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Raise your hand if you love my cats! (I better see everyone’s hands go up!!!) Now, raise your hand if you love your OWN cats! I am sure that was a more enthusiastic hand raise from all my cat parents out there! We all want what’s best for our cats, so why don’t we focus on their wellness right along with our own more often? They go hand in hand, so why not tackle them both at once!
In this article, I want to share some best practices for portion control, quality, and presentation for both cats and humans! See below for more information.
PORTION CONTROL – HUMANS
Haven’t you heard to start with the veggies?! Fill your plate halfway (or more) with them, then fill the other half with meat, starches, and fruit. Check out a few good examples below:
- 1/2 plate salad, 1/4 plate roast beef, 1/4 plate carrots & potatoe
- 1/2 plate stir fry vegetables, 1/4 plate chicken, 1/4 plate mandarin oranges
- 1/2 plate roasted vegetables, 1/4 plate salmon, 1/4 plate applesauce
Your imagination can take the lead here! I like to measure out portions still and use a smaller plate, but if you can get this visual down, then you are learning good habits and healthy portion control. You can move on to other steps of healthy eating as you see fit.
PORTION CONTROL- CATS
Something many, many people do not pay attention to is the amount of food suggested for their cats. Most bags of cat food will have a suggested serving size on the back of the bag. Be sure you are going by that to keep your cat at a healthy weight and getting the right amount of vitamins and nutrients!
QUALITY- HUMANS
Over-processed junk doesn’t work. Those “fat free” cookies are no better for you than the regular ones- in fact, they may be worse! Focus on eating whole foods, never processed fruit, vegetables, and meat. This will naturally cut your sugars and fat and you’ll see that you’re more fulfilled with your meals versus eating empty carbs.
QUALITY- CATS
Be picky about what you feed your cats. A healthy cat is a visibly happy cat! We’ve recently switched to the IAMS™ Protective Health™ Adult Indoor™ Weight & Hairball Care, and my little babes couldn’t be happier! They like the taste, but I love the fatty acids they receive from the fish oils, as well as the perfect mix of protein and carbs to keep them healthy and energetic!
I found the IAMS™ Protective Health™ foods at Walmart. Be sure to make it to the bottom of this post to enter the Sweepstakes to win free IAMS™ for a year or egiftcards to Walmart!
PRESENTATION- HUMANS
We eat with our eyes first! Make sure that you make your meals pretty and you will be more fulfilled with your meal. I always suggest sitting at your dining room table, using pretty dishes, and not watching TV while eating. I eluded to it before, but using a smaller plate will help to play a bit of a trick on your mind the same meal looks a lot more fulfilling than on the regular large plates!
PRESENTATION- CATS
Cats don’t care so much about presentation, but I do like to give them their own little space and setup to make them feel special, give them a solid place to go when they are hungry, and to keep their food tidy for my own reasons. We keep our cat’s food in the kitchen, and since our kitchen is kind of a fun, bright atmosphere, we wanted to bring that into our cat’s area.
I think our serving bowls and snack bin set is ADORABLE, but I wanted a fun mat to put them on to make the area even more cute and provide an easy surface to clean up. That’s why I decided to make my perfect mat! If you want to learn how, just see the easy Pet Food Mat tutorial below.
Pet Food Mat Tutorial
Materials Needed: 15X20″ foamboard or piece of cardboard, 1 roll of duct tape (any color variety since there are so many to choose from! I chose CATS for my cats.)
- Measure out pieces of duct tape that are approximately 16″ to begin the strips on the board.
- Start about an inch into the board, placing down vertical tape pieces until you get to the end of the board, where you will need to wrap the tape around the side.
- Go back to the inch at the beginning and place a piece of tape there to wrap around the side as well.
- You should be finished and have a surface that is pretty and easy to clean. Since the duct tape is vinyl, any splashes of water should wipe right up!
Since this is such an inexpensive craft, you can make one for every season, occasion, whim, whatever! You could even just tape over the current design when it fades or grows old on you.
Can you see how each of these things can make a difference in overall health and well-being. It’s important to take care of yourself and your loved ones, this even means your pets! What special steps do you take to remain healthy and keep your cats healthy too? Try an IAMS™ diet and look for the visible difference our quality food can make.
