What and how to feed Maine Coons?

Domestic cats, regardless of their breed, are carnivorous mammals; in their natural habitat, small rodents and birds, as well as insects, become food for them, because the diet of cats kept in captivity must meet the needs of the beast. Maine Coon pets are no exception.

The diet of Maine Coon cats should be made taking into account their physiological requirements:

• plant polysaccharides are considered the main building material for organs and tissues;
• cats use carbohydrates as their main source of energy - these ingredients are actively involved in metabolism, stimulating intestinal motility, however, it must be remembered that excessive carbohydrate intake can cause cat obesity;
• the main advantage of lipids and fats is their high energy value, a deficiency of components can lead to a variety of ailments and pathologies of the work of internal organs;
• proteins and proteins are important in metabolic processes, they are necessary for the animal to grow and fully develop, stimulate the protective function of the immune system, arginine is important among them, the lack of which can even lead to the death of Maine Coon.

Maine Coon is a rather large cat, therefore it eats more than cats of other breeds. Caring for such a pet is by no means the cheapest pleasure, especially considering that the cat's body is extremely demanding on the quality of the feed: in this case, the pet's nutrition should be exclusively premium.

Maine Coon is fed twice a day, in the mornings and evenings. There is an opinion that Maine Coons do not have a tendency to overeat, unlike many other breeds, so food for them should always be left open. This is indeed so, moreover, such tactics significantly increase the animal’s internal confidence in itself and its owners.

In addition, this feeding regimen is considered to be an excellent prevention of an eating disorder in which the pet tries to eat “for the future” without even feeling any hunger. However, each cat is unique, therefore Often such overeating leads to obesity, which leads to serious malfunctions in the cardiovascular and endocrine systems.

The diet of an adult animal should be compiled so that for every kilogram of body weight of the animal there are about 60 kilocalories and 10 grams of protein. Thus, per day you need to give your pet 200–250 grams of feed, while 100 g of feed should contain:

• 320-380 kilocalories;
• 30–45; proteins;
• 10-30% fat;
• 2% fiber.

If we translate this into products, then the consumption rate will look like this:

• 70–130 g of meat or fish;
• 25–65 g of dairy products;
• 10-30 gr cereals;
• 15-50 g of vegetables;
• 1⁄2 Art. l brewer's yeast.

The Maine Coon diet usually consists of ready-made feed formulations or naturalki, mixed nutrition is not used.

For the full growth and development of Maine Coons, the following types of natural feed are required.

These are the most useful components, the digestibility of which the cat's body is about 90%. Pieces of meat are pre-frozen to reduce the risk of helminth infection, and then cut into pieces of 1-1.5 cm. For baby kittens, it is better to scrape meat, but mincemeers beloved by many breeders should not be given - for sharpening and cleaning the incisors, cats must certainly get solid food.

It is best to take beef, turkey or chicken from meat products for food, but pork is allowed, but rarely, in small quantities and exclusively boiled. Chicken paws, heads and necks are most often bought from offal, bird stomachs are especially useful - this is due to the fact that in the conditions of the natural habitat, the cat’s lack of plant products is compensated precisely by the stomach contents of the birds caught by it, and therefore domesticated cats are genetically predisposed to a high digestibility of this product.

Very useful for big cats. The product is given necessarily peeled and cut into small pieces, while sea fish are usually given raw, and river fish is necessarily boiled. Keep in mind especially that Maine Coon contraindicated pollock and cod, and all other fish are allowed no more than 1-2 times a week. It is advisable not to offer canned fish to cats at all.

It is generally accepted that all cats adore dairy products. However, the maine-coon organism digests the cow product quite poorly, therefore it is recommended to include it on the menu only for very small kittens under the age of one month. Adults are best served with sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese or cream. But the cat's body absorbs goat milk perfectly, so it can be offered to both babies and large cats.

Chicken eggs are extremely important for Maine Coons, they are considered a source of biotin, useful for animals. It’s best to offer cats only yolk, since the avitin present in the protein is a blocker of the action of biotin. You can offer any eggs - chicken, duck or quail.

Bones are a great source of potassium and phosphorus, but keep in mind that Maine Coons are allowed only the cartilage bones of broiler chickens.

