What food should we feed our cat ?

We have seen many people asking questions such as, ‘What should I feed my cat?’, ‘What food do cats eat?’, ‘Can we give our cat the food that we eat?’ etc. So, in this article we are going to answer all these questions regarding the diet of cats.

We will also learn what food items may be harmful to them, or even deadly.

Table of Contents

• Homemade or Raw food for cats
• Vegetarian natural foods for cats
• Non-Vegetarian natural foods for cats
• Commercial food

What do you think is better for your cat - homemade raw/cooked meals or packed food?

If your answer is raw/cooked homemade food, then you are probably right. So, we will first of all discuss all the homemade food options for your cat, both veg and non-veg. Later on, we will discuss commercial packed food options too.

Just keep in mind, while charting out the diet plan of your cat, that cats have evolved as hunters. So, they consume prey that contains high amounts of protein, moderate amounts of fat, and a minimal amount of carbohydrates. That’s what we should be providing them too.

Homemade or Raw food for cats

What homemade or natural raw foods can we offer our cat?

When it comes to homemade and raw food, we have both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Let’s see the options we have in both these categories.

Vegetarian natural foods for cats

If you are a vegetarian yourself, then probably you will be interested in exploring some vegetarian options for your cat too. Well, you are in luck!

Cats are basically carnivores. But they do eat some vegetarian food items too. Let’s see some of these vegetarian options first.

Oatmeal Oats

Oatmeal Oats are very nutritious, not only for humans, but also for cats. So, it’s a food that you can safely give your feline too.

It has fibre, antioxidants, iron, vitamins and calcium. So, it’s far more nutritious than other grains. If you can prepare the oatmeal at your home, it will be far better than any oatmeal that you will get at market. You may use it as a supplement to the regular diet of your cat.

Bread

Bread is another human food that can also be shared with your feline friend. Ideally, it should be a little baked and yeast free. Preferably use whole grain bread.

It will provide your cat with fibre and keep its digestion well. But do not overdo it. Excessive bread intake is not good, either for cat or humans, as they have a lot of carbohydrates.

A word of caution.

Do not give bread to your cat if it’s already obese. Provide it to a cat only if it’s lean.

Fresh Fruits

Many cats don’t actually like fruits. But if your cat eats some fruits then it can be a pretty good healthy option. Let’s see some of the fruits that some cats do seem to like.

• Cantaloupe - They have large quantity of antioxidants, that’s really beneficial for your cat’s skin and eyes.

• Melon - You may feed them seedless watermelon in small quantities. But focus on the word seedless - make sure you remove all of its seeds before giving it to your cat. Seeds may be a choking hazard.

• Carrots - Carrots are good for cats, as they are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients. They will improve their eyesight. Preferably you should give them cooked carrots, as small pieces of raw carrot maybe a choking hazard.

• Bananas - Did you know that cats eat bananas too? Many of them do. You may give it to your cat and see its response. Bananas are rich in potassium, fibre and vitamins. It will keep the digestive system of your cat healthy. As it has potassium, it’s good for nervous system and inflammation issues too.

• Blueberries - Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. They are considered good for brain health.

You may use these fruits as treats, or add a little amount of them into your cat’s chicken or fish meal.

Green Vegetables

Sometimes you may have noticed your cat chewing on house plants. It’s an indication that your cat is trying to compensate for lack of minerals and vitamins in its body. It also means that, you may serve some green vegetables to your cat.

Green vegetables are always going to be good for health, whether it’s for humans or animals. Let’s see some of such vegetables that cats can eat.

• Peas - Yes, you can feed peas to your cat. It’s true! They have protein, fibre, vitamin A and C. It’s good for blood sugar and digestion. You can add peas to so many of cat foods. Even many commercial cat foods have peas in them. If your cat does not seem to enjoy peas, then try mixing up some mashed peas in their food and see if they develop the taste. You may also try serving them various forms of peas - frozen, fresh, or cooked.

• Spinach - They are packed with fibre, vitamins, iron and potassium. But you should give your cat only a leaf or two, that too occasionally.

But keep in mind, these vegetarian options cannot be the staple diet of your cat. They will need meat. But you can use these vegetarian options as treats or as an option to change their taste, and provide them with the vitamins and minerals that they may be missing in their regular diet.

