What not to feed Scottish cats. Proper feeding of Scottish kittens. Video "Scottish fold cat"

Also make sure that there is always fresh water in the kitten's access area. At first, curious kittens will likely play with their food more than eat it, but eventually they will get used to eating it rather than throwing it around the bowl. At the age of 2 months and beyond, the main diet should be dry food in order to support the growth and development of a small Scottish fold kitten!

Before you decide to take a fluffy baby into your house and under your care, you should think about what you should feed the Scottish fold, which is only one month old.

For the Scottish fold crumbs, an extremely thorough calculation of the menu is required, an assessment of what the owner is able to provide him: packaged food or food from natural products.

Usually, the owner who breeds kittens, when selling, advises the newly minted owner of the baby on the issue of nutrition for the monthly Scottish Fold. However, there are also such owners who want to independently think over the diet for their Scot, so they become concerned about how to feed a monthly representative of this breed.

Here is a scheme of actions that will allow the owners of kittens to organize the process of their nutrition correctly, if strictly observed:

• For a fluffy baby, drink and food should always be provided in an easily accessible place. Cats, in contrast to dogs, eat less, but more often than those.
• A one-month-old baby sometimes comes to his bowl several dozen times a day, and this is normal. Those owners who prefer to make up a pet's diet from natural products alone need to be aware that such food should be replaced at least four times a day, as it is windy. Those who choose packaged food do not have such difficulties, since they do not deteriorate in a bowl for a long time.
• With a natural diet, the Scottish Fold definitely needs to be given meat products.
• Most preferred is beef meat. So that the cat does not pick up worms, having eaten a raw product, it should first be subjected to deep freezing for several days. After that, it will be safe for the baby to eat this meat raw, only warmed up to ambient temperature, or a little cooked.

• For kittens who are not yet four months old, it is required to scroll the meat. Poultry meat, such as chicken or turkey, must be cooked for a long time before serving, otherwise the animal may get sick with salmonellosis.
• Once every two days, offal can be given to the Scottish Fold, such as hearts, liver and other entrails. They should be well cooked before serving. It is better not to abuse the liver, even boiled, and treat it only once a week.
• Fish is given only caught in the sea and with a low fat content. Before you treat your pet with it, you need to cook it well and select all the bones, especially thin ones. This product should not be eaten often, no more than a couple of times a week. It is strictly forbidden to feed cats with river and uncooked fish.
• Scottish folds acquire kidney stones if they regularly eat fish, mostly uncooked.

• Milk is advised to feed kittens only up to three months. After this age, the cat's digestive system stops taking it. In any case, before serving the milk to the cat, it is boiled. It is best to feed the kitten with fermented milk treats, such as yogurt, instead of milk.
• Cream should not be given, no matter what proportion of fat they contain. They greatly harm the liver of Scottish folds. Yogurt is also not allowed for kittens, as they are usually sweetened.

About a day later, Scottish Fold should be treated with all kinds of boiled cereals, such as wheat, oatmeal and rice. You can boil both in milk and in plain water.

If the porridge has a water base, then it will be great to mix meat and boiled vegetables into it, ground to a gruel state, you can pour in a bit of meat broth. The yolk of a chicken egg will not interfere there either.

It is advisable to pre-cook the eggs if there are doubts about the quality.

With a diet of natural products, an imbalance in nutrition is possible, so vitamin complexes are needed. However, before stuffing the Scottish Fold with vitamins, you should definitely consult a specialist on this issue.

An excellent vitamin support that does not require veterinarian approval is the common sprouted herb. It is designed for seals, sold in pet stores, and you can grow it yourself.

Those who feed young Scottish Folds with specialized packaged food should choose those that are of the elite level.

They usually have almost no meat, it is replaced by all sorts of offal and skin. And you can forget about the harmony of the mineral and vitamin composition in them.

If the cat's menu consists of good packaged food, then additional vitamins are not required. Food should be selected according to age.

Nutrition for the Scottish breed

This breed of cats is similar to the Scottish one, however, it has its own characteristics that must be taken into account when organizing a diet for a pet.

In addition, we should not forget that each individual has its own special features and habits. Only taking into account all the factors in the aggregate, you can create a harmonized menu for your pet, which will strengthen his immunity.

• First of all, you must categorically refuse to treat the kitten from the palm of your hand, as well as snacks at inopportune times. The pet should build a meal schedule supported by all household members. This task is perhaps one of the most difficult, because it is not at all easy to persuade loved ones not to follow the lead of the pet, having melted away from his pleading muzzle. The correct routine for adult animals consists of three meals a day.
• You should plan your daily schedule so that people sit down to eat around the same time that the pet gets food. Then it will be much easier for both the household and the cat, who will no longer have to beg for food from those sitting at the table, and it will be easier for people to eat without being accompanied by a pitiful look.
• A harmonized menu is the basis for the correct feeding of a cat, so a lot of time should be devoted to it. In order for a Scottish pet to acquire all the most necessary components in full, it must be borne in mind that 70% of the intake should be liquid, 15% is allocated to proteins, 12% to fats, the rest is carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

According to this scheme, oil, cereals, fish, meat and offal are introduced into the menu. It must be emphasized that compliance with the indicated percentages is very important, since the lack or excess of some components can cause ailments or other negative phenomena.

