You’ll want your feline friend to live a long, healthy, happy, and active life as a cat lover. Making ensuring your cat’s diet has the correct mix of the five major nutrient groups: protein, fats & oils, vitamins, minerals, and carbs is one of the best methods to achieve this.

Cats, unlike dogs, are obligate carnivores, meaning they require meat in their diet. As a result, they cannot be vegetarians or vegans. Felines need more protein in their diet than dogs because protein is their primary source of energy.

The most important nutrients for your cat’s diet

High-quality, complete cat food should be carefully made to provide the perfect balance of all the nutrients they require while being delicious to eat. To provide the best nutrition for your cat, make sure they get all of the following:

• Food that is moist or ‘wet’ is packaged in cans, foil trays, or pouches. Always provide moist or wet food to your cat at room temperature to allow your cat to appreciate the textures and fragrances to the fullest. Once opened, cover any remaining parts and keep them in the fridge for no more than 24 hours – remember that the food will need to get to room temperature before serving, so take it out of the fridge early. It should not be left sitting around for longer than an hour.

• Dry cat food is said to be the healthiest option. Their kibbles are nutritionally balanced and have a crunchy texture that may help your cat’s teeth stay in good shape. They also have a higher nutrient density than most foods, so you only need to offer small amounts. Whether you feed wet or dry food, check the label to make sure it’s a ‘complete’ rather than a ‘complementary’ food; otherwise, you might be buying a snack or treat instead of a whole meal!

• Dry cat food, treats and toys, and dry dog food are not the same, despite their appearance. Cats and dogs have very distinct dietary requirements, this dog food is not suited for cats and cat food is not suitable for dogs.

How much should a cat be fed?

If you’re trying to figure out how much to feed a cat, consider their breed, activity level, and lifestyle. Following the feeding instructions on the package is an excellent place to start because it will give you an estimate of how much to feed a cat. However, these are merely guidelines, and the exact amount required will differ from cat to cat depending on factors such as size and activity level.

Goodies or snacks are fine in moderation, but if you do offer them treats, lower their main meals slightly to avoid overfeeding! Treats should account for no more than 10% of your cat’s daily calorie intake. With our tool, you can keep track of your cat’s bodily condition score and use it to adjust the amount of food you feed him on a regular basis.