Tag: nutrition

What Human Foods Can Cats Eat?

Posted on March 14, 2024 - 1:50 pm by
A cat sitting on the floor next to an empty food bowl looking up.

Dogs are renowned beggars of human food — it’s part of the reason we have a whole series dedicated to “Can My Dog Eat That?” But dogs aren’t the only ones who will beg for a tidbit of human food. Cats can be equally good at sad eyes and pitiful cries saying, “Pwease, can I have a wittle bit of your food?”

There are many reasons why you should tell your cat “No!” to people food, but if you can’t resist those woeful whines, it’s good to know which human foods cats can safely eat.

Are Human Foods Safe for Cats?

Not all human foods are safe for your cat to nibble on. Even a small morsel of people food can cause an upset stomach — or worse if the food is toxic to cats (more on that later). However, the good news is that there are plenty of human foods that can be a healthy snack to feed your kitty (in moderation). As always, check with your veterinarian before feeding new cat foods or human foods.

What Can Cats Eat from the Fridge?

There are many healthy foods in your fridge that cats can eat: for example, eggs (plain and cooked) and most fruits and vegetables. If you cut up cantaloupe or watermelon, most cats will love to snack on those (in tiny cat-sized pieces). While people love the sweet flavor of these melons, that’s not why cats are happy to munch on them. Cats don’t have receptors on their tongue for sweet tastes, so they can’t taste sweet flavors like we can. It’s a different flavor they’re enjoying.

While we’re talking about fridge food, a word of warning about milk and other dairy products. Many cats tend to be lactose intolerant. This means that they don’t produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. If your cat is lactose intolerant, the lactose can ferment in their gut, leading to digestive upset like bloating, gas, vomiting or severe diarrhea. So if you don’t want a mess, it’s best to avoid feeding your cat dairy products.

Can Cats Eat Vegetables and Fruit?

Cats can safely eat most fruits and vegetables as a healthy snack. As long as you cut them into tiny, bite-sized pieces, cats can eat raw vegetables like carrots, green beans and broccoli. However, cooking vegetables is better since the hard chunks of vegetables can still be a choking hazard. A spoonful of canned pumpkin (without spices) is also a healthy treat for cats. There are some vegetables and fruits that are toxic to cats (see below) so make sure you check whether the particular food you are feeding is safe.

Watch Out for Toxic Foods

Not all foods are safe for cats. Human foods with strong seasonings can be irritating to cats and potentially dangerous. Other foods which are on the no-no list include garlic, onion, chives, leeks and chocolate (especially dark chocolate) — these are all toxic to cats.

Can Cats Eat Raw Meat?

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they need nutrients that are only found in meat. While your cat does need animal proteins in their diet to get essential amino acids, feeding raw meats or raw fish can put your cat and your family at risk of illness. Raw meats (and raw eggs) could be contaminated with viruses, bacteria or parasites that can make your cat sick (especially if they are immunocompromised) or spread to people who touch contaminated surfaces (e.g., food bowls) or clean up the kitty litter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend feeding raw pet food or treats to cats (or dogs).

If you want to feed your cat cooked meat, lean meats like chicken or turkey, and cooked fish like salmon or tuna are good choices. But make sure the meat and fish have the bones removed because cooked bones can splinter and if swallowed, could damage your cat’s gastrointestinal tract.

Also, watch your cat for allergies when feeding them meat or fish (any animal protein). A food allergy in cats is usually caused by a protein in their diet. Symptoms include scratching at their face, neck and ears, overgrooming, bald patches or gastrointestinal signs. A limited ingredient diet can help cats with a food allergy.

What Human Food Can Cats Eat Every Day?

Commercial cat foods provide a complete and balanced diet that has all of the nutrients needed for cats to stay healthy cats and in an optimal weight range. As much as they protest, cats don’t need that morsel of meat from your plate. If you must give your cat a human food treat (or any treat), make sure it’s a healthy, low-calorie treat that is no more than 10 percent of your cat’s daily calorie intake.