For example, if a cat eats too much fish products, then it may develop kidney stones in the future, this disease is very common in cats. Fermented milk products are good, such as yogurt or cottage cheese.

• The quality of the food must always be checked. It should be higher in temperature than the surrounding air. When the animal has finished the meal, the leftovers must be carefully picked up and removed, and the bowl thoroughly washed.
• You need to regularly mix a specially selected vitamin complex with your pet's food, or, preferably, grow a special grass for cats, which he will eat in food or directly from the pot.
• When organizing the diet of the Scots, you need to remember that additional vitamins are especially relevant for cats of this breed, the vitamin group B is most important. In order to find out how many vitamins a particular animal needs, you should first of all weigh your pet.
• Do not eat foods that contain salt. In addition, you need to know that Scottish cats need phosphorus and calcium in equal proportions in the diet.

Before bringing a kitten into the house, you should decide how to feed it. If the choice falls on packaged food, then you need to adapt the cat to the following routine, when one day he eats only dry food, and the next day he receives natural products. And you need to remember that it is undesirable to give the cat only packaged food.

Those who want a cat to put on weight should give him plenty of clean meat, preferably beef. Packaged food is not suitable in this case.

Those who responsibly undertake to personally calculate the optimal diet for their pets live a long time and bring joy to their owners.

In order for a Scottish fold or straight-eared cat, cat or kitten to be healthy, strong and beautiful, you need to take care of the right diet, as well as the feeding scheme.

Varieties of food

Let's take a closer look at each type of food.

Natural nutrition of Scottish fold or straight-eared kittens and adult animals

List of basic products that are allowed for Scottish cats:

Microelements, vitamins and supplements.

Biologically active additives must be included in the diet of pets throughout the entire time of feeding with natural products. Kittens up to 6 months old need a source of vitamins D and A, that is, fish oil. In addition, the networks of veterinary pharmacies offer a huge selection of multivitamin preparations for cats and kittens of the Scottish breed and just as a species of animal.

The pet must always have fresh, clean water. Ideally, you need to change the water 2 times a day. You can let your pet drink tap water, the Scottish breed especially loves it.

Approximate nutrition menu per 1 kg of body weight of a Scottish fold or straight-eared cat.

• low-fat fresh beef (dip in boiling water) - 25 gr.;
• lungs - 5 gr.;
• pure water - 10 gr.;
• vegetable oil - 2 gr.;
• dry ordinary shiver - 0.2 gr.;
• plain oatmeal flakes - 4 gr.

Recipe 2:

• fresh liver - 10 gr.;
• lean fish - 25 gr.;
• buckwheat - 4 gr.;
• plain water - 7 gr.;
• ordinary dry yeast - 0.1 gr.;
• low-fat cottage cheese - 3 gr.

After preparing food according to a recipe, it can be divided into portions and frozen for the future. So at any time, having previously defrosted, it will be possible to quickly feed the pet with natural food.

Prohibited products for Scottish fold and straight-eared cats:

• pork, smoked, salted, peppered, dried, fresh meat;
• fats;
• floury, sweet.

Ready food or a quick and balanced way to feed Scots

Ready-made food for kittens and cats differs in the amount of water contained in it: semi-moist, dry and wet food. However, with any type of food, it is necessary to ensure that the animal has constant access to water.

You can combine wet and dry food when feeding if they are produced by the same manufacturer and are given at different meals. For example: in the morning - wet food, in the afternoon - dry and in the evening again wet or dry.

When choosing food, it is better to give preference to well-known brands, since budget options are not so high quality and they do not include enough minerals and vitamins in their composition. In addition, attention should be paid to the recommendations indicated by the manufacturer regarding age, breed and health status.

• Royal Canin;
• matisse;
• advance;
• Hills;
• and other brands of premium and super-premium classes.

Cheap options that should not be fed to a Scottish cat or kitten are the following:

• Darling;
• Kitiket;
• Whiskas.

Features of nutrition with ready-made food for adults

The amount of food depends on the lifestyle of an adult and is directly related to the size of the cat. Each pet has its own level of activity - this should be reflected in the calorie intake. For a pet with an average level of mobility, a basic amount of calories is needed, and for calm pets, which mostly sleep and look bored out the window, the diet should be 10% less than recommended by the manufacturers on the feed packaging. At the same time, a bully who plays throughout the day should eat 40% more than the base level.

The weather also affects the appetite of cats, in the warm season the need for food decreases somewhat, and in the cold it increases, in fact, as in humans. Keeping warm requires energy, and energy is calories.

The correct diet includes dividing food into several meals, namely 2-3. The interval between meals should be 8-12 hours.

By observing your household, you can understand whether two meals a day are enough for him or whether it is better to transfer to three meals a day. Some animals eat the entire portion of food at once, while others can eat gradually, over several hours.

