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What are the basics of feline nutrition? - Human Grade

Anyone who’s ever watched a cat at play understands that felines are natural hunters. They may live under our roofs, but their bodies still consume nutrients like the hunters from which they’ve evolved. Cats are true carnivores, which means their digestive system only tolerates meat, unlike omnivorous humans and dogs. In other words, cats’ nutritional needs differ from ours. Therefore it’s vital to understand at least the basics of feline nutrition. Two factors play vital roles in the nutritional needs of cats:

Cats are true carnivores (meat-eaters).
Cats evolved from a desert climate.

The History of Felines

To understand feline nutrition, it helps to know their history. Cats’ ancestors are desert animals and eventually became domesticated in the area of Egypt. For thousands of years, cats evolved, living in areas where humans lived but were not tamed. While dogs resided with humans and hunted with humans, cats functioned independently.

Even as humans started agricultural communities, cats resisted domestication. Instead of consuming food provided by people, cats lived off the animals that flocked to agricultural byproducts. Human agrarian societies attracted birds, small animals, rodents, and cats, who preyed on them. DNA comparisons of cats throughout history show few fundamental changes between these wild felines and today’s domesticated house cats. Despite their smaller sizes and more vibrant colors, cats still display feral tendencies and remain carnivorous animals.

Feline Nutrition

Most mammals, like humans and canines, use carbohydrates as their primary source of energy. Protein is used, for the most part, to build and maintain tissue and execute biological reactions. In contrast, cats are carnivores and depend on protein as their source of energy. Only animal tissue (meats) contains the high levels of the right kind of protein that cats need to survive. For example, cats need more essential amino acids than humans or canines and can only obtain them from their meat diet.

Although cats can tolerate some products like cheese and honey, these foods aren’t necessary to their diet and may result in health issues if consumed in large amounts.

As carnivores, cats depend on nutrients found only in animal tissue.
Human Grade, high-quality pet food certification

The nutrients a cat depends on include protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins (niacin, calcium, vitamin A), and minerals. Although some nutrients that cats need are present in plant tissue, they’re not in a form that cats can utilize. For example, vegetables contain fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which help animals develop healthy skin and fur. However, cats can’t metabolize ALA from plants and must obtain it from meat sources.

Felines and Water

Because felines are originally desert animals, cats require less water per day than canines of the same size. Although water is still an essential part of their diet, cats utilize the water in their bodies much more efficiently than humans and canines, and their bodies conserve the water. Cats who consume canned cat food get much of their water from their food and generally drink less water than cats who eat dry food.

A well-fed cat is a happy cat; human-grade pet food offers the best ingredients and production for your feline's little tummy. - Human Grade Pet Food Certification — A well-fed cat is a happy cat; human-grade pet food offers the best ingredients and production for your feline’s little tummy.

Finding the Right Mix

According to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, cats also need a dozen or more nutrients besides protein and carbohydrates. Because cats get their vitamins and minerals from their food, extra supplements aren’t necessary as long as cats eat high-quality, well-balanced food specifically for cats.

However, creating homemade cat food is not recommended. Research conducted in 2019 found that most homemade cat foods lacked the proper nutrients and could even contain ingredients toxic to felines (such as garlic, onions, etc.). Commercial cat foods, however, are formulated with the right amount of nutrients.

Commercially available cat foods contain nutrients and calories standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Though the content is the same, it’s the quality of the food that differs the most. The following are some of the different types of cat foods:

1. Dry Cat Food

Dry cat food contains the least amount of water than all the other types of foods (6-10 percent water). Some cats may also find dry food less flavorful than other foods due to the lack of moisture.

2. Semi-Moist Cat Food

Semi-moist cat food consists of about 35 percent moisture. Cats find semi-moist food more appealing than dry food, though the food tends to become less palatable the longer it remains exposed to air.

3. Canned Cat Food

Canned cat food’s moisture content is about 75 percent, which is not only more pleasing to felines but also makes it an excellent water source. Compared to the other types of food, canned cat foods generally contain meats instead of meat byproducts.

4. Human-Grade Cat Food

Human-grade cat food contains the nutrient combination that felines need. In addition, the food is prepared using the same methods and facilities used to cook human meals. The food contents are also human-grade, meaning it’s fit for human consumption, very high-quality, and contains no by-products.

For picky and discerning felines, human-grade cat food may be the most attractive choice.
Human Grade, high-quality pet food certification

Choose High-Quality Feline Food

While the basics of feline nutrition are simple to follow, it’s essential to remember that their nutritional needs are different from humans and canines. As carnivores, their diets consist almost entirely of animal products. Choosing high-quality, nutritionally balanced cat food — the likes of human-grade certified pet food — may appeal to their finicky tastes and is vital to having a healthy and happy cat.

