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餵食貓咪:了解貓咪所需的基本營養
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
作者:Lisa A. Pierson, DVM
自製鮮食
Home-Prepared Diets
如果你正在考慮自製鮮食給貓咪,請注意很多人在做這件事前並沒有好好做功課,結果給貓咪吃了危險的不平衡飲食.
If you are considering making your own cat food, please be aware that many people go down this path without doing their homework and end up feeding their cats dangerously unbalanced diets.
請見本網站的文章以得知更多自製鮮食的資訊. 在過去的七年半裡, 我只餵我的貓咪自製鮮食,而他們的健康狀況讓我非常高興.
Please see Making Cat Food at catinfo.org if you would like more information about making cat food. For the past 7.5 years, I have been feeding my cats only food that I make for them myself and I could not be happier with their health.
人們常常會不敢自製鮮食,但只要你依照均衡飲食的食譜,這很簡單. 我每1~2個月做一次貓咪的食物,然後將其冷凍. 自製鮮食並不代表必須要每天在廚房裡當奴隸,相信我,如果是這樣,我不會去做這樣的事情.
People are often overwhelmed or intimidated by the idea of making their cat's food but, in reality, it's quite simple - as long as you follow a balanced recipe. I make cat food once every 1-2 months and freeze it. Making your own cat food doesn't mean slaving in the kitchen every day--trust me, if it did, I wouldn't be doing it.
人們常犯的一個錯誤是,在餵食自製鮮食時以為貓咪只需要肉就夠了-沒有骨頭當作鈣質來源,內臟為重要營養來源或是加入牛磺酸等等. 肉當然是貓食裡一個最主要的原料,但是肉裡面沒有足夠的鈣質(無骨)以確保有安全的鈣磷比. 永遠記住,鈣質不是一個選擇性的”補充品”,它是飲食中非常重要的成分. 肉也缺少了其他重要的營養,所以確定你是遵照一個均衡且信譽良好的食譜.
One common mistake people make when feeding a home-prepared diet is thinking that a cat can live on meat alone - without bones as a source of calcium, organ meat as a source of important nutrients, or added taurine, etc. While meat must be the primary component of a feline diet, there is not enough calcium in meat (without the bones) to ensure that a safe calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is achieved. Always remember that calcium is not an optional “supplement,” but is a very critical component of the diet. Meat is also deficient in other vital nutrients so, again, make sure that you follow a balanced recipe from a reputable source.
後語
Some Final Thoughts
如果你讀到了這個部分,你一定非常在乎如何給貓咪健康的飲食,且會顧慮到他們的營養需求而接受新的想法. 這篇文章已經點出如何讓嚴格的家內肉食動物得到最好的營養.
If you have made it to this point in this article, you must really care about feeding your cat a healthy diet and are open to new ideas regarding their nutritional needs. This paper has outlined what constitutes optimal nutrition for an obligate carnivore in a home environment.
我最常聽到的抱怨是貓咪不吃罐罐,只吃乾乾. 我的貓咪也曾經是這樣,這並不是一個令人驚訝的結果,因為他們曾一輩子都過著百分百乾乾的日子. 我用了幾個月的時間去說服他們是需要肉的食肉動物而不是乾燥,過度處理且含有太多碳水化合物的食物. 這有時候有點困難,因為有兩個傢伙肚子餓時非常易怒. 在轉換飲食時,有時會把他們帶到另一個房間然後餵他們一些乾乾,因為我不喜歡家裡出現動亂.
The most common complaint that I hear from people is that their cat will NOT eat canned food and will ONLY eat dry food. My cats fell into this category which was not surprising since they had been on a 100 percent dry food diet their entire lives and ranged in age from 2 -10 years at the time of the transition to a healthier diet. It took me several months to convince them that they are carnivores and need meat – and not in a dry, overly processed form that also includes far too many carbohydrates and too little water. It was a little rough, at times, since two of my cats get very crabby with their housemates when they are hungry. These boys were occasionally taken into a separate room during the transition period and fed some dry food because I do not like unrest in my home.
令人驚訝的是,我的其中一個固執乾乾貓大王現在歡喜的吃著自製鮮食或部分煮熟的肉/骨頭/內臟飲食,而他還喜歡這個多於罐罐. 誠實的說, 我感到很欣慰看到我的小小食肉動物啃啃肉,吃著適合他們物種的食物.
Surprisingly, one of my most stubborn dry food addicts is now happily eating a home-prepared raw or parboiled meat/bones/organs diet that he actually likes better than the canned food. To be very honest, it does my heart good to see my little carnivores gnawing on meat – eating a diet that was meant for their species.
我再也不給貓咪吃乾乾,更無法再想像給我的貓咪這種食物. 貓咪不需要也不能從乾乾受益. 他們也不需要24小時都有食物.
I no longer feed any dry food and can't imagine ever feeding my cats this type of diet again. Cats do not need, or benefit from, any dry food in their diet. They also do not need access to food 24 hours a day.
很多整天工作的人會擔心家裡貓咪沒有食物可以吃.
Many people who are at work all day worry that their cat will suffer without access to food continuously.
但是,我定期放罐罐出來12小時給中途的貓咪,而在過去的15年中沒有出過任何問題. 注意,貓咪的腸胃系統跟我們的非常不同.
However, I routinely leave canned food out for up to 12 hours at a time for my foster cats and kittens and there have been no problems with this practice over the past 15 years. Keep in mind that a cat's gastrointestinal tract is much different from ours.
如果你擔心把罐罐放在外面,可以將一部份加熱至老鼠體溫,另一部分為冷凍狀態. 冷凍的部分會在幾個小時後回溫,增加一點食物的新鮮度. 如果你要出門24小時而找不到人照顧,這也是一個好用的小技巧. 沒有任何理由要回去吃乾乾,因為貓咪應該每24小時看一下,也要清貓沙. (通常貓沙盆要一天清兩次,如果只能一天清一次的話,或許你要考慮多增加1~2個沙盆,記得,當貓沙盆裡有多於3~4個”東西”時就算是髒了需要清理)
If you are worried about leaving canned food out, you can always leave part of the food out at a normal (‘mouse body’) temperature and part of it frozen. The frozen portion will thaw within a few hours and will add some time to the freshness of the food. This is also a great trick if you need to be gone for 24 hours or if you can’t find a pet sitter that can come to your home every 12 hours when you go on vacation. There is never any reason to revert back to sitting out a bowl of dry food since cats should be checked on – including having their litter box(es) cleaned – at least once every 24 hours anyway. (Normally litter boxes should be cleaned at least twicedaily so if they are only going to be cleaned once-daily, you should consider adding another box or two….keeping mind that once there are more than 3-4 ‘items’ in a box, it is dirty and needs to be scooped in order to be fair to your cat(s).)
每個人的生活不同,也有許多方法能讓貓咪獲取高品質的營養.
Everyone's lives are different and there are several ways to successfully feed your cat high quality nutrition.
這篇文章的目的是讓你知道貓咪飲食的特別需求,所以你可以在自己及貓咪的需要間取得平衡,決定如何及用什麼食物.
The goal of this paper is to arm you with knowledge about the special dietary needs of your cat so you can make an informed decision on how and what to feed while striking a balance that works for both of you.
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