Snack e cibi liofilizzati per gatti

I nostri snack e cibi liofilizzati sono un'alimentazione di altissima qualità creata pensando alla salute del tuo animale domestico. Sono realizzati esclusivamente con ingredienti naturali, senza cereali, conservanti artificiali, riempitivi o additivi chimici.

The cat is an obligate carnivore, which means its body cannot cover its requirement for protein and for some vitamins from plant sources. Feeding a cat properly therefore rests on meat and offal rather than on grain, which in cat food most often serves as filler.

Pets living entirely indoors move less than their free-living relatives, and their health depends to a large degree on what goes into the bowl every day. A well-chosen cat food gives a cat energy, a stable body weight and everyday digestive comfort.

Dr Malou answers that need with a single technology. Freeze-drying makes it possible to seal in the pack a raw material with a meat and offal content of over 90%, with no artificial preservatives and no high-temperature processing.

The range for cats covers three groups of products that can be combined within one diet:

• Freeze-dried complete foods - balanced everyday meals, available for kittens and for adult cats.
• Freeze-dried soups - complete wet food in concentrated form, prepared by adding water.
• Freeze-dried treats - complementary food for rewarding and for adding variety to the diet.

In our range, every complete food is also available in a small sample, so you can check how your cat responds before buying a larger pack. With every product you can count on a full recipe and a feeding table. Dietary advice is provided by Lucyna Traczyk-Sala, MSc Eng, an animal husbandry specialist and veterinary technician who has completed a course in animal nutrition and postgraduate studies in the psychology of companion animals.

What Do Cats Need in Their Diet? Taurine and Other Essential Nutrients

A cat's metabolism differs from a dog's enough that dog food is not suitable for a cat even as a stopgap. Four elements are crucial, and a cat cannot obtain them from a plant-based diet:

• Taurine - an amino acid that a cat does not synthesise in sufficient amounts, and a shortfall leads to heart disease and degeneration of the retina. Hearts and other offal contain the most taurine.
• Vitamin A in its ready form - a cat does not effectively convert beta-carotene from vegetables, so it has to receive retinol from animal sources.
• Arachidonic acid - a fatty acid present only in animal fat.
• A high protein supply - a cat's protein requirement is markedly higher than a dog's and stays high throughout its life.

A properly balanced complete food delivers these nutrients in the right amounts in every meal, which is a condition for the normal functioning of the heart, the eyesight and the immune system. For the same reason, diets put together without nutritional knowledge, including raw feeding based on raw meat and offal, end in deficiencies more often in cats than in dogs.

Types of Cat Food: Dry Food, Wet Food and Freeze-Dried Food

In pet shops you will come across three basic forms of food, plus semi-moist food. They differ in water content, in how they are produced and in how they affect an animal's fluid balance.

Dry Cat Food: Convenience, Low Moisture and the Tartar Myth

Dry food contains around 8 to 10% water and is convenient to portion and store. That low moisture is exactly what explains its biggest drawback: the cat descends from a desert animal, has a poorly developed thirst reflex and rarely drinks as much as it needs, so when you feed dry food you must make sure there is constant access to fresh water.

The repeated claim that dry food strengthens the teeth and prevents tartar is greatly overstated. Standard kibble crumbles on first contact with the tooth, so it does not remove plaque. Only kibble with a special fibrous structure has a cleaning effect, and even that does not replace brushing or treatment at the vet.

Wet Cat Food: Hydration and Support for the Urinary Tract

Wet food contains 70 to 85% water, which makes it the form closest to a cat's natural diet, where fluid comes from caught prey. A higher water intake dilutes the urine and encourages more frequent emptying of the bladder, which matters in preventing lower urinary tract disease.

For cats that drink little, this is the simplest way to increase fluid intake. Wet food is also more palatable, which is often decisive, because cats can be fussy and quickly get used to a single texture. Its drawbacks remain the short shelf life after opening and the need for refrigeration.

Freeze-Dried Cat Food: Concentrated Nutrition Without Preservatives

Freeze-drying means freezing the raw material and removing the water from it under vacuum. The absence of high-temperature processing preserves nutritional value along with natural taste and aroma, while producing a food that keeps well without artificial preservatives.

For a cat, freeze-dried food has two practical advantages. A small portion delivers plenty of nutrients, which helps with animals that have little appetite, and once water is added the food turns into a moist meal, so one pack can serve as both dry and wet food.

For Adult Cats, a Complete Food Is the Basis of the Diet

A complete food on its own covers the daily requirement for energy, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Complementary food, meaning treats and some wet products, is only an extra and should account for roughly 10% of the daily calorie intake.

The distinction appears on every pack and is worth checking before you buy, because a product's trade name does not always reveal it. A cat fed only on complementary food starts to develop deficiencies after a few months, above all in taurine, calcium and fat-soluble vitamins.

In the Dr Malou range, the complete foods for adult cats are Chicken with Chicken Hearts, Chicken with Salmon and Duck with Lamb. All the soups for cats also hold complete food status.