Healthy human foods cats can eat include certain cooked vegetables (e.g., steamed broccoli, carrots, peas, pureed pumpkin), certain fruits (e.g., banana, seedless watermelon, blueberries, strawberries), cooked eggs (don’t feed your cat raw eggs) and whole grains. Fish oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, but make sure you check with your vet before adding fish oil or fish oil supplements to your cat’s diet.

Make Your Cat Work for Their Treat

A good idea is to put human foods cats can eat in a food puzzle. That way you’re not just handing over the tasty treat — your cat is getting some additional benefits since putting the food in a puzzle helps your cat’s environmental enrichment.

The Problem with Human Foods

Too many cat treats of any kind can create a pudgy kitty and can complicate managing cat obesity. When you give your cat human food, you’re adding calories to their diet, sometimes in larger quantities than you probably realize. For example, a one-ounce cube of cheddar cheese seems like a small treat, but it is about 110 calories. Just that one cube of cheese can meet half the calories (energy needs) of a 10-pound indoor cat (about 200 calories/day) — but they’re not getting half (of most) of the nutrients they need from that ounce of cheese.

Table scraps can also cause tummy troubles. If your cat isn’t used to calorie-rich food, it can upset their digestive system. Additionally, anytime cats eat something that isn’t part of their usual diet, the normal bacteria in their intestine can change, which may lead to gas or diarrhea. Your cat will probably blame it on the dog, though.

Regularly feeding human foods to your cat can create a finicky feline who holds out for a delicious treat from your plate instead of eating their cat food. It can also make begging a regular occurrence or cause counter surfing or table top hopping. You don’t need a cat jumping up onto the table and into your soup!

Low-Calorie and Nontoxic Human Foods Can Be Healthy Treats

If you want to give your cat an occasional treat, a spoon of canned cat food, a cat treat or a dental treat are the best options. However, safe, low-calorie human foods like a small piece of cooked lean meat or some steamed and finely chopped green beans are also good treat options if you really must share your food with your feline friend.

The Building Blocks of Your Puppy’s Diet

Posted on October 20, 2022 - 2:30 pm by
Taste of the Wild

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a phrase many of us heard growing up. It was our loved ones’ way of saying we needed the right nutrition as our bodies were growing and developing. The same holds true for puppies. Building the right nutrition into their diets now set them up for long and healthy journeys into adulthood.

On one level, your puppy’s nutritional needs are no different than a growing child’s. Like tiny humans, proper nourishment is vital to a puppy’s development, body composition and immune system. However, some of your puppy’s nutritional needs stack up a bit differently than a human’s nutritional needs.

What kind of nutrition does your puppy require? Your pupper needs a mix of fat, protein, fiber, calcium, carbohydrates, minerals and more to keep them growing strong.

The formula you choose should meet all of their nutritional needs. So, let’s start there!

Puppy Food or All Life Stages Food

What’s the difference between small breed puppy food, large breed puppy food and all life stages (ALS) puppy food? First, pet food companies take into consideration the puppy breed’s jaw size and gastrointestinal systems when deciding how big to make their kibbles. Therefore, you’ll notice a difference in kibble size between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food.

Next, you’ll notice a higher calorie count in small-breed puppy foods compared to larger breeds. This is partly because smaller breeds tend to have a higher metabolism and need more calories to keep up with their higher energy levels.

With larger-breed puppy kibble you’ll also likely notice lower calorie and calcium content. The lower number of calories per cup allows bigger dogs to grow at appropriate rates and to stay lean, so they’re not putting too much stress on developing joints. Too much calcium in their diet can increase the risk of skeletal problems. Attention to these two factors is important for prevention of developmental orthopedic disease.

ALS food provides the right nutritional requirements for growth and reproduction throughout any stage of your pet’s life. Make note though, these foods tend to be higher in calories, so if your pupper is a couch potato you might want to reduce the amount of their daily food intake. Excessive calorie intake over time can lead to obesity and associated medical conditions like osteoarthritis. Reach out to your veterinarian if you have any questions on reducing the amount of daily food intake.

If there’s any doubt about which size breed dog you have — small, medium, large — ask your veterinarian for guidance.

Nutrients Matter in A Puppy’s Diet

So, now what nutrients are you looking for in a good puppy food? Here is a breakdown of some important elements of your puppy’s diet.

