06.04.2022

No more pining for the fjords with the best Norwegian Forest cat food

The Norwegian Forest cat is a friendly, lovable feline with a coat designed to withstand the harshest of Scandic weather.

Such a convivial cat can bring problems, though, not least in the regular care and maintenance of the luxurious coat that typifies the breed.

Looking after your Wegie’s coat is made simpler with a good diet, sticking as close to nature as possible. What your feline eats can also help avoid issues with weight, which can lead to various health problems in later life.

What is the best Norwegian Forest cat food? Check out all the advice you need to feed your Wegie like the mountain king!

“I’ll tell you when I’m ready to play, k?”

Source: Pixabay

What health issues can the Norwegian Forest cat face?

Similarly to Maine Coons, Ragdolls, and many neutered or indoor mixed-breed cats, the most serious issues that Wegies suffer from are lifestyle-related.

In the wild, Norwegian Forest cats are known as prodigious hunters, able to handle any terrain and equipped with a waterproof coat that can withstand anything Mother Nature throws at it.

Domestic Wegies are playful and family-oriented but can suffer from the following issues:

1. Weight control
2. Shedding and hairballs
3. Hip dysplasia, arthritis, and loss of mobility
4. Glycogen storage disease

Weight control

Like many domestic adult cats, Wegies are prone to going slightly pear-shaped if their lifestyle includes:

• Too little exercise
• Too many calories from carbohydrates

Norwegian Forest cats are normally playful, but carbs in their diet can cause the body to be flooded with sugars directly after each meal, leading to:

• Lethargy as the feline’s body tries to balance blood sugar levels
• Unburnt sugar being stored as fatty cells

The result over time can be excess poundage and possibly even pancreatitis or diabetes as a consequence of the pancreas being over-taxed. 

Type 2 diabetes, while manageable with insulin injections and a healthy diet, is usually avoidable if you stay away from carbs in the first place.

Shedding and hairballs

A Wegie’s coat is layered, with the top layer of long hair covering water-resistant wool underneath.

Your feline will naturally shed more twice a year, namely:

• In spring, as temperatures rise and the top coat begins to thin out
• In autumn, in preparation for the coming winter

If you notice that your Wegie is shedding all year round, this may be a result of a poor diet—high levels of animal protein instead of grains and vegetable protein sources can sort this problem out.

You should also notice your Wegie won’t need to groom obsessively and should be able to reduce the number of hairballs produced.

Hip dysplasia, arthritis, and loss of mobility

Hip dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint that can cause severe pain and lameness in the hind legs.

Larger cats can suffer from this condition, but managing their weight can go a long way towards mitigating its impact.

Degenerative joint issues, such as arthritis, are also common in older Norwegian Forest cats. The more you take care of weight management during felines’ adult years, the less prone they will be to senior joint issues.

Glycogen storage disease (GSD)

GSD is a relatively rare hereditary condition peculiar to the Norwegian Forest cat.

Most cats that inherit the disease succumb to it as kittens.

Your only course of action is a DNA test to determine whether your cat has the recessive gene that has been identified as the cause.

Who can resist?

Source: Pixabay

What are the crucial Norwegian Forest cat food requirements?

To combat most of the above conditions, your best bet is the highest-quality diet you can get your paws on.

When defining quality, you should remember that cats are obligate carnivores, and their optimum diet should consist of:

1. Animal protein
2. Animal fat
3. Essential vitamins and minerals

Animal protein

Cats have evolved to get the amino acids they need—such as taurine—from meat.

Vegan or vegetarian diets don’t give cats the nutrition they require to stay healthy, yet many cheaper commercial cat foods contain large proportions of vegetable protein matter.

Meat is the only way to go, and you can verify this by checking the biological value (BV) of various protein sources.

This measures the efficiency with which cats can metabolise protein to get the amino acids they need, and the BVs of the most common cat food ingredients are as follows:

Even the best plant protein source can’t compare with meat as a way for your cat to get amino acids.

High levels of animal protein in your Wegie’s diet can address many of the health problems mentioned above, particularly:

• Coat care
• Weight control
• Mobility

Animal fat

Cats need certain fatty acids in their diet to maintain healthy cell structure.

The best source of these fatty acids is animal fat, such as that contained in cat jelly or cat gravy.

