Maine Coon has an unusual way of asking for more food

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His human caregiver says that 'he always asks for more'. He clearly has his own individual way of asking (see video below). It is very cute. There are a couple of interesting points. Firstly, there is some food left in the bowl so he could have finished the bowl before asking for more. 

Why didn't he? In my experience cats tend to leave a bit of food in the bowl even when hungry. It may point to the fact that they have poor near range eyesight and depend on their sense of smell to detect food. As there is very little left the smell is slight. They think the food has run out.

Maine Coon has an unusual way of asking for more food
Screenshot. He has way of asking for more food.

The second point is that he is being fed with Royal Canin Maine Coon dry cat food. So, what is this? Why do Maine Coons need special cat food?  You might have guessed that this is all to do with the Maine Coon's inherited health problems. 

RELATED: Maine Coon Health Problems.

They inherently suffer from hip dysplasia and patella luxation. The former is the hip joint being loose causing arthritis and lameness. The latter concerns a kneecap that drifts out of its proper position. These health conditions are exacerbated by the fact that this is the largest domestic cat breed and therefore the joints have to carry extra weight. And Maine Coons also inherit a predisposition towards HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). This is a thickening of the left ventricle of the heart. 

The food therefore is formulated to help prevent these health conditions developing. Royal Canin Maine Coon Adult food is "enriched with taurine, DHA and EPA (omega-3 fatty acids) to help support and maintain healthy cardiac function. The food is also designed to maintain good oral health.

The manufacturer also says that Maine Coons have a large jaw which "gives it a characteristic way of picking and choosing as food."

This dry cat food is therefore "king-sized and cube-shaped". This helps to prolong "the action of chewing which helps to support good oral hygiene".

It seems to me that this manufacturer wants to extend their product range and therefore they have designed foods on a breed-by-breed basis and have based those foods on the inherited health problems of these particular breeds. 

The end result is more sales. I would have thought that they would have added something into the dry cat food which specifically targeted joint problems but perhaps there is no ingredient or nutrient that can tackle it. What about glucosamine?


Note: This is a video from another website which is embedded here. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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