like to play all day should get much more - their diet can be safely increased by 40% of the norm.

It is advisable to feed an adult cat 2-3 times a day, the intervals between meals are approximately 8-10 hours... If the cat eats all the food offered at once, then you can transfer it to three meals a day, and if it leaves, then two feedings will be enough.

Unfortunately, some breeders, due to the nature of the work schedule, cannot provide the required diet and leave their pets with a supply of food so that they can eat during the day. Scots often abuse this and eat all the food on offer at once. To prevent this from happening it is advisable to purchase a special dispenser that dispenses a specified amount of products at a time set by the breeder.

Ready-made feeds are usually made dry and wet; they can only be combined if they are made by the same manufacturer. Besides, it is advisable to offer them at different times, for example, wet food in the morning and dry food in the evening. These two types of foods are digested differently, so combining them in the same feed often leads to digestive problems in animals.

When choosing brands, it is better to give preference to well-known brands. They are distinguished by their high cost, but at the same time, their quality does not cause any complaints. Budget food compositions may contain insufficient amounts of proteins, by-products are used in their manufacture, and there are no vitamin and mineral supplements.

According to the reviews of breeders and the advice of veterinarians, products are preferable for animals. Royal Canin, Hill's, Matisse and other premium food.

Cheap options, widely presented in any retail outlets, - Sheba, Kitekat and Whiskas undesirable, their nutritional value is low, and the composition is not always "transparent".

The nutrition of kittens should be given special attention, since the health of your pet, its full growth and development, largely depends on it. Up to 3 months, the main food is mother's milk, although starting from 1.5 months of age, low-fat dairy products, chopped meat and boiled cereals can be introduced into the diet in small portions.

The consistency of the food offered must be liquid so that the young Scotsman can easily take it. That is, the cereals should not be steeply cooked, as they are cooked for adult cats, but liquid, and the thinner the mash, the better.

Ready-made food already contains all the necessary nutrients, and supporters of "natural" will need to balance the nutrition of the kitten with the additional inclusion of vitamin complexes. Please be aware that dosages should strictly correspond to the age of the animal and the state of health.

Regardless of which vitamins you prefer, fish oil should certainly be included in the kitten's diet - it is extremely useful for the growing Scottish, since it is a rich source of omega, vitamins D and A.

At first, the kitten may refuse to take solid food, babies quite often play with pieces of food - this should not upset you, soon the pets will get used to it and begin to use them for their intended purpose.

At the age of 5 months, kittens are fed 5 times a day, upon reaching 9 months they are transferred to 4 meals a day, and by the year the kittens are already eating, like adult animals - 2-3 times a day.

After sterilization and castration, Scots often become obese. The reason for this is the hormonal imbalance that occurs after surgery. In order to prevent unpleasant consequences, it is advisable to reduce the amount of food offered to the animal, but at the same time, the number of feedings itself, on the contrary, to increase. That is, the principle is simple - you need to feed often, but in small portions. Once a month, you need to carry out tests on the pet's condition - for this, the cat is stroked on the sides: if you can feel the bones, then the condition is satisfactory.

When feeding a castrated cat or a spayed cat with natural products, there are some subtleties:

• the diet should include foods rich in fiber;
• it is better to completely exclude fish from the diet, it contains a lot of phosphorus and magnesium, which, in combination with a passive lifestyle and hormonal disorders, often causes urolithiasis;
• from meat, only chicken, rabbit and beef are suitable for consumption;
• porridge must be present in the diet, it is advisable to add a little meat to them to add flavor;
• it is very important to provide the animal with vitamins, for this they need to offer fresh chopped vegetables, as well as sprouted grains;
• cats love low-fat broth;
• when choosing ready-made feeds, you should choose products marked "for a castrated animal";
• in this state, it is preferable to give the animal liquid food rather than dry food.

The preparation of an optimal diet for expectant and lactating mothers deserves special attention. During this period, animals need much more food and the proteins, vitamins and minerals that come with it. That is why the quality of feeding at such a moment is of utmost importance. However, oversized portions should be avoided as the stomach of a pregnant cat does not increase and therefore does not gain the ability to digest large amounts of food.

When organizing meals for a pregnant Scottish cat, several rules should be followed.

• It is forbidden to give fish. It is better to include liver (chicken or beef) in the menu.
• It is important to provide your cat with foods that contain calcium. This is cheese, low-fat cottage cheese or fermented baked milk.The preparation "Kalceks" should be added to the feed, as well as meat and bone meal.
• It is very important to provide a pregnant cat with constant access to clean water, especially if she is fed dry feed mixtures.
• You cannot drastically change the diet of the animal. If before pregnancy the cat was fed ready-made food, then you should not change it to "natural" - a sharp change in the type of food will not benefit the pet.

However, it is possible to transfer the tartan to a specialized formula for pregnant and lactating cats from the same manufacturer to which she is accustomed. It usually contains more calories, vitamins and other nutrients to help kittens develop fully in utero and keep the mother healthy and alert. Thus, when receiving the same amount of food, the animal will have much more strength and energy to bear healthy kittens.

A couple of weeks before giving birth, the amount of food is reduced by about a quarter - it is important that the kittens do not gain too much weight. Otherwise, there is a risk of complications during delivery.

A few days before giving birth, the cat begins to refuse the offered food. There is no need to worry - this is completely normal, do not force her to eat, just provide peace and prepare everything necessary for the birth of babies.

After giving birth, the young mother also often lacks appetite. Usually the reason for this is because she eats her afterbirths - don't let her eat more than three as this can cause diarrhea.

During lactation, the animal's appetite increases sharply, since it needs to provide vital energy not only to itself, but also to its children. When forming a cat's diet at this moment, you need to take into account the mass of kittens and their number in the litter.

As the cubs switch to solid food, the cat often eats the same foods that are offered to its cubs - this happens on the instinct level, since consuming the same food makes milk easier for kittens to digest.

As a rule, during feeding, the Scottish woman loses weight and quickly regains the shape that she had before pregnancy. Be sure to make sure that she does not have exhaustion. If you notice that the weight of a young mother is below normal, then you should offer more high-calorie food or use ready-made food for kittens.

For information on how to feed Scottish kittens, see the next video.