Fat

Fat is an energy source for puppies, who expend a lot of it. It also helps keep their skin and hair healthy.

Protein

Protein supports rapid growth and helps build your puppy’s tissues. It provides amino acids necessary to support a healthy immune system and synthesize hormones, antibodies and enzymes.

Fiber

Fiber helps maintain a puppy’s digestive health. Most puppy foods have an appropriate amount of fiber in them already. If your vet feels that your puppy needs a diet with more fiber, they will recommend a different option.

Calcium

Calcium helps your puppy develop strong teeth and bones. Calcium requirements do vary based on their breed size, however. Going back to the differences between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food, choosing the right puppy food formula for your dog’s breed will be key in making sure they receive the correct amount.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are important for a puppy’s active lifestyle. Carbs get broken down before protein or fat, so they’re your puppy’s first available energy source. In addition to puppy food, healthy sources of carbohydrates include vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

The Right Elements in the Right Amounts

After going through the nutritional information above, you may be wondering about the right portions of food to feed your puppy. Portion size recommendations vary based on age and weight of your puppy.

Refer to the recommended daily feeding amount on your pet food’s label. This will give you a rough idea of how much you should be feeding baby Fido. Some days your puppy may eat less and some days they may eat more. It’s all part of the growing process. If you have any questions about your puppy’s eating patterns though, be sure to reach out to your veterinarian.

Feeding your puppy correctly today will help set them up for good health for their entire life!

RELATED POST: A Taste of the Wild Guide to Choosing the Right Pet Food

A new puppy text graphic showing a white, tan and black puppy lying in the grass.

When the Temperature Plummets, Should You Feed Your Pet More?

Posted on December 16, 2021 - 3:30 pm by
Taste of the Wild

With winter comes crisper temperatures, waning daylight hours and more time padding around your house in wool socks. It’s a time when we crave comfort foods bubbling with cheese, as if a primordial instinct compels us to add another layer of insulation before we hibernate for the season.

But what about your pet — do his or her nutritional needs change with the season?

Cold-weather pet food

Like people, pets may tend to eat a little less in the summer and slightly more in the winter. But any abrupt change in appetite — eating a lot more or a lot less — or any noticeable changes in weight could be the sign of an underlying health problem. In these cases, check in with your veterinarian.

Still, unless your dog is training for the Iditarod or sleeps outside, it probably spends most of the winter in the comfort of your climate-controlled home. Same goes for your cat. In these cases, there’s usually no need to increase your pet’s food intake in the winter.

When to feed less

If you live in the northern part of the United States, there’s a good chance your dog walks may be shorter (or nonexistent), compared to summer. If your pet is getting less exercise this winter but eating the same amount of food as the summer, he or she is likely to put on some extra pounds. To avoid this, talk to your veterinarian about safe ways to trim food intake.

When to feed the same amount

Even when the thermometer takes a nosedive, your pet still needs daily physical and mental stimulation.  Certain breeds and puppies, especially, need to work off excess energy. And regular exercise can help prevent behavior problems from developing out of sheer boredom. With consistent exercise, you can continue to feed your pet the same amount of food all year ‘round.

Exercising your pet, even in the winter, can help pry you off the couch, too. Consider making the most of winter by taking your dog snowshoeing or skijoring in the snow. Or explore warm, indoor activities like playtime at doggie day care. You can even set up an obstacle course in your living room. Your cat could also benefit from games of laser tag and interactive food puzzles.

When to feed more

Pets that live outdoors or spend considerable amounts of time in harsh weather will burn more calories to maintain their body temperature. These pets will need more food than they eat in the summer, a place to escape from the weather and a source of fresh water that isn’t frozen.

If your dog engages in high-energy activities in the winter, such as all-day hunting trials, with prolonged exposure to icy temperatures, they will also require additional food. As a rule of thumb, for every 10-degree drop from normal temperatures, a dog will need about 7% more calories. In either case, your veterinarian can help you determine your pet’s caloric needs.

Keeping your pet “just right”

No matter what the season, dogs and cats should be fed to maintain a healthy body condition score. That means they should have an hourglass waist when viewed from above, a tuck in the tummy when seen from the side, and ribs that can be easily felt, but aren’t visible.

Other winter comforts

If your pet spends any time outdoors in icy temperatures, consider a coat to help keep them warm and dry, especially if they have short, thin hair. For pets with longer hair, remove any hair mats, which can pull painfully against the skin, preventing the coat from providing proper insulation by allowing cold air to pass close to the skin.

Trim the hair between the footpads to prevent ice balls from accumulating there. If your dog is tolerant, consider booties, which can also prevent exposure to salt and sidewalk deicers. Any questions? Your veterinarian is the best source for tips on keeping your pet healthy this winter.

A Taste of the Wild Guide to Choosing the Right Pet Food

Posted on March 31, 2021 - 3:00 pm by
Taste of the Wild

Choosing the right pet food isn’t easy. Simply walking into the pet food aisle can be daunting. So many choices you need to make, and so many options for each choice. All life stages dog food. Senior cat food. High-protein food. Flavor. Price point. Quantity. Ingredient. Nutrient. Protein source. What’s it all mean?

Anyone who has ever loved a pet knows that it’s not just a matter of picking out the coolest looking bag of food. If you get anything right for your furry family members, it has to be their nutrition. You could argue that choosing the right food is the most important choice you’ll make in the life of your cat or dog.

We’re in the pet nutrition business, and we understand how difficult it can be to wade through the formulas and flavors of pet food to pick exactly the right food. So we’ve assembled some of our best articles below, to help you choose the right food for your pet. We’ve considered everything from the basics of pet nutrition to best practices for pet food storage (because you don’t just buy a bag of food and forget it, right?) to how to understand the difference between “adult” pet food and “senior” food. You’ll always have more questions about how to be best feeding your dog or cat, but the following primer should get you started on the right four feet.

The Basics of Pet Nutrition

You want to do right by your pet. But cat and dog food can be so complicated. What do the ingredients actually do? Does your cat need different nutrients than your dog? If you take vitamins, does that mean your pet should, too? The best way to get a foothold is to start learning some of the basics of pet food. We’ll get you started.

  1. All pets need dietary protein.
  2. Fats are the most concentrated energy source.
  3. Carbohydrates help promote GI health.
  4. Cats are obligate carnivores.
  5. Cats are usually lactose intolerant.
  6. Proteins are the triggers for most food allergies.
  7. Pets typically don’t need extra vitamins.

Read More About the 7 Basics of Pet Nutrition

An interior graphic detailing seven basic facts about pet nutrition.

How to Change Your Pet’s Diet

There are many reasons to consider switching dog food or cat food recipes, types or brands. But how do you actually go about changing their food if there’s an ingredient they don’t agree with, and how do you know it’s really time?

Your dog or cat may eagerly devour a new type of pet food, but his or her digestive tract may not be as enthusiastic if they aren’t eased into the process. Vomiting, diarrhea and gas are just a few of the potential consequences to a sudden food switch. That’s why food transitions should be made gradually, over the course of a week or more, to give your pet’s digestive tract a chance to adjust.

Read More About Changing Your Pet’s Diet

An interior graphic detailing how to slowly introduce new pet food into an animal's diet.

Working Dog Nutrition

Working dogs have unique nutritional needs that must be met in order for them to perform at their best. Just like physical human laborers, working dogs get a workout every day (or they should). And as a result of their active lifestyle, they need more calories to operate at peak performance. Depending on the workload, working dogs need 1.5 to 2.5 times the amount of dog food as a relatively sedentary dog. Does your choice of pet foods work as hard as your dog?

Read Everything You Need to Know About Working Dog Nutrition

All Life Stages Pet Food

Your dog isn’t a puppy. Your cat isn’t a senior. Does that mean that they should be eating an “all life stages” diet? Diets that are designed for all life stages meet the nutritional requirements for both growth and reproduction as well as maintenance diets. But there’s so much more to it. Click to find out exactly what pet food companies mean when they say “all life stages” dog food or cat food. Is it just complete and balanced nutrition, or is it more than that?

Read More About All Life Stages Pet Food

An overhead view of a white ceramic bowl filled with dog kibble.

