How to feed Maine Coon cat breed?

The health of Maine Coons directly depends on the quality of the products that make up their diet. Choosing a menu for a cat, you need to consider the age and weight of the pet. Maine Coons can be fed with both natural products prepared by the owners and special balanced dry foods.

Natural feed

1. Beef (veal). Kittens and adult cats can be given raw, frozen meat. For kittens 4-8 months old, the meat must be finely chopped and limited to a daily portion of 50 grams, for cats older than one year - 100-120 grams.
2. Chicken meat. Kittens younger than three months old should be boiled chicken. Chicken legs can be included in the diet of kittens from four months of age.
3. Chicken and beef offal. These include: the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs. These products are used for feeding Maine Coons, starting from the age of one year and only in boiled form. Offal is digested by approximately 90% and is extremely healthy. In the wild, cats get most of their nutrients from a feathered stomach. The prepared stomachs of chickens for felines should be thoroughly washed with stones.
4. A fish. This product, despite the common stereotype, should not be given to cats at all.
5. Chicken eggs. The eggs contain a large number of easily digestible proteins, amino acids and vitamins (biotin is especially useful for cats - vitamin E). You can only give the yolk and better cooked. Kittens should not be fed eggs until their digestive system is used to meat and cottage cheese. For kittens, the yolk is mixed with low-fat cottage cheese and fed no more than 4 times a week. Adult cats are allowed to use this mixture 2 times a week. It is useful to give the crushed eggshell 2-3 times a month to cats to meet the body's need for calcium. Previously, the shell must be treated with boiling water, or, best of all, give the shell of boiled eggs in order to avoid infection with infectious diseases.
6. Dairy, dairy products, cheese. It is allowed to feed kittens under four weeks of age with boiled, low-fat or diluted milk water. The stomach of adult Maine Coons does not absorb cow's milk and causes its upset. In this case, you can give low-fat kefir and yogurt or goat milk in small portions daily. Cheese is also possible in the diet. Most often it is used as a reward in training or a treat.
7. Cereal crops. Maine Coon rations must include oats, buckwheat, and rice. Cereals are recommended to be given 3 times in 6 days in the ratio: 1 part cereals and 2 parts meat.
8. Vegetables and greens. In the diet of feline vegetables are not of great value. However, they are needed in small quantities when preparing a diet in cases of obesity. Vegetables also help remove toxic compounds from the body and clear the stomach of hair. Carrots, apples, cucumbers, if the animal eats them, rubbed on a grater and give in raw form without salt and oils. Sprouted oats and wheat seeds, which can be obtained at home, are useful for cats. It is unacceptable to give Maine Coon grass brought from the street.

It is important for those who choose to feed Maine Coons with natural products to remember:

1. Cooked food should be without the addition of sugar, salt, vinegar, spices.
2. All meat products must be frozen. If the animal is given raw meat, it must be scalded with boiling water.
3. Natural products should have a temperature close to room temperature. Hot food or food in and out of the refrigerator can lead to digestive upsets.
4. To avoid constipation, meat (boiled or scalded) should be given with vegetables (cauliflower or carrots).
5. Cats, in particular Maine Coons, are not suitable for food from our table: salads, pasta, soups.

What is banned?

The following foods are strictly prohibited in the Maine Coon diet:

1. Bones. Kittens, as well as adults, can damage the sharp edges of the esophagus and stomach tissue.
2. Meat of pig, goose, duck. Eating fatty meat in these animals can cause severe upsets. Use in raw unprocessed form can lead to infection by worms and various infections, even death.
3. Smoked sausages and canned foods cause metabolic disorders and the appearance of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system.
4. Products containing sugar. Products with sucrose cause diseases of the teeth and skin, weakened immunity. Substances in chocolate can cause severe poisoning.
5. Potatoes, corn and beans. There are no starch-processing enzymes in the cat's body, so eating starchy vegetables can cause stomach upsets. Peas and other legumes contribute to bloating due to fermentation in the intestines.
6. Vitamin complexes for people. For cats, these drugs do not benefit, because they are not balanced. In animals, metabolism is different from human.

