The food we feed our pets is meant to provide enough energy to meet their daily activity needs and to ensure they are well-nourished. The type and amount of food they eat serves another purpose: to build and maintain their optimal health. This means that food must increase and sustain their levels of vitality (how well they look and behave), support their internal organs, improve joint mobility, heart health, digestive motility, and brain function. Their nutritional intake must also strengthen and support their immune system, which means not feeding our pets anything that triggers potential allergies and over-taxes their immune response.
With this in mind, the question for every pet owner is: what do you feed your pets?
What is the correct food for pets?
Each pet – like each person – will need an individualised look at which nutrition offers them the best shot at good health. For example, it’s universally understood that cats need high levels of protein in their diet for optimal health. However, cats with kidney disease must eat lower amounts of higher quality protein to support their compromised renal function. Most dogs absolutely love chicken and chicken-based pet foods, but what if your dog is allergic to chicken? Hence the need for an individual approach to choosing the best pet food for your pet. If you are concerned about whether your pet is eating the right food for their health and wellbeing, then consider choosing a pet food based on the following checklist:
Breed-specific pet food
Different breeds of dog require different nutritional solutions. A working collie or shepherd dog needs a lot more energy in their dog food than a bulldog. And while a Chihuahua may need a diet that supports crowded dentition, a Great Dane will need a diet focused on heart health and joint support. Similarly, a Maine Coon cat needs the slow uptake of energy (kibble that’s designed for slow eating with a large jaw) and nutrition that supports her beautiful coat, while a hairless Sphynx needs a high-energy kibble to help keep her warm and active, with a vitamin and antioxidant profile that will keep her skin healthy.
Learn about your pet’s specific breed characteristics and requirements, and – with a healthy recommendation from the vet – feed them a premium pet food that specifically targets those needs.
Age-specific pet food
Puppies and kittens: Young puppies and kittens have a very different nutritional profile to adult and senior dogs and cats. Young animals grow fast and need a lot of energy to do so, but they also need a diet with the correct ratio of vitamins and minerals to their macronutrient levels (protein, fat and carbohydrates). Large breed puppies need the right balance of calcium and phosphorous for their rapid orthopaedic development. Even a small deficiency or excess of these minerals can cause bone and joint problems. Similarly, large breed puppies need a lot of energy for rapid growth, but excess fat in their diet can make them grow too rapidly and place too much stress and pressure on their bones and joints. It’s so important to get this balance right.
Adult dogs and cats: Adult pets essentially require a maintenance diet that gives them enough protein to maintain and protect their lean muscle; and enough carbohydrates and fat to support their daily activity requirements without making them overweight. An adult Persian cat will be less energetic than the athletic Siamese, and will have different nutritional requirements to maintain a beautiful coat compared to, for example, the well-muscled, heavy-boned British shorthair cat. The same goes for adult dogs: a fully developed, working cattle dog will need lots of energy to sustain her activity levels throughout the day, while an adult French bulldog or Yorkie will need considerably less energy for their health maintenance. Get to know your pet’s activity levels and make sure their diet supports their specific maintenance energy needs. Too much excess energy in their food can lead to obesity and all its related health problems.
Senior dogs and cats: Pets’ requirements for their adult phase can vary significantly, but as most pets age into their senior years, they will universally require less energy, a more careful balance of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and less protein, but of a higher quality. Less, but higher quality, protein will ensure less muscle wasting (atrophy) as they become less active than during their adult years. Most pets will require joint supplements (either additional to- or formulated within their dog and cat food) like glucosamine and chondroitin. All older pets will need the right balance of macro- and micronutrients to support their major organs and protect their brains, without burdening their liver and kidneys.
Health-specific pet food
All pets are at risk of developing genetic or acquired health problems such as diabetes, food or environmental allergies, renal failure, hormonal imbalance, epilepsy, arthritis, heart failure, urinary tract disease and joint problems (among others). Many of these issues are progressive and they cannot be cured, so vets and owners help pets to manage their condition with medication. Fortunately, veterinarians, scientists and pet nutritionists have recognised the importance of health-supportive pet food ingredients to ensure that even sick pets are able to eat and absorb the right nutrients to maintain their health or at least slow its deterioration.
Prescription pet food as well as pet food varieties fortified with supplements can be recommended by the vet to manage a sick pet’s nutritional needs. If your pet has been diagnosed with a health condition requiring medication, the vet will likely recommend a pet food variety to support your pet’s health so that they get the right balance of nutrients, even if their disease is progressive and incurable.
If your pet is overweight, the vet will diagnose their obesity (according to the body fat index risk chart) and recommend a weight management pet food to help your pet to lose weight. They will also recommend an exercise regimen to get your pet moving without harming their joints or heart while needing to reduce their weight. Bringing your pet’s weight back down to a healthy level is not so much about their looks as it is about managing their health: an overweight pet has a greater risk of developing diabetes, heart problems, degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) and other health complications. If your pet reaches a healthy weight, all of the risks of these other diseases greatly diminish. That alone is worth changing your pet’s diet in order to reduce their weight.
