DOES KITTEN FOOD MAKE CATS FAT? SECRETS AND ADVICE

Does kitten food make cats fat? Well, this is a good question, especially for my own cat, who really likes kitten food. I can’t keep him away, So let’s find out the answer to this question.

Kitten food is rich in nutrients like proteins, taurine, fats, and other essential elements for kittens to grow. When adult cats regularly eat kitten food, they may gain weight and become fat, especially if they do not exercise or do enough physical activities.

Let’s see how kitten food can make adult fats in the long run.

DOES KITTEN FOOD MAKE CATS FAT?

Kitten food is made purposely to help kittens grow. Kittens are very active, and their bodies need enough nutrients to grow every day for around a year. Therefore, kittens’ food is made mainly from fats, proteins, and fatty acids necessary to develop a tiny kitten.

A grown-up cat may be way more sedentary and may like the couch more than spending time running around the house. Of course, it depends on the type of cat; a very active cat may not necessarily gain weight if he is eating kitten food.

Some cats owner purposely feed kitten food to their cat to give him additional nutrients or gain weight if they are worried their cat is too skinny or needs extra nutrients.

So it can go two ways, or there is a kitten in the house, and the older cat is stealing the food from him, or a cat can be fed on purpose kitten food to provide more nutrients and have him gain weight.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KITTEN FOOD AND ADULT CAT FOOD

There is a complete study done on this subject by theidlecat.com. You can check it out; however, the main difference is in the following:

• More Protein
• More calories
• More fat ( over 21% more then adult cat food, this may be the main culprit for weight gain)
• Taurine

Those elements are higher in dry and wet kitten food. So, unfortunately, prices are also higher for kitten food than adult cat food. In any case, whether you are buying food formulated for kittens or adult cats, the primary consideration should be the quality of the food.

Even food formulated for adult cats can cause weight gains if the ingredients are cheap and low quality, such as colorants, additives, fillers, carns, starch, and more.

It is always a good idea to check with the veterinarian if you want to fatten your cat about the best strategy. You can for sure give him more nutrients using kitten food. Still, you may also want to check if health problems lead to your cat not gaining weight.

HOW TO GET YOUR CAT TO GAIN WEIGHT

Let’s see what we can do to get a cat to gain weight. Of course, a previous health check should be done first to rule out health problems.

Here are some excellent tips:

1. Prevent one cat to starve the others: If you have more then one cat, you may want to check if the other cats let him eat. It may be that the other cats being more astute, do not let him eat and leave him only leftovers.
2. Leave some food out for your cats: Cats sometimes like to eat a bit of food more often than 3 or 4 times a day, so maybe it is good to leave some food in their bowl to eat when they are hungry.
3. Food should be in a place they can reach easily: Cats can eat less or not at all if they can’t access their food or if they are scared of the location of the food bowl.
4. Wet food contains more nutrients overall, and if your cat is used only to dry food, it can be a good idea to feed him some wet food. Even though dry food is higher is cards, he may eat a bit more and add some fats in the diet.
5. Try to give him some chicken or fish once in a while, I used to get frozen fish, boil it and give it to my cat and he really likes it. He is very picky. Maybe your cat likes similar things, try to find what he may like with some testing.

Usually, indoor cats have the opposite problem, meaning they are too fat. However, there are always exceptions, and here we have some excellent tips to get your cat to gain some weight.

CANNED FOOD VS. DRY CAT FOOD: WHICH ONE IS BETTER?

There is a huge debate around this topic; it is better you understand the difference between those two types of food, and based on what your cat needs, you feed him accordingly.

Dry food

• Economical
• Easy to administer, you can leave it in the bowl for a long time, and you are good to go
• It is energy-dense, there are more calories in this type of food
• Has about 10% moisture content
• It helps to prevent dental disease

Canned/wet food

• It is more expensive
• It Doesn’t last long time outside
• Is less energy-dense than dry food
• Has up to 78% moisture content
• Tends to have more fat, protein, and taurine

Overall observe your cat, and see what he may need. If you are in doubt, ask the veterinarian.

DOES WET CAT FOOD MAKE CATS FAT?

Usually, overweight cats should be given wet food instead of dry food. Therefore this type of food should help weight balance or even help a fat cat lose weight. Again wet food has lower carbs content, and it is closer to the typical cats’ diet, which is based on protein.

Naturally, they should do well with wet food rich in proteins rather than following a diet with high carbs; in addition, wet food contains a higher amount of water. Therefore it helps to keep cats hydrated.

If a cat has diabetes, a diet of canned high-protein, low-carb cat food can resolve their diabetes or help in doing so.

Read also: CAN ADULT CATS EAT KITTEN FOOD? WHAT IS BEST, TIPS AND ADVICE

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