Bengals, as an active and energetic breed, may have increased protein requirements. Therefore, a cat food that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates would be ideal for them. A diet that contains animal-based protein, such as chicken, fish, or turkey, would be a good choice.
How can I meet my Bengal’s need for a meat-based diet?
Just as fresh cat food doesn’t come in a bag that sits on the shelf at room temperature, when you’re shopping for healthy foods for yourself, you probably don’t go down aisles full of packaged, processed snacks!
The Bengal cat diet options listed below are ranked from best to worst.
Select an option that you can afford if you’re thinking, “But I can hardly afford to buy healthy food for myself!”
Making your own cat food at home has two major benefits: you have complete control over the ingredients, and it’s much less expensive than buying canned food or pre-made raw food (pre-made raw food costs roughly $10 per pound). and you can make your own for $2/lb. ). It just takes a lot more time!.
The key to this diet is balanced. To begin with, this means that homemade raw food should contain an adequate amount of taurine, which is found in hardworking muscle meats, as well as the right ratios of fat, protein, and carbs. A balanced diet would not consist of just giving your cat chicken breasts.
The majority of veterinarians oppose homemade raw diets because they have probably witnessed the negative effects of an unbalanced diet. Feeding an unbalanced diet can cause fatal health problems. You must put in the necessary time to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. But once you figure it out, it’s a great way to feed your cats and doesn’t take much work.
Why raw meat vs. cooked? As we previously stressed, cats can manage raw food just fine. Since cooking the meat destroys some of its nutrients and enzymes, it is best to feed it raw, as a cat would normally do when his human servants were not present to tend to him. The second-best food option would be meat if you must cook it for your own comfort or because your pet seems to prefer it.
However, cooking bones causes them to become brittle and hard. Uncooked bone is soft and easily digestible for a cat.
These are usually found in the freezer section of your small local pet shop. Stop in, make a note of what options they have, what the prices are, and then go home and do a little investigating of the ingredients. You want to have a good understanding of the ingredients. They should be labeled as a complete diet, not just a supplemental treat. You can also buy pre-made raw food online and have it shipped to you from companies like Darwin’s.
Purchasing premade raw food relieves you of some of the burden of preparing meals yourself. It is convenient, but there is a cost associated with it. This is the most expensive feeding option.
Although dehydrated raw food is more costly and less fresh than frozen raw food, it’s still a practical substitute. It’s shelf stable—you just have to add water.
Commercially prepared foods are found in pet food stores’ chilled sections. You should pay special attention to the ingredients because they are more likely to include a lot of vegetables (i.e., e. cheap filler).
Since neither of these options is overly processed, they are both acceptable.
If preparing raw food isn’t your thing and buying premade doesn’t fit into your budget, canned food is a better option. There’s a wide range of quality with canned food. Because of the moisture content and the likelihood of meat-based protein sources, any canned food will be preferable to dry food; however, you should weigh your options.
This article’s resources include a link to a comprehensive chart that contrasts various canned foods. Following is our selection of the best canned foods from that lengthy list:
#1: Tiki Cat – best for ingredient quality and nutritional balance A high quality canned food that all of our cats LOVE is Tiki Cat Chicken Consomme. If you’re not keen on the raw food options above, this is a great choice.
#2: Weruva BFF – great for a variety of flavors We prefer Tiki Cat is the healthiest option, but if your kitty loves gravy, he will love Weruva! They use premium quality ingredients as well.
#3: Purina Fancy Feast – best budget choice While the quality of ingredients may not be premium, the nutritional balance of this food is really good! This is a great canned food if you’re on a budget.
Have questions about when and how much to feed? See our feeding guidelines here.
Heart is a good source of protein and taurine. Porcine and turkey hearts are the best. Hen hearts are higher in fat than cow hearts and are more difficult to digest. Hearts can make up 40% of feline diet.
Of all the meats, cats are strictly prohibited from eating pork and lamb. Both can cause fatty deposits inside internal organs. Due to its high fat content, pork can strain the pancreas and liver.