It’s very good if the cat likes vegetables and fruits, these products can be included in the daily menu without any restrictions but exclusively in raw or steamed form. Carrots, broccoli, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin are very useful for fluffy pets. It will be useful to add germinated oat grains to the main feed, which are an excellent source of useful vitamins of groups B and C.

For full growth and development, the pet needs cereals, however, keep in mind that Maine-coon cereals need to be soaked for 8-12 hours in milk, and not boiled. Sometimes, periodic addition of bread is allowed, but only with fish - in combination with meat, it can cause digestive disorders.

For small kittens and adult cats, breeders who prefer natural food often make maine coon porridge, it consists of several chopped and cut products: beef, chicken breast meat, offal, vegetables, vitamin and mineral supplements, vegetable oil and fishes. The ingredients for such a dish are interchangeable and are usually selected taking into account the taste preferences of the pet and the principles of a varied diet.

With natural feeding, it is necessary to control the condition of the animal, the reason for contacting the veterinarian may be:

• vomiting
• loose stools;
• deterioration in the quality of the coat;
• strong molt;
• lethargy and apathy of the pet.

If Maine Coon breeders make their choice in favor of conventional food, they will need to spend a lot of time, money and effort on finding and compiling a nutrient mixture that will provide the cat with all the useful vitamins, micro and macro elements. It is much easier to bring ready-made food - its main advantage is that it provides a complete and balanced diet and already contains all the necessary vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

You can feed a healthy Maine Coon with both ready-made canned goods and dry mixtures of the super premium class, options from the "economy" category, such as "Whiskas" or "Kitiket" for Maine Coons are completely unsuitable, because they do not meet the needs of the body of an adult cat.

Keep in mind that if you decide to feed your cat with ready-made compounds, then you have to exclude the natural - the fact is that the digestion of wet and dry types of food goes differently, and when products are mixed, the digestive system simply does not have time to rebuild, which often causes intestinal obstruction or gastroenteritis.

If Maine Coon eats dry food, he should drink a lot of water every day - the volume of liquid should exceed the amount eaten by three times, so if you notice that your pet does not drink much, then you should switch to canned food or to natural. Alternatively, try soaking dry food in water beforehand.

"Palm", of course, belongs to the blends of Royal Canin from a special line for Maine Coon, as these food mixtures are made taking into account the physiological needs of the breed. Also in the manufacturer’s assortment is a line of products for small kittens up to 1 year old, and there are also special therapeutic feeds that can be used by weakened sick animals, as well as pregnant, lactating cats, neutered and sterilized pets.

Now that you can imagine how you can treat your pet, dwell in more detail on the list of products that are strictly prohibited for Maine Coon:

• pork is a too fatty product, it can only be cooked, very rarely and in minimal volumes;
• river fish that has not undergone heat treatment - there is a high probability of infection with the helminths present in it;
• potato - contains too much gluten;
• Tomatoes
• fish and bird bones;
• any sweets;
• smoked, salty and spicy foods;
• spices and spices.

And, of course, we separately draw attention to the fact that if your pet is fed regular food, then all the necessary ingredients for the Maine Coon porridge should be obtained only from your own farmstead or from a trustworthy seller. You can never be 100% sure how strangers grew vegetables, how they were processed, how they fed cows and birds before they were slaughtered and put up for sale - these products may contain chemicals, antibiotics and hormones, which can lead to illnesses. Maine Coon.

Immediately after the birth of Maine Coon babies, the mother usually feeds her, but if it happened that the female is not nearby, then the owners will take care and feeding. You can buy a special mixture at the pet store or give the baby goat milk. At this time, feeding is done about 6 times a day in minimal portions. After 1 month, the menu includes supplementary foods - it can be milk porridges and mashed vegetables and meat, the number of feedings is reduced to 4.

At 4 months, cottage cheese and other sour-milk products are already introduced into the diet, the use of chopped products also contributes to weight gain, the offal of birds is best suited for this purpose. If the kitten has grown and gained the necessary weight, then in half a year you can transfer the kitten to dry food.

For how and how to properly feed Maine Coons, see the next video.