Yes your pets can have food allergies too. - Human Grade

Although pets can have food allergies just like people do, they can’t tell us if they feel itchy or unwell. Pet owners need to be on the lookout for allergic reactions to food and prevent them from happening. Pet foods are often prone to induce allergic reactions as the food production is sub-par to human nutrition and may include ingredients not specified on the label. Thankfully, the Human Grade pet food label can help pet owners identify foods that are made to the highest standards. Owners will know exactly what their pet will be eating, reducing the risk of causing any food allergy.

Why Do Food Allergies Occur?

Although the terms “food intolerance” and “food allergies” are often confused, they stand for two different reactions a digestive system may have to food.

Food intolerance is caused by the inability of the body to digest a particular food. For example, some dogs can’t digest dairy items because of their lack of milk digesting enzyme, called lactase, making them lactose intolerant.
Food allergies are the response of the immune system to a protein from a specific food. Instead of identifying the food as a harmless source of nutrition, an animal’s immune system recognizes the protein as a foreign invader. It initiates an immune response to fight against it. This immune response can range from minor (itchy skin, sneezing, etc.) to anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be fatal.

Although some food allergies may appear on the first exposure to a food, most allergies occur after repeatedly consuming a particular food. Each time a pet eats the food item, its body builds an immune response. At some point, the immune response becomes so strong that an allergic reaction develops. However, with pet food, it may be a challenge to isolate what caused the allergy because of the mixed ingredients in regular pet food.

Common Food Allergy Symptoms in Cats and Dogs

Because animals can’t articulate when they’re not feeling well, it’s important to be aware of food allergies’ signs and symptoms. The three most common allergy reactions are:

1. Skin Reactions

Human skin tends to show food allergy reactions more readily than other parts of the body, and the same is true for animals. A food allergy can manifest itself as allergic dermatitis, a common type of allergic reaction in pets. Hives, which are itchy and red raised areas on the skin, typically occur 6–24 hours after a pet consumes the food they are allergic to.

Pets who show food allergy symptoms on their skin will likely scratch, lick, or bite the areas that are bothering them — sometimes to the point of breaking the skin and causing an infection. Allergies can also cause hair loss and bald patches. On short-haired cats or dogs, skin reactions are easy to spot. However, on long-haired animals, owners may have to feel for hives and look closely through their animal’s fur.

2. Digestive Problems

Food allergies in pets are often exhibited through changes in an animal’s digestive system. Cats and dogs may have excessive bowel movements, about three or more a day. These bowel movements may be soft stools or diarrhea. Along with excessive stools, the pets may also vomit or have excessive gas after eating the food they’re allergic to.

3. Swelling

Because food allergies are an immune response, inflammation is a major sign of an allergy. Swelling and redness in an animal’s eyelids, ear flaps, or lips are easy-to-spot signs of an allergy.

Know how to recognize food allergies in your pet and minimize the cause of such symptoms by sticking to human-grade certified pet food. - Human Grade Pet Food Certification — Know how to recognize food allergies in your pet and minimize the cause of such symptoms by sticking to human-grade certified pet food.

What Can You Do to Help Your Pet Fight Allergies?

Unfortunately, there are no treatments for pet food allergies. Avoidance of the food causing the allergy is the only way to keep a food allergy from recurring. Prevention can start with changing the food a pet consumes and paying close attention to the quality thereof.

Human-Grade Pet Food

The more ingredients and additives are in pet foods, the higher the chances for an allergy to develop. Typical pet food products, though generally safe for pets, aren’t regulated for purity or freshness. They are often cooked in huge batches and contain varied ingredients from discarded food parts not appropriate for human consumption.

Controlling pet food for allergic proteins is a challenge because many different ingredients are used, which vary in each new food batch.
Human Grade, high-quality pet food certification

Although quality control exists for pet foods, quality isn’t on par with the level used for humans. The mixed content and quality of regular pet foods can produce food allergies in some animals, leading to itching, digestive problems, and overall poor health.

Human-grade pet food allows for improved control over what a pet consumes. With human-grade pet food, a pet owner can rest assured that their pet’s food is made with ingredients of the same quality as for human consumption. Certified human-grade pet food is minimally processed in facilities that meet the standard for human food production.

Human-grade pet food is formulated nutritionally for pets but made as it would be for humans.
Human Grade, high-quality pet food certification

By feeding your animal human-grade pet food, the chances of your pet developing a food allergy are significantly reduced. Pet food that undergoes the same processing, manufacturing, and USDA inspection guidelines that human food does is less prone to contain products that could cause an allergic reaction. By choosing human-grade pet food, owners know what their pets are eating is human-quality. Pets can have food allergies, too, and human-grade pet food is an excellent option to reduce food allergy-related issues.

Tag: cats

What are The Basics of Feline Nutrition?