Some owners, due to a strict schedule at work, do not have the opportunity to give food for Scottish Fold cats several times a day, while the pet may abuse this, eating everything at once and begging for more. This problem can be easily solved by a special dispenser that dispenses a set amount of feed at a certain time.

The better to feed a pregnant cat Scottish fold or straight

With natural nutrition, you need to follow simple instructions:

• It is strictly forbidden to give fish to pregnant Scottish women, it is best to feed them with fresh, tasty greens and low-fat liver. Sometimes you can include mackerel, sprat, tasty sardine, red trout meat in the diet rich in fat-soluble elements.
• Pregnant pets need foods high in calcium. It can be low-fat cottage cheese, cheese, fermented baked milk. It is also recommended to add Calcex powdered tablets and bone meal to food.

Two weeks before the birth, the portion for the pet is reduced by 20-30%. This is necessary so that the kittens do not gain too much mass. A large fetus can cause complications during childbirth, especially if the cat has a narrow pelvis. So it is better to worry in advance and protect the pet from overeating.

Just before the birth itself, the cat may refuse to eat at all. Don't worry it's normal. Keep her calm and prepare for the birth of the babies.

After giving birth, the cat may also lack appetite. This is due to the fact that the cat eats the afterbirth, but you should not let the Scottish woman eat more than three afterbirths. Otherwise, it may cause diarrhea.

During lactation, a cat's appetite increases, because she needs to provide vital energy not only for herself, but also for her offspring. At this time, the cat's diet is formed, while it is necessary to take into account its age, weight and the number of babies in the litter.

After the offspring will gradually switch to solid food, the cat's appetite will decrease somewhat, in addition, it is quite possible that she will eat the same foods as her babies. All of this happens on an instinctive level, as eating the same food will make her milk the most digestible for the kittens.

Basically, during lactation, the Scot loses weight and comes to the same weight that she had before pregnancy. Make sure that the animal does not have exhaustion. If the mother's weight is below normal, then more high-calorie foods should be introduced into the diet or feeds designed specifically for kittens should be used.

Scottish fold and straight kittens: care and nutrition

For the first three weeks, kittens eat approximately every 2 hours, then the break gradually becomes longer. By the month, babies can be fed 3-5 times a day, gradually transferring to natural or ready-made feeding. Rapid growth and formation of the body requires high-quality nutrition, rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins. When choosing ready-made food, you need to make sure that it is designed specifically for kittens, you should also pay attention to the age at which the food is recommended. So, for example, Royal Canin offer different lines “from 1st to 4th months” and “for kittens from 4th to 12 months”.

Curious kids will play with their food at first, not understanding what it is for, but after a while they get used to it and stop throwing food around the bowl. At 2 months, their main diet should be dry food to maintain full development.

With proper nutrition, kittens grow very quickly and gain weight. Gradually, the growth rate will decrease and will no longer be so obvious.

Features of feeding a castrated cat or a sterilized cat

Feeding with natural products:

• A natural, balanced diet should include fiber, vitamins, and various mineral supplements.
• Exclude fish from the diet, as it contains a lot of phosphorus, as well as magnesium. They are the provocateurs of the occurrence of urolithiasis.
• Meat, only lean: beef, chicken breast, turkey and rabbit meat.
• Porridge must be present in the diet. You can add some meat to add flavor. No more than once a week, offal can be included.
• Vegetables should be added in pureed and necessarily raw form: carrots, cauliflower or, for example, a fresh cucumber.
• A broth made from lean meats.

Ready food for sterilized and neutered pets.

When choosing food, remember that it must be of high quality, that is, "premium" or "super-premium" class, for example, Royal Canin. At the same time, the bag must be marked: "for castrated or sterilized cats." You should also know that liquid food is preferable to dry food.

Despite the difference in the nutrition of neutered and sterilized pets, they remain the same cheerful and active. Therefore, they should all the same, and maybe even pay more attention, play with them, and then your Scottish fold or straight-eared will always be in athletic shape.

Feeding aging Scots

Elderly pets are fed several times a day with food divided into small portions. You can also feed dry food specially designed for older cats. When choosing food for a Scot, you need to pay attention to the amount of fat it contains. The best option when it is 95% fat-free.

An aging pet may refuse dry food due to gum and/or tooth pain. In this case, the Scot should be transferred to a wet or semi-moist feeding option. You can soak dry food.

A common ailment in aging Scottish fold and straight-eared cats is hyperthyroidism, an increase in the amount of hormones in the thyroid gland. If this disease is detected, the pet needs to be fed with more high-calorie food.

And if kidney failure is detected, it is necessary to reduce the intake of salts and phosphorus, and include protein in the diet in small doses.

A Scottish cat with heart failure should be put on a salt-free diet.

Taurine must be present in food for an elderly pet, since its deficiency will lead to the development of a disease such as cardiomyopathy.

Norm kJ, calories (energy consumption) for kittens and adult pets

• for a baby - 838 kJ (200 kcal.);
• for a nursing Scottish woman - 1047.4 kJ (250 kcal.);
• for a pregnant and developing household - 419 kJ (100 kcal.);
• for an obese cat - 251.4 kJ (59.9 kcal);
• for an aging fluffy - 335.2 kJ (80 kcal).

