Animals have various nutritional requirements depending on their age, breed, lifestyle and health status. Decisions regarding your pet’s nutrition should not be made without first consulting your veterinarian. A professional recommendation will be made with the primary goal being the health and well-being of your pet. This is not just another food sale to us. Our focus is education, so you can make the ideal choices for the health of your pets. Nutritional advice is just one of the ways that we can help you to take the best care of your loved ones.
Should I feed my pet dry or canned food?
Starting from puppies and kittens (pediatrics), high quality foods are required to ensure optimal growth and development. We recommend primarily dry food, but always including some canned food, especially for cats, with lots of water added. The canned food can be given as a small amount daily, or periodically as a treat. This keeps options open later in life, in case there is a medical requirement for a specific food that only comes in a canned formulation. It also provides a vehicle for water consumption, which can be vitally important in older cats with urinary bladder disease, or kidney failure.
Why is water important?
Just like for humans, fresh drinking water is also good for pets and must be provided at all times. It is often difficult to get cats to drink enough water. What’s the solution? Try keeping the water bowl topped up, and providing refrigerated, filtered water (Brita). Water ‘fountains’ are great for most cats. You can also ask us for a copy of our “Tip Sheet” on how to encourage your pet to drink water.
What’s the difference between pediatric, adult and senior foods?
For dogs the adolescent period is a time of tapering growth rate, still with higher calcium requirements than that needed for adults. Specific puppy and adolescent foods are beneficial at this time.
Premium adult maintenance diets are formulated to help prevent common medical conditions, by maximizing some ingredients, and minimizing others. Optimal nutrition involves a careful balance of many nutrients.
Geriatric animals have significantly different requirements than young growing puppies or kittens. This includes reducing the amount of protein, but increasing the quality, so there is less work for the kidneys. Reduced sodium (salt) allows for less water retention, which makes less work for the heart. Animals with diabetes or kidney disease also have extremely specific requirements, and can live far longer and healthier when their nutritional needs are met.
Will feeding my pet the proper food really make a difference?
You simply would not believe the successes that we see with the correct nutritional decisions. Some of these potential achievements include:
- dissolving 4 cm bladder stones in a matter of weeks
- giving older cats and dogs with kidney disease, years of extra healthy, happy lives helping you to return overweight pets to normal weight, with individually designed weight loss programs that are actually fun to do, with spectacular results
- decreasing some signs of congestive heart failure
- minimizing recurrence of potentially deadly episodes of pancreatitis
- helping to eliminate chronic skin, ear, or intestinal conditions with specially designed hypoallergenic diets
Give us a chance to help you make excellent choices for your pets. You will be very pleased with the results.
