We want to take care of him but we know nothing about him. What to feed a stray cat? and what to avoid in order to avoid taking risks. We have seen it and we have not been able to remain indifferent to its sweet and, sometimes even frightened, gaze. It is precisely at that moment that we decided to take care of it. We are talking about stray cats, more and more numerous.

Although these specimens easily adapt to completely free-living conditions and without any ‘constraint’ from any owners. We can nevertheless take care of them without ‘invading’ their life as hermits. So here’s what to feed a stray cat and how to help them live better.

What to feed a stray cat?

Do they need us or can our help have too ‘intrusive’ effects on their free and autonomous lifestyle?

But if it is a puppy it is perhaps easier to answer: in fact, we know that the little cats have practically total dependence on the mother figure, and not only for protection and care but obviously also for nutrition. But if we see a lonely kitten, therefore far from the mother cat. It is likely that it has been orphaned or that it has. In any case, strayed too far from its ‘maternal nest’.

Can we, therefore, replace the figure of a mother cat? Especially therefore if we are dealing with specimens at an early age, our help can be fundamental for their very survival. However, you need to know what to feed a stray cat, especially if it’s a puppy, and get advice from an expert on the doses and the right dosage of the various nutrients.

What to feed a stray cat: milk?

If we were to ask everyone the same question, which is the main food in a cat’s diet, most would certainly answer milk. Yet if a puppy needs mother’s milk, because it contains colostrum, things change as the cat grows and becomes an adult. For this reason, perhaps it is good to search among types of vegetable milk for adult cats.

Feeding the stray cat: what is best for him

So with the milk removed, what is left to give to the stray cat we meet on the street? The best solution seems to be dry food or croquettes. We choose the protein and low-fat ones.

Dry cat food

If we are undecided between dry and wet food for the cat, know that the feline much prefers the latter, also for a matter of consistency of the food and chewing. Also, don’t forget to always fill a bowl with fresh and clean water: cats tend to drink little but this can cause dehydration problems.

The positive side of the croquettes, however, is in addition to the practicality of the meal itself. It is also the fact that it is an excellent remedy to eliminate any food residues between the teeth. In practice, they act as a toothbrush for the cat! So the best thing is probably to alternate the two types of food and ‘indulge’, when possible, the tastes of our favorite street feline.

Newborn stray Cat, how often should it eat?

But it’s not just what you feed your kitten that’s important, it’s also how much. In the first 15 days of life, cats are able to take little milk, so meals must be rather frequent. Generally, schedule a feed every three hours, with 5/10 ml of milk at a time.

Consider that in the very first days it is good for the little one not to eat too much. Because this could cause him episodes of diarrhea, very annoying in such small puppies. As the kitten grows, however, you can also begin to increase the doses of milk that you give him.

Starting from the third week of life, you can also begin to decrease the number of feedings, bringing them to 5/6 per day.

What to feed the cat: what to avoid

If on the one hand, therefore, milk can be the fundamental food for the kitten’s diet, it is at the same time the most harmful for the adult specimen. In fact, veterinarians advise against giving this purely carnivorous animal such a fatty food as milk.

The risk is that it can cause gastrointestinal problems, even very serious ones, precisely because the intestine of the adult cat is no longer able to digest this food. Yet, someone will say, in the collective imagination. There is the figure of a cat licking milk from its bowl: it is not so!

This does not mean that the cat does not like milk and its derivatives. But this food they are crazy about can cause severe discomfort in the stomach and intestines, so better to avoid!

Conclusion

We know you’ve got the right answer to your question. If you have any further questions, please let us know in the comments.