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So you have a new kitten — congratulations! You’re about to embark on a pet ownership journey that could span several decades. But if you’ve never owned a cat or kitten before, you may have questions about how to keep your kitten healthy and thriving. Use our guide to get started, and welcome to pet parenthood.
When you choose a veterinarian, you’re choosing a partner in your kitten’s health care. Scheduled vaccinations and yearly examinations mean that you’ll see your veterinarian on a regular basis, so choose wisely. When researching veterinary clinics for your cat, make sure to do the following:
Owners should have their cats spayed or neutered unless they plan to show or breed them. Veterinarians advise spaying or neutering by at least 6 months of age. Consider the following:
Each year, millions of cats are euthanized because the new cat population far exceeds the number of homes that can be found for them. Here’s why you should consider spaying or neutering your kitten:
While we hope your kitten experiences few, if any, health issues over the course of her life, it’s smart to familiarize yourself with common cat ailments. Use our guide to some of the most common medical issues that can affect kitten health. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to notice when your kitten isn’t feeling well.
Most common in warm spring and summer months, these pinhead-size insects can be active all year long. Fleas can jump onto your cat, lay their eggs, breed, and spread to your furniture and to you, looking for blood. In addition to causing discomfort and scratching in many cats, fleas can transmit parasitic or infectious diseases, including tapeworms. A severe flea infestation may, in turn, cause anemia (low red blood cell count) and/or allergic dermatitis, a skin allergy characterized by itching and irritation. Though some cats become irritable and scratch, others have no visible signs of discomfort.
Luckily, flea prevention treatments are numerous and easy to give:
Hairballs are tube-shaped, brown masses of hair fibers. When cats clean themselves, they swallow fur. Because hair isn’t digestible, it either passes through and ends up in the litter box or it is vomited.
Cats that pass hairballs more than once a week or that pass foul-smelling hairballs may have a serious underlying health problem. See your veterinarian if your cat experiences frequent hairballs.
Here’s how to help prevent hairballs in your kitten or cat:
Feline lower urinary tract disease is a potentially fatal, painful inflammation of the lower urinary tract that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, diet, decreased water consumption or urine retention.
Symptoms include blood in the urine, difficult and frequent urination (often in small quantities), inappropriate urination, lack of energy and loss of appetite.
You can help your cat maintain proper urinary acidity and magnesium levels through a properly balanced diet that helps promote urinary tract health.
High fibre cat food has become a mainstay for many cats with gastrointestinal problems. But why is fibre so crucial for cats?
Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that isn't digested by a cat's gastrointestinal tract. It is important for cat health because it provides bulk to move food through. Some types of fibre can be fermented (broken down by bacteria) in the system. This process creates short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are an important energy source for the cells lining the intestinal tract.
Thus, understanding the various types of fibre and when to include fibre in a cat's nutrition plan is crucial. High-fibre cat food often contains a combination of soluble and insoluble fibres that aid gastrointestinal health and improve stool quality. Some of these fibre elements are also known as prebiotics, which are nutrients (mostly fermentable fibres) that help the good bacteria in the intestines grow.
Soluble fibre for cats, such as gums and pectins, are the best at absorbing water. These fibres are typically highly fermentable and provide the required energy source. Adding such soluble fibres to your cat’s diet can help it maintain a healthy colonic mucosa and boost immune function in the lower intestine.
Insoluble fibres, such as lignin or cellulose, have a variety of therapeutic properties and can be utilised in your cat’s meal to promote its gastrointestinal health.
Today, people are more aware of fibre and its role in their diet. Studies showing the beneficial effects of higher fibre levels in humans influence the way many people think about their own food and that of their pets. Some manufacturers now apply the recommendations of human nutritionists and make high-fibre diets for cats, but cats have a much shorter digestive tract than we do. And unlike humans, cats are carnivorous, so their nutritional needs are better satisfied with meat rather than plant matter. Therefore, cats have different dietary needs than humans. For more than 60 years, companion animal nutritionists at IAMS™ have been studying diets to meet the special nutritional needs of cats.
Furthermore, fibre-rich cat food benefit cats suffering from GI illnesses of the large intestine. Fibrous food can assist in preserving their GI motility and water balance. This is turn helps prevent constipation and diarrhea in cats.
IAMS Company research shows the optimal crude fibre level for healthy cat’s ranges from 1.4% to 3.5%. At these levels, nutrient breakdown is maximised. In unique situations, such as hairballs, higher fibre levels may be beneficial.
An important characteristic of fibre is its fermentability, or how well it can be broken down by bacteria in the intestine. This breakdown produces short-chain fatty acids, which provide energy to the intestines. Fibre varies in fermentability. Fibre sources used in pet foods include cellulose, which is poorly fermentable; beet pulp, which is moderately fermentable; and gums and pectin, which can be highly fermentable. Research has shown that moderate levels of moderately fermentable fibre, such as beet pulp, provide the benefits of energy for the intestinal lining and bulk, without the negative effects of excessive stool or gas and, therefore, are beneficial in cat diets.
High moisture, protein, and minimum carbohydrate matter are all key ingredients in high-fibre cat diets. Here are some benefits of high-fibrous food for your cat:
Cats with medical issues can also greatly benefit from high-fibre foods. For instance, high-fibre wet cat food might help overweight cats in reducing overeating and lowering their risk of obesity. What’s more is, adding fibrous food to your cat’s meal will also help your pet eliminate more nitrogen through their stool, thus sparing the kidneys. In fact, many dietary fibres inhibit nutrient absorption qualities, which help to lessen the rate at which the GI tract assimilates glucose, thereby keeping the blood sugar levels stable.
High levels of poorly fermentable fibre are used in some weight-reduction pet foods to dilute the calories in a serving. IAMS Company research shows that high fibre in cat food can make it harder to digest other nutrients in the meal and, in turn, reduce the nutritional quality of a feline’s diet. Your cat making more trips to the litter box can be a result.
Low-fibrous food contains nutrients such as electrolytes and B-vitamins that aid recuperation in cats. This type of food is usually recommended by veterinarians for cats who are prone to having a quick onset of GI disturbance. Therefore, when choosing a meal for your cat, always visit a veterinarian. If your cat is on a high-fibre diet, their veterinarian should keep an eye on them to ensure that their fibre-responsive symptoms are under control.
When choosing a pet food, fibre is an important consideration, but remember that the needs of cats are not the same as those of humans. A moderate level of moderately fermentable fibre, such as beet pulp, provides proven nutritional benefits for cats. Cat diets containing high levels of poorly fermentable fibre dilute calories and deprive cats of the nutrients they need.
All IAMS products are made with levels of moderately fermentable fibre needed to promote intestinal health. And all IAMS foods, such as IAMS ProActive Health™ Adult Original with Chicken, contain the moderately fermentable fibre system, which is the exclusive property of IAMS Company and is protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,616,569 for Pet Food Products Containing Fermentable Fibres and Process for Treating Gastrointestinal Disorders.
