Spoiled Food Leftovers Can Lead to the Death of Stray Animals

Deteriorated food scraps can lead to the death of stray animals. Pointed bone fragments can sink into the tongue or mouth of stray cats, causing tooth loss and weight loss. Stating that a nutritious diet has an important place in the health of street animals, experts draw attention to the deterioration of the skin and hair structures of cats because they are fed with highly processed foods. Stray animals also struggle with diseases such as obesity, liver and kidney failure.

Üsküdar University Medical Directorate Laboratory Responsible Manager Veterinarian Burcu Çevreli shared the points to be considered while feeding stray animals.

Cats prefer protein diets

Stating that a good and nutritious diet is necessary for the health of stray animals, Burcu Çevreli said, “The health of stray cats should be improved with basic nutrition and their physiological and metabolic needs should be met. Considering the carnivorous nature of cats, it is not surprising that they prefer protein diets. Metabolic energy is the energy required for the body to move. Cats living in a home environment need less metabolic energy than those living on the street. Apart from that, lactating mother cats and kittens also have higher metabolic energy needs.” said.

Have trouble digesting high-carb foods

Stating that cats meet 52 percent of their metabolic energy from protein, 36 percent from fat and 12 percent from carbohydrates, Çevreli continued:

“Cats can also digest glucose, sucrose, lactose, dextrin, and starch 94-100 percent efficiently. However, cats are known to have lower enzymatic activities for carbohydrate digestion compared to other species. Digestion of carbohydrates differs according to physiological needs, type of carbohydrate and heat treatment. These results suggest that although cats are capable of digesting carbohydrates efficiently, their capacity to digest carbohydrates may be limited at high carbohydrate concentrations (>5 g/kg body weight), as evidenced by digestive disorders such as diarrhea, gas and bloating. In the light of all this information, it would be appropriate to feed the cats according to their metabolic energy needs.”

Spoiled leftovers can cause death

Noting that most cats today are fed highly processed foods that bear little resemblance to their ancestors' diets, Cevreli said, "This type of diet paves the way for diseases such as deterioration in the skin and hair structure of stray cats, obesity, liver and kidney failure. Consumption of spoiled food scraps and sharp bone fragments by stray cats causes foreign bodies to sink into the tongue or mouth, tooth loss, and therefore the cat cannot benefit from the feed, lose weight and even die if untreated. he said.

The rate of additives in formulas is very high

On the other hand, Burcu Çevreli, who emphasized the excess number of additives in pet foods, said, “Additives provided by pet food manufacturers should be specified on the label. Additives; Incorporated into processed pet foods to provide nutritional benefits, ensure food safety, and maintain desired color, taste, texture, stability and resistance to spoilage. For the sustainability of stray cat nutrition, our common goal should be the conscious use of the available feed resources and the elimination of wastes resulting from feeding in an environmentally friendly manner.” used the phrases.