Hi there! Today we’ll talk about something very important for your pet’s health: Nutrition. It’s not just very important, it’s the basis for his health. Like every system that runs on energy, your pet’s body needs the proper energy to function at its best. Your pet totally depends on you, he’ll eat whatever you give him. So it’s your responsibility to give him the best.
Choose a natural diet
What is the best diet for your pet? Like for us, natural is always better. Although most commercial diets will meet your pet’s basic needs, basic needs are not enough for perfect health. Your pet may look ok today, but in the long term, a cheap diet will cost much more.
Obesity
The main problem related to diet is obesity. Obese or overweight pets are just like humans, they too can encounter diseases like diabetes (mostly cats), arthritis, chronic inflammation, and more.
Processed food
Most commercial pet food today is processed food- the problem with processed food is that, often, they are cooked at very high temperatures to make them more shelf-stable in cans or bags. The food loses all its nutrients.
How to choose your pet food?
The first choice would of course be, just like for us, fresh whole, natural food, homemade.
I of course understand it’s not easy, it’s time-consuming, and more importantly, it’s a big responsibility. When you cook for your pet you need to make sure he gets all the minerals vitamins and nutrients. This needs an understanding of diet and some calculations. The best way is to consult a nutritionist and have some fixed menus.
The second best choice would be freeze-dried and dehydrated pet food.
If however, you do get dry or canned food make sure to read the labels and choose wisely.
First of all, make sure it’s complete and balanced.
Basic needs
Nowadays there are regulations and pet food has to provide all the vitamins minerals and nutrients. Although it provides these basic needs it doesn’t mean it’s quality food.
For example, pet food has to contain a minimum amount of proteins fats, and carbohydrates:
(On dry matter:)
Proteins:
Protein should be from real meat! Not meal by-products or meals
Cats: protein 26% dogs 18%. Aim for higher than that.
All proteins should come from animal protein.
Fats:
Source of fats: plants; oils- corn, canola, soy, and animal fats
Cats 9%, dogs 5% . Be careful too much fat can lead to obesity and pancreatitis.
Carbohydrates:
sugars, starches, and cellulose. In form of grains, fruits, sugars, vegetables
Cats and dogs don’t NEED it to survive although it has a physiological role in digestion. It contains fibers and it’s an immediate energy source (digestible carbohydrates).
Be careful, too many carbohydrates can cause – obesity, diabetes, inflammation condition, and a shorter lifespan.
In modern commercial food there normally is about 45-75% carbohydrates. That’s way too much. They add it because it is cheap, easy, available, and makes the dry food stick together.
The problem is that the body turns carbohydrates into fats.
So when you check how many carbohydrates your commercial food contains, less is more!
And watch out for “low carbs” or “grain-free”, these foods are still very high in carbs! 30-70%. So always check the tables.
Water
How much water should my pet drink?
Your pet should always have at his disposal fresh clean water. They will drink whenever they feel thirsty, that depends on age, body weight, external temperature, exercise, etc.. More or less they need about 45-65 ml per kg per day (that includes the water content in their food). So basically you do not need to measure how much water but just make sure they have plenty of it and that it’s always clean and fresh. With cats make sure to put the water in a large enough bowl otherwise, they feel annoyed when their whiskers touch the borders of the bowl. Prefer running water like a fountain.
This is just a basic overview, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me I will be happy to help 🙂