They may be different, but no matter what color they are, nutrition must be balanced in order to maintain their vital activity at the proper level. Then your pet will always be healthy and beautiful.

How to feed a Scottish cat? The diet of an adult Scottish fold and straight-eared cat per day is 200-250 grams of food. Portions should be calculated individually: the daily dose is 3-5% of the animal's weight. If translated into the language of energy, then the cat's diet has a value of 335 kilojoules. This is an average indicator, because Cats have different levels of activity. So, kittens, pregnant and lactating cats, as well as cats during the breeding period need 10% of their weight. Castrated, obese, elderly and inactive cats need 2-3%.

CONTENT

We figured out how much a cat should eat. Now let's figure out what and how to feed a Scottish and British cat at home. If in the case of ready-made feeds you need to follow the instructions, then natural nutrition will have to be balanced on your own.

Also, what to feed the Scottish fold and straight-eared depends on the presence or absence of intolerance to certain products: if there is intolerance, this product is excluded from the menu forever. Therefore, natural nutrition is easier to balance than factory food, because. the second has a lot of different ingredients.

We note right away that cat nutrition is a very young science: it is only about 15-20 years old. Therefore, there are many unexplored issues in this topic, and even enlightened people (breeders, veterinarians and zoologists) can argue among themselves with foam at the mouth about what should be added to the diet of cats and what should not, and indeed about what it is. - Proper feeding. However, there are basics, which we will talk about in this article. We will not say everything that can be said, but we will give guidelines.

An excursion into the physiology of cats

The main mistake of many owners is that they believe that the human and feline organisms are very similar. In fact, a person is an omnivore, and a cat is an obligate ("obligatory") predator. This means that her diet consists mainly of animal products. The stomach and short intestines of cats (2.1 meters long) easily digest proteins and fats of animal origin, but he almost does not need carbohydrates.

For the rapid breakdown of proteins and the destruction of bacteria in the stomach of cats, a pH of 1-2 is maintained, that is, the environment is much more acidic than in the stomach of omnivores. Animal proteins are considered complete for cats (contain all the necessary amino acids), and plant proteins are considered incomplete. Animal proteins are found in meat and dairy products, as well as in eggs. The cat's protein requirement is 40-60% of the daily diet.

Fats in the diet of cats are an important component: the recommended fat content is on average 15% of the daily diet, the minimum allowable threshold is 5%, the maximum allowable threshold is 20%. Cats, unlike humans, do not experience cholesterol problems and do not suffer from heart disease due to the increased levels of animal fats in their food. They need fats for energy and supply of fatty acids (in particular, Omega-3 and Omega-6) to the body. The lack of animal fats in the diet leads to a huge number of health problems. But vegetable fats for cats are almost useless in terms of the absorption of nutrients. However, they can be added drop by drop to food.

As for carbohydrates, it’s worth knowing: cats’ saliva lacks the amylase enzyme necessary for their digestion. And indeed, there are no enzymes at all: food passes through the oral cavity very quickly, is swallowed. In order to break down the carbohydrates that have entered the body, the pancreas has to work. Under the action of its enzymes, they are broken down in the small intestine to glucose and other monosaccharides. If there are too many carbohydrates in the diet, then the pancreas is forced to work to the limit. But this does not mean that if you put 50% carbohydrates in your food today, your cat will get sick tomorrow. The body of a cat has a high compensatory capacity and an unbalanced diet leads to consequences only if the cat sits on such a diet for a long time.

It should be noted that some breeds react less critically to the imbalance of substances in the diet, others more. So, for example, a purebred Briton (without Scots in the family) belongs to the first group of animals, and the Scots, who often have problems with the absorption of trace elements, belong to the second group.

Although the cat's body can almost completely do without carbohydrates (it knows how to get energy from fats and proteins), in a home diet you need to provide your pet with a small amount of them. First of all, this is necessary for easy energy (rice and potatoes are good - it is permissible to add a pinch to a meat portion) and stool formation (cellulose from vegetables and bran helps to remove wool and toxins from the body, creates a feeling of satiety). Also, carbohydrate foods (greens, brewer's yeast, cabbage (you can give a pinch of grated cabbage if the cat does not have gas from it) contain prebiotics that help the growth of beneficial intestinal microflora.

An experiment was conducted during which the caudates were asked to choose any of the proposed products. On average, cats made a choice in favor of this ratio: proteins - 52%, fats - 36%, carbohydrates - 12%. That is, the figure recommended by scientists for cat fats was slightly overdone, but it is worth considering that the figures are averaged and are given as a rough guide.

Thus, the physiology of a cat suggests a diet that is almost entirely composed of animal proteins and fats. For those who make a counterargument that cats have been living with humans for a long time and should already be evolving to suit their type of nutrition, we will cite the opinion of zoologists: the physiology of domestic cats has changed little since domestication and does not differ much from the physiology of wild counterparts.

Natural and prepared food

While you do not know what Scottish fold and straight-eared cats, as well as the British, we will say a few words about two types of food. You should stick to one of them, which is closer to your lifestyle, and stick to it strictly.

