23.04.2022

What to look for in Burmese cat food? Untamed reveals pro hacks!

Burmese cats may have round-ish builds, but don’t mistake them for laidback homebodies! Even when they live indoors, these kitties are active, vocal, and curious explorers who need a lot of energy to go about the day. 

The right Burmese cat food should help these kitties maintain an athletic physique and harness enough calories for their daily adventures.

Vets recommend regular consumption of wet food for Burmese cats, but not all commercial products work for these kitties. You need to discern whether the food is tailored to prevent common health conditions typical for this breed, including diabetes, cystitis, and kidney disease. Let’s decipher the kind of nutrition that powers this breed.

The ideal diet for Burmese cats explained

Burmese cats need a high-protein diet for optimal physical and mental health. Besides proteins, they need a moderate amount of fats to regulate hormones and maintain organ function. Although used as fillers in different types of cat food, carbs can be extremely dangerous for this breed. 

Based on the nutrient content in the natural feline diet, Burmese kitties need a diet with:

1. More than 50% protein
2. Up to 20% fat
3. Under 3% carbs

Cats are obligate carnivores, and processing whole meat is biologically appropriate for them, so the protein source should be your primary concern when buying any cat food.

Burmese are velcro kitties—fiercely loyal and attached to their hoomans. Forget fussiness—they trust you wholeheartedly and will eat whatever you serve them.

Source: silver_mittens

Burmese cat food—where should the proteins come from?

Burmese felines may appear small with soft features covered in dainty fur, but they are brawnier than they look. They have dense bones and well-developed muscles, often weighing more than their Siamese or Oriental cousins. No wonder Burmese kitties are fondly called bricks wrapped in silk!

According to top nutritionists, this breed should get their proteins from lean whole meat and fish to maintain their athletic build. Cat food with poultry and seafood is generally considered healthy for them. Burmese cannot absorb and utilise proteins from other sources efficiently. Avoid products with low-quality protein extracted from:

• Processed animal byproducts (meat derivatives)
• Plants (vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, and whole grains)
• Dairy
• Farmed insects

The products must have adequate quantities of taurine, an amino acid critical for normal vision, cardiac health, and foetal development during pregnancy. This breed is genetically predisposed to a heart muscle disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), often aggravated by hyperthyroidism in senior years. HCM can be prevented by regular intake of taurine.

Adult cats need roughly 10 milligrams of taurine daily for every kilo of their body weight. The micronutrient is present in lean meat like chicken breast and liver, duck, turkey, salmon, and tuna. Vegan proteins, eggs, and milk have little to no taurine.

High carb and fat values are red flags in Burmese cat food

According to a study of the feline metabolic profile, British or European Burmese cats are five times more likely to develop diabetes than other breeds. American Burmese don’t share the same risk as they come from a different genetic strain.

Diabetic cats are unable to produce enough insulin to balance out the sugar levels in their bloodstream and tend to show the following symptoms:

1. Overeating or gorging (due to low energy levels)
2. Excessive thirst and urination
3. Lethargy
4. Sudden weight loss
5. Frequent UTIs

Cats on a high-carb or high-fat diet are at a higher risk of diabetes. The condition is often triggered by regular dry food meals as kibbles usually come with a higher percentage of volume-giving carbs and taste-enhancing fats than wet food. You should also be mindful of products with fatty meat, such as beef, lamb, and pork.

Something’s off with kibbles, hooman. I’d love real meat. It’s like craving pizza but having to make do with pizza-flavoured biscuits.

Source: daisytheburmesecat

Besides diabetes, a diet rich in fat and carbs can also lead to other health problems, including:

• Weight gain—Consuming fats and carbs excessively means your kitty gets more calories than they spend, which gradually leads to weight gain. Obesity usually precedes diabetes in most cats. Due to their heavy build, overweight Burmese kitties get afflicted with elbow osteoarthritis. It’s an excruciating condition that disrupts their mobility
• Gastrointestinal issues—An overdose of fats and carbs can lead to gagging, regurgitation, vomiting, and diarrhoea in kitties because they cannot handle too much at a time. Frequent gastrointestinal episodes cause stomach sensitivity, leading to more serious conditions like chronic constipation and IBS

Keep your Burmese kitty healthy and chipper with Untamed wet food!

Balanced nutrition is the key to keeping a Burmese kitty fit and happy, and Untamed offers exactly what this breed needs. Our high-protein wet food is made with whole meat, gently steamed to bring out the tempting aroma and flavours of the ingredients!

We offer twice more proteins than the industry average. Our catalogue includes:

1. Complete gravy food with 63% whole meat, designed to provide all essential nutrients in suitable quantities
2. Complementary jelly food with 60% whole meat, ideal as a light meal or topping on biscuits

When you make feline health a priority, whole meat becomes a necessity.

