Is it possible to feed a cat raw foods?

What kind of cheese can you give your cat?

Cheese is produced from milk with the help of coagulating enzymes, various bacteria and mold. Therefore, if a cat has lactose intolerance, then it will not be able to eat this food. However, due to the way they are processed, cheese products are easier to digest than milk.

The nutritional value

They contain a lot of proteins (up to 25%), polyunsaturated fatty acids (up to 60%) and microelements (up to 3.5%), especially calcium and phosphorus. In addition, the product contains substances that stimulate appetite and stimulate the release of digestive enzymes. Cheese contains a large amount of vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B12, C, D, E, PP. Its composition is similar to milk and includes valuable substances in the same proportions.

Because of this, cheese in general can be given to a cat, as well as fermented milk products (cottage cheese and kefir). However, this product contains too much fat (on average 40-50%), so it can only be used as a treat, and not as the main component of the daily diet.

Can cats eat cheese?

Almost all types of cheese (with the exception of soy cheese) are produced from milk using special enzymatic substances with coagulating properties, bacterial microorganisms and molds.

If your pet is lactose intolerant, cheese should not be present in its diet in any form. It is worth noting that the way cheese is processed allows most cats to consume cheese, as opposed to milk.

Find out why cats can't have milk>>>

Various types of cheese contain a lot of healthy proteins, saturated fatty acids and microelements. Cheeses are especially rich in calcium and phosphorus. These dairy products contain specific substances that increase appetite and stimulate the digestive organs to produce enzymatic substances.

In addition to microelements, proteins and fats, cheese is rich in fat and water-soluble vitamins. Most high-quality cheeses contain vitamins A, D, E, as well as B1, B2, B12, C and PP. The inclusion of valuable substances in hard and soft cheeses is equivalent to milk.

Despite the apparent benefits, giving a cat cheese, especially in large quantities, is not recommended, unlike cottage cheese and kefir. Cheese contains excess fat, which negatively affects the overall functioning of the body, especially the functioning of the liver and pancreas.

Cheese should not be given to a cat every day, but only as a treat and if there is no lactose intolerance.

It has been proven that cats are smart animals and will not eat cheese if it poses potential harm to their body, and in particular their digestion. At the same time, the smell of cheese arouses the animal’s appetite, so cats often beg for tidbits from the owner.

You should not give cheese that has been smoked. The danger lies in the high content of carcinogenic substances that accumulate during the combustion process. The smoking process in modern conditions is carried out in the vast majority of cases not naturally, but with the help of chemical compounds added at the time of fermentation of the cheese. This speeds up the entire cooking process. Products obtained as a result of such actions have a negative effect on the hepatorenal system, provoking the development of urolithiasis, liver cirrhosis or malignant neoplasms.

Modern cheese producers resort to cunning, replacing expensive animal fats with cheaper, vegetable ones. This allows not only to reduce the cost of cheese production, but also to increase its shelf life. Such products are not valuable for the body, since the nutritional value is lower, and the harm to the body is higher. Unscrupulous producers of cheese and dairy products use preservatives, various stabilizers and dyes during the manufacturing process. These components cause irreparable harm to the body, sometimes causing the development of a food allergic reaction.

If hard cheese contains components such as milk powder, soy, flavor enhancers, stabilizers, preservatives, vegetable fats and dyes, this product must be excluded from your diet and not given to your pet.

Cheese can be dangerous for a pet's body due to the content of large amounts of spices, salt and fats. The following facts prove the danger of frequent consumption of cheese by a cat:

• High percentage of salt. Most cheeses contain about 5% salt by weight; in some types of cheese the salt content exceeds 7%. Domestic cats, especially males, are prone to developing urolithiasis. This is due to the structural features of their genitourinary system - the urethral canal is tortuous and narrow. It is important to monitor your cat's diet, especially if he has undergone castration. Food for such cats should contain a low percentage of salt, and cheese contains a lot of it.
• High percentage of fat. Good, high-quality cheese contains about 65-70% fat of animal origin. Under natural conditions, such fat content is not typical for products. Therefore, when a cat eats cheese, the pancreas and liver structures suffer, which are not ready to process such a large amount of fat. If an animal experiences stool upset after eating cheese, then this product must be excluded from the diet.
• Additives and spices. Cheese manufacturers, even the highest quality ones, want to diversify their products, so they add spices of both plant and synthetic origin. The most harmless are caraway seeds, nuts, and raisins. If there are emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners and flavor enhancers, cheese consumption should be avoided. Chemicals often cause serious disturbances in the functioning of the animal’s body.