Good Cat Food: How Do You Read the Recipe on the Label?

Ingredients are listed in descending order of share, so the first entries carry the most information. Below are four things worth checking before you add a product to the basket.

Meat Content and Protein Sources in the Recipe of Cat Food

A high meat content is treated as the starting point, but the figure alone is not enough. The thresholds repeated in guides, for instance at least 60 or 70%, do not come from legislation and are a market convention rather than a standard.

When assessing a food, pay attention to three things:

• A named raw material source. The entry "chicken breast" says specifically what you are feeding your cat, while "products of animal origin" says nothing.
• The presence of offal. Hearts, liver and stomachs bring taurine and vitamins that muscle meat alone contains only in small amounts.
• The point of reference for the percentages. In wet food the meat share is calculated from the mass including water, so it is not compared directly with a product that has had the water removed.

Taurine, Vitamins and Minerals Every Cat Needs

A food labelled as complete must contain taurine in an amount that covers the requirement, along with the full set of vitamins and minerals. In Dr Malou recipes these are added during production, once the raw material has been ground, in line with the FEDIAF guidelines.

It is worth remembering that taurine is sensitive to heat treatment, which is why in foods that undergo sterilisation or extrusion manufacturers add it in excess. In a freeze-dried product the losses are smaller, because the process runs without high temperature.

Grain-Free Cat Food and Carbohydrates in a Cat's Diet

Grain-free food is often recommended for cats with allergies and digestive problems. That follows from physiology: a cat has a limited ability to digest starch and does not need grain in its diet, so in cat food it is usually an unnecessary filler.

You do need to know, however, that the absence of grain does not automatically mean a low carbohydrate share. If the grain has been replaced with peas, potato or tapioca, the total starch content may stay much the same. Dr Malou foods contain no grain and no maize, and their carbohydrates come solely from functional ingredients with a defined role.

What to Avoid in the Recipe of Cat Food

The highest quality products stand on a short ingredient list built from natural ingredients. When choosing a food, check that the recipe contains none of the following:

• Artificial preservatives such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or ethoxyquin.
• Artificial colourings, which are added purely with the buyer in mind.
• Flavour enhancers, which mask poor quality raw material.
• Sugars and caramel, added for colour and taste.

Which Cat Food Suits Which Life Stage?

Nutritional needs change throughout an animal's life, so the right food for a kitten will not suit a senior. When choosing a product, look at your pet's age, state of health and lifestyle.

Food for Small Kittens and Young Cats

Kittens grow fast and need food with a higher protein content and more calories than adult cats. Calcium and phosphorus in the right proportion also matter, along with DHA, which supports the development of the nervous system.

Kittens eat 4 to 5 times a day at even intervals, because their stomachs cannot hold the whole daily ration in two portions. Dr Malou has prepared Chicken with Goat's Milk and Egg Yolk for them, intended for kittens up to 12 months of age. The same recipe suits nursing queens, whose energy requirement rises several times over.

Food for Adult and Neutered Cats

After neutering or spaying, a cat's energy requirement falls by as much as a third, while its appetite usually grows. That combination makes excess weight the most common health problem in cats after the procedure, and with it the risk of diabetes and lower urinary tract disease rises.

A diet matched to the needs of a cat after the procedure should keep a high supply of easily digestible protein with a controlled calorie content, while also providing plenty of fluid. This is where wet foods and soups have a practical value, since they increase the volume of a meal without adding calories.

Food for Senior Cats

Older cats often lose muscle mass, so lowering their protein supply is a mistake. A senior's diet should have a moderate calorie content, easily digestible protein sources and fibre to support regular bowel movements.

Texture matters too. Where there is tooth loss and a weakened sense of smell, freeze-dried food becomes soft once warm water is added and smells intense, which makes eating easier.

Veterinary Diets for Cats: When Does Nutrition Support Treatment?

Veterinary diets have a modified mineral and protein composition and are intended for use with specific diagnoses, for example kidney disease, urinary stones or diabetes. They are not used preventively in healthy animals.

Choosing such a diet belongs to the vet treating the patient, because the same symptom can have different causes, and the wrong diet worsens the prognosis. Dr Malou does not offer veterinary diets. Products with functional ingredients, such as the cranberry soup in the Urinary variety, are nutritional support for the urinary tract, not a medicinal preparation.

Cat Food for Food Allergies: Single-Protein Sources

In cats, food reactions most often involve poultry and beef protein, less often grain. The symptoms can be misleading: itching around the head and neck, excessive licking, hair loss, or chronic vomiting and diarrhoea.

The approach rests on an elimination diet, in which the animal receives a single protein source for several weeks, ideally a new one. Products with short recipes help here: single-ingredient Dr Malou treats such as Lamb Liver 100% or Salmon 100% let you reward your cat without skewing the result of the trial. Quail egg yolk, in turn, is an alternative for animals allergic to hen's eggs. A diagnosis of allergy is always confirmed with a vet.

