FAQ: Food for cats

Not really: human food often contains salt, spices, onion or garlic, and the cat quickly puts on weight and learns to beg at the table. If you want to spoil your cat, choose cat treats.

Yes, but it then becomes harder to judge whether the diet is balanced, and raw meat requires strict hygiene. Talk to your vet before combining them, especially if there are young children or people with weakened immunity at home.

Cooked bones are dangerous because they splinter into sharp shards that can injure the mouth or gut. Complete commercial food already contains enough calcium, so bones are not needed.

A bigger bag usually costs less per kilogram, but opened food needs to be used within a few weeks. Work out how much your cat eats in a month to six weeks and choose a bag that will last about that long.

Multiply the cat's daily amount in grams by 30, divide by the pack weight in grams and multiply by the pack price. This lets you compare foods by their real cost rather than just the price of the pack.

A lower-calorie food has a larger daily amount, so the bag runs out faster. Compare not just the price per kilogram but also the daily amount: sometimes a pricier food costs about the same per day.

Work out the price per kilogram: divide the pack price by its weight in kilograms. Large cans or multipacks are often cheaper per kilogram than single pouches.

Yes, if the food definitely suits your cat and the unopened packs have a long enough shelf life. Before buying, check the expiry date and make sure you have somewhere to store the food properly.

Yes, especially if your cat is fussy or has a sensitive stomach. A small pack or trial set costs more per kilogram, but it saves you from a big bag the cat might refuse.

Not always: the price is also driven by brand marketing, packaging and the shop's markup. Quality is better judged by the ingredients, the protein sources and how the cat does on the food.

Shops set their own prices and run different promotions and delivery terms. So it pays to compare the same pack across several shops and look at the total cost including delivery.

Yes. zoogidas.lt collects prices from Lithuanian online pet shops and lets you compare products by price per kilogram. You cannot buy anything here; you place the order on the shop's website.

The product page on zoogidas.lt shows the price history, so you can compare the current price with earlier ones. Prices are collected about daily, and each product shows when its price was last checked.

Yes, they are the same products. When the parcel arrives, check that the packs are undamaged, the cans are not dented and the expiry date leaves enough time.

They are handy for finding out which flavours your cat likes and often cost less than single pouches. But if your cat only eats one flavour, the others may go uneaten.

They are specially formulated foods for cats with certain health problems, such as kidney or urinary tract disease. They should only be fed when prescribed and monitored by a vet, as they may not suit a healthy cat.

Although many veterinary diets can be bought online, they should only be fed once a vet has made a diagnosis. The wrong diet may not help or may even do harm; for example, not every urinary diet suits every type of stone.

It usually uses easily digestible proteins, few ingredients and prebiotics that support the gut flora. If your cat often has diarrhoea or vomiting, the cause should first be investigated with a vet.

It contains more fibre, which helps swallowed hair pass through the gut. Regular brushing also helps a lot; if your cat often vomits hairballs or retches without bringing anything up, ask a vet.

Hypoallergenic food uses hydrolysed proteins, broken down so the immune system does not recognise them, or protein sources new to the cat. It is used when a food allergy is suspected, and the diagnosis is confirmed with a vet-supervised elimination diet.