In an attempt to protect the product in order to give it to a pet, owners come up with various methods. Some people try to freeze the cheese and then give the thawed pieces to the cat, or pour boiling water over it. It is not necessary. Apart from getting a tasteless mass, the owners will achieve nothing.

Cheese, if possible, should be given raw. The bacteria that cat owners try to destroy when freezing or boiling cheese do not pose a danger to the body.

Classification

There are many types of cheeses based on the method of preparation:

1. Fermented milk products . They are obtained from skim milk, which is subjected to the action of lactic acid culture. They often add cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and butter. Spices may include cocoa, onions, coffee, chocolate and vanillin. Cheeses without additives (with cottage cheese or milk) are allowed to be given to cats, but all others are not allowed, since spices often cause allergies and poisoning.
2. Serum . It is made from whey, which is formed after the cheese-making procedure (that is, from recycled materials). Because of this, they contain a lot of albumin and relatively little fat - 15-25%. The best option for a cat would be Adyghe cheese due to its quality, lack of spices, dangerous additives and low price. This product is rich in vitamins and microelements; most of them contain 15-25% of the animal’s total daily requirement for these substances in 100 grams.
3. Molds . These are cheeses that have been exposed to various molds, most often from the genus Penicillium. Their fat content is average - 25-35%, no spices or additives are added, since the taste is already good due to the action of mold. For these reasons, moldy cheeses can be fed to cats, but the first time you should give them a little, as an allergic reaction to the fungi is possible.
4. Smoked . In the Russian Federation, the most common are suluguni and sausage cheese. Smoking imparts a special taste due to processing at high temperatures. After this, the cheese is dehydrated, saturated with bacteriostatic, preservative substances and carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons. This product should not be given to cats due to the high content of salts and preservatives.
5. Rennets . Produced from milk under the action of rennet - rennin. All of them have a fairly high fat content - 40-50%, which is why they should not be given to pets often. Among rennet, only hard and soft cheeses are suitable for feeding cats. Brine products should not be given to animals due to the large amount of salt and spices in the composition.

What kind of cheese should you not feed your cat?

A cat will not eat cheese if it is harmful to it. At the same time, she can beg for it, since the smell and taste are sometimes very different. Because of this, it is impossible to know how appetizing a product is by its aroma. A pet may ask for foods that are inedible for it, but in most cases it will not eat them.

Smoked cheeses should be completely excluded from the diet, as they may contain dangerous carcinogens. In addition, modern smoking occurs not so much due to temperature, but due to the action of chemicals that are added to the starter to speed up the process. Such products are harmful to the liver and kidneys.

In addition, some manufacturers replace milk fats with vegetable fats. Firstly, this makes the product cheaper, and secondly, it increases its shelf life. However, such fats do not have such high nutritional value and cause great harm to the liver. In addition, some cheeses contain preservatives, dyes and stabilizers that can cause an allergic reaction.

Fish oil in the diet of cats

Can cats be given vodka?

Is it possible to give a cat valerian?

In general, it is necessary to exclude products containing:

• powdered milk;
• stabilizers;
• soy;
• flavoring additives;
• dyes;
• vegetable oil;
• preservatives.

In what form can cats be given meat, offal, eggs?

Not all types of meat are good for cats. Experts recommend feeding the animal chicken, turkey, lean parts of beef and lamb, rabbit, and veal. Pork, duck, goose, and excessively fatty meat are contraindicated for cats. It is advisable to buy products from trusted places, and be sure to ask for veterinary reports (without them, meat cannot be sold at all).

After purchasing, it is recommended to place it in the freezer for several days. Before feeding, scald with boiling water or cook a little.

The diet should also contain by-products. The most beneficial food for cats is liver. Unlike meat, it is recommended to give offal to your pet boiled. Chicken or beef liver should be boiled or well frozen, and scalded with boiling water before feeding. The first option is preferable, since the liver may contain helminth eggs and many harmful substances. Raw offal can also cause indigestion in cats, such as constipation or diarrhea.

Eggs also help provide the animal’s body with protein. There is no need to feed your cat raw eggs, as this can lead to salmonellosis. Cats eat boiled protein with pleasure. They also love yolk, but the quantity should be reasonable and you shouldn’t overdo it.

Chicken heads are not very healthy, but boiled chicken necks should be given. You can also offer your pet kidneys, hearts, and stomachs.

Cats do not need sinews, bones and other waste. Tubular bones can damage the animal's digestive tract. Meat should be given in the form of boneless fillet.

Cats can also have fish. This is also a useful and necessary protein for these animals. However, in the diet of castrated cats, the content of fish should be kept to a minimum. The fact is that this product is rich in phosphorus, and an excess of this element in the body of a castrated or sterilized cat provokes the development of urolithiasis.

Veterinarians recommend feeding cats sea fish.

River varieties contain more small bones and are more often infected with many types of helminths, most of which are dangerous for cats.

Why cheese can be dangerous

Cheeses can be dangerous for many reasons. The greatest harm comes from salt, fat and spices:

1. Cheeses contain a lot of salt - 1.5-2.5% of the total weight, sometimes up to 7%. Cats are predisposed to urolithiasis, which is caused by narrow and tortuous urinary tracts. They must exclude salt from their diet, and cheese contains it in increased quantities.
2. The amount of fat reaches 60-70% . Such an unnaturally large amount of fatty acids does not occur in nature, so the liver and pancreas of cats are not adapted to digest such products. Why cheeses can cause digestive upset.
3. Spices and various additives are added to many cheeses . At best, they will be of plant origin (cumin and others). But in most situations these include chemical antioxidants, thickeners, preservatives, dyes, emulsifiers and other substances. All these compounds can cause an allergic reaction.

What meat is healthier to give to a cat?

Raw meat is good for your cat's health. It contains all the amino acids and proteins necessary for the animal and ensures the proper functioning of internal organs and systems. Also, in its raw form, the product is much easier to digest by the pet’s stomach, and therefore the cat does not risk getting diseases of the digestive system.

It is strictly forbidden to give your cat fried and smoked meat. Such products will only harm the health of the animal . There is nothing useful in them for the cat, but they cause irritation of the stomach and liver. Also, if the pancreas is weak, it may also suffer.

How to keep cheese safe

It is impossible to make cheese safe without decomposing it into a tasteless paste. Cooking or freezing is aimed at destroying bacteria, which do not pose a danger in these products. Mold is present, but it causes problems in the form of allergic reactions in only too few animals. Much more often, lactose is the cause of problems.

Cheese is dangerous due to a large amount of fat, spices and salt, which are not destroyed when cooled. The damaging effect of freezing is based on the expansion of water, which ruptures microorganisms as it turns into ice. However, there is too little water in cheeses, and most products do not contain any bacteria.

Prolonged cooking can decompose fats, but this will only happen along with the destruction of all vitamins and proteins, which reduces the nutritional value of the product. As a result of prolonged cooking in cheese, most of its elements are destroyed, which is why it loses its shape and taste.

Cheese is given exclusively in its raw form; it cannot be cooked. This product is also not prepared in any way. At one time, you can give your pet a small cube no larger than a centimeter in size. Cheese is used as a treat, that is, it is added to the animal’s diet no more than once a week. You can feed it to adult pets and kittens older than six months. Before giving it for the first time, you need to make sure that the cat is not allergic to lactose (give her a little milk).

How to test a kitten for lactose intolerance

Kittens like the taste of milk and cheese, but can they be included in complementary foods? In the first months of life, feeding kittens with milk and fermented milk products does not create any serious problems. As you get older, you may have difficulty digesting lactose, which can lead to stomach upset or diarrhea. Therefore, only fermented milk products containing less milk sugar are left in the diet of adult cats.

Complete lactose intolerance is rare in cats. Therefore, problems with feeding kittens cheese arise when there is an insufficient amount of enzymes necessary for the absorption of milk sugar. To ensure that your pet does not have digestive difficulties after eating a treat and does not spend time in the litter box, you should make sure in advance that you are not lactose intolerant.

To check, just feed the kitten a small amount of cheese and watch the body’s response. If he shows no signs of discomfort and does not use the litter box more often than usual, then his digestive system is successfully dealing with lactose. Only in this case can cheese and other fermented milk products be included in the complementary feeding diet.