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JULY 2011
Reaching Your Pet’s Heart Through Its Stomach
Designing pet-friendly diets that keep your loved ones healthy and happy
Like humans, pets love to eat. According to the American Pet Products Association,
nearly $19 billion was spent last year just on feeding our pets. But not all pet food
is created equal. With hundreds of brands, types, and flavors available, it can be
“One of the most important things you can do
for your pet, is to feed them high quality,
nutritious foods,” says Dr. Jennifer Mlekoday,
DVM, and WCV’s Co-Chief of Staff. “With a
solid nutritional foundation, your pet is more
more easily recover from emergency or surgical
situations. Good food is essential to your pet’s
overall health and well-being.”
While West Chelsea Veterinary stocks a number
of veterinary-grade food products to suit special
dietary needs, there are a number of commercially available products designed to keep your
pets nutritionally sound. All high quality products are formulated with the six essential nutrients fundamental to your pet’s healthy living:
Water: As with humans, water is essential to
your pet’s life and diet. Water accounts for 60
to 70 per cent of your adult pet’s body weight
and pets must have a source of clean, fresh
water at all times.
Protein: Proteins are the basic
building blocks for your pet’s
growth, maintenance, reproduction, and repair,
and are made up
of essential and
non-essential amino acids. While your pet
produces its own non-essential amino acids internally, essential amino acids must be derived
through diet. Amino acids to look for include
arginine, methionine, histidine, phenylalanine,
isoleucine, threonine, leucine, tryptophan, lysine, valine, and taurine (especially required for
cats). The best source of essential amino acids
in your pet’s diet are animal-based proteins,
including chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, and fish.
Fat: Fats provide the most concentrated form
of food energy for your pet, and help provide
insulation and protection of the internal organs,
as well as allow the absorption of fat-soluble
vitamins. Essential fatty acids, such as linoleic
acid and omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids,
play a vital role in the maintenance of your
pet’s skin and coat, and also prevent inflammation in the joints, intestines, and kidneys.
Carbohydrates: Carbs provide energy for the
body’s tissues and also play an important role
in the health of your pet’s intestine, by helping
to manage the presence of good bacteria. For
cats and dogs to obtain the most benefit from
fiber - an important kind of carbohydrate - the
fiber source must be moderately fermentable.
A common example found in cat and dog food
is beet pulp.
Vitamins: Vitamins are essential for enzyme
reactions and must be obtained through the
diet, however vitamin supplements (unless
prescribed by a veterinarian) are unnecessary.
Excesses in vitamins can even result in bone
and joint pain, and soft tissue calcification.
Instead, look for foods that contain essential
vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.
Minerals: Minerals are important for the health of
your pet’s bones and teeth, and for their involvement in many metabolic reactions within the
body. Minerals cannot be produced by your pet,
and must be derived through a healthy diet.
SETTING THE STANDARDS
Ever wonder who polices pet food? The
(AAFCO) does and they work hand-in-hand with
the United States Food & Drug Administration
and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDACVM) to set standards for complete and balanced
pet foods. They define feed ingredients that are
acceptable for use in animal feed, including pet
food. Pet food, as defined by the AAFCO, is all
food, supplements, chews, snacks and treats intended for dogs and cats.
The AAFCO works to ensure our pets’ food labels
display product claims are truthful and not at
all misleading to consumers. They also require
that packaging graphics represent exactly what
is in the product. For example, a picture of apples
on a package without any apples in the product
would be considered misleading by the AAFCO.
If you’re concerned about how to choose the
best food product for your pets, ask your West
Chelsea veterinarian to recommend some good
options the next time you’re in for a visit. We also
highly recommend the website BalanceIt.com
for those who would like to make their own fresh
and nutritionally-appropriate food for their dogs
and cats. BalanceIt.com is easy to use and
using each pet’s personal characteristics and the
food ingredients they prefer.
Nutrition For Your Aging Pet
As your dog or cat ages, their bodies require special
dietary needs to maintain optimal health. Both cats
and dogs begin to show several signs of aging at about
seven to 12 years of age. One of the goals in caring for an
aging pet is to maintain a healthy weight, slow or prevent the development of chronic disease, and minimize
or improve signs of disease already present.
Overall, it’s important to feed your senior pet fewer
healthy, but not excessive, protein levels to help maintain
muscle mass.
In addition, maintaining a healthy coat, promoting
healthy bacteria levels, and increasing your senior pet’s
intake of omega fatty acids and antioxidants, such as
vitamin E and beta-carotene, can also be very beneficial
in ensuring they are as healthy, strong and as youthful
as possible.
calories to avoid weight gain while still maintaining
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