How to improve your cat’s digestion
Cats have a sensitive digestive system. That is why it is essential to know how to improve their digestion. Not all cat foods are equally digestible. Take these recommendations into account.
Some cat foods are poorly digestible.
According to a study conducted by the University of Washington, it takes between six and eight hours for a healthy cat’s body to digest food. During that time, food travels through your digestive system, which is the organ system responsible for absorbing nutrients.
If the cat’s food is not appropriate, its digestibility is affected. The consequences can be:
- Nutritional deficiencies.
- Soft, frequent, and odorous stools.
- Digestive disorders: vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Cat food formulated from low-quality ingredients, such as animal by-products (feathers, beaks, legs, heads, intestines, etc.), are very poorly digestible. The protein they contain is not very useful for the cat’s body.
Read Also: My dog is pooping skinny poop: Here are Possible Conditions
They are feeds that usually generate greater waste in the form of feces or worse-looking feces. What the cat’s body does not use is expelled.
Food for highly digestible cats: how to recognize them
It is said that cat food has a high digestibility when the digestive system of the feline can easily convert it into substances useful for nutrition.
In short, digestibility can be defined as the ability of a food to be used by the animal’s body that consumes it.
The most digestible cat foods are those that meet these four conditions:
- Animal protein is the first ingredient on the list.
Cats are considered strict carnivores, so animal protein has to be the basis of their diet. Cat foods that do not have meat as the first ingredient are poorly digestible for cats. - The ingredients are top quality.
No one doubts that higher quality food will be more digestible. This occurs equally in human and feline food. - They do not contain animal by-products.
This could also be of interest to you: Cat & Dog Nail Scissors With LED Lights
- Although cat foods that use animal by-products are usually cheaper, it should be noted that the proteins they contain have a low biological value for the body of cats.Explained: even if a chicken beak, for example, contains many proteins, the cat’s body is not able to absorb them, so the result is low digestibility. What is even more significant is that the cat will need to eat much more of this feed to cover its nutritional requirements.
- The positive effects on digestion are visible.
The most obvious way to assess any cat food’s digestibility is to look at how the feline digests it. When trying a new brand, pay attention, and if you find that the stool size is smaller and that your cat is pooping less often than before, then you can trust the quality of the food.