Apart from these, you may also offer them:

• Milk - Just like dogs, cats too love milk. Preferably, it should be lactose-free, to avoid digestive problems.
• Skimmed Yogurt - Cats love it because of its sour taste. But preferably get skimmed yogurt for them, as it carries less fat and sugar.
• Rice - Cats like eating rice too. It’s helpful in gastrointestinal problems.

Non-Vegetarian natural foods for cats

Now, let’s see some non-vegetarian food options for your cat. As you can probably guess, your cat will prefer these much more than the vegetarian options listed above. They are carnivorous by nature after all!

Fishes

Fishes like salmon and tuna are one of the favourite food items of cats. You probably already know it. Haven’t we all seen cats in cartoons trying to fetch that unlucky fish in the fish tank.

Fishes are nutritious too, with all those omega 3 fatty acids. They are the perfect treat for your cats and they are going to love you for it.

However, there are a few precautions you need to take, if you are serving fishes to your cat:

• Make sure all bones are removed. They are not good for humans, and they are not good for cats either.
• Make sure that you cook the fish a little bit to get rid of any parasites or harmful bacteria. Don’t serve them raw fishes.
• Avoid sharing some exotic kinds of fishes, like sushi!

Apart from fishes, you may also feed them fish oil. You can add fish oil supplements to any of your cat’s meal. It’s good for cat’s heart and kidney. When it comes to older cats, fish oil relieves their joints from the pain of age-related arthritis.

Chicken

Chicken is another non-veg option that you can provide your cat. It is an awesome protein source. Moreover, it can be cooked in various styles to provide various flavours.

Again, you need to take some precautions:

• Do not serve chicken to cats as a constant meal replacement, since it may upset their stomach.
• Do not serve raw chicken. It should be boiled and devoid of any seasoning, oil, onion or garlic.

Turkey

Yes, you can serve them Turkey too. In fact, it is a much safer and healthier option than even chicken. The organs of turkey (e.g. liver, or heart) are very nutritious, but they must be cooked.

But as usual, there are some precautions you need to take:

• Remove any skin, bones or fat from roasted meat before serving it to them. Bones can splinter, and too much fat is bad for health.
• Do cook it. Do not serve raw.

Eggs

Eggs have vitamins, calcium and amino acids. So, fully cooked eggs can be a good addition to your cat’s meals. Do not serve them raw eggs or with any kind of seasoning or salt.

But they are not perfect cat meal per se. So, don’t overdo it.

A word of caution.

The homemade food we serve our cats should preferably be slightly cooked. But even serving raw food is not that bad.

When it comes to raw food, people are apprehensive of the bacteria and parasites that may be lurking inside them. But this risk is generally blown out of proportion. There have not been enough cases of either cats or people being infected by eating raw food.

However, if you want to eliminate any risk whatsoever, stick to cooked food.

Commercial food

Ideally, we should not feed our cats commercial food. Rather we should serve them a diet prepared at home. But this may not be practical for many cat-owners.

So, let’s talk about commercial food, because that’s what most of the cat-owners can and will feed their cats.

There are two major types of commercial food - dry and wet.

Dry commercial food Versus Wet commercial food

Dry commercial food is more prevalent than wet food. That’s because, it is easier to manufacture dry food and it’s also more convenient for the cat-owners to store and manage.

Moreover, cats love dry food like biscuits. It’s because they are full of carbohydrate and fat. Cats love that, but it’s like fast food for them. You cannot give them that everyday.

On the other hand, wet food is much more nutritious. It has more proteins and water in it. Cats do not drink much water directly. Rather, they fulfil most of their water requirements from the food they eat. So, from this perspective dry food is not that good for cats.

You will notice that a cat that is on dry food, will drink much more water than a cat that is on wet food. But drinking water directly is not as beneficial for a cat, than if they get that water from their food. Keep this in mind.

Winding Up

If we have to put cat food in an order from worst to best, the order will be as follows:

• Commercial Dry food - the worst
• Commercial Wet food
• Natural food / Homemade food - the best

Even when we cannot always serve our cats homemade food, we should at least try to mix their food up. Do feed them some natural, raw and homemade cooked food, along with the commercial food. It will serve your cat well in the long run.

Before offering anything new to your cat, you may also consult a veterinarian, to know if the food you are planning to offer is safe for your cat.