The added benefits of high-quality animal fat in your Wegie’s diet are:

• Excellent secondary energy delivery—Fat provides healthy calories that cats can easily turn into slow-release energy, meaning they are not overburdened with high blood sugar levels
• A taste cats love—Felines go wild for the taste of animal fat, so the more fat a food contains, the more your Wegie will be happy to avoid unhealthy snacks and curtail scavenging activities. Make sure their diet contains no more than 20% animal fat to avoid weight gain

Essential vitamins and minerals

The vitamins and minerals your Norwegian Forest cat needs are all contained in various forms of meat.

Cats need vitamins A, B complex, D, and E, as well as a broad spectrum of minerals in their diet.

The best vitamin sources are:

• Liver and fish for vitamin A
• Meat and liver for vitamin B complex
• Liver, kidney, and fish oil for vitamin D
• Wheat germ oil and liver for vitamin E

A diet rich in lean muscle meat or liver will also provide sufficient minerals for your cat to maintain healthy bodily functions.

Untamed is the absolute best you can do for your Wegie!

Image (c) Untamed

Is Untamed the best food for Norwegian Forest cats?

When it comes to satisfying the specific nutritional needs of your Norwegian Forest cat, Untamed has all the answers you need!

Every tin of Untamed—whether you choose Chocka Chicken, Tuck-In Tuna, Full-On Fishy, or any other of our delicious recipes—is full of exactly what your Wegie wants.

To keep your feline healthy and happy, you are guaranteed:

1. Loads of exclusively meat-derived protein
2. Vet-formulated meals
3. Human-grade ingredients

Loads of exclusively animal protein

With up to twice the amount of animal protein you would find in many commercial cat foods, Untamed is the best thing you can do to keep your Norwegian Forest cat looking and feeling amazing.

Such a high meat content also means your cat will love the taste but shouldn’t pile on the pounds. Whatever type of food your Wegie has been used to—whether it’s wet, semi-moist, dry, or raw food—they will go crazy about Untamed’s delicious wet meals!

You should also notice that your Wegie is less susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as cystitis or bladder stones.

You can even look after your Wegie’s age-specific needs with Untamed.

By varying the feeding amounts, you can ensure:

• Kittens get enough calories to grow healthily, avoid gastrointestinal problems, and develop into healthy adults
• Seniors can maintain muscle mass, keep their appetite, and stay exuberant and agile, even if they have deteriorating or missing teeth 
• Pregnant queens can get all the energy they need to deliver healthy litters and bring up their kittens well

Happy cat parents who have already switched to Untamed tell us that their felines can’t get enough—even die-hard dry food cats who usually turn up their noses at wet food can’t resist our recipes.

Vet-formulated meals

Although they started out as homemade recipes, Untamed products have been honed to perfection by vets to ensure your Wegie gets only the best.

Packed full of exactly the right nutrients but with no artificial additives, supplements, flavour-enhancers, or colourants, Untamed is suitable for even the fussiest or most sensitive of cats.

Untamed also contains no known allergens, so you can rest assured that your Wegie’s health is in safe hands.

Human-grade ingredients

Whole cuts of meat or fish, rich jelly or gravy, and not much else goes into each tin of Untamed.

We believe that your Wegie deserves the same quality you would demand, so we are committed to using only ingredients that meet the highest standards.

We are also in tune with the needs of your feline’s habitat, which is why Untamed:

• Only works with suppliers who are sustainable, cruelty-free, and dolphin-friendly
• Makes sure our packaging is 100% recyclable
• Operates as a carbon-neutral company

We are as dedicated to the health of your Norwegian Forest cat as you are, so try Untamed and see the difference in your Wegie!

Monarch of the Glen

Source: Pixabay

Where can you get Untamed for your Wegie?

The call of the wild with Untamed is easy and quick to follow!

All you need to do to get Untamed cat food delivered to your door and start your Wegie’s journey to better health and happiness is:

1. Tell us all about your Norwegian Forest cat
2. Pick a meal plan for your kitty
3. Go online and order your first trial pack

Once your tailor-made trial pack arrives, you can check out how your Wegie wolfs Untamed down. We will keep you supplied with Untamed for as long as you need, and you should notice the difference in your feline in very little time. Shipping for our online cat food orders is free.

Here’s what cat parents who buy Untamed for their felines have noticed: