Most cats don't like water and will stay away from it even when it's in food. Pureeing wet cat food can help improve your pet's hydration, promoting various benefits for the animal's well-being. Of course, you'd want to know how to puree wet cat food. We gathered expert tips to help you with how to puree your pet's meal properly.
Pureeing wet cat food needs careful assessment of the ingredients. Adding ingredients, such as fruits and vegetables, necessitates that you remove components like the skin. Remove these things before pureeing the feline’s dish to safeguard their health.
The process sounds simple but it still needs careful planning. Here, we’re going to share a detailed guide to help you puree your cat’s wet food properly. We’ll also give answers to related questions about pureed cat food. So keep reading!
Pureeing Wet Cat Food
How to Make Puree for Cats
The process of pureeing food for cats is slightly different for each recipe. For example, mashing squash to add to a mixture of ingredients needs the food to be clean and without seeds or skin. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make butternut and pumpkin puree for your cat:
- Remove the skin and seeds from the squash.
- Rinse the pumpkin in cold or lukewarm water to clean.
- Cut into 2- to 3-inch cubes.
- Put the cubes in a pan with distilled water before placing them in a pot.
- Cook the pot and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to cook the squash thoroughly.
- Use a fork or knife to check if the pumpkin is soft and remove it from the burner or stove afterward.
- Strain the water to leave the cooked pumpkin.
- Transfer the squash to a blender or food processor to puree.
Can I Blend Wet Cat Food?
You can put wet cat food in the blender. Mix canned wet cat food with other ingredients, like fruits, vegetables, and pieces of meat, to entice your pet. You can also add water for extra moisture. After blending, put the food in the microwave for a few seconds to enhance the aroma.
Should I Mash Up Wet Cat Food?
Yes, you should mash up wet cat food before serving it to your pet. It's because some commercially made canned wet cat food still has leftover bone fragments. Mashing the food will help you reveal these pieces, ensuring the safety of your pet while the animal enjoys the meal.
How Long Will Pureed Wet Cat Food Last?
If properly stored in a refrigerator, pureed wet cat food can last up to five days. Make sure that the cat food is in an airtight container. Otherwise, issues like molds can develop in the food because extra air and moisture enter the case if it has gaps or holes. In turn, the harmful substances can contaminate the food, leading to health risks to your cat when consumed.
You can also check the Best By or Expiry date on the packaging of the cat food. You can still feed your feline with expired cat food if it has only been a few days since the product’s due date. However, don’t make your cat consume food that has been spoiled for weeks.
The Benefits of Pureeing Wet Cat Food
Pureeing wet cat food has advantages for pet parents and their felines. These incentives range from helping you save time in preparing food for your pet to safeguarding the animal’s nutritional needs.
Saving Time
If your cat is a fan of homemade cat food, preparing your pet’s food every day can take a significant amount of time. You can save valuable time and effort by setting a time and date to prepare a week’s worth of food for your pet. In turn, you can reheat the prepared meal slightly before giving it to your cat instead of spending extra time every day to cook the food.
Appeasing Picky Eaters
Cats are notoriously picky eaters. You'll encounter instances when your pet will stare at the food bowl before walking away. It's because your cat doesn't like the food served straight from the can. Instead, puree the wet food to control how the dish tastes. Mix the meal with an extensive range of tasty flavors to ensure your pet will never get bored of eating your prepared food.
Improving Hydration
Most cats avoid water, which can be detrimental to their health. Felines only drink water when they feel parched. Otherwise, these animals won’t go near moisture. By pureeing your cat’s wet food, you can add more water to the dish. In turn, you can fulfill your cat’s hydration needs without them realizing it.
Adding more water to your cat’s diet also reduces dehydration risks. Take note that dehydration can also lead to serious health issues, such as renal failure and feline lower urinary tract disease.
How Do I Make My Cat's Food Tasty?
Many cats are picky eaters. Mixing certain ingredients with the animals’ food can make their dishes more delectable than before. Some of these food items include cooked chicken, beef, and certain fishes like mackerel and sardines.
Pet parents can also add a tinge of catnip to their cats’ food. This perennial herb emanates aromas that are irresistible to felines. These scents stimulate cats’ sensory neurons, triggering their brains’ pleasure responses.
Take note that you should garnish the catnip and not mix it with other ingredients using blenders or food processors. This substance loses its attractiveness to cats when combined and mushed into other items. Therefore, adding catnip as a final ingredient works best for your cat to find food mouthwatering.
Is Homemade Food Better for Cats?
Homemade food can be better than some commercially prepared food for cats. Some companies tend to add artificial flavor boosters and chemical preservatives to make their products desirable to customers. However, these additives can harm cats’ health over time, particularly when they eat these food options frequently.
On the other hand, preparing homemade food requires keeping cats’ nutritional requirements in mind. Combining different pieces of meat and other ingredients to make the dish appetizing for cats won’t always provide the best nutritional benefits. Cat parents should take the time in preparing their pets’ food while taking note of the animals’ nutrition and ensure their well-being.
What to Feed an Older Cat That is Losing Weight?
A 2020 study reveals the nutritional requirement differences of adult and senior cats. The researchers found out that senior cats of equal to or over seven years old need more crude fiber content in their diets than adult felines.
Take note that most senior cats are less active than their younger counterparts. Therefore, seniors are more prone to health concerns like overweight and obesity. The additional fiber in the diets of senior felines can help improve their digestion, reducing the risks of these health risks.
Cat parents need to feed their senior pets with fiber-rich food. Wet cat food with over 5% fiber content should suffice. However, don’t overfeed your cat with too much dietary fiber. Otherwise, the extra fiber can cause digestion issues.
Aside from fiber, feed your senior cats with food that's rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. As per the National Research Council's book titled Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, essential fats and fatty acids can help provide energy, assist in vitamin absorption, and improve skin and coat health in cats, regardless of their age.
Final Words
Take note of the ingredients when pureeing wet cat food. Make sure that it doesn't have bone fragments, seeds, or the skin of fruits. Otherwise, these items can harm your pet's optimal well-being. Doing this process can also promote various benefits for you and your pet. These advantages can include saving your valuable time from preparing cat food every day and improving your pet’s health.
Do not put cats food in a microwave ever! That process strips the food put of taurine which is essential for cats. In a previous experiment all cats fed microwaved food died