How to change pet foods
The rule of thumb with choosing pet food is: don’t fix what is not broken. If your pet is thriving and healthy on their daily nutrition, keeping feeding them that food. If your pet needs a higher quality food or a change of nutrition, ask the vet to recommend a new pet food that’s more suited to your pet’s needs. The new food needs to be introduced gradually over a period of a week to 10 days, to give their gut time to adjust to the new recipe and ingredients. Therefore, don’t wait until the current food is almost finished before you introduce the new pet food.
All pet foods come with a feeding guide printed on the bag or label, as well as a recommendation on how to switch your pet to a new pet food. There may be slight variations among directions, but they generally suggest the following:
- Day 1: mix 75% of the existing food with 25% of the new food
- Day 2: mix 60% of the existing food with 40% of the new food
- Day 3: mix 50% of the existing food with 50% of the new food
- Day 4: mix 40% of the existing food with 60% of the new food
- Day 5: mix 30% of the existing food with 70% of the new food
- Day 6: mix 25% of the existing food with 75% of the new food
- Day 7: feed 100% of the new food
If you feed too much of the new food too quickly, it can cause stomach upset like vomiting and diarrhoea. This will be problematic if you’re feeding your pet a new food because of allergies to certain ingredients. If they experience gastrointestinal issues because of a change in diet, it won’t be obvious that this is not due to their allergies. Slower is better – you just have to be patient and allow your pet to get used to the new food.
What foods should dogs and cats never eat?
Before the advent of commercial pet food in the early 20th century, dogs and cats consumed a diet of very basic human foods like meat scraps, bones, bread and vegetables. Modern commercial pet foods are the culmination of scientific study and real-world trials, the need for convenient yet balanced pet feeding solutions, and a medium through which to feed and supplement our pets for their health and wellbeing. Pets can get all the nutrients they need from pet foods, but they can also still enjoy a nibble on whole foods like veggies, fruit, cooked unseasoned meat (without the fat), and other ‘people food’.
Even though it may be tempting to share certain snacks with your pets, the following foods should never be given to them:
- Bones: the risk of bones splintering and causing injury and obstruction in a pet’s gastrointestinal tract is too great, so rather don’t give pets bones of any kind. They can also damage pets’ teeth and cause inflammation and infection.
- Avocado: contains a fungal toxin called persin, which can make some pets very sick. Avos are also high in fat, which can trigger pancreatitis in sensitive pets.
- Alcohol: alcohol can depress pets’ central nervous system to the point where it can kill them. Even a small amount of alcohol is dangerous to pets and should never ever be fed to them.
- Dairy: many pets are lactose intolerant and will experience gastrointestinal upset if they consume too much dairy, such as milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream.
- Xylitol: it mimics sugar, which triggers the animal’s pancreas to secrete insulin. This can plunge the pet’s blood sugar to dangerously low levels. Xylitol can quite literally kill pets.
- Chocolate & caffeine: chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, which pets cannot digest. It can build up to toxic levels in pets’ bodies, causing changes in their heartrate, internal bleeding, and neurological effects like seizures.
- Onions, chives & garlic: plants in the onion family contain the compound N-propyl disulfide, which destroys red blood cells and can lead to haemolytic anaemia. This can cause an increase in their heartrate, pale gums, weak body and even collapse.
- Raw/undercooked meat & raw eggs: both carry the risk of contamination by E. coli, salmonella and listeria. A pet with a healthy immune system might have the immunity to fight off infection by these pathogens, but pets with pancreatitis or compromised (or underdeveloped) immunity can get very ill from raw meat or eggs.
- Grapes/raisins: enzymes in the skin of grapes/raisins have a negative impact on pets’ kidneys.
- Citrus: a small amount of citrus fruit is tolerable, but pets generally don’t like the acidic taste of oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit, etc. Citric acid can upset pets’ stomach, so it’s best for pets to not consume any citrus fruit.
- Nuts: nuts are high in fat and can cause weight gain and trigger pancreatitis in pets. However, macadamia nuts are toxic to pets and should be avoided at all costs.
- Salt: irritating to pets’ stomachs, salt can also cause sudden dehydration and an electrolyte imbalance. If your pet vomits or has diarrhoea, this can contribute to the dehydration, which can cause swelling on the brain, fatigue and confusion. If your dogs love swimming in the sea or tidal pool, keep an eye on them and always have fresh water available for them to drink.
Conclusion
Choosing the right pet food for your pets is vital to their lifelong health and wellbeing. If you need a more specific guideline on the best pet food for your dog or cat, ask the vet to recommend a pet food especially for your pet, then closely monitor how this positively impacts their health. Keep the vet informed of your pet’s wellbeing on their new food.
