Growing up, seeing stray cats loitering around hawker centres picking up food scraps off the floor is a common sight. As a result, my impression of cats is that they eat anything. Therefore, when I had Ah Mao in 2005, I didn’t pay any attention to her nutritional needs. I thought commercial cat food from supermarkets was already an upgrade from our leftovers.

Thinking back, the severe lack in knowledge about the nutritional needs of cats had caused devastating effects on Ah Mao’s health in her later years. I used to buy kibbles and cat treats from the supermarket and give them to her without limit. I mean, how could I say no to those big, round pitiful eyes and very often, to her threatening growls and nips at my elbows. Never did I realise the harm I was doing to her. The treats were high in sodium which was bad for her kidneys. It didn’t help that I fed her purely kibbles as well. The lack of moisture in her food coupled with her bad habit of not drinking water caused her kidneys to fail.

Actually, I used to give her a mix of wet food and dry food. However, she suffered a bad allergic reaction once to a certain brand of wet food. The allergy made her vomit so badly that there were traces of blood in her vomit. Since that scare, I put her solely on kibbles. Two years later, she was diagnosed with kidney failure. I realised my mistake of feeding the wrong type of food too late since damage to the kidneys is irreversible.

Based on what I have gone through, my advice is that you feed your kitties the correct type of food from a young age. Notable brands include Royal Canin and Hills. For Royal Canin, they have a range of kibbles catered to different ages. Do check with your vet which range is suitable for your cat.

After Ah Mao’s diagnosis, she had to be on a renal diet which is sold only in veterinary clinics since it required a prescription. Both Royal Canin and Hills produce canned food for renal patients. Royal Canin renal diet comes in pouches. They have two flavours (chicken and fish). Hills renal diet has two types; pate and stew. The pate comes in a big can while the stew comes in a much smaller can. Purina also has a renal range but Ah Mao doesn’t like it. There might be some other brands in the market that sells renal range as well like the Japanese Aixia but it all depends on whether your cat likes it. Cats who are ill tend to be more picky. You can also check with your clinic if they have more flavours that are not on display. They might be able to help you place an order with their supplier.

Take note that renal diet is ridiculously expensive. Each Royal Canin renal pouch costs around $4 while the Hills kidney care (K/D) canned food costs about $6 for the bigger can and almost $4 for the smaller one. In a day, my cat will eat around 1.5 pouches or small cans or 3/4 of a big can. That is about $5-6 per day per cat. So, think wisely before you start stuffing your cat with junk. It’ll come back to bite you one day!

If your cat is on a normal diet, you can check out brands like Wellness Core. Royal Canin also sells wet food for cats. For Ah Mao, we were advised to restrict her protein levels for canned food to lesser than 10% so that it will be less taxing on her kidneys. Less protein means less need for the excretion of it through the filtration mechanism of the kidney, thereby preserving kidney function and slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease. However, muscle mass will start to break down if the protein intake is too low. It would be best if you could check with your doctor the appropriate level of protein required by your kitty depending on its age and medical condition. Quite dumb of me but I only came to find out recently that pouches which indicates for 7+ doesn’t mean they are only for cats which are 7 years old. It actually means that they are meant for cats who are aged 7 and above! So actually there is still quite a bit of variety for senior cats.

Making sure there is a variety of flavours is important but taking note of the amount of food your cat eats is equally crucial. All cat food should have a feeding guide on its packaging. Based on your cat’s weight, you can check the amount of food your cat should eat to prevent over feeding or under feeding. It is also good to keep a baseline of your cat’s food intake as a form of reference for comparison in times where you find that your cat’s appetite seems to be off.

If the portion of food is too big and your cat is unable to finish it in one meal, you can split the food up into smaller portions and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. Take a portion out for each feed and warm it up in the microwave for roughly 12 – 15 seconds. Any longer than that, Ah Mao and Ning will reject the food likely because it is overcooked. Warm food may whip up your cat’s appetite.

If you are considering preparing home cooked food for your kitty, do make sure that it should only be used as a supplement only as it does not contain vital nutrients like taurine which your cat needs. I feel that feeding Ning with home cooked food increases her appetite as she loves home cooked food. Usually, I would boil a slice of Batang fish, mash it up and give it to her in between feedings on alternate days. Since she licks the broth while eating the fish, it would increase her water intake for the day. You can prepare home cooked food for your kitty as well as long as you make sure not to add any form of condiments to it. Try not to give them raw food since it would run the risk of them having parasites.

For every new brand, flavour or type of food that you are giving to your cat for the first time, do test out a small portion first to see if your cat is allergic to it. Allergic reactions may include a swollen face, redness/itch on the skin, loose stools, vomiting, difficulty in breathing. Sometimes, allergic reactions might happen overtime. Therefore, do pay more attention to any changes in your cat. If you do note a change, you know where to find the source!

Love,
TG