How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
Cat
General Advice
Diet and Nutrition
01/05/2023
Ensuring your cat is eating the correct food is critical to ensuring a healthy cat. At Pet.co.nz we have a great range of cat foods that our team will be able to recommend. These foods have had years of research and development put into them to ensure that they give your pet the best balanced nutrition out there, so choosing a premium cat food will be a decision you won’t regret!
Here is some guidance on choosing the right food for your cat.
Firstly – how old is your cat? Cats have different needs depending on what age they are, so making sure you select the correct life stage of your cat is really important to make sure the food supplies all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your cat will need.
| Cats’s Life Stage | Kitten | Adult Stage | Senior Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-12 Months | 1-7 Years | 7 Years Plus |
Breed Specific Brands
Some food manufacturers have breed specific diets that have been specifically formulated for a particular breed of cat. There has been some amazing research into kibble shape to make sure it’s the easiest shape kibble for your cat.
Wet vs. Dry Food
Mixing a wet cat food with your cat’s dry food is a great way to help keep up their hydration as wet foods has a good percentage of water. We have many varieties of wet cat food available for your pet and would recommend a mixture of wet and dry food, to complete your cat’s well balanced diet.
Some people feed dry food in the morning and wet food at night; this is also a good way to get to get the hydration.
What to do if you have a fussy cat
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Some cats are naturally fussy, especially when it comes to dry cat food - we recommend a couple of tips to encourage your cat to eat their food.
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Wet the dry food with a sprinkle of water, this can release some of the smells from the ingredients.
There are a couple of great toppings that we sell at Pet.co.nz – liver sprinkles is one and the other is mixing in some wet food into the dry food to encourage them to eat.
Premium pet food - a great choice for your cat
At Pet.co.nz we recommend that you feed your cat a premium diet, there are some great reasons why:
- Guaranteed analysis of ingredients – your food will be the same every time, this will minimize any upset stomachs from a change in formula
- Smaller portions needed to get the right amount of Nutrience for your pet
- Smaller stools
- A complete diet – there is no need for additional supplements
Price per day calculator - a misconception that premium pet foods are more expensive!
The initial outlay may be more expensive, but it generally doesn't work out much more expensive in the long run. The reason for this is that the cat food is more nutrient dense, so you don’t need to feed as much. The best way to work this out is to calculate the price per feed.
Cost of feed per day calculator – Work out and enter in the amount of food per day you should be feeding your pet, enter in the amount of food in the bag and the cost of the bag. This will give you a price per feed calculation.
Changing your cat's food
Sometimes it is necessary to change your cat food. Your cat may have gone off their food or may have a condition that you need to change their diet.
If your cat is doing well on the food they are eating we encourage you to stay on the current food, this is because it can cause upset stomach and a bit of stress for your cat. So unless there is a good reason to change we recommend you stay on the same food as it takes a cat body up to 30 days to adjust to the new food.
If you do need to change the food, here is the best way to transition your cat over to the new food. This technique will help you to minimize any upset stomach, every cat is different so we would suggest you keep a close eye on the cat for any signs of an upset stomach and if you are at all concerned please email us on helpdesk@pet.co.nz or phone us on 0800 746 747.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Food | 90% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% | 0% |
| New Food | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
Custom or special needs diets
Just like humans cats can need a little help with certain special needs and ailments at times. We have a great range of foods that help to cover the following needs in your cats.
- Healthy joints
- Weight management
- Oral care
- Sensitive skin and coat
- Sensitive stomach
Add these in on the ‘find the right product for your pet search engine’ and we will help you to choose the right food to help your cat’s special needs.