For Cats
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Text by Soshin Yamamoto (Veterinarian)
01The Importance of frequent feeding
Felines have existed on earth for a long time, and have been strictly carnivores ever since. Although canines and bears are also carnivores, they are also categorized as omnivores because they can maintain their nutritive conditions by eating only plants such as fruits and grains. When a pure carnivore feline caches its prey, it will not consume all of it immediately, as its next catch is not guaranteed. Therefore, frequent food intake is the original dietary habit of felines. When cats live with humans, their meals are being combined in one feeding, which increases their calorie intake per meal. This results in many problems, such as obesity, becoming hungry very quickly, vomiting after overeating, and other problems that will cause irritation to their digestive systems. These problems not only affect the cats, but also their owners, as we have to clean up when they vomit on the bed, endure their cries as they demand for food excessively, and these become a nuisance when we live together. By increasing the meal frequency, all these problems can be resolved. Frequent meals will not only guarantee the health of your cat by aligning its eating habits to its natural habitat, but it is also a great way to build a good relationship between the beloved pet and its owner.
02For a healthy life cycle,
and for cats who are
left alone at home
A cat’s life cycle depends on its owner. If the owner adapts an irregular lifestyle, this could cause the cat’s feeding time to be late at times, or cause it to develop an irregular sleeping schedule. According to studies, there is a higher possibility that cats will be able to maintain a normal size if they live with an owner that is highly health conscious. An appropriate amount of food and a regular feeding time will definitely help in taking care of the cat’s health.
However in this hustling and bustling city life style of the modern society where people are busy with appointments and their jobs, there are also times that you can’t help but to come home late. The sight of your cat waiting for you by the door at midnight could be unbearable. It is said that cats do not get lonely. However, there are obviously more reasons that explain why they are waiting by the door for their owner to come home than just hunger. Even if you are swamped with work and have an irregular lifestyle in which you have to come home late at times, you can at least soothe the stress felt by your cat by giving it a regular meal.
03For cats that wake their
owners up in the morning
“I never have enough sleep because my cat wakes me up at 4 in the morning.” This is what I hear most from cat owners. Especially young cats can’t wait for their owners to wake up and feed them when they are hungry. The best way to resolve this problem is to ignore the cat’s morning call. They will know that by waking the owner up, it means food will be provided. So you will have to ignore it at all times, letting the cat know that even if it wakes you up, food will not be provided. It will then learn that food will only be provided at regular hours. However, this will not put the cat’s persistent morning call to an end. I had the exact same experience when my cat was young. My cat would tug on my hair and bite my chin, which I couldn’t really ignore. By using this automated feeding system during the day, it will be able to break the assumption where by waking up their owner, food will be provided. For food comes from PETLY. If it remembers that, there will be no point waking up the owner when it is hungry.
04For cats that have the
tendency to be obese
The percentage of domestic cats to be obese is 40%, including those which are likely to be obese. Obesity is bad for the cat’s healthy. Illness especially diabetes, constipation, liver lipidosis, skin disease and others are frequently seen on cats. Diabetes is one of the dreadful illnesses that will shorten the cat’s lifespan greatly, and they will need to receive insulin injections every day, just like us human. Adequate exercise and meal control is needed to prevent obesity. However, it is difficult to increase the exercise amount for cats. For dogs, you can increase their exercise amount by increasing walks, but it is different for cats. Especially for elder cats, they might not even respond when you try to play with them. With this, calorie control is an important factor. It is no doubt a difficult task to feed your cat every day at a regular time, with a regular amount. But with PETLY, it could take the burden off your shoulder by helping you with your pet’s calorie control.
05For cats that tend to eat
too fast and throw up later
Cats are animals that vomit quite readily. It is a remnant of habit from the wild age. Cats are equipped with this defense mechanism to protect themselves, by vomiting bad meat or harmful plants that they have accidentally consumed. In medical terms, “vomit” could be divided into two categories - “vomiting” and “regurgitation”. “Vomiting” is the return of digested food in the stomach back up the esophagus, to the mouth. On the contrary, “regurgitation” is the return of undigested food (before it reaches the stomach) back up the esophagus, to the mouth. If the vomit is in undigested form, most likely that it is regurgitation. Eating too fast is one of the reasons of regurgitation. Meal times are the most enjoyable moments for domestic cats. So, you can’t really blame them for gobbling up their food. Although eating too fast and regurgitating later is not an illness, it causes much pain to the cat and we feel heartbroken looking at them too. You can prevent your pet from eating too fast by increasing the meal frequency and decreasing the meal volume for each time. So try increasing your pet’s meal times to 4 times a day if you find them vomiting undigested dry food!