Recall that cats are carnivores, so avoid giving them pizza, smoked chicken, pasta, or chopped cabbage. Avoid attempting to introduce your cat to your diet as this may result in a number of illnesses.
Some parasitic infections affect both humans and domestic animals. However, the majority of them are not transferable from animals to people. For instance, toxocariasis. Toxocara larvae in humans cause migrans syndrome, but the adult forms do not develop in the intestines. Most people are not affected by toxoplasmosis, but pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems may be at risk. Lambliosis affects almost every person on the planet, but it rarely lowers quality of life. Dogs and cats each have a unique type of lamblia; humans only often have one type of it. A big question is: who transmits what to who. Humans can contract echinococcosis from dogs, and cats can occasionally transmit alveococcosis. Eating meat causes taeniasis, or swine or bovine tapeworm; cats and dogs have nothing to do with it. One can contract cysticercosis from another person or even from within. The best prevention is thorough hand washing before handling food. Animals belong to different species, so it is impossible to contract ascariasis from them. Pinworms usually affect children. They don’t hurt people and are unrelated to dogs or cats. Strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ankylostomiasis are caused by human-specific species. These days, they are not common, but they can be fairly easy to diagnose and rarely cause serious pathology. Eating raw fish or coming into contact with other people can result in the infections of gnathostomiasis, clonorchiasis, difilobotriasis, anisakiasis, and nanophyetus, but not from being around animals.
Day-old chicks are the discards of egg-producing poultry farms. At the age of one day, male chicks are destroyed. They are usually sold unplucked and frozen. Each chicken contains heart, liver, and yolk. They lack bones in favor of soft cartilage that is rich in phosphorus, calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, chlorine, and sulfur. Yolk is rich in lipids, vitamins, and contains lecithin. Yogurt can be thought of as a source of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium by combining with phosphorus. Day-old chicks may seem to have a high nutritional value, but they cannot be your cat’s primary source of nutrition because they do not provide your cat the proper ratio of proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. They are nothing more than a beneficial supplement. Important note: only use reputed suppliers you trust. It is not required to use day-old chicks, but if your cat is healthy and likes them, you can feed it up to one carcass per day or once a week.
What foods to AVOID at all cost
The worst thing you could do for your Bengal is this. Deficits can result in organ failure and bone deterioration, which are serious, permanent, and sometimes fatal health issues.
Propylene glycol, a preservative found in these pouches that resembles antifreeze, is not recommended for ingestion by animals.
Kibble. It’s not fresh. It’s heavily processed, which can alter and destroy nutrients. Before being eaten, it is kept in cabinets for several weeks or months, during which time it can quickly go bad. The only reason it was made was to be inexpensive and practical. The primary problems are these:
1. Dry food has too many carbs, and not enough protein. Dry food contains either the incorrect type of protein (plant-based rather than animal-based) or too many carbohydrates and not enough protein. The way that humans or dogs can metabolize the proteins in fruits and vegetables is not the same for cats. However, because plant-based protein is less expensive than animal protein, pet food manufacturers will include plants in their products and try to artificially supplement them. Pet owners are now aware that they shouldn’t feed their cats grains and are searching for “grain-free” food; however, in response, numerous companies have switched to using vegetables such as potatoes and peas. Not only are these the incorrect kind of proteins, but they also contain a lot of carbohydrates. In the wild, only 1%–2% of the cat’s diet (E2%80%99) consists of carbohydrates. Dry food is typically 35-50% carbohydrates or more. %2020% Even the priciest dry foods available on the market contain carbohydrates to enable shelf stability. Cats have no dietary need for carbohydrates. This type of diet is unhealthy and unnatural for them.
2. Dry food does not have enough moisture. Because cats don’t have a strong thirst drive, water contained in food is vital to their diet. According to nature, their moisture comes from their prey, which is primarily water (70–75%). Dry food is 5-10% water. A strictly dry diet will result in chronic dehydration. Even so, a cat on a dry food diet only drinks from a water bowl and consumes roughly half as much water as a cat on a wet food diet. This can cause serious kidney and bladder issues.
FAQ
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