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When it comes to pet ownership, understanding and implementing proper nutrition for your beloved pets can be a challenging task for many pet owners, as the information regarding this topic is often confusing, inconsistent, and overwhelming.
As a pet owner, you must first understand that nutrition for pets depends on several factors like age, weight, body condition, breed, underlying health conditions, and lifestyle. So a diet fit for an active Poodle may not suit a senior Labrador. Healthy nutrition will not only prevent diseases in pets but also ensure a happy, active, and longer lifespan.
As a small animal veterinarian, I have personally experienced and observed how proper nutrition can transform the health of pets.
In this detailed guide, I'll explain everything regarding pet nutrition, including its importance, special needs, dietary myths, reading food labels, and much more. Whether you are a new pet owner or someone looking to learn more about the proper dietary needs of pets, this article is for you.
Why Is Nutrition Important For Pets?
Nutrition doesn't just mean providing food to your pet to satisfy its hunger and make it grow in size; rather, it is a complete aspect of their life that affects their mental, emotional, and physical health.
Pets that are provided with adequate nutrition, which is well-suited to their requirements, are more confident, healthy, and happy because all their body needs are met, and they can truly focus on being active, playful, and engaged.
One of the major drawbacks of improper nutrition in pets is nutritional deficiencies, which are very common and mostly overlooked by pet owners.
Nutritional deficiencies can severely affect vital organs, especially during the young age, which can lead to lower immunity, renal problems, cardiac issues, gastrointestinal problems, and most commonly dermatological issues like a dull coat, hair loss, and skin infections.
A balanced diet will not only keep your pet satisfied, but it will also prevent health issues like dental tartar, arthritis, stomach upsets, skin problems, and others. According to research, nutrients such as antioxidants can significantly reduce the risk of cancer in pets.
Important Nutrients For Pets
It is vital to know which nutrients are essential for your pets and should not be neglected in their daily diet. Based on quantities required by the body, nutrients can be divided into two basic categories, macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients:
As the name suggests, these nutrients are required in large quantities daily by your pet's body and comprise a major portion of their diet.
- Carbohydrates
Interestingly, carbohydrates are not a necessary nutrient required by adult cats and dogs in their daily diet.
However, pets with high energy needs, like nursing pets, pregnant pets, or fast-growing young ones, need carbohydrates for quick energy, which is why carbohydrates are a common ingredient in almost all commercial pet foods. Carbohydrate sources provide pets with glucose and fiber, which are important for overall health.
- Protein
Undoubtedly, the most important nutrient in your pet's diet is protein. Protein is required by pets for muscle and tissue growth, body maintenance, immunity, enzyme and hormone synthesis, and other functions.
Protein requirements depend on life stage, health status, weight, breed, and other factors in pets. Growing puppies need about 22.5% protein in their diet, whereas growing kittens need around 30% as per AAFCO guidelines.
- Fats
Fats are a source of energy for pets and also help in metabolism. They are essential for healthy skin and fur, especially omega-3 and 6 fatty acids.
Fats also aid in the absorption and transportation of fat-soluble vitamins in the body of your pet. Different pet food brands have different fat ratios, usually ranging between 5% to 40%.
- Water
Since water is consumed in significant amounts by pets, it is considered a macronutrient. Water consumption by pets is often overlooked by pet owners.
Water is essential for keeping your pet hydrated, maintaining their normal body temperature, and maintaining all normal body functions and metabolism. Your pet should have access to clean, fresh water at all times.
Cats usually drink less water compared to dogs, so you can install water fountains to grab their attention or feed them wet food, which can contain up to 80% moisture, ensuring they stay hydrated.
Micronutrients:
These nutrients are required in lesser quantities by your pet's body, sometimes in micrograms or even nanograms.
- Vitamins
These organic substances are required by pets in minute quantities and are divided into two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. By the way, both are vital for cats and dogs.
Fat-soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K, while water-soluble vitamins are C and B. These vitamins aid in vision, bone growth, muscle growth, tissue healing, skin health, blood cell formation, and other life-dependent operations.
- Minerals
Minerals can also be divided into micro-minerals and macro-minerals depending on the quality required by your pet's body. Minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, which are needed in large amounts, are considered macro-minerals.
While zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and a few others are required in trace amounts, that's why they are termed as microminerals.
Minerals aid in bone formation, blood synthesis, maintaining normal blood consistency, and other life-dependent roles.
Which Diet To Choose For Your Pets: Raw, Home-Cooked, Or Commercial?
One of the most confusing aspects of pet nutrition is choosing the right diet for your beloved pet to keep them healthy and happy. It all depends on the breed, lifestyle, immunity, activity level, health status, and age of your pet. In general, there are three types of diets for pets:
Raw:
Raw diet incorporates feeding a combination of completely raw, uncooked ingredients to your pet, which include a combination of animal meat (chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, etc), animal organ meats (heart, liver, kidneys), eggs with shells, animal broth, vegetables, fruits, and sometimes bones or pieces of dried animal skin or fish.
Pets that have been on commercial diets since an early age usually don’t do well with raw diets and often get health problems like stomach upsets or allergies. Also, large and active dog breeds like Cane Corsos, Dobermans tend to do well on raw diets compared to smaller dog breeds. Make sure your pet is receiving all the essential nutrients if you are offering a raw diet.
Home-cooked:
Home-cooked diets for pets contain a combination of animal meats, vegetables, and fruits with or without any broth in cooked form. Cooking helps remove disease-causing organisms and makes the ingredients more palatable and digestible.
However, cooking meals at home for pets can be a challenging task for busy pet owners as it requires commitment and attention. It is also a more expensive option, but if your pet is very choosy in terms of food, this might be a good strategy as you can experiment with different ingredients based on the liking of your pet.
Again, ensure your pet's diet is well-balanced. I recommended taking the help of a veterinarian or animal nutritionist when choosing ingredients or formulating the recipes.
Commercial:
Commonly available kibble, semi-moist, and wet food mixes are considered commercial foods for pets. I will recommend pet food brands that follow AFCCO guidelines as they are more reliable in using quality ingredients and ensuring a balanced formulation for pets, depending on their age and body weight.
Commercial diets are way more affordable, hassle-free, and have long shelf lives. Always carefully read the labels on the back of commercial diets to avoid any unwanted ingredients like animal by-products, fillers, plant plant-based protein sources.
Specific Diet For Medical Conditions
Some of the pets might require special diets mainly because of their health problems, some of these include the following:
- Renal diet
Pets who are suffering from kidney issues, such as chronic kidney disease, are recommended a renal diet as it contains less protein, low phosphorus, and has a higher quality protein, which reduces the workload on the kidneys.
- Metabolic diet
Pets who are obese and overweight are recommended a metabolic diet as it contains fewer calories and helps them lose weight faster.
- Hepatic diet
Liver issues can cause serious health challenges for your pet. Providing them with a hepatic diet eases the load on the liver and helps increase their lifespan.
- Urinary diet
This may sound similar to a renal diet, but they have some key differences. As a renal diet is more focused on kidney problems, a urinary diet helps with dissolving and preventing bladder stones and recurrent urinary tract infections in pets.
- Hypoallergenic diet
If your pet is suffering from recurrent food allergies, skin infections, and poor hair growth, your vet might suggest a hypoallergenic food. This diet doesn't trigger an immune response because either they contain a rare form of protein or they can hydrolyze protein (protein with a smaller molecular size).
- Gastrointestinal diet
If your pet has a sensitive stomach and suffers from diarrhea and vomiting, frequently switching to a gastro diet may be beneficial.
- Sensory diet
Some Pets are very picky eaters and will resist eating food unless it is a very specific food that they like. For such pets sensory diet may be helpful as it contains flavor and fragrances which might entice them and they will consume it.
How To Read Food Labels On Pet Foods
Many pet owners get overwhelmed when reading pet food labels, but worry not, within a few simple steps, we will guide you on how to do it correctly.
- The product name and brand name should be mentioned clearly on the label.
- Pet food labels should mention the species for which the food is either cat or dog.
- Next, you would check for the total quantity of food in the container.
- Look for the statement of guaranteed analysis on the label.
- Check the ingredient list, which should be in descending order based on their amount in the food. So you can judge which are the major components in the diet.
- The pet food labels should contain information regarding nutritional adequacy (what life stage and which types of pets the product is suited to), followed by feeding directions, which should be mentioned on the label.
Role Of Treats And Supplements In Pet Nutrition
Treats and supplements are not a necessary part of a pet's diet, but can be included in limited quantities.
As a general rule, treats should not comprise more than 10% caloric intake of your pet per day. If you are giving more than that, it could lead to obesity, resisting eating regular food, and other health issues.
Supplements should always be included in your pet's diet after consulting a veterinarian on the correct dosages. Some of the common supplements for pets include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and linolenic acid supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, and a few others.
Pet Nutrition: What To Avoid?
The following are some of the considerations regarding pet nutrition that you must avoid as a pet owner:
- Avoid overfeeding or underfeeding your pet.
- Avoid giving them free access to food at all times.
- Always feed a species-specific diet.
- Make sure your pet is consuming the desired amount of water every day.
- Always feed based on the lifestage, weight, and activity level of your pet.
- Avoid sudden changes in the regular diet of your pet.
- When feeding a raw or homemade diet to pets, consult a veterinarian or animal nutritionist to make sure the diet is well-balanced.
- Don't feed dog food to cats or vice versa. Cats require specific nutrients like taurine for good cardiac health, which they can't get from eating dog food.
Written by: Dr. Abdul Basit Javed (DVM, RVMP, MOCCAE)
References:
- Cbcc-Ka, T. T. D. (2025, June 17). Dog Nutrition: A guide to dog nutrients. https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_whats_in_a_balanced_dog_food
- Philosophy. (2024, June 11). Reading labels. AAFCO. https://www.aafco.org/consumers/understanding-pet-food/reading-labels/
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