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Antioxidants are good for your cat because they play a key role in minimizing damage to cells, including cells of the immune system.
These important, naturally occurring nutrients help maintain health by slowing the destructive oxidative process of cellular molecules. They also can be important in supporting immune responses and vaccine recognition in cats. This may be especially critical for kittens that are being vaccinated while their immune system is still developing.
Additionally, antioxidants can reverse decreases in immune-cell function for senior cats, increasing them back to healthy adult levels.
Antioxidants are nutrients found naturally in the body and in plants such as fruits and vegetables. Common antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E and certain compounds called carotenoids (including lutein and beta-carotene). A blend of several antioxidants in moderate amounts may be more effective than high levels of one antioxidant.
As cells function normally in the body, they produce damaged molecules called free radicals. These free radicals are highly unstable and steal components from other cellular molecules, such as fat, protein or DNA, thereby spreading the damage.
This damage continues in a chain reaction, and entire cells soon become damaged and die in a process called peroxidation. Peroxidation is useful because it helps the body destroy cells that have outlived their usefulness and kills germs and parasites. However, when left unchecked, peroxidation also destroys or damages healthy cells.
Antioxidants help prevent widespread cellular destruction by willingly donating components to stabilize free radicals. More importantly, antioxidants return to the surface of the cell to stabilize rather than damage other cellular components.
When there are not enough antioxidants to hold peroxidation in check, free radicals begin damaging healthy cells, which can lead to problems. For example, free radical damage to immune cells can lead to an increased risk of infection.
Because antioxidants play a key role in minimizing damage to cells, such as those that make up the immune system, recent research examined the benefits of certain antioxidants on the immune response of cats. The results of these studies indicated that antioxidants are important in helping cats maintain a healthy immune system.
The research also showed that each antioxidant benefits the immune system uniquely, so one antioxidant at high levels is not as effective as a group of antioxidants acting together.
| Antioxidant | Source | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin E | Plant oil extract, tocopherols | Optimizes immune system’s T-cell activation |
| Beta-carotene | Vitamin premix, corn meal, chicken by-product meal and chicken fat | Optimizes types of cells present in the blood, increases antibody levels in the blood and optimizes vaccine recognition |
Recent research also examined the effect of aging on immune responses. The findings indicate that as cats age, immune cell responses may decline. Including antioxidants in your cat’s diet can help reverse the age-related decrease in immune cell function, returning it to healthy adult levels.
IAMS Cat Food offers chicken as number 1 source to build up cat’s nutrition and immunity
Author: Dr. Cissy Ramos
To help owners better maintain the health and development of their cats, IAMS has developed a line that is uniquely tailored for cats’ needs and has chicken as its number one ingredient. IAMS Cat food includes Taurine as an additional supplement for natural variability and production process.
A study conducted by WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition reports that cats prefer food that is similar to their natural prey such as mice or birds. Likewise, the evolutionary ancestors of cats did not consume fish.
Cats are considered as strict carnivores and they’re still highly related to their ancestors. Their teeth and skull conformation are actually designed to hunt and kill prey efficiently.
In fact, cats are obligate carnivores and they eat meat out of biological necessity. The same study also found that 52% of a cat's calorie intake is from protein, which can be synthesized best through animal-based protein. Therefore, cats require quality protein sources to be included in their diet for sustenance.
Animal-based protein can help cats maintain healthy muscle structures and provide them with natural forms of amino acids. Adding certain sources of protein, especially animal sources, cats can easily process it, break it down, and use it up in their body. Animal sources proteins like chicken can greatly contribute to the quality of protein in their diet and they do get appropriate amount of essential amino acids from it.
In total, cats can internally produce 11 essential amino acids. However, the remaining 11 categories of amino acids can only be provided through a nutritious diet to meet their needs. When you have good quality protein, the cat can receive a good amount of amino acids that are important for its health. The protein from chicken contains multiple levels of essential amino acids, such as Lysine, Phenylalanine, Arginine, and Taurine.
Cats can get a great amount of Lysine from chicken. If there is deficiency in Lysine, the side effects would be low appetite and depression for cats.
Another crucial essential amino acid for cats would be Phenylalanine. If cats have a low amount of Phenylalanine, there are instances that black cats can turn into brown cats because Phenylalanine is in charge of production of melanin for cats. It’s not just for the coloring but that’s the most obvious sign that there’s a deficiency.
Cats need more Taurine compared to other mammals as it supports excellent eyesight. We know for a fact that cats are hunters, and they need good eyesight for that.
Taurine, an especially essential amino acid for cats, is a critical component that supports heart muscle function, vision, digestion, and fetal development. The recommendation of Taurine for cats is around 35 to 55 milligrams of Taurine per kilogram per day. In fact, low levels of Taurine in kittens can lead to blindness, heart failure, congenital defects, and poor immune response.
It is necessary for cat owners to choose a diet that is made by a trusted brand like IAMS: palatable, complete, balanced, contains high quality protein, and enriched with amino acids. This will play a key role for the proper development and normal functioning of cats and enhance their wellness.
The importance of considering the life stage of cats when feeding them is also crucial for cat’s nutrition. With this, IAMS food products offer different varieties of cat foods–dry or wet and for each life stage. For each life stage, there are specific recommendations for the amount to feed and the levels of nutrients that they need.
IAMS cat food is formulated with colostrum and contains DHA found in mother’s milk for kittens cognition, as well as a signature blend of wholesome fiber and FOS natural prebiotic for healthy digestion. IAMS is scientifically proven to help increase the level of Vitamin E in your cat for healthy natural defense.
In addition, IAMS food products can help address specific health concerns in cats. Cats habitually groom themselves and have a tendency to ingest their fur. Of course, the risk of hairball formation is much higher for long-haired cats. Additionally, indoor cats tend to be obese due to overfeeding, inactivity, or sometimes it is simply caused by genetics.
IAMS offers hairball formula which cater to cats in order to reduce the passage of hair in the cat’s digestive tract. . IAMS also offers cat food that is specifically designed for weight management for cats who are obese.
Having protein in your cat’s diet is vital for its overall health and long-term wellbeing. For more information about IAMS Cat visit https://iams.asia/ph. IAMS Cats is available at all leading supermarkets and grocery stores nationwide.
