Advanced Pet Diets

Pets can be as picky as humans when it comes to eating, and some animals even need special diets for health reasons. Advanced diets in pets have become more popular in recent years, especially as humans begin to eat healthier, they also want the family pet to eat and live a healthier lifestyle as well.

  1. Raw Meat Diets

    • Our carnivorous pets, like dogs and cats, by nature eat meat that has not been cooked, but left raw. Many pet owners who want to provide the family dog or cat a more natural diet may find a raw meat diet pleasing. Unlike humans, dogs and cats have the ability to consume raw meat, but like humans, they may contract illness if the meat has not been properly prepared. If you decide to feed your pet a raw diet, caution must be taken in the freshness and cleaning of the meat to remove harmful bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella.

    Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

    • Vegetarians and vegans have long proclaimed the lifestyle's health benefits of eating only plant-based diets, and many pets already eat only plant-based diets. Pets like dogs and cats may also readily accept a vegetarian diet if the food has been prepared properly. By nature, cats and dogs do not eat a strictly plant-based diet, and many critics feel this type of diet to be unnatural and even harmful to our carnivorous pets. Dogs and cats do not suffer from most of the illnesses vegetarianism claims to cure, such as high cholesterol or coronary artery disease, the way humans do, making vegetarianism in dogs and cats more for the owner's preference.

    Roughage Diet

    • Horses that perform in shows and events typically need a grain supplement so energy, necessary proteins and fats are consumed to keep the horse in optimum health and weight. However, horses that do little to no activity outside of the occasional light riding may benefit from a diet higher in hay, or roughage, and may need little to no grain at all. Horses on a high roughage diet may also be better hydrated than horses on a grain diet, as hay retains moisture in the gut longer than grain.

    Obesity Diets

    • As in humans, obesity has become an issue with many pets in recent years. Many pet owners unknowingly feed the family pet a higher caloric diet, then provide the animal with little exercise to balance the calories found in the food. Dogs, cats, horses and ferrets especially fall victim to obesity without proper research on the correct nutrition each animal needs. Lowering the amount of food at each meal time and a daily exercise routine are the start of pet weight loss, but also foods formulated to help reduce the weight of your pet may be necessary for successful weight loss.