Animal Welfare Pillars

Nutrition and Diet for your pet

Understanding the need of a suitable diet for our pets

The importance of understanding the need of a suitable diet for our pets. A suitable diet, and access to fresh, clean drinking water are essential for the nutritional welfare of our pets. What we feed our pets will be determined by their species, breed, life-stage and activity levels. We need to be careful the amount and type of food given is suitable to ensure the animal not only has all the fuel and nutrition it needs to thrive, is enough to avoid malnourishment but is not too much to prevent obesity. We often humanise our pets in terms of what we think they are thinking or feeling, but it’s important not to forget that some species have very specific foods they must or cannot have because of their physiology, which can be at complete odds with our own. When taking on the care of an animal, it’s really important we make ourselves aware of these differences to avoid accidentally making an animal sick.

Dogs are omnivores, meaning they can eat a mixture of some vegetables and meat, and even some fruit. For optimum nutrition, it’s probably safest to choose a good quality commercial complete dog food. You can then choose the right food for the age or activity level of your dog, from puppy to working dog to elderly, as they will have been tailored to the needs of the various stages. Bear in mind that treats should account for no more than 10% of your dog’s total daily food intake. When training, you could mix some of your dog’s usual dried kibble with other treats to enable you to stay within this range.

The only drink dogs need is fresh, clean water. Try not to let your dog drink from standing water such as puddles, ponds and lakes as the water can be contaminated by a number of things.

The best way of judging is by aiming for the following ideal: you should easily be able to feel your dog’s ribs, with minimal or slight covering of fat. The narrowing of a waist should be easy to observe from above, and an abdominal tuck (where the tummy line goes up after the ribcage) should be visible from the side. Take advantage of the scales at your vets, and they can keep track of any fluctuations in your dog’s weight.

Just like us, if the amount of calories going into our bodies is not being used up by our normal bodily functions and exercise, it will result in weight gain. And, just like us, the implications of this can be very bad for our dogs’ health with increasing risk of heart disease, diabetes and joint problems. Some of these conditions can be life threatening, and all are life-limiting in terms of enjoying feeling fit and healthy, and having the energy and agility to behave as dogs were made to. This can have other unwelcome side-effects such as on their moods. In the end, an overweight dog will not live as long, or as happily, as one of a healthy weight. If you think your dog is overweight seek advice from your vet, and moderate the amounts or types of food you are feeding your dog. Titbits can be to blame, so avoid feeding your dog food from your plate, no matter how sweetly they ask.

With little tummies, after weaning a puppy should be on at least 4 small meals a day, the size of each meal depending on the breed, weight, and age of the puppy, and the feed manufacturer’s instructions. As the puppy grows, meals can be reduced to 3 a day at 4 months, and then to 2 a day at six months, whilst ensuring the total amount of food over the course of the day increases gradually, until the puppy reaches a year and changes to adult food. Again, this will depend upon the breed, and the manufacturer’s instructions. When changing the puppy’s food to adult, or between different foods, change gradually, replacing 10% of the original food with new food, and gradually increasing the volume of new to old food over the course of a week. This should prevent a stomach upset resulting from a sudden swap.

Even though dogs are omnivores, not all vegetables or fruit are safe for dogs to eat, some examples being: grapes, and their dried versions (raisins, sultanas and currants); onions, garlic and other members of the allium family; avocados and xylitol (a sweetener). Cooked bones and chocolate are also dangerous. Make sure your dog can’t get hold of any of them. If they do manage to, call your vet immediately. Take especial care at Christmas and Easter when the dried fruit and chocolate are everywhere!

Cats are carnivores and need to eat meat in order to stay healthy. Commercial complete cat food is ideal, and comes as dry, kibble or “wet” in jelly or gravy. You can feed either one or the other, or a mixture of both. The wet food formulation provides some moisture in your cat’s diet, whilst the dry food is good for their teeth to crunch on. Kittens will require several small meals a day, reducing in number as they grow until adulthood, when twice a day is sufficient, but be sure to only feed enough wet food for each meal as flies will be attracted if there’s too much and your cat leaves it. Dry food can be left for the cat to return to later in the day. The only drink cats need is fresh, clean water so always make sure there is some available and keep all feeding bowls away from the litter tray for hygiene purposes.

Ideally, you should be able to feel your cat’s spine and ribs, but not see them. They should have some waist, and some abdominal tuck (the curve upwards of the belly behind the ribcage), and the primordial pouch (the extra flap of skin and fatty tissue which hangs from the part of their belly nearest their hind legs) should not be too fatty. Looking from above, their shoulders, sides and hips should be roughly aligned without the belly protruding. Weigh your cat whenever you visit the vet, and they can keep track of any fluctuations in its weight.

As with any animal, being overweight is likely to have unwelcome health implications. If your cat is overweight it may be you are feeding it too much for its size and lifestyle, but it’s a good idea to seek the advice of your vet to ensure there is no underlying health issue, and to discuss a more appropriate diet for your cat. It may then be helpful to increase your cat’s activity levels by playing more energetic games with it, and putting its dry food into a feeding toy to encourage the cat to work for its food.

If you are worried your cat is underweight but they appear to be eating normally, seek veterinary advice. However, cats are known to be fussy eaters, and can be put off their food by any number of things: a new member of the household, particularly another cat or dog; a change in routine or placement of their usual feeding station; feeling anxious or scared. Try to feed them in the same quiet place, twice a day so that they know what and where to expect it. Make sure other animals, such as a dog, cannot hassle them whilst they are feeding. Try feeding from your hand, or make a game of it by tapping into their hunting instincts and using a feeding toy, or even hiding their dry food around a room.

Cats tend to be more selective than dogs with what they consume, but it’s still important to familiarise yourself with everyday human foods which are toxic to them. A few of these are: milk, which can irritate the stomach and cause an upset; chocolate contains a chemical harmful to cats; onions and the allium family are toxic; and alcohol is poisonous too. If you believe your cat to have consumed any of the above, call your vet immediately.

Listen to our podcast for more information on Animal Welfare & Nutrition

Episode 3 - A Dog’s Life with Agria and Anna Webb

For this episode of the All Ears podcast, you’ll be joined by dog behaviour expert Anna Webb and your host Adam Henson as they delve into all things pet food and nutrition. From simple ways to keep our canine companions strong and healthy through what they eat, to their evolving diet journey and how to deal with fussy eaters – this episode covers everything you need to know about providing your dog with perfect nutrition so that they can perform at their very best.

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