貓糧推薦 - 如何選擇貓糧?

貓糧推介 | 邊隻貓糧好?    

很多顧客都問我們,有沒有什麼糧是最好的?有什麼貓糧可以推薦給我們啊?

其實亦好難說,什麼糧是最好的。因為每隻貓的健康情況不同,不可能有一種糧,是每隻貓都最適合的。

推薦貓糧,主要還是看成份。若頭五位成份以肉類為主,沒有副產品,是首要考慮。如果頭五位都是澱粉質、穀物為主,多半是平價糧,其實不適合貓科動物以肉食為主的營養需要。另外,看看其他成份,有沒有加進了色素,味精,化學防腐劑等。如生產商說明,成份來自新鮮農場產品,屬於人類食用級成份,視為最好。

貓糧又分乾糧和濕糧。在生產乾糧的時候,一般要經過高溫高壓處理,一部份營養已經流失,生產商會加進維他命和礦物質補充物,令乾糧符合 AAFCO「完全和平衡」的標準。濕糧/罐頭經過的處理較少,有些是用新鮮的食材切成肉絲肉粒,嗜口性高,營養亦較豐富。濕糧未必會加入維他命和礦物質補充劑,如果有加的話,一般亦會達到AAFCO「完全和平衡」的標準,視為主食糧。沒有加的話,只當作副食糧。

很多人有疑問:單吃副食糧健康嗎?貓糧生產商解釋,每種肉類蔬果含有的營養都不同,只要是進食新鮮的食材,而且有不同的種類,就可以達到「完全和均衡」的效果。正如人吃食物,不需要每餐都要是絕對均衡,但只要吃新鮮食物,而且種類繁多,就可以自然的吸收各類營養,達到均衡的效果。但也有令一派的說法,指副食糧不肯定有均衡營養,長遠而言,可能會對健康有不良影響。

我們建議,貓貓應該最少吃一半乾糧,一半濕糧,甚至提高濕糧的比例。因為濕糧不但營養較為豐富,含有的水份可以減少貓貓發生尿道結石問題,而且更能吸引貓貓食用。濕糧中,可以餵不同的主食糧或副食糧,增加食物的種類,例如餵不同的肉類,雞、鴨、牛、羊、魚、蝦、蟹等。濕糧的品種選擇繁多,餵多種類的食物,可以避免貓貓過於偏好某種肉類或品牌的食糧,可以吸收更均衡的營養,亦可以避免因長久食用同一種蛋白質而產生的食物敏感症。

    

貓糧推薦

我們推薦的天然貓糧,排名不分先後,有以下幾款:Nature’s Variety, Canagan, Wellness Core, Blue Wilderness, Canidae Pure,Organix。

貓罐頭方面,有 Tiki Cat, Weruva, Wellness, Merrick, Organix, Canagan, Ziwipeak (排名不分先後), 全部屬於主食糧。

    

    

    

 

Cat Food Recommendations - How to Choose the Best Cat Food?

   

Many customers have asked us if there is any cat food that is the best? What cat food can you recommend to us?

In fact, it is hard to say that what cat food is the best. Because each cat has different health conditions, it is impossible to have one cat food that is the most suitable for every cat.

The quality of cat food depends mainly on the ingredients. If the top five ingredients are meat, without by-products, that is an indication of high quality cat food. If the first five ingredients are starchy ingredients and/or grain-based, they are usually cheap cat foods and may not be suitable for the nutritional needs of your cats. In addition, you can look at other ingredients, does the food have added artificial colors, artificial flavors and chemical preservatives? The colors and flavors are usually used to cover up the poor quality ingredients. Some pet food manufacturers also state that their ingredients come from fresh farm produce and/or human grade (fit for human consumption).  These are also indications of high quality cat food.

Cat food is divided into dry food and wet food. Dry cat food is usually processed with high temperature and high pressure, so some nutrients may have been lost.  Pet food manufacturers will add vitamin and mineral supplements to dry kibble, so that the dry food could meet the AAFCO "complete and balanced" standards.  

Wet cat food / canned cat foods are less processed.  Some contain shredded or chunky meat with fresh ingredients, which are highly palatable and rich in nutrients.  Canned cat foods may not be supplemented with vitamins and mineral supplements. If vitamins and minerals are added, the cat food would meet AAFCO's "complete and balanced" standard and it can be fed as the sole diet. If vitamins and minerals are not added, the canned food is not considered as “complete and balanced” and is recommended for supplementary feeding.

Many people may ask: is it healthy to eat canned cat food without added vitamins and minerals? Cat food manufacturers explain that each type of meat and vegetable contains different nutrients. As long as your cat eats high quality ingredients in a wide variety, you can achieve a "complete and balanced" diet naturally.  Just like human, when people eat food, they don't need to have a complete and balanced diet in every meal.  As long as they eat fresh healthy food and consume a wide variety of different foods, they can naturally absorb all kinds of nutrients and achieve a balanced effect. However, some people may argue that cat food without added vitamins and minerals cannot guarantee balanced nutrition and may have adverse effects on health over the long run.

We recommend that cats should eat at least half of dry food, half of wet food, or even increasing the proportion of wet food to higher percentage.  It is because wet food is not only rich in nutrients, the water content can reduce the chance of urinary tract problem (crystals or infection) in cats.  For wet food, you can feed a mixture of complete and balanced canned food and those for supplementary feeding.  Try feeding different meats, chicken, duck, beef, lamb, fish, shrimp, crab, etc.  Feeding a variety of cat foods can prevent cats from preferring a certain type of meat or a brand of food, can let the cat absorb more balanced nutrition, and can avoid food allergies caused by long-term consumption of the same protein.