Image Source: Pixabay
Our pets need food to grow and be healthy. The main concern is your pet’s health and well-being is healthy digestion. Maintaining a healthy weight and diet regime is an important aspect of properly managing your pet’s health. Your veterinarian is the only one qualified to identify an exclusive diet that best suits your pet. If for some reason, a diet change is prescribed, it is of utmost importance that you follow your veterinarian’s feeding directions while feeding your pets the prescribed food. Gastrointestinal-friendly foods (GI-friendly foods) help nutritionally support the digestive health of dogs and cats. Most GI-friendly foods are specially developed by specialists like veterinarians and nutritionists to support your pet’s digestive health through:
- Probiotics, digestible proteins, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Antioxidants and amino acids, help support immune system health.
- Soluble and insoluble fibers help promote healthy stool.
All the necessary vitamins and minerals are naturally included in your pet’s balanced foods. Additional nutrition through supplements or extra food is unnecessary. GI-friendly foods are especially important if one of these GI Health Warning Signs is Present in your pet.
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Anorexia
- Nausea
- Weight Loss
The Importance Of Good Nutrition
When feeding an animal, a proper balance of nutrients is necessary. Just like humans, our pets also need to meet a certain nutritional requirement that’s made up of a combination of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water to function normally. Pet food manufacturers work hard on the components and ingredients that go into your pet’s food. They determine the exact formula of the ingredients that go into the food to make sure that enough nutrition is provided to your pet daily. There are different types of GI-friendly foods that are specially designed for different life stages (puppies and geriatric dogs etc.), some GI-friendly foods are designed to control health conditions like heart and kidney disease while others provide hypoallergenic nutrition to our pets. Every nutrient that’s included in your pet’s food has a purpose. By getting adequate nutrition daily, you’re helping your pet maintain his muscle tone, and build and repair muscles, bone, and teeth while performing normal daily activities with ease and being able to fight off diseases.
Proteins
Provide a source of energy and help with growth and muscle function.
Canidae Dog Food contains high quantities of protein. This dry dog food uses real meat, making the food tasty as well as nutritious. For cats, the Purina Pro Plan dry cat food is a good option when it comes to high protein content.
Fats
Provides energy and helps the brain function. It also helps to keep the skin and hair coat healthy and shiny. The Hill’s Science Diet dog food can be of good help in this regard.
Carbohydrates
Supply a quick boost of energy which allows your pet to keep active and energetic.
Vitamins And Minerals
These are important nutrients that play a role in nerve conduction and muscle contraction. They also work to prevent illness. By feeding GI-friendly food to your pets, you don’t have to be overly concerned about whether they’re receiving the right amount of nutrients. GI-friendly foods help keep pets healthy and happy.
You can give your dog treats too from time to time. The Milk-Bone dog treats are some of the best dog treats you will find on the market. So, feel free to try those.
Another aspect of pet food that pet owners should be aware of is the foods that aid pets with cancer. The next section will guide you with the same.
Food for Pets with Cancer: Homemade vs. Store Bought
Those who have pets with cancer are often confused about the diet they should be feeding their beloved companions. There are different kinds of cancer diagnosed in pets. While some are accompanied by tumors, others might not show any visible growths (typically blood cancers). At the same time, all tumors aren’t malignant. It is possible to remove some of the benign tumors through surgery. This ensures the complete recovery of the animal.
Food for Cancer Pets
Just like humans, cats and dogs suffering from cancer require a special type of diet since they have a weak immune system. And since this is typically a progressive disease, the immune system is likely to become weaker over time. Certain cancer therapies could put additional strain on the animal’s system, making it even more difficult for them to heal. Before the advent of commercial foods for pets, most domestic animals were fed the same food as human beings. Today, there are multiple cat and dog food brands readily available for purchase, both online and at pet food or grocery stores. Therefore, the idea of preparing homemade meals for the pet has become almost foreign to the majority of the owners. The reality is that pets with cancer may need some nutritious homemade meals as opposed to store-bought/processed foods for better recovery.
Why Commercial Foods Should be Avoided for Cancer Pets
While it’s true that commercial foods or store-bought foods are convenient, they may not be ideal for your cancer-diseased pet. A lot of these commercial foods have carcinogens. Carcinogens are substances that might cause or promote cancer. They can damage healthy DNA in the animal’s body in multiple ways. For instance, they could generate cancer cells that multiply uncontrollably. In addition to containing carcinogens, these commercial pet foods are manufactured using feed-grade ingredients and may carry various toxins such as mold-produced mycotoxins and animal excreta.
Nutritious Homemade Meals for Optimal Health
If you have a pet suffering from cancer, you should ideally feed it a nutritious and well-balanced homemade diet that consists of fat, protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamin D, and other sources of antioxidants. Proteins are vital for animals with cancer because protein deficiency could lead to poor immunity, muscle wasting, and slow wound healing. A maximum number of calories in your pet food should come from high-quality protein. It is the blood glucose that gives energy to tumor cells. This glucose is metabolized by the tumor for energy and promotes further growth. So you need to reduce the amount of available energy by avoiding feeding simple carbohydrates to your pet. Good sources of complex carbohydrates for animals include brown rice and oatmeal.
