Furry Friends

Your pet’s food should be judged on the complete nutrient content and not on specific ingredients.

It doesn’t matter if you have a cat or dog, their body does not treat grains differently than any other source of carbohydrates. Your pet’s body recognizes food by the nutrients it provides.

Remember last month focused on the fact that while some grain free diets can provide excellent nutrition, they have no inherent nutritional advantages over diets that contain no grains.

Some non-grain carbohydrate sources may actually be less nutritious than grains. Food allergies are not very common in our dogs and cats. However, in most cases an animal based protein source is usually the culprit and not the grain.

This month I wish to talk about diet and obesity.

Diets containing grains do not inherently lead to obesity. Any diet, especially if it is high in calorie density, can contribute to obesity if it is overfed.

High calorie diets increase the risk of obesity in both dogs and cats. Many popular grain-free diets tend to be higher in calories than diets that contain grain.

Diets that contain more meat and less grain and other carbohydrates tend to be much higher in fat than diets that contain more grain and carbohydrates.

As fat provides twice the calories of equivalent amounts of protein or carbohydrates, many of the highest calorie diets currently on the market are grain-free diets.

High-calorie diets increase the risk of obesity much more so than high carbohydrate diets because it is easier to over feed these diets.

Extra fat is used to enhance the taste.

Evidence suggests high protein, low carbohydrate diets don’t have any advantage in preventing or treating obesity.

If you do feed these diets, pay special attention to the amount you are feeding your pet.

Diabetes in dogs is more closely related to Type 1 diabetes in people where there is destruction of insulin producing cells in the pancreas.

This is not caused by diet. In dogs managing weight, consistency of diet and meal times, and fiber are beneficial to control of diabetes.

Diabetes in cats is more like Type 2 diabetes in people. The biggest risk factor for cats is obesity.

Weight loss and diet composition can have important effects on diabetic control in cats. There are specific diets for diabetic control in cats which tend to be higher protein and lower in carbohydrates.

It is important to select diets manufactured by reputable companies that own their own manufacturing facilities, practice stringent quality control, and are constantly testing and trying to improve their diets.

They should also employ full time qualified veterinary nutritionists. They should have a PhD in nutrition or be a veterinarian who is a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition.

Remember that advertisers are marketing to you, the pet parent. There are also diets now marketed as gluten-free. Presently, there is only one family of dogs in Great Britain that has been shown to have a true gluten allergy.

Feeding your pet a gluten-free diet won’t matter much to them. You’ll end up paying more for the food with no added benefits.

If you have questions, talk with your veterinarian or call the company making the food and ask to speak to one of their veterinary nutritionist.