How Much and How Often Should You Feed a Cat?

The daily amount depends on body weight, age, activity level and the animal's physiological state. Figures quoted in guides, such as 70 to 80 grams of dry food for a four-kilogram cat, are indicative only and do not carry over to foods with a different energy density, including freeze-dried ones. The right amount is set from the feeding table on the pack.

Cats eat in small portions, so adult animals are usually given 3 to 4 meals a day at even intervals. Leaving food in the bowl all day makes portion control difficult and delays noticing a drop in appetite, which in a cat can be the first sign of illness.

Whatever the type of food, a cat must have constant access to fresh water. It is worth placing the water bowl away from the food bowl and from the litter tray, because in nature a cat does not drink where it eats.

Changing a Cat's Food Step by Step

Cats respond worse than dogs to sudden changes of diet, and some of them refuse a new product out of sheer habit. New food is introduced over at least seven days, gradually increasing its share of the existing ration.

With animals that have a delicate digestive system it is worth extending the transition to two weeks. If a cat will not eat, warming the meal to body temperature or adding warm water to the freeze-dried food helps, as this releases the aroma. Refusal to eat lasting more than a day is an urgent situation in a cat and calls for contact with the practice, because going without food quickly affects the liver, and a pet's wellbeing depends on regular meals.

The Effect of Diet on a Cat's Coat, Skin and Healthy Teeth

The condition of the coat is a visible indicator of whether the diet covers an animal's requirement. A dull, greasy or brittle coat, excessive shedding and dandruff appear where there is a shortfall in protein, zinc, biotin and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

The condition of your cat's skin and coat depends above all on fats of fish origin, found among others in salmon. Healthy teeth, on the other hand, are a matter of mechanical care rather than of food alone: no diet replaces brushing and dental check-ups, although hard treats that have to be chewed give the animal something extra to do.

Pet Shop or the Manufacturer's Shop? Where to Buy Cat Food?

Owners searching online for where to buy cat food usually land on large pet retail platforms. In a pet shop, whether on the high street or online, you will find supermarket foods, premium brands and products from smaller, specialised manufacturers side by side. The advantage is the wide choice and the chance to compare many brands at once; the drawback is that advice usually goes no further than the product description.

Buying directly from the manufacturer, you get full information about the origin of the raw material and the technology, and the goods are dispatched from a warehouse under veterinary supervision. With every product in the Dr Malou shop you can see the full recipe, the feeding table, the add-to-basket button, the promotional price and the regular price, and where there is a reduction, also the legally required information about the lowest price that applied in the preceding 30 days.

Once a product is in the basket, the promotional price appears next to the regular price, so it is immediately clear what the order actually costs.

Your cat's taste preferences also affect the choice, and those cannot be predicted from a label. That is why, before ordering a larger pack, it is worth starting with a sample and checking whether your cat takes any interest in the new recipe at all. If your cat has recurring urinary tract problems, be sure to choose products that increase water intake in the diet.

Cat Food: Frequently Asked Questions

Which cat food is the best?

There is no single food that is best for every cat. The best food for a particular animal is one that matches its age, activity level and state of health, has named protein sources in the recipe and holds complete food status. You will recognise the best products by a short recipe rather than by the description on the pack.

Should wet food be the basis of a cat's diet?

Wet food works well as the basis of a diet thanks to its high water content and its closeness to the way a cat naturally feeds. A diet can also be built on freeze-dried food served rehydrated, which gives a similar effect with more convenient storage.

Can a cat eat both dry and wet food?

Yes, mixed feeding is acceptable as long as both products are complete. They can be served in separate meals or combined, remembering to reduce both portions so that the daily calorie requirement is not exceeded.

Can a cat eat dog food?

No. Cat food contains taurine, ready-formed vitamin A and arachidonic acid in amounts that dog food does not provide. Feeding a cat dog food over a long period leads to serious deficiencies.

How does freeze-dried food differ from air-dried food?

Air-dried food is made by evaporating the water at raised temperature, while freeze-dried food is made by freezing the raw material and removing the water under vacuum. The freeze-dried product retains more nutritional value, the natural aroma and the structure of the meat, which makes it easier to tempt your cat to eat.

How do you store freeze-dried cat food?

Keep the pack in a dry, cool place away from direct sunlight, and once opened close it tightly or transfer the contents into an airtight container. A fridge is not needed; a prepared soup that your cat has not eaten, however, is kept chilled and used within a day.

Grazie a un avanzato processo di liofilizzazione (liofilizzazione), i prodotti conservano quasi il 100% del valore nutrizionale, delle vitamine e del sapore della carne fresca. È una forma di alimentazione pura e biologicamente appropriata che supporta l'immunità, l'energia e la condizione generale dell'animale.

Il cibo liofilizzato è facilmente digeribile e perfettamente assimilabile, ideale anche per animali con allergie o sistemi digestivi sensibili. È vero cibo, senza compromessi.