Providing a nutritious diet is vital to help maintain a healthy cat. When a cat is first acquired, it is best initially to continue with its usual food until you decide which diet to choose. Always avoid sudden or frequent changes of diet as this can result in diarrhoea. At your cat’s first health check, Pype Hayes Veterinary Centre will be able to advise you about a suitable diet. This can then be gradually introduced so that after 7-10 days it has replaced the original diet. It is possible to feed a home-produced diet, but it can be difficult to ensure that it is well balanced. Mostly, prepared pet foods are used and these can provide the important aspects of a balanced diet i.e. nutrition, palatability, digestibility, suitable energy density, safety and convenience. There is a huge variety in the texture, cost and nutritional value of different foods available and it is advisable to discuss this with Pype Hayes Veterinary Centre. To some extent, the choice of presentation of the food e.g. dry, canned or semi-moist is down to personal preference. If your cat only eats some of the food at the first visit, it may be more hygienic to feed a dry food. Cats have a higher protein requirement than many other mammals and several other special nutrient requirements. Therefore, it is not suitable to feed them dog diets. Most cats are normal adults and the majority of foods are supplied for this life stage. However, there are several circumstances when they are not suitable:

1. Kittens have very different nutritional requirements to adult cats and different diets are available for their needs.

2. Older cats have requirements that are different again and appropriate preparations are available. Some brands provide diets for all life stages and it is easy to change to the relevant product of the same brand as your cat ages.

3. Pregnancy and lactation also bring changing dietary needs and food for these circumstances can be discussed with Pype Hayes Veterinary Centre.

4. Obesity can be a problem among the cat population and special diets are available to help control this.

5. ‘Prescription Diets’ are occasionally prescribed. These are used to help treat certain conditions, but are only available on veterinary advice.

Always use separate feeding equipment for your cat and ensure that clean, fresh water is always available. Do not give cats milk, it frequently causes diarrhoea. It is commonly assumed that cats need a variety in their diet. This is not the case and a cat will eat the same food happily day after day for many years.