Properly Measuring Pet Food

So you spent all this time figuring out what type of dog food or cat food your pet should eat. Why would you undermine your perfect choice by feeding your pet too much or too little? Believe it or not, feeding  food in proper amounts is tougher than it seems.

That’s right. According to a study done by University of Guelph veterinary researchers, pet owners need to rethink how they measure dry food. Consistent measurement errors such as those found in the Guelph study could lead to undernourishment, but more likely would result in weight gain or obesity.

Read More About the Science of Properly Measuring Pet Food

Pet Food Storage

How do you store that big bag of dog food after you lug it in from the car? Do you crack the seal and leave it in a corner? Dump the food into an easy-access tote? More importantly, how should you store the food? We have some tips and best practices for all pet owners!

Read Our Do’s and Don’ts of Pet Food Storage

Feeding your dog or cat properly matters

Caring for a pet dog or cat is incredibly rewarding, but it is not always easy for pet owners. Everything from choosing their food to choosing the right pet food storage can be the reason your pet grows healthy and strong. If you have any concerns whatsoever about the nutrition you have chosen for your pet, do not hesitate to contact your veterinarian. Pet care is their top concern, after all.

No guide to the pet food label or pet nutrition can be truly comprehensive because the subject is so vast and so personal. But we hope this guide to choosing the right dog food helps you build a strong nutritional foundation for your pet.

A new puppy text graphic with a white, tan and black puppy lying in the grass.

Even on Hypoallergenic Food, My Pet’s Still Itching. What’s Wrong?

Posted on November 1, 2018 - 4:37 pm by
Dog scratching

You’ve plied your pet with one delectable diet after another. But the itching, scratching, licking and gnawing at the skin continue. Despite your best efforts, your pet is still miserable — and now you are, too. How can you get this food allergy under control?

The Facts About Pet Allergies

Pets can have three different kinds of allergies, all of which can lead to paroxysms of itching in dogs and cats.

With a food allergy, the pet’s immune system identifies a protein in the food, such as chicken or pork, as a foreign invader and mounts an immune response against it. This often leads to itchy skin and, for a small percentage of pets, gastrointestinal signs like vomiting or diarrhea.

But food allergies are actually very uncommon in pets. Only 0.2 percent of dogs and 0.1 percent of cats suffer from food allergies, according to the Banfield Pet Hospital 2018 State of Pet Health Report, based on medical data from more than 3 million dogs and cats examined in 2017.

Allergies that are far more common in pets include flea allergies, in which pets mount a reaction to flea saliva and environmental allergies, or reactions to pollen, mold, dust mites and other irritants. In the last decade, there’s been a 12 percent increase in flea allergies in dogs and a 67 percent increase in cats, according to the Banfield report. At the same time, environmental allergies have jumped 30 percent in dogs and 11 percent in cats.

To complicate matters, pets can be allergic to more than one thing. Thirty percent of pets with food allergies, for example, have another type of allergy that impacts the skin. And some breeds, such as Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and cocker spaniels, can be genetically predisposed to allergies.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

The best way to help your pet is to start with a visit to your veterinarian. He or she can provide your pet with medications to help relieve the itch while you work together to determine what’s causing it. Here are diagnostic steps your veterinarian may take:

  1. Check for fleas and mites. You don’t always see fleas on your pet, and mites can only be spotted with a microscope. Your veterinarian may recommend examining your pet with a flea comb, taking a skin scrape to view under the microscope or trying a flea treatment for at least three months. If the itching stops, you have a diagnosis and there’s no need to go further.
  2. Test for bacterial and fungal infections. Both of these can cause itching and usually respond to medications.
  3. Try a food elimination diet To check for a food allergy, your veterinarian may recommend an 8- to 12-week diet trial. While there’s technically no such thing as a hypoallergenic diet, a hydrolyzed diet, in which the proteins have been broken down into pieces small enough to avoid detection by the immune system, is as close as it comes.

During the trial, it’s important that your pet doesn’t eat anything else besides the assigned diet. That means no treats, rawhides or table scraps that might contain the offending protein. If your pet’s itching improves, then gets worse when your pet is fed the original diet, a diagnosis of food allergy is typically made. Your pet will need to stay on the recommended diet for the remainder of life.

