Ultimate Guide to Feeding Stray Cats: Tips & Tricks

Part 1: The Diet of Stray Cats

Stray cats, without a consistent feeding schedule, often resort to a diet that includes garbage from bins, the carcasses of animals that have died from accidents or medications, and small wildlife they catch themselves. This not only fails to provide them with clean and hygienic food in a timely manner but also has a detrimental impact on the surrounding environment. Additionally, the difficulty in accessing clean water sources in urban areas exacerbates this issue, significantly increasing the risk of food poisoning and even death due to unsanitary eating habits.

Part 2: Criteria for Choosing Cat Food

Basic Principles:

Opt for cat food produced by reputable brands, which clearly label the fat and protein content, and provide a detailed breakdown of the ingredients and their proportions. Cleanliness, safety, and nontoxicity are paramount. Examples of popular brands include Royal Canin (RMB 1520 per pound), Meow Mix (RMB 510 per pound), Likan (RMB 515 per pound), Jinshu (RMB 2530 per pound), and Meow Mix (RMB 2028 per pound).

Points to Consider:

It is generally recommended to choose cat food with a protein content of over 25%, and if possible, opt for food with over 30% protein.

Try to select cat food with clearly stated ingredients, such as chicken, chicken meal, salmon meal, and frozen turkey, rather than vague terms like "meat meal."

Avoid vegetarian cat food and certain wellknown toxic brands.

Before purchasing, search online using Baidu or WeChat to check if the brand has had any serious food safety issues detected in the past six months (such as bacterial contamination or aflatoxin overexposure).

Part 3: Canned Food, Cat Treats, FreezeDried Products, and Fresh Pouches

Basic Principles:

Always opt for regular cat food over canned food, treats, freezedried products, and fresh pouches, as these are considered snacks. Overindulgence can lead to picky eating, malnutrition, and even organ failure, which can be fatal.

When purchasing, choose products from wellknown brands or manufacturers, with clear ingredient labels. Examples include Jinshang, Meow Mix, Zhenzhi, Fuli Xian, Jujue Shou, Xiaopei, Royal Canin, Yiqin, Wannai, Xibao, and Xueshiya.

Points to Consider:

Before buying, search online using Baidu or WeChat to check if the brand has had any serious bacterial contamination issues or aflatoxin overexposure detected in the past six months.

Avoid purchasing unbranded products, such as plain tin cans, bulk freezedried products, etc.

Part 4: Human Food

Avoid feeding your cat human food or leftovers! Human food often contains large amounts of spices, garlic, and various seasonings that can be harmful to cats. For instance, onions, garlic, and chives can be fatal; grapes can cause acute kidney failure; cherries and tomatoes can lead to cyanide poisoning and solanine poisoning, respectively; highsugar foods can trigger diabetes; and chili can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, potentially causing bleeding.

If you offer plain, boiled, boneless, and skinless meat without any seasonings, it can be given as a treat in small quantities, but it should not be used as a longterm or sole substitute for commercial cat food. Proper homemade cat food replacements require a balanced mix of calcium powder, potassium iodide, taurine, liver, vitamins, and more, and should include a variety of meat types and cuts. Without proper scientific proportioning, homemade food can be as harmful as toxic commercial food.

As for raw meat and bones, it is not recommended to use these for feeding. First, the choice of bone type and location is crucial; inappropriate bones or cooked bones can damage a cat's teeth and digestive system. Second, if the raw meat and bones come from an unreliable source, they can easily lead to infections like Brucellosis and Pseudorabies. [Note: In many developing countries and underdeveloped regions, the livestock industry has not yet completely eliminated Brucellosis and Pseudorabies. If infected, not only will the cats suffer, but it can also pose a threat to humans in the area.]

Part 5: Feeding Methods and Location Selection

Prepare the food, clean drinking water, and two clean containers (one for food and one for water; avoid using tin cans as they can cut the cat; consider using clean takeout boxes, lids, or discarded bowls/plates).

Find a quiet corner where cats often appear, away from human activity, such as a corner of a wall, inside shrubs, or under a tree root. Try to keep the location discreet to avoid attracting cruel people and to prevent inconvenience to cleaners.

Place the food and water in separate containers and position them, then step back a safe distance.

After a few hours (such as overnight or half a day), discard any remaining food and water, wash the containers, and replace them with fresh food and water.

A cat's meal should consist of about 12 handfuls of cat food at a time; do not overfeed to prevent vomiting and food waste.