The best feed for Maine Coons: advice from a veterinarian. What to feed Maine Coons?

Maine Coon is a cat that has been very popular lately. This breed differs from others in its large size, character and behavior. But it is not so easy to grow a beautiful and healthy animal. The fact is that such a cat especially needs a carefully balanced diet. The advice of experienced veterinarians, presented here, will help to choose the right food for Maine Coons.

What to feed?

Most owners of cats of this breed make a huge mistake, considering that the animal can eat any food, even the one that people eat themselves. This is not true, and such a diet can lead to big health problems. Only a properly balanced menu, preferably from natural products, will help to grow the animal without health problems, with silky wool and playful character.

The main nuance, which should be taken into account when picking up food for maine coons, is that the stomach of the representatives of this breed is rather conservative, so it is strictly forbidden to mix food types. If you began to feed your pet with natural food, then do not add artificial mixes to the menu. Also the situation is with dry food. Starting to feed the animal with a special mixture for Maine Coons, you do not need to spoil it with natural food - it will knock down the balance of minerals and vitamins.

The correct diet from childhood

The Maine Coon cat, whose price varies between 500 euros, is quite an expensive animal. Accordingly, the care for his health should be in the first place, and the correct diet of the kitten will become a guarantee of an excellent well-being for life. It should be remembered that the nutrition of a small Maine Coon is fundamentally different from that of an adult. A kitten at the age of 4 months must be fed at least 4-5 times a day, and especially large kids should eat 6 times, every 4 hours.

At this age you need to decide what you are going to feed the pet in the future: artificial mixtures or natural food. If it is dry food, then you need to gradually increase the amount of the mixture, because the kittens grow fast enough, and the famine can come much earlier. In the first few days it is better to soften the artificial food with boiled water, and only then gradually transfer the kitten to completely dry food. Choosing a natural food for Maine Coons, it should be remembered that food can be given to the animal only in raw, boiled or parenamed form.

Gradual introduction of foods into the diet

After three weeks of age, it is worth starting to wean the kitten from the mother's milk and introduce adult food into the diet. The best way to do this is raw beef. Scrape off a small piece of frozen meat, wait for it to roll back and give it to the pet. Increase the amount of food is gradually, with each day adding a serving. If the kitten does not have problems with digestion, then in a few days you can add a few low-fat creams to the menu. And in a couple of days it's worth feeding the kitten with an egg yolk. If the intestines do not have problems, then you can enter into the diet of cottage cheese and other products.

The best food for the kitten will be porridge, cooked on chicken broth and seasoned with finely crumbled boiled fillets. To avoid stomach problems, it is better to give food a warm one. By doing everything right, in a month you can see how the kitten of the Maine Coon breed has grown. The size of these animals is quite impressive, respectively, and they are worth more to feed than ordinary felids. Once a day, it is worth giving a small Maine Coon a piece of scalded beef - this will help improve the condition of the animal's teeth.

Permitted Products

The breed of Maine Coon cats is quite exceptional, and they should only be fed with properly selected food, for this purpose, the food from the hostel table will not work. Meat should be purchased only from trusted vendors and before feeding it to the animal in its raw form, it should be frozen for at least 5 days - this will destroy the parasites. Preferred varieties are rabbit, beef, turkey or chicken. You can also give offal, such as liver, heart, kidneys. But it is worth considering that the calorie content of such food is significantly lowered, therefore, portions should be increased in volume. And of course, food should not contain salt or spices. To feed meat products is better with the porridges welded on water, after all groats are necessary in a ration of an animal. But it is necessary to avoid the oatmeal, which leads to a violation of the carbohydrate balance.

Sour milk products, such as cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir or natural yoghurt without additives, must necessarily be present in the Maine Coon breed menu - the cat has a weak intestine, and such food helps to stimulate the microflora. It is worth remembering that a small fat content should be present in these products. The only thing that should be avoided is milk, because it is poorly digested by such animals. It is necessary to introduce raw or boiled vegetables into the diet, such as cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers, beets and others. They should be mixed with meat instead of porridge in the proportion of 1 to 2. Necessarily need to add to the food chicken or quail eggs.

Prohibited products

Not recommended fish - a large amount of fluoride can cause urolithiasis, especially with regard to castrated animals. Sea grades can become an exception, not more often than once a week. It is strictly forbidden to give maine-kunam chicken or fish bones - this leads to damage to the stomach and esophagus. Because of the fat content, pork is not suitable. Under the ban fall fried, salted, smoked, pepper dishes, sausage, canned food. Also, you can not give cats sweet, such as cakes, sweets, chocolate, and so on. From vegetables, potatoes should be avoided, since starch is not digested by the intestines of such animals. Do not add to the Maine Coon menu such beans as beans, peas or soy.

Artificial food for Maine Coons

Ready-made artificial mixtures are a huge time-saving. But for the Maine Coon cats, cheap and widely advertised fodder such as Whiskas, Friskis, or Kitiket will not do. This is a completely substandard product in which for the filling with protein, skins, bones or feathers are used, and such nutrition can lead to various diseases. Dry mix should be purchased only from trusted producers using by-products for filling, for example Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Hills, Nutro, Iams, Eukanuba. These companies specialize in Maine Coon fodder. Wool, appetite, health and playfulness of the animal that feeds on such mixtures are worthy of praise. But you do not need to mix feeds of different manufacturers, because this can be brought down carefully calculated balance of minerals, vitamins and nutrients.