Raw kitten food is something that many pet owners have never before considered serving to their pets. After all, with all the bags and cans and pouches lining supermarket shelves and available on the Internet, why would you even consider making up your own kitten food? It’s not like there aren’t dozens of varieties available, most of them with bright labels touting their value, both nutritional for the cat and financial for the owner. While it may not be for everyone, there are a number of reasons to consider making your own kitten food at home and how you can make it a safe, economical choice.
Additives
Let’s face it. You don’t know with absolute certainty everything that is going into those bags and cans at the manufacturing plant. The manufacturers can assure everyone of the safety and nutritional value of their foods, and there is no doubt that great effort is being taken to ensure safety, but there is no guarantee. The melamine scare in recent years that led to thousands of cats and dogs suffering kidney failure and death is proof of this. The only way to know for sure what your cat is eating is to make your own kitten food. This is especially important for newborn kittens, who are very vulnerable to any abnormality.
Cats Are Carnivores
Cats are carnivores, first and foremost. Nowhere in the natural feline diet do you find corn, potatoes, rice, starch, or carbohydrates of any sort. The most you will find is a small amount of carbohydrate in the stomachs of the animals they consume. That said, why does commercial cat and kitten food contain such a high amount of carbohydrate? Simple – it’s cheap.
Many manufacturers, especially less reputable and cheaper ones, fill their product with so much filler that they are nutritionally inadequate for most cats. The high carbohydrate content and lack of proper nutrition can also lead to serious medical problems down the road, including feline diabetes.
Proper Nutritional Balance
Kitten food purchased in the store will have a specific nutritional makeup that tries to balance the needs of the animal with the cost to the manufacturer. Some varieties do a fairly good job of trying to ensure that the cat gets all the vitamins and minerals that it needs, but food made at home from raw ingredients with the proper nutritional additives will give you a much more balanced, nutritious diet for your kitten.
Health
The lack of proper nutrition found in most store bought kitten food can lead to serious health problems down the road, including but not limited to: feline diabetes, weaker and less healthy offspring, gum infections, bladder problems, heart lesions, and more. This is entirely due to the consumption of a diet that their bodies were not designed for. After all, you wouldn’t try to run your car on grape juice, would you?
While it is not feasible that every pet owner out there switch to a raw kitten food diet that they make up themselves at home, there are a great many benefits for your cat if you choose to do so. Rather than simply dismiss the idea out of hand as being too expensive or too much trouble, take some time and really think about it.
Related posts: