Pet Foods For Your Pet's Tummy

A pet’s diet can influence its health in various ways. Poor nutrition can result when commercial processing interferes with nutrient availability. High fibre content can also reduce the bioavailability of minerals.

Choose pet foods that contain less than the maximum amounts of fibre listed in the accompanying feeding charts for dogs and cats. Natural dog and cat foods generally have less fibre than commercial foods. The more natural food you feed your pets the better.

But read all labels carefully before you buy. If you don’t understand what certain ingredients are, look them up on the Internet. You will be surprised what you find.

Because commercial pet foods cannot supply all the nutrients necessary for good health, more and more veterinarians, breeders, and pet owners are feeding their animal a raw diet. Raw food provides live enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and unadulterated amino acids.

Sustaining a completely raw diet can be expensive, however. To achieve some of the benefits of a raw diet, offer your cat or dog one-half cup (125 ml) raw food a couple of times a week as a supplement to dry pet food. They’ll eat it right out of your hand.

Proper feeding and care of your pet dog or cat should always be a priority. If you feel something is wrong with your pet, contact your veterinarian for a professional opinion.

Feed Your Dog This Much Dry Food Each Day

0 lbs or less 1/2 to 1 cup
10 to 20 lbs 1 1/2 cups
20 to 30 lbs 1 1/2 to 2 cups
30 to 40 lbs 2 to 2 1/2 cups
40 to 60 lbs 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups
60 lbs and up 4 to 4 1/ 2 cups

What’s in Your Dog’s Food?

Choose dry dog food with the following minimum and maximum amounts:

Crude protein, min. 23%
Crude fat, min. 14%
Crude fibre, max. 2.9%
Moisture, max. 10%
Omega-6 fatty acid, min. 3.0%
Omega-3 fatty acid, min. 0.5%

Feed Your Cat This Much Dry Food Each Day

3 to 5 lbs 1/8 to 1/4 cup
6 to 9 lbs 1/4 to 3/8 cup
9 to 12 lbs 3/8 to 1/2 cup
13 to 16 lbs 1/2 to 3/4 cup
17 to 20 lbs 3/4 to 1 cup
21 to 25 lbs 1 to 1 1/8 cup
Cats 26 lbs and over should be released in a natural game reserve.

What’s in Your Cat’s Food?

Choose dry cat food with the following minimum and maximum amounts:

Crude protein, min. 32%
Crude fat, min. 20%
Crude fibre, max. 3.0%
Moisture, max. 10%
Ash, max. 5.5%
Magnesium, max. 0.095%
Taurine, min. 0.20%
Omega-6 fatty acid, min. 3.6%
Omega-3 fatty acid, min. 4.4%