Image (c) Untamed

Why pick Untamed

Untamed products suit every breed and life stage, thanks to our vet-formulated recipes. Our food complements feline biology because it’s real meat, not iffy substitutes like plant proteins or meat derivatives. Our grain- and sugar-free meals are ideal for breeds like Burmese who live under the looming fear of developing diabetes.

At Untamed, we prioritise your kitty’s well-being with:

• Human-grade meat—We get our meat from the human supply chain because it overflows with taurine and vitamin E. Tender human-grade meat makes our meals highly digestible and increases the absorption rate of nutrients
• Allergen-free formulas—We take special care to keep our products free from all known allergens. If your kitty has severe food allergies or struggles with stomach sensitivity, get them our single-protein meals:
• Chocka Chicken in Gravy and Jelly
• Tuck-in Tuna in Gravy and Jelly
• Natural ingredients—Untamed is free from chemical preservatives or artificial taste enhancers that only harm your feline in the long run
• Tantalising taste—We get our meals sampled by super finicky kitties to ensure our flavours win their paw of approval. If your cat has ignored wet food in the past, it’s about time they tried our lip-smacking dishes!

Our protein sources and flavour boosters include chicken, tuna, duck, salmon, mackerel, sardine, shrimp, and ham. Do you want to know which Untamed products would be perfect for your pet? Take our TRY NOW quiz and tell us more about your kitty!

Sharing is for memes and cat videos, not food. I need my exclusive plate of Untamed, hooman.

Image (c) Untamed

Untamed is an eco-conscious choice!

Choosing Untamed means you’re going for ethical cat food! We are Carbon Neutral Certified and use recyclable packaging for our products. We only collaborate with cruelty-free, dolphin-safe, and sustainable suppliers.

How Untamed boosts feline health for life

Untamed formulas contribute to feline health at every life stage. Here’s how:

• Kittenhood—You can safely wean off kittens with our products. Once your kitty is on Untamed, our meals will help them gain weight steadily and reduce the risk of gastric episodes
• Adulthood—Our dishes help adult kitties stay fit. Whether you want your kitty to lose or gain weight, our whole meat meals support all diets when served in the right portions. Our moisture-rich food is also great for preventing urinary conditions like struvite stones and cystitis in Burmese kitties
• Golden years—Weight management in bony senior kitties is easier with Untamed. If your old feline doesn’t eat much because of teeth problems or frequent barfing, our light dishes can perk them up!

Check out what our happy clients noticed after switching their kitties to regular Untamed meals:

Burmese kitties need to make tough life choices like whether to cuddle with their hooman or explore that tiny bug on the wall.

Image (c) Untamed

Get a trial pack and watch your Burmese thrive!

Your kitty doesn’t have to wait for long to enjoy an Untamed feast. We can send you a taster pack within a day. Here’s what you have to do:

1. Take our TRY NOW quiz
2. Select a meal plan
3. Place the order

Our online cat food shopping experience is 100% focused on your comfort. We also deliver monthly Untamed supplies, which saves the time you spend buying cat food every few weeks. Our shipping is always free, and you can tweak your monthly cat food subscription anytime!

Do Burmese kittens need a special diet?

Burmese kittens also need a high-protein whole meat diet but have higher caloric needs than adults during the growth phase. You must feed them frequently, albeit in small portions, to ensure balanced growth. Animal protein must be their primary source of calories, not fats or carbs.

At around 12–18 months, most Burmese kitties reach their adult weight (4–6 kilos). That’s when you should reduce their calorie intake to prevent unnecessary weight gain. Here’s a sample meal chart for transitioning from kittenhood to adulthood:

Remember that this is a suggested meal plan. Your kitty’s food intake should depend on their individual growth, sterilisation status, and activity levels.

Some kittens of this breed are born with Burmese hypokalemia, an inherited disorder that leads to below-normal potassium levels in the blood. The condition entails symptoms like low muscle mass, delayed mobility, poor appetite, and stunted growth. Progressed hypokalemia often causes paralysis. Luckily, it can be managed with oral supplements if detected on time.

If your Burmese kitten isn’t hitting growth markers on time, reach out to a vet for timely solutions.

Source: Dyadya_Lyosha

Burmese feline diet—what snacks to avoid?

Snacks shouldn’t exceed 10% of any cat’s diet. Burmese cats enjoy treats with high fat contents, but due to the breed’s predisposition to diabetes, avoid giving them unhealthy snacks like milk, crisps, bacon, peanut butter, ice cream, or cake.

Low-calorie snacks for kitties include:

1. Meat soups (low-sodium and free from toxic ingredients like garlic or onions)
2. B.A.R.F. treats (serve a tiny cut at a time and follow strict sanitary protocols)
3. Plain yoghurt
4. Edible plants like cat grass or catnip
5. A collagen-rich bone broth