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Do Cats Need Vitamin D?

do cats need vitamin d

If you've just adopted a cat, you may be wondering, “Do cats need vitamin D?”

It's true, cats do in fact need vitamin D. This essential nutrient supports various functions in their bodies, including calcium regulation, bone strengthening, and promoting a healthy heart.

Without enough vitamin D, cats may develop severe health issues such as congestive heart failure, osteomalacia, or rickets.

At Vitamart, we provide trusted vitamin D supplements for cat owners looking to ensure their pets get the necessary vitamin D levels.

In this guide, we'll cover how important vitamin D is for your cat, signs of deficiency and overdose, and how much sun is safe for your feline friend to enjoy.

What this article covers:

How Important Is Vitamin D for Cats?

Vitamin D plays a vital role in your cat's overall well being. It's primarily essential for managing the balance of calcium and phosphorus, which is necessary for maintaining strong bones and proper muscle function.

What's unique about cats is that, unlike humans, they can't produce vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. Therefore, they must rely on their diet or supplements to meet their vitamin D needs.

A deficiency can cause weak bones, heart issues, and, in severe cases, life-threatening conditions such as cancer. By ensuring your cat gets the right levels of vitamin D, you can help prevent these serious health problems further down the line.

vitamin d for cats

We suggest consulting your vet to determine how much vitamin D your cat requires based on its age, weight, and specific health concerns.

This is particularly beneficial for kittens when searching for the best vitamin D for baby cats to aid with their overall development.

What Are Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency in Cats?

Common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency in cats include:

  • muscle weakness
  • bone pain
  • swollen joints
  • trouble moving around due to hind leg lameness

Based on our first-hand experience, cats with vitamin D deficiency may seem lethargic, unwilling to jump or play, and may display signs of discomfort when touched.

In advanced cases, heart issues or seizures may arise due to calcium imbalances. With early detection of these symptoms, you can prevent more severe complications in the future.

If you suspect your cat isn't getting enough vitamin D, it's important to consult your veterinarian for advice on proper dietary adjustments or the addition of multivitamin supplements alongside their daily meals.

vitamin d for cats

Vitamin D for Cats

Let's look at how you can give your cat optimal amounts of vitamin D on a regular basis.

Daily Recommended Intake

A typical healthy adult cat requires approximately 500 IU of vitamin D per kilogram of their body weight each day, which translates to about 188 mcg. For pregnant cats and kittens, their daily intake is usually at least 750 IU.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D for cats depends on several factors, such as:

  • size
  • age
  • health

Cats can safely consume between 10,000-30,000 IU of vitamin D on a regular basis. However, over-supplementing can still lead to toxicity, so it's crucial to get the balance right for your cat's overall well-being.

Luckily, there's a wide range of vitamin supplements that are safe and easy for your pet to digest.

If you're looking for the best form of vitamin D for absorption, liquid or aerosol forms of supplements may help cats with low blood calcium levels. These options range from vitamin D drops to vitamin D sprays, offering a more direct delivery system into their bloodstream.

Always check with a veterinarian before giving your cat any new supplements to avoid toxicity, and ensure that it matches their unique dietary requirements.

vitamin d drops

Food Sources

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they require animal-based nutrients, including vitamin D, and cannot ingest plant-based nutrients effectively.

According to the National Animal Supplement Council, some of the best natural food sources of vitamin D for cats include:

  • oily fish such as salmon or sardines
  • beef liver
  • egg yolks

Our investigation demonstrated that many commercial cat foods are fortified with vitamin D (between 280-750 IU per kilogram for various ages).

Conversely, popular pet food brands like Satori and Smack create products containing proteins rich in vitamin D to ensure your cat meets its nutritional requirements.

Combining high-quality, balanced cat food with an occasional vitamin D softgel, when needed, can keep your cat's vitamin D levels in the optimal range.

As vitamin D is fat-soluble, softgels comprise a fatty oil base made from either olive oil, MCT oil, or coconut oil, to promote better absorption of this essential nutrient.

Keep an eye on the label of your cat's food to ensure it includes vitamin D in some form or another, especially if you're feeding them a homemade diet.

What Are Signs of Vitamin D Overdose or Toxicity in Cats?

Classic signs of vitamin D toxicity in cats include:

  • vomiting
  • excessive thirst
  • increased urination
  • weight loss
  • lack of appetite

While vitamin D is pivotal for your cat, too much can cause toxicity. In severe cases, it can result in kidney failure or even death.

Our research indicates that this can occur if cats ingest too much vitamin D through supplements, eating foods meant for humans or other pets, or even excessive fortification in pet food.

do cats need vitamin d

It's important to keep any supplements intended for humans or other animals, like dogs vitamin D products, out of reach of your cat. Storing them in the refrigerator once they've been opened may be helpful in this instance.

We advise always following the vitamin D dosage recommendations from your vet to avoid the risk of overdose.

Is It Ok for Your Cat to Lounge in the Sun?

Soaking up the sun for your cat can provide pivotal benefits, such as:

  • regulating its circadian rhythm
  • boosting its mood
  • warming its body or maintaining overall temperature

However, it's still important for cats to obtain vitamin D from their diet though.

While there's no harm in letting your cat enjoy the sun, it's still critical to ensure that they receive adequate nutrition and vitamin D from food or supplements, rather than relying on sun exposure alone.

How Much Sun Is Too Much Sun for Your Cat?

Signs that your cat is getting too much sun exposure are usually dehydration, heatstroke, as well as developing sunburn.

Dehydration

When your cat spends too much time lounging in direct sunlight, particularly during hot summer days, dehydration can become a risk.

Dehydration occurs when your cat doesn't have enough fluids to maintain normal body function, leading to symptoms like:

  • dry gums
  • lethargy
  • loss of appetite

Our findings show that providing your cat with access to fresh water and shaded areas can prevent dehydration, especially during the warmer months.

It's crucial to ensure that your cat stays hydrated if they spend a significant amount of time outdoors and in sunny spots.

vitamin d for cats

Heatstroke

Heatstroke is another risk for cats spending excessive time in direct sunlight or inside a locked car. This life-threatening condition can develop quickly in hot weather.

Signs of heatstroke in cats include:

  • panting
  • rapid breathing
  • drooling
  • collapse

If your cat exhibits these symptoms, immediate veterinary attention is necessary.

After conducting experiments with it, we found that limiting your cat's outdoor time during the hottest parts of the day and ensuring access to cool, shaded areas is essential to curbing heatstroke.

Sunburn

Cats with light-coloured or thin coats are particularly vulnerable to sunburn, with the ears, nose, stomach, and other exposed skin areas being the most susceptible.

Utilising pet-safe sunscreens can help protect your cat from harmful UV rays. With that said, the best prevention strategy overall is minimising contact with the sun during peak hours (which is usually between 10:00-16:00).

Through our trial and error, we discovered that keeping light-coated cats indoors or in shaded areas during peak sunlight hours is an effective way to stop sunburn.

If your cat does get sunburnt, it's best to consult a vet right away to treat the condition and avoid long-term skin damage.

do cats need vitamin d

Conclusion

In this guide, we revealed that cats do need vitamin D to support their health, as they cannot produce it from sun exposure like humans do.

Providing the right balance of vitamin D through diet and supplements is crucial to ensuring your cat remains healthy and happy.

If you're looking for reliable and affordable vitamin supplements, look no further than us at Vitamart. With our carefully selected products, you can ensure your feline friend gets the best nutrition possible.

Make your cat's well being a top priority by choosing our trusted vitamin D Canada supplements today!

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