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What the prey wants

Cats are pure carnivores, so the main component of the diet should be muscle meat. Animal fat is also important and is easy to digest for cats, providing essential fatty acids. A food that is too low in fat can be harmful to cats in the long term. Cats also have a high demand for taurine, which they cannot make themselves. It must therefore be contained in their feed or supplemented accordingly.

The problem seems to be that most vets have never really looked into the topic of BARF in detail – feeding animals is not necessarily a focus of studies. Quite the opposite, this form of nutrition is often not a compulsory subject at many universities. It is also often the case that vets only have those unfortunate cases of "BARF" animals on their treatment tables where something went wrong, and you can understand the doctor's anger.

In the past, when our animals' wild ancestors hunted and killed their prey, they consumed significantly more omega-3 fatty acids than they do today.

Oils also provide more energy, shiny fur and healthy skin. Oils also help release vitamins and are essential: This means that the body cannot produce these fatty acids itself and is dependent on them being supplied through food.

BARF is probably the most natural form of nutrition that you can feed your cat if it is not an outdoor cat and is therefore self-sufficient. If done correctly, this type of nutrition is good for cats.

An average cat needs around 35 g of food per kilogram of body weight per day during normal physical activity. For a 4 kg cat, that would be 140 g of fresh meat per day.

The most important are probably essential fatty acids, such as those found in salmon oil or wheat germ oil (vitamin E) in a form that is easily digestible for cats. Taurine should also always be kept in mind when feeding cats raw food and supplemented if necessary.

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