Cats and pregnancy: give pregnant mothers a diet for kittens
As we have already explained in another post, a kitten’s diet differs from that of adult animals, because they have different needs. So-called immunonutrients (nucleotides, immunoglobulins and prebiotics) can facilitate quicker immune system development.
- Nucleotides: diets supplemented with nucleotides increase postvaccine antibody production and lymphocyte responsiveness.
- Immunoglobulins: these block pathogens from binding to the intestinal mucosa. They prevent toxin production and gastrointestinal disorders.
- Prebiotics: stimulate the growth of bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, which help maintain the balance of the intestinal flora.
Cats and pregnancy: is a special diet necessary?
The Advance Kitten Diet is especially recommended for both kittens from 2 to 12 months as well as pregnant or nursing cats. It is recommended during pregnancy because the future kittens will get a head start by benefiting from the nutrients they receive from their mother when developing in the uterus or nursing.
A cat’s breast milk has a much higher nucleotide concentration than human milk. Kittens depend heavily on these nucleotides derived from their mother’s milk. Increasing the amount of nucleotides in the mother’s diet means that a greater concentration will enter her breast milk and then be transferred to the kitten.
The Advance Kitten Diet also includes chicken and rice as highly digestible energy sources.
Other benefits for the mother and her kittens include:
- High protein and fat content, which promote muscle development and meet the kittens’ elevated energy needs due to growth.
- Good calcium: phosphorus ratio to improve the kittens’ bone development.
- Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
- Active immunoglobulins: help maintain intestinal integrity.
- Taurine is essential for maintaining optimal vision.
- Neutral pH for correct urinary tract function.
So, we can anticipate the kittens’ birth and improve their development from day one. All of this is easily achievable by simply giving pregnant cats special diets such as the Advance Kitten Diet.
