Nutrition

One of the chief concerns of cat owners starting the Cat To 5k program is nutrition. Fact is, cats are lazy and tend to run on fumes, but when you start exercising yours, it's important to ensure that you're providing the correct nutrition for their body to develop into this new lifestyle. When your cat starts the program, their body will be affected in many different ways. Muscles will grow, the liver enlarges to store more energy (glycogen) for running, their paws will widen and strengthen, and their pads may become firmer.

At the cellular level, basic metabolic changes take place as well. Essentially, your cat will become a lean, mean, fat-burning machine! Because your cat's metabolism will optimize to burn fat for these runs, you'll need to ensure that you provide the proper nutrition both before and after each session. No matter if your cat is on wet or dry food, simply increase the portion size by 25% for each of the meals before and after a run. If the run takes place more than 2 hours from a meal give your cat a 25% portion after the run so that their body has something to work with.

Most cat foods are nutritionally complete. By following these basic feeding guidelines, you can ensure that your kitty is getting enough food and energy to participage in the Cat To 5k training program!