Nutrition and Health
I decided to do a nutrition and health page to provide helpful information to all cat and kitten owners. This page will be about how important good nutrition and good health is for your new Furry-Purry Baby!
Nutrition
So you have your new little one home and I am sure you are excited to make sure that your new kitten receives the correct amount of nutrients in his or her diet. Having the correct amount of nutrients in your new kittens diet will ensure healthy growth as well as development! Good nutrition will help your kitten grow and stay very active!
All food should contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, and of course vitamins and minerals. I would strongly recommend a good quality kibble or can food. Or a raw food diet such as the BARF Diet or any AAFCO certified pre-made raw.
Now as for the protein, fat, carbohydrates, and of course vitamins and minerals they all play a very important role in nutrition. All protein, fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals must be provided in correct amounts in your cat or kittens diet.
Protein is needed more for growing cat and kittens and or very active cats and kittens. Protein is very vital for growth it also repairs damaged tissue and especially muscles.
Fat & Carbohydrates are great for healthy shinny looking coat and great healthy skin! But most importantly it is the most important source for energy!
Vitamins and Minerals are also very important for your cat or kitten but it should only be a small part of their diet. I do recommend being very careful with vitamins and minerals because to much can be harmful. Please ask your vet first before using any kind of vitamins or minerals. We use NuVet which is wonderful!
As a breeder I make sure proper nutrition starts before my kittens are even born. All of my cats get the proper diet and vitamins this insures that the kittens growing inside of their Mom are getting great nutrition as well. This makes the kittens healthier and helps them to have a better immune system which makes them more resistant to disease. We can also expect a longer life span when our Furry-Purry Babies have the proper nutrition that is so vital to them.
Health
Their is one thing that I think creates great health in itself...Exercise! Although it can be hard to exercise an indoor cat if you get he proper toys and try to spend at least 30 minutes a day of play time with them that should be sufficient. I recommends toys such as feather teasers, balls that make nose, anything that hangs down like tying sisal rope to a door knob and of course a good cat tree that they can climb all over is great too! Exercise also helps develop bones and joints and promotes good muscle tone!
As far as choosing a healthy kitten always make sure that the kitten isn't showing any signs of discharge from the eyes, ears and bottom. The coat should be in good condition and the eyes bright. The kitten should be active and alert it should not shy away.
Smaller kittens may look cute but they also may suffer from health problems. Very little kittens are more prone to getting broken legs because many kittens like to say under your feet.
Now for litter box training their mothers teach them this, but kittens taken away too early from their mother may miss out on learning social and hygiene skills. Always ask the breeder what type of litter they are use to and switch the kitten over gradually this is very important. Keep the litter box low so that a kitten can get in it. Also make sure your cat or kittens litter box is far away from his or her food as cats are very clean animals and do not like to eat where they potty.
This is just some information on Nutrition and Health if you have any further questions please feel free to e-mail me at purrfectcattery@aol.com