The first type is natural food. But this is not food from the master's table. This is a separately prepared food for a cat from certain types of meat, vegetables and dairy. Products are served without salt and spices, which are prohibited for cats. Natural nutrition must be balanced so that all the necessary substances are present in it. And with a straight cat, it is advisable for cats to drink courses of vitamins: this ensures that all the microelements they need will enter the body, even if the owner has not made up the diet quite correctly. Although, if everything is done correctly, and useful organic supplements are offered for food, then there is no need for synthetic vitamins. Moreover, they are absorbed worse than natural ones.

What else can you feed a Scottish cat? The second type of nutrition involves the use of ready-made feed - in canned food, bags and dry pads. High quality food is made in factories from similar products that we use at home. But feeds are adapted for long-term storage, so they cannot be called perfect: long-term storage involves the addition of preservatives and not quite useful substances. In addition, many feed manufacturers, in an effort to save money, use products of dubious quality.

EXPERT COMMENT: Julia Prishchepa, host of the YouTube channel about cats "Athena-TV"

What to choose - natural food or ready-made food?

It is natural food that is most suitable for a cat, but you need to clearly know what can be given and what is absolutely impossible. Also, with a natural feeding scheme, it is difficult to balance products. For example, you need to know that if you feed a cat only raw meat, then this can lead to serious health problems. Therefore, if you are a busy person or you have many cats, ready-made balanced food will suit you. If you have 1-2 cats and have time to learn the intricacies of dietary nutrition, you can choose natural.

Menu and diet for Scottish cats

Food is served in the form of pieces - small or large, if the animal can tear them. Minced meats, aspics and liquid food are not suitable for healthy Scottish cats.

Below is a menu of natural food, which is preferable. Let's list the products that an adult cat's diet should consist of. So hCan I feed lop-eared and straight-eared cats?

Meat (mandatory and staple)

For Scottish and British cats, lean meats are suitable, because. the pancreas cannot cope with excess fat - as a result, pancreatitis develops. Lean meats include chicken, rabbit, quail, horse meat, turkey, and some parts of beef. The ideal meat for cats is poultry and rabbit meat. Don't give pork.

Also, breeders advise chicken. At the same time, the MURKOTIKI website, after consulting with nutritionists, does not recommend chicken meat that you are not sure about. According to the doctors who advise the site, chicken, especially broilers, contains a lot of hormones that are stuffed with poultry in factories and even in households. Plus other harmful substances. Therefore, chicken is better to prefer turkey as a more environmentally friendly product. If there is access to environmentally friendly chicken, then it can and should be used.

The meat is given raw (the preferred option) or boiled, but in no case fried and smoked. Whether to feed a Scottish or British cat with raw meat, each owner is determined by himself. On the one hand, cooking kills many useful substances. On the other hand, worms are sometimes found in raw meat, which do not always die with the obligatory three-day refreezing in the refrigerator before serving to the cat. Without refreezing, that is, fresh meat, it is forbidden to feed.

It is worth noting that in meat grown on an industrial scale, worms are most often not present. According to experts, the animals in the factories are prevented and fed with special feed, so the risk of infection is minimized. But if you give a cat hunting or farm meat, there is a possibility of infection. Not every farmer regularly prophylactizes his animals, and they sometimes eat food that may be contaminated. Of course, this does not apply to all farms.

It is advisable to put the meat in a bowl in the form of pieces and large pieces so that the animal strengthens its chewing apparatus.

Bones are also regularly added to the diet. They are useful because cats brush their teeth about them, and also because in the process of eating meat from a bone, or just a large piece of meat, caudates develop jaw muscles. In addition, the bones contain useful substances. For this reason, an adult cat does not need to constantly give minced meat or small pieces of meat, because. this will lead to muscle atrophy. In addition, adult cats love meat in tangible pieces more. About how to feed cats with meat and bones, "MURKOTIKI" prepared, because. this is an important question: non-compliance with the rules can lead to the death of the animal!

Cats that are on a natural diet go to the toilet in a big way 1 time per day or 1 time in 2 or even 3 days - these are normal options. But you need to watch the stool: if the cat is prone to constipation, up to 5-10% of vegetables and (or) bran are added to the meat (some people add porridge, but this is wrong). The complete digestive cycle of a cat takes 24 hours.

If for any reason it is necessary to reduce the consumption of meat (for example, with a number of diseases), vegetables can be poured with jellied meat or meat broth at some meals so that they acquire a pleasant smell for the cat, and less meat is added. However, for any disease, a cat should not be put on a completely vegetarian diet or a diet with a predominance of vegetables and cereals.

As a daily food for cats, mixes are recommended: pieces of meat, offal, oatmeal, raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, pumpkin, zucchini, etc.), greens, raw quail eggs. Such a mixture is prepared in advance, then refrozen in the freezer in separate portioned bags, after which it is thawed as needed, brought to room temperature and served to the pet. The meat in this mixture is raw.

