Cats are fun pets to have. They can be very affectionate and at the same time they are also very independent and fairly low maintenance when it comes to making sure they are healthy. The one thing that you need to keep a constant watch over is how much your cat eats every day. Cats are creatures that will eat as much as you let them (kind of like dogs). While they might be finicky about the type of food they are being fed, they don't do much to keep track of the amount that they are eating. And because pet lovers love to spoil their pets with an abundance of food (making sure that dish is never empty), feline obesity has become a major problem. One of the reasons that feline obesity is so problematic is that it predisposes cats to diabetes, arthritis and even hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver). Of course there are several ways to monitor your cat's weight and keep them in shape (which will stave off obesity).
One of the best ways to monitor your cat's weight is to switch them from a "free choice" meal plan to a "meal time" meal plan. Free choice eating is what most cats do because they have owners who will keep their food dishes full, enabling them to eat whenever they want. A good way to counteract this (and save your carpets) is to only feed your cats at a certain time of day, and to feed them smaller portions. The recommended diet is only an ounce of food (not a cup).
Another dietary precautionary measure to take with your cat is to feed them a meat-based diet. Cats can't digest carbohydrates (which are overly present in the preservative filled dry cat food they are often fed). When buying your cat's food, look at the ingredients. Any food that is higher in sugar and flour than it is in protein and fat should be passed over in favor of a food with the opposite ratio. A good diet can help avoid various cat disease, cat illness and other health problems
Cats like to sleep all day on the bed or their own cat furniture and most people are content to let them do it. But this dearth of activity is one of the major factors in feline obesity. A better way to approach those daytime hours is to play with your cat! Get a few inexpensive cat toys for them to play with, or get down on the floor and play with them. If you aren't up to running around with your pet, a laser pointer makes a great substitute. You can sit still and they can chase the light from the pointer (just make sure you never shine the pointer into the cat's eyes).
You obviously love your pet or you wouldn't have one and it is probably hard to realize that by allowing cats to be so independent you are probably doing more harm than good. The good news is that with a little bit of effort and a small change of habit, your cat will stay healthy for a long long time.
David is an expert on pet care. For more information see his site AceCatHealth.com and for cat furniture or dog steps see AceCatFurniture.com
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