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Feeding your new cat or kitten
Diet is one of the most important aspects about caring for your kitten/cat. After much research into the feline diet, we recommend a raw diet for your kitten/cat, information on feeding raw will be supplied to you before your new baby arrives. A small amount of Grain Free" Healthy Everyday Pets" dry biscuits may be used as a treat, but not as a meal.

Raw Diet Vs Processed Cat Food
The source of this information is from "Nutrition of the Domestic Cat" by VH Menrath, BVSc, BAgr, MACVS, as published in "Target" all breeds magazine of the Council of Federated Cat Clubs of Queensland and printed in an issue of "National Cat"

Your Cat is a True Carnivore
It is typical of the cat's independent nature that although it has been a companion of man for many centuries, it has  generally refused to change its dietary habits. The cat has continued to hunt and provide for itself at every opportunity. In its natural state, the cat is a healthy and resourceful animal and as a hunter is second to none.

Recent nutritional studies have proved the cat to be a pure carnivore. It is unable to exist in its natural environment without a diet of tissues and organs of other animals. A wild cat eats all of its prey - hair, skin, flesh, bones and internal organs.

Since the wild cat is a healthy animal with excellent teeth and bone structure, it has given us some clues in the search for a good diet for our domesticated companions. Cat owners often unknowingly cause nutritional diseases in their animals in a quest to provide a balanced diet.

Research studies indicate the cat's dietary requirements are unique.

Protein
The cat has an extraordinarily high requirements for protein. An adult cat needs 20% of its total daily calorie intake to be protein. This is about five times that required by a dog. Kittens need 30% protein for normal growth and development.

The majority of the protein has to be of animal origin. If a cat is fed exclusively on tinned dog food, it loses weight gradually and eventually becomes irreversibly blind.

Vitamin A
The cat is unable to synthesize Vitamin A from the plant pigment carotene and has to eat the vitamin in its true form. Cats have a high Vitamin A requirement, but excessive doses are more disastrous then deficiencies.

Raw liver is an excellent source of Vitamin A but cats often become addicted to eating liver, which causes excess bone tissue to be laid down in joints. The Vitamin A poisoning eventually causes permanent stiffness of the legs and neck.

Low grade Vitamin A deficiencies occur quite commonly, especially in breeding catteries, where stress caused through viral respiratory infection or pregnancy results in a rapid depletion of Vitamin A stored in the liver. This not only results in prolonged recovery from illness but is a common cause of sterility, reduced litter size and birth defects such as flattened chests and cleft palates.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is required for normal bone growth and development. Cats with Vitamin D deficiency develop a disease known as rickets. Rickets in cats is virtually unknown in Australia. This is because cats need only minute quantities and are able to synthesize Vitamin D in their skin under the influence of sunlight.

Over-zealous Vitamin D supplements in the diet, through cod liver oil and Vitamin D/calcium mixtures - can cause mineralisation of body organs. Mineralization in the heart, arteries and kidneys can lead to death.

Calcium
The most common man induced nutritional disease in young cats is bone disease due to a diet of too little calcium and excessive amounts of phosphorus.

Growing kittens rapidly acquire a taste for raw beef and stubbornly refuse to eat anything else. Although beef is an excellent source of protein and B vitamins, it contains very little calcium and large quantities of phosphorus - just the right ingredients for severe bone weakness which can cause permanent spinal and pelvic deformities.

Fats
Cats are not capable of utilizing vegetable oils for all their requirements and need to have part of their daily diet as animal fat. Too much vegetable or fish oil can cause pancreatitis, known as 'yellow fat disease', where the fat pads and internal fat deposits become severely inflamed and painful.

Vitamin B
One of the most startling nutritional diseases in cats is due to thiamine or Vitamin B1 deficiency. Thiamine is essential for a healthy nervous system and raw meat and offal normally provide ample quantities of b vitamins. Yeast powder or tablets are also an excellent source of Vitamin B.

Thiamine deficiency can occur in two ways. The first is by feeding cooked meat and offal where the cooling process destroys all the B vitamins. The second is to feed a large proportion of the diet as raw fish, especially deep sea fish which contains enzymes that destroy thiamine.

Both these feeding methods will eventually lead to a disease called Chastek's paralysis which has neurological symptoms such as convulsions and paralysis - and finally permanent brain damage.

Summary
These unusual nutritional requirements of the domestic cat ensure it is extremely sensitive to man interfering with its natural diet. Ideally we should feed a diet of mice, rats, birds and other small prey - but this is impractical.

Cat breeders and owners are fortunate the pet food industry has studies their animals' needs to provide them with a wide range of good quality tinned and dried foods. These prepared foods are divided into two types - one provides a complete diet and the other must be supplemented with other foods.

It is important to distinguish between the two types. Vitamins and minerals are added to these prepared foods to prevent deficiencies.

Dry Food/Biscuits
Many dry biscuits, even premium brand biscuits such as Royal Canin, Hills Science and many other well known brands of biscuit are grain based biscuits. Grain based biscuits are very taxing on your cats kidneys and are a contributing factor in many cats general health and wellbeing. Common medical problems that can be associated with a grain based diet include, but are not limited too:

• Diet induced diabetes
• Kidney disease/failure
• Cystitis/Urethral blockage/Urinary tract infections and/or crystals
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• hairballs
• obesity
• hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease)
• dental issues
• asthma

Your cat requires cannot survive on dry biscuits alone. At Mangalakatz, we feed a small portion of dry biscuits together with raw meat, both beef, chicken & fish.. (Healthy Everyday Pets Dry Biscuits) which are grain free.

Water
Cats do not have a natural thirst receptor. This means by the time your beloved feline goes to the water bowel for a drink, they are already slightly dehydrated. Your cat needs to be encouraged and stimulated to drink the amount of water they require for healthy kidney function and general health.

You will often notice your cat may choose to go into a kitchen or bathroom sink and lick the tap faucet. This is because they prefer fresh water as we all do.

Water bowls with Charcoal filters and a pump to keep the water moving in the bowl such as the Drinkwell Water Fountain, while more expensive to purchase, and maintain (replacement filters will be required. The regularity of which will be determined by how many cats you have in your household), are highly recommended to keep your cats drinking water not only fresh but also cool as the constant movement in the water helps keep the water cool.

The basic Drinkwell Water Fountain has a capacity of 1.5L of water with an optional reserve tank which increases capacity to over 3.5L. There is also a larger model called the Platinum which holds almost double that of the basic unit.

PK Definiciency
In June 2011, PK Deficiency (PK Def) was discovered in Singapura cats in the UK. It is therefore essential that prior to adopting a Singapura kitten from a registered breeder, you ensure the breeder has performed PK Def DNA tests to ensure your new family member is free from this genetic condition. Always ask to see a copy of the certificate for the parent's tests to confirm the test results. On this certificate, there will be one of the below results:

N/N - Normal cat, this cat does not carry the defective gene.
N/K - Normal cat, but this cat does carry one gene for PK Def, but is not affected (heterozygous)
K/K - Affected cat or will be at some stage. This cat carries 2 genes for PK Def (homozygous). Severity of the symptoms cannot be predicted.

If you wish to find out more about this condition, please refer to our links pages for external links to detailed medical sites which provide extensive information about what this condition can do to an affected cat.

At Mangalakatz, we have tested all our breeding cats and have been very lucky and NONE of our cats are affected with this condition. We can therefore confidently say that we have not bred a single kitten that would be affected by PK Def from any of our bloodlines.