Ready-made (dry) feed

The use of special dry and canned formulations is permissible only in the diet of adult Maine Coons. At the same time, feeding with cheap feed should be avoided, since the content of mineral salts and vegetable oils is overestimated in them. Some brands add flavor enhancers. Poor-quality industrial feed often leads to dysfunction of the urinary system. Responsible producers develop a balanced line of feeds depending on the genetic (defined by the breed) and age requirements of the animal. Mixing feeds from different manufacturers is dangerous, as this can lead to an imbalance of trace elements.

General rules for feeding industrial feeds and canned food:

1. Select food according to the recommendations on the packaging. Cats of different breeds and ages need a different amount and ratio of vitamins, trace elements and proteins.
2. Feed selection is determined by the physiological state of the pet. If the cat is pregnant or feeds the brood that has appeared, she needs special food to help maintain proper metabolism and quick recovery after childbirth.
3. For cats of all breeds, especially for Maine Coons, the use of dog food is unacceptable. These formulations contain a greater amount of fat, mainly vegetable, the amount of mineral components and vitamins also does not match the recommended cats.
4. Industrial food in the kittens menu needs to be introduced gradually. Adult cats should also be given new brands of food with caution: during the month, the behavior of the cat after feeding, the condition of the coat, skin, nails, and excrement should be monitored.
5. All high-quality prepared feeds contain the optimal balanced amount of nutrients. Additional vitamin supplements can lead to hypervitaminosis.

Maine Coon cats water consumption rates

Domestic cats, like their wild counterparts, consume relatively little water, but you should always monitor its presence and freshness in a bowl. This is especially important if dry cat food is present in the cat's diet. Any household filters are suitable for cleaning water from excess hardness salts and chlorine. The use of boiled water worsens the condition of the teeth due to the low content of carbonates and bicarbonates.Signs of a lack of water appear in cats in the form of concentrated urine, the appearance in the discharge of crystals, which leads to the development of urolithiasis.

The diet of pregnant and lactating cats

After pregnancy, the cat's need for trace elements increases. During this period, it is necessary to provide her with a comprehensive and balanced diet, as this affects the health of the offspring. The cat “in position” needs to be fed with feed recommended for kittens, giving immediately the amount calculated for a day. After the cat’s weight is normalized, and the physical condition is restored, you can gradually switch to feed intended for its age.

During lactation, even more attention is required to the composition of the diet, since at this stage energy consumption increases. When calculating the daily diet, you should consider the weight of the animal, the age and number of kittens. Stimulated milk production is stimulated to a greater extent by canned food, since they contain a larger percentage of water, and the components are more effectively absorbed by the body. Adding additional vitamin formulations to food is not recommended because of the danger of imbalance. During the period of feeding the offspring, the cat should always have plenty of clean water, as the body loses a lot of moisture with the allocated milk.

An approximate diet of cats from the beginning of life to a year

Kittens from 1 to 2 months: six-time feeding. Reducing the consumption of cereals in cow's milk, the daily food intake is up to 240 grams.

Kittens from 3 to 6 months: 4 feedings per day, the daily norm of meat - up to 40 grams.

Kittens from 6 to 9 months: during the period of active growth of all organs, muscles and skeleton, four meals a day are required, the daily food intake is up to 250 grams.

Kittens from 10 to 12 months: two meals a day, daily allowance up to 250 grams.

Maine Coon Adult Feeding Mode

Eating adult cats should be two times a day. The daily intake is 180-200 grams. The norm can be reduced to 130 grams if the animal has problems with being overweight.

If the cat is kept on natural feed, then the sample menu for the day may contain:

• 2-3 yolks of boiled eggs;
• half a teaspoon of ground germinated wheat grains;
• cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir (fat content not more than 3.5%);
• 100-130 grams of boiled beef
• 140-150 grams of chicken
• 100 grams of boiled lean pork;
• complexes of vitamins and minerals.

Or:

• 70-120 grams of protein in meat;
• 30-60 grams of kefir, yogurt, yogurt;
• up to 40 grams of boiled cereals;
• 20-40 grams of vegetables;
• yeast (on the tip of a teaspoon - as a source of B vitamins).

In general, to calculate the daily portion of feed in dry form, we can proceed from the recommended daily intake of the following components (data are given for 100 grams of feed):

• Proteins - not less than 25, but not more than 40%;
• Fats - from 10 to 30%;
• Fiber - 2-5%.

Video: Maine Coon Cat Maintenance and Care Features