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Living Quarters: Once you have taken your kitten home, you must decide where it will sleep. A house hold pet needs only a padded box or basket to call its own. Put the box in an out-of-the-way corner of a room. A cat kept outdoors requires a tight, dry house to protect it from wind, cold and rainy weather. The house should be big enough for your cat to stand up and turn around easily. The house should be built for easy cleaning, and treated with insecticides to control
parasites. Fresh, clean water should always be available.
Choosing the Right Cat Food: Contrary to some advertising promotions, cats do not need flavor variety in their food, but it is good to vary the menu occasionally, so it doesn’t become addicted to one particular food. Although cats are classified as carnivores, they do not do well on an exclusive diet of meat. Today cats still require a balanced diet, and the best cat foods provide a lot of different ingredients, carefully supplemented with all the required amino acids (protein), fats, and carbohydrates, as well as essential vitamins and minerals. A high quality diet of 80% dry food is recommended. Commercial foods are far superior to diets composed of ingredients found in our kitchens. You can ask your veterinarian for the best-recommended food for your cat.
Dry Cat Food: Most dry foods contain eight to ten percent water and are a mixture of cereals, meat by-products, and vegetable protein (soy) combined with vegetable and animal fats, vitamins, and minerals. Cats like dry food better because of its content. They also feel full sooner because dry food is bulky. To accustom a cat to self-feeding, keep the cat’s pan full of dry food.
Semi-Moist Foods: These foods contain 25 to 30 percent water, and are balanced with high-protein. Although they look much like meat, they are composed mostly of meat by-products, soybean, cereals, and chemical agents, which are added to prevent spoilage and to keep the product moist. Don’t use for self-feeding; cats may overeat.
Canned Moist Foods: This type of food contains 70 to 80 percent water, and is highly palatable. Moist foods should not be used for self-feeding, and they do not promote good tooth and gum health.
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