Mixes are an alternative to mono-feeding, when different types of meat are not mixed in one meal. Instead, they are served at different meals. Do not confuse with constant feeding of one type of meat: this is not considered a balanced diet.According to veterinarians, both mixes and mono-feeding have the right to exist. The advantages of mono-feeding are a happy pet that rapaciously consumes whole pieces of meat, as well as the confidence that the gastrointestinal tract will not be confused by improperly selected ingredients (for example, a cat may be allergic to one of the ingredients in the mix). The advantages of mixes are that the cat receives all the necessary nutrients at every meal and there is no need to draw up and keep a nutrition schedule in mind.

Bran (optional)

Porridges are not the recommended food for predators, because are practically not absorbed and even interfere with the absorption of nutrients from other products. With frequent consumption of grains (cereals), cats are at risk of diabetes, urolithiasis, and thyroid problems. It is better to prefer bran to cereals.

Cats and fish is an established stereotype that has become the basis of more than one commercial. But, in fact, fish should not be a frequent guest on the cat's table: once a week - no more. With an overabundance of fish food, kidney problems can develop, and the cat will also begin to prefer only fish products, neglecting more healthy food.

It is important to choose the right kind of fish. It should not be overly oily. And it is worth considering that many types of fish (carp, pike, bream, whitefish, smelt, minnow, chub, catfish, gukuchan, ide, herring, herring, capelin, sardinella, smelt, crucian carp, perch, tench, burbot, chebak, sprat , sprat, anchovy, roach, bream, argentina) contain the enzyme thiaminase, which destroys vitamin B1. Such fish can be consumed, but not often. But fish of the cod family should not be fed, because. it develops iron deficiency anemia and depigmentation of the coat. Salmon fish (salmon, pink salmon, trout), as well as hake, catfish, mackerel, hake, tuna, etc. are well suited to cats.

Seafood (as a treat)

Many cats enjoy eating squid, shrimp, mussels and rapans. Such food is not particularly easy for the cat's body to digest, so it should not be the rule, but the exception in the form of a treat: once or twice a month is enough.

Low-fat fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, unleavened cheese, whey, cottage cheese) are good for cats' health: they contain a lot of protein, calcium and vitamins, and also help good digestion. Fatty milk, for example, sour cream, is undesirable to use in large quantities, because. this can adversely affect the health of the pancreas.

Let's talk about milk separately. It is undesirable to give it to adult cats. From about 3 months they develop lactose intolerance. If you want to please your pet, because. he loves this product, buy special milk for cats or cream. Read.

Eggs (mandatory)

Chicken yolk, as well as quail yolk and protein should be a mandatory element of the Scottish cat's diet about 1 time per week. Chicken yolk should be given raw (if you are sure of purity) or boiled, while the protein is thrown away, because. it is not good for cats. But the quail egg can be given whole and raw.

Raw eggs are an excellent source of vitamins (in particular, vitamins A, D, E and group B), as well as calcium, phosphorus, iodine, iron and other trace elements.

Vegetables are also good for your pet: they contain fiber, which helps to avoid constipation, and vitamins. Vitamins of group B are especially important in vegetables, the deficiency of which in cats is formed very easily, since they do not accumulate excesses of this vitamin, but remove them daily. That is, every day, vitamins of group B should be supplied in sufficient quantities. Veterinary expert Maria Dorosh recommends including vegetables in your cat's diet, although this is not required.

Vegetables can be served raw or cooked. It should be taken into account that vitamins are destroyed during cooking, therefore, from the point of view of saturating the body with vitamins, it is better not to cook vegetables. But the starch of boiled vegetables is absorbed better, so boiling is recommended for cats who have problems digesting food: boiled vegetables are a more gentle option for them. As soon as digestion returns to normal, you can switch to raw and lightly cooked vegetables. To make them easier to digest, they are added in small pinches and pre-rubbed on a grater.

Particularly useful are carrots (it is better to boil), beets (you need to boil, but this product can cause diarrhea and vomiting), cucumbers (give raw), zucchini (can be boiled and given raw), pumpkin, broccoli (lightly boiled), white cabbage (its , on the one hand, they are not recommended, because it causes flatulence, on the other hand, it is an excellent prebiotic, so you can periodically add a pinch of grated cabbage).

Most often, cats refuse to eat vegetables separately, so they can be mixed with meat and poured over with meat broth to add flavor.

Cats benefit from parsley, dill, lettuce, and other green foods. Sometimes cats eat them without anything. They are sometimes played with and eaten as prey. Sometimes they prefer them instead of grass on the windowsill. Experiment.

Bran and meals (buckwheat, flax, etc.) can be added to the main diet. A pinch with food helps intestinal motility.

Dried kelp cleanses the body of toxins, helps to go to the toilet and enriches with iodine. It is enough to periodically add a pinch to food.

Vegetable oils (hemp, sesame, sea buckthorn, olive, pumpkin, but not sunflower) deliver vitamins to the body and help digestion. But we repeat, they are practically not absorbed, so it is better for them to prefer animal fats. However, many owners note positive changes in the coat when vegetable oils are added to the diet.

