Understand the real nutritional needs of cats-3

Active vitamin A from animals

Both humans and dogs can convert carotene in fruits and vegetables into active vitamin A. But because cats’ body structure does not have this conversion function, they must directly take in active vitamin A from animals.

Vitamin A helps maintain the health of vision, bones, muscles, skin and reproductive system. Cod liver oil, animal liver, egg yolk, dairy products, etc., are all natural foods rich in active vitamin A (especially cod liver oil and liver).

But I want to remind everyone that although it is an essential vitamin and an effective antioxidant, vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. If you take too much vitamin A for a long time, it will accumulate in their body and cause damage to your cat.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is extremely important for maintaining the balance of calcium and phosphorus in the body, calcium absorption and bone growth. Human skin can make vitamin D by itself through the sun, but cat skin does not have enough 7-dehydrocholesterol (a precursor of vitamin D) to make use of the ultraviolet rays from the sun to make the vitamins D they need .

This kind of physiological design is because cats are all-meat eaters, and the animal fat and liver in the meat are enough to supply the vitamin D they need, so there is no need to spend more effort to make them on their own. Therefore, if the cat’s daily diet is not based on meat, or if it has too little animal fat and does not include any liver, it is really possible to lack vitamin D.

Now commercial cat feeds are generally supplemented with vitamin D, so you don’t need to worry too much. But pay special attention when making fresh cat food.

Vitamin B

Compared with dogs, cats have 6 to 8 times higher demand for multivitamin B complex!Vitamin B group is mostly water-soluble vitamins. In other words, they are not stored in the body of the eater, so cats have to take in sufficient amounts every day. In addition, vitamin B complex is easily lost during high temperature processing, so there are many high-quality cat foods on the market. The extra vitamin B complex has been added to the food, so everyone does not need to supplement it.

However, for some cats who are sick and frail or under stress (such as just moving or having new members at home), additional vitamin B complex supplementation is indispensable.