  1. Consider environmental allergies, also known as atopic dermatitis. If your pet is still itching despite the special diet, it’s likely that he or she has environmental allergies. While pets with food allergies tend to itch all year long, those with environmental allergies often experience seasonal signs.

At this point, your veterinarian can submit a blood test to determine what, exactly, your pet is allergic to, or refer you to a veterinary dermatologist for the gold standard of allergy testing, a skin test.  Based on the findings, special “allergy shots” can be developed to help your pet potentially overcome the allergy. Otherwise, there are several new medications that can help keep your pet more comfortable.

All of which goes to show that if your dog or cat is itching, there may be other things at play besides the pet food.

Work With Your Vet to Choose an Over-the-Counter Food for Your Diabetic Pet

Posted on November 10, 2016 - 8:02 am by
Taste of the Wild

A diabetic pet can be expensive. There’s the cost of the insulin, the syringes and the frequent veterinary visits. So do you really need to pay for a prescription diet, on top of all that?

Not necessarily.

It depends on several factors, including whether your diabetic pet is a cat or a dog, their weight and any other health conditions.

Cats usually have type 2 diabetes, meaning their bodies may be unable to properly use insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Sometimes, this type of diabetes can be reversed, meaning the cat can go into remission and insulin injections are no longer needed. And diet can play a big part in that.

Dogs, on the other hand, tend to have type 1 diabetes, which is a deficiency in insulin. Diet may help manage the condition, but it usually can’t lead to diabetic remission.

Because there are many factors to consider, it’s important to talk to your veterinarian when choosing a food for your diabetic pet.

For Diabetic Cats, Protein’s Where It’s At

In studies, diabetic cats given insulin and a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet were more likely to go into remission than those fed a high-fiber, moderate-carbohydrate diet. Because cats are obligate carnivores, the high-protein diet more closely mirrors a diet they might eat in the wild.

Your veterinarian may also recommend a canned formula. Compared with dry diets, canned foods tend to be higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates.

If you switch your diabetic cat to a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, it’s important to do so under the guidance of a veterinarian. With this type of diet, your cat may need less insulin over time. Giving the same amount of insulin could put your cat at risk for hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. While cats in remission no longer require insulin, it is important to keep feeding the high-protein diet to reduce the likelihood of them becoming diabetic again. With this type of diet, your cat may need less insulin over time. However, it’s important to always work with your veterinarian to ensure you aren’t putting your cat at risk for hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.

For Diabetic Dogs, Fiber May Help

Unlike cats, diabetic dogs do not require a high-protein diet, but they may benefit from a diet that’s high in fiber. This type of diet can slow absorption of glucose from the intestines, so there are fewer spikes in blood glucose directly after a meal.

A diabetic dog that is well controlled on insulin and is a normal weight may be fine on complete and balanced over-the-counter foods that are appropriate for the dog’s age and health. Again, it’s important to consult your veterinarian to make sure a diabetic dog is receiving the nutrition they need.

Weight Is Another Issue

While weight loss in an overweight pet is usually a good thing, it can also be a sign of diabetes. If that’s the diagnosis, and the pet’s condition becomes controlled with insulin, the weight loss should slow down or stop. However, if the pet remains obese, your veterinarian may recommend a special (either OTC or prescription) diet. For animals who are diabetic, obesity can make their cells less sensitive to insulin. In these cases, a weight management diet that helps them gradually lose weight might be best. A high-fiber, low-fat and low-calorie diet may be beneficial for both dogs and cats. The high-protein diet mentioned above may also help cats drop the additional pounds.

Many pets that have diabetes for a long time before they are diagnosed may actually become too thin. In these cases, your veterinarian may recommend a high-fat, high-protein diet to help them back to a normal weight, or keep them on the same diet but in increased quantities.

Take Other Health Conditions Into Account

If your pet has other health conditions, such as kidney or digestive tract disease, your veterinarian may suggest additional adjustments to your pet’s diet. A cat with advanced kidney disease, for example, may benefit from a diet