Probably the most important part of caring for your cat or dog will be making sure they eat healthy food. You are what you eat after all! Your pet has specific nutritional requirements which need to be met. Cats cannot live on dog food for example and dogs will not remain healthy fed on a human diet. The right nutrients have an important influence on long-term health and help to prevent disease.
Either protein, fat or carbohydrate can provide the energy (fuel) we need to get through a day. In theory you can supply all your energy needs by eating only fat, eating only sugar or eating only meat. Although this is not healthy it still allows an individual to get through the day. It is far healthier to have a balance of nutrients (specific to that species) and most importantly get the required vitamins, anti-oxidants and minerals in our diet. We see far to many pets fed on mainly protein (meat) with no proper attention applied to essential fats or vitamins. Most owners think they have those areas covered and because their pet looks healthy they assume it is.
Most quality commercial pet foods are carefully formulated to give you complete confidence that you are answering the nutritional needs of your pet. They must have the word "complete" in their description rather than "complimentary" if they are to meet all your pets requirements. They should not be regularly mixed with other food (like mince or chicken) or you dilute the amount of vitamins and minerals available to your pet.
Feeding homemade diets prepared from raw or cooked butchers meat, fish, bread, rice and vegetables is a complicated way of feeding although it can be a healthy alternative if you know how to formulate a balanced cat or dog diet. Most pet owners feeding a home cooked diet are not meeting their pet's nutritional needs because they do not know how to properly formulate these diets. Just because your pet looks healthy does not mean you are meeting it's nutritional requirements. Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can take years before they manifest as diseases like cancer. The most common mistake we see is to add chopped vegetables to the diet without realising dogs and cats do not properly digest plant material so they cannot absorb the vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are essential in a home cooked diet but they should be raw and liquidised. If you want to feed a homemade diet you would be wise to consult a veterinary nutritionist (Nick Thompson MRCVS)
Be careful when choosing a diet. Most companies that make supermarket pet foods make better quality diets that are sold in pet shops and vets. That may seem strange as the popular foods are advertised as being the best thing for your pet. For example the company that makes Iams also makes Eukanuba and the producer of Butchers makes a premium diet called Proplan. Pedigree Chum is not the best food that company makes, it's Royal Canin.
The pet food companies have done there research into how we buy pet food. They know owners choose foods their pets like to eat!
Sound familiar?
When you think of supermarket pet food think junk food!
Why would they make healthier versions of foods that they already claim are the best possible diet for your pet? Because junk food sells and there is more money to made in cheap grocery food than in premium healthy food.
Why feed a lower quality diet when the company concerned makes better food? You might save some money on food but it may be at the cost of your pet's long term health. Any savings made are small because poor quality diets are less absorbable and just end up coming out the other side! You end up feeding 2 bags of cheap food for every 1 bag of more expensive food.
Top tips or choosing the right pet food:
Either protein, fat or carbohydrate can provide the energy (fuel) we need to get through a day. In theory you can supply all your energy needs by eating only fat, eating only sugar or eating only meat. Although this is not healthy it still allows an individual to get through the day. It is far healthier to have a balance of nutrients (specific to that species) and most importantly get the required vitamins, anti-oxidants and minerals in our diet. We see far to many pets fed on mainly protein (meat) with no proper attention applied to essential fats or vitamins. Most owners think they have those areas covered and because their pet looks healthy they assume it is.
Most quality commercial pet foods are carefully formulated to give you complete confidence that you are answering the nutritional needs of your pet. They must have the word "complete" in their description rather than "complimentary" if they are to meet all your pets requirements. They should not be regularly mixed with other food (like mince or chicken) or you dilute the amount of vitamins and minerals available to your pet.
Feeding homemade diets prepared from raw or cooked butchers meat, fish, bread, rice and vegetables is a complicated way of feeding although it can be a healthy alternative if you know how to formulate a balanced cat or dog diet. Most pet owners feeding a home cooked diet are not meeting their pet's nutritional needs because they do not know how to properly formulate these diets. Just because your pet looks healthy does not mean you are meeting it's nutritional requirements. Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can take years before they manifest as diseases like cancer. The most common mistake we see is to add chopped vegetables to the diet without realising dogs and cats do not properly digest plant material so they cannot absorb the vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are essential in a home cooked diet but they should be raw and liquidised. If you want to feed a homemade diet you would be wise to consult a veterinary nutritionist (Nick Thompson MRCVS)
Be careful when choosing a diet. Most companies that make supermarket pet foods make better quality diets that are sold in pet shops and vets. That may seem strange as the popular foods are advertised as being the best thing for your pet. For example the company that makes Iams also makes Eukanuba and the producer of Butchers makes a premium diet called Proplan. Pedigree Chum is not the best food that company makes, it's Royal Canin.
The pet food companies have done there research into how we buy pet food. They know owners choose foods their pets like to eat!
Sound familiar?
When you think of supermarket pet food think junk food!
Why would they make healthier versions of foods that they already claim are the best possible diet for your pet? Because junk food sells and there is more money to made in cheap grocery food than in premium healthy food.
Why feed a lower quality diet when the company concerned makes better food? You might save some money on food but it may be at the cost of your pet's long term health. Any savings made are small because poor quality diets are less absorbable and just end up coming out the other side! You end up feeding 2 bags of cheap food for every 1 bag of more expensive food.
Top tips or choosing the right pet food:
- We provide free nutritional advice at the surgery. Book an appointment to see our veterinary nurse and discuss your pets needs.
- Buy your pet food from a good pet shop or veterinary surgery. Avoid supermarket pet food and don't believe everything that's written on the bag, it's there to sell you on the product.
- Generally the more expensive the diet the more wholesome the ingredients.
- Healthy food is tasty - but junk food is even tastier! Given the choice your pet will choose junk food, you have to say no to cheap tasty pet food.
- Avoid soft meaty foods as they contribute towards dental disease.
Map