An important dietary supplement is fish oil (it contains essential fatty acids for the cat's body, including Omega-3 and Omega-6). It can be purchased as a supplement. Just keep in mind that fish oil quickly loses its beneficial properties after contact with air, so it’s better to buy it in the form of capsules and open one at a time before adding it to food.

Attention, life hack! It happens that the frozen meat is over, but you did not have time to prepare a new one. Then you can buy deep-frozen meat in the supermarket, defrost it and serve it to the cat.

Prohibited Products: what not to feed scottish cats

And now about what is categorically impossible.

In no case do not repeat what is shown in the video. For the sake of a funny video, the owner fed the cat with sweet ice cream.

About gluten intolerance in cats

Some people and cats suffer from gluten intolerance - the gluten of wheat, rye, oats (sprouted grass from oats is not considered) and barley. For some, gluten can cause diarrhea, for others, constipation, for others, inflammation of the intestinal walls and other unpleasant symptoms. It is not easy to make a diagnosis, because diagnostic methods are ineffective. It is difficult for people to give up gluten, because everyone loves pastries, but for cats it is very simple.

The MURKOTIKI website recommends that cat breeders make allowances for the possibility of gluten intolerance in a pet and not initially accustom it to products containing it. In particular, we are talking about wheat, because. it has more gluten. That is, no bread and pasta in the diet. In addition, it is harmful even to cats that do not have gluten intolerance.

If you are using pre-packaged foods, be aware that manufacturers have already come up with gluten-free lines. These foods are labeled “no grain”, “gluten free”, “grain free”, “gluten free” and the like. Such a line of feed is, for example, Farmina ND, 1st Choice, Acana, Orijen, Trainer. This is a super-premium and holistic class food.

In the case of natural nutrition, everything is much simpler: do not add porridge from wheat, rye, oats and barley to the meat, as well as bread. In fact, it is not recommended to do this anyway.

Diet of a sire cat

An important function of a sire cat is to pass on high-quality genetic material to future generations. Therefore, such a cat needs high-quality plentiful nutrition, rich in proteins and vitamin E, which increases fertility.

Also, food should include a lot of additional trace elements and carbohydrates, which provide the quick energy needed to build up sexual appetite and its implementation.

The diet of aging cats

Aging cats have their own diet. As a rule, its features are related to the fact that from the age of 8-12 years (each in its own way) the general activity decreases in an animal - and fewer calories are required. Usually, an aging cat and a cat spend 60-65 kilocalories per 1 kg of body weight per day, so the diet should be reduced taking into account energy costs.

The right food for an aging cat should be easy to chew and digest, but be rich in micronutrients, especially taurine, since its deficiency leads to the development of cardiomyopathy, which, for example, Scottish cats are already prone to.

If the cat has problems with teeth and gums, you need to serve ground or even liquid food.

Often, by old age, cats already have some kind of chronic diseases - the diet needs to be adjusted to take them into account.

But when a cat has become sedentary and its sexual function has faded away, food is often the only entertainment. Therefore, aging cats love to eat, although they just need to do this in limited quantities. What is the way out of the situation? How not to deprive an animal of the last joy in life? Firstly, at this time it is desirable to transfer the cat from two meals a day to meals in fractional portions, for example, 3 times a day. You can add more vegetables to food, because. their volume is larger, but the calorie content is lower. But this is only in case of irrepressible appetite.

And give the cat more affection, because. often older caudates like to eat more often also because they are paid attention at this time. Let the cat associate acts of tenderness not only with food.

If your cat, despite its age, is healthy, active and playful, then no dietary restrictions are required.

The diet of sick cats

Sick and injured cats need special nutrition, which depends on the type of pathology.With fatty liver, it is necessary to provide the cat with fractional nutrition in small portions, otherwise the disease will worsen. And if the animal has heart failure, it is recommended to transfer it to a salt-free diet (that is, not only do not add salt to foods, but also choose foods that initially contain less of their salt: for example, give up fish).

But first, you should consult with a veterinarian who will advise a specific diet in your case, because sometimes an animal suffers from two diseases at once and you need to properly combine diets.

How to feed a neutered Scottish cat

Neutered animals often suffer from less movement, and since they also lose interest in sexual hunting, food remains the only joy in life. They also disrupt the production of hormones that affect the feeling of satiety. Such animals should not be overfed, otherwise they will become obese. But it’s also not good to deprive of joy, so you need to find a middle ground: you can feed a neutered cat and a sterilized cat 2-3 times a day, but in smaller portions.

Also, the animal can be transferred to low-calorie food. If this is a natural food, add more vegetables and cereals to the meat so that the amount of fiber filling the stomach is greater. If you are feeding your cat ready-made products from the factory, choose special food for sterilized animals.

Also, in the diet of castrated and sterilized animals, there should be practically no fish, because. its use increases the risk of urolithiasis, to which Scottish cats are already prone, and even more so neutered ones.

Finally

The topic of natural feeding of cats does not end there. We have given only guidelines that will help to increase knowledge further, including with the help of our articles in the "Nutrition" section. We advise you to introduce new foods into your cat's diet gradually and see how he reacts to them. Some cats are very fond of potatoes and tolerate them well, while others have problems with them. Some animals are excellent with the kidneys, while others are embarrassed by the smell of urine - they do not even fit such an offal. Some people are allergic to chicken. So everything is individual.

If you have read this long article to the end, it means that you will succeed and you are able to absorb a lot of information for the sake of your cat. But do not rush to be afraid of the fact that it is difficult to balance nutrition. We have good news for you: it doesn’t matter if you don’t succeed in balancing nutrition correctly from the first weeks - feline organisms are mostly strong and able to adapt to any conditions, and therefore an imbalance of substances will not immediately give health problems. It takes months to accumulate them. By that time, you will have time to get the necessary knowledge and by trial and error come to the best option. Periodically visit the "Food" section and find out new information.

This article has been checked and approved by an expert felinologist, the owner of the Scottish cattery Kristal Rose*RU Elena Shabaeva. The cattery is registered with WCF. To ask an expert a question or get more information about him, go to his personal page on the site of Scottish and British cats "Murkotiki". ⇒

Scottish fold kittens (Scottish fold) have a charming appearance, good health and a very docile character. The pet will quickly get used to your home and get along with other animals without any problems. In order for the baby to feel good and please the owner every day, you need to provide him with proper care, make an ideal diet and not refuse to communicate. Under such conditions, your pet will grow into a big beautiful cat and will become your faithful friend for many years to come.

Before the appearance of the kitten in the house

Kitten care

Scottish fold kittens are easy to care for. Wool does not need special care, it is enough to comb it out once a week, it is enough to wash the eyes every 5-7 days. The only thing worth paying attention to is the care of the ears. This issue should be taken very seriously. It is the ears that are the hallmark of this cat breed, but at the same time a weak point.

Eye examination and cleaning

If the eyes are healthy, then there is no special need for washing, you just need to keep them clean. But if the eyes are inflamed, they should be washed 2-3 times a day, this can be done with plain water, a weak solution of chamomile, or a treated remedy. To do this, use a cotton swab or soft cloth. If the inflammation lasts more than a week, then you need to contact a specialist.

Ear cleaning

You need to do this procedure two to three (as often as possible) times a month.. For cleaning, use a cotton swab slightly moistened with a special liquid. The procedure must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the auricle.

This is interesting! It is better not to use cotton buds, but ordinary cotton swabs are just right. You should not twist and pull the ears, as this can cause pain to the kitten and he will be afraid of this procedure. If the ears are healthy, then there is no discharge, there may be a small amount of earwax.

The presence of a thin brown crust in the ears is an alarming sign, it indicates the presence of an ear mite. In this case, a visit to the veterinarian is indispensable. Treatment will be long with the help of a special solution. If measures are taken in time, then the prognosis is favorable.

Hair care

Bathing, washing

Scottish fold kittens should be taught to water procedures from childhood. To do this, you need to gradually moisten them with a damp towel, and then give your pet a treat so that he develops a reflex that a bath is not scary. In the future, you can safely wash the kitten. Especially active kittens are recommended to be protected in a special way before taking a bath. To do this, cover your ears with tampons. Or you can just close them with your hands to keep water out. Eyes also need protection, you can even drop a special protective oil into them, but this is not necessary.

Important! The water should be warm, about 36 degrees. Too cold water will cause hypothermia of the animal and your Scottish Fold kitten will get sick. Hot water is also harmful, because of the increased temperature, the animal's heart rate will increase and breathing will become more complicated. In the end, your pet will not tolerate uncomfortable conditions and will run away from the bathroom.

When washing a Scottish Fold kitten, be sure to use cat shampoo, and then his coat will be healthy and shiny. Means for people are not suitable, they will cause skin irritation and worsen the condition of the coat, in severe cases dermatitis is possible.

Nail clipping

Very sharp, thin claws of a kitten should be trimmed with special nippers for small animals.. The advantage of such a tool is that they give a straight cut without splitting the claw - this is very important! When caring for a kitten's claws, only the very tip is removed. In no case should a blood vessel be damaged, this will bring severe pain and can lead to the most negative consequences. In this case, a simple rule works: it is better to cut off too little than too much.

Nutrition, dietary habits

The diet of Scottish Fold kittens should be approached thoroughly. Do not worry if your Scottish Fold kitten has a poor appetite at first. This most likely came from the fact that he had not yet got used to the new place. Food should not be given directly from the refrigerator, it should be at room temperature. At the age of 2-4 months, babies are fed frequently - 5 times a day. When the kitten reaches 4-8 months, then feed him 3 times a day.

After 8 months, you need to feed 2 times a day, like an adult cat. The set of products for kittens must necessarily include meat (beef), poultry (turkey, chicken), game can only be given in boiled form. You can give eggs, but only boiled and only the yolk. From vegetables, you can give cabbage and grated carrots. For the full development of Scottish Fold kittens, it is worth giving fermented milk products.

You can also feed lop-eared kittens with class food. They contain the vitamins and minerals your pet needs in a balanced way. It is strictly forbidden to give smoked, fried and salty, as well as sausages and any human food. This will undermine the health of the developing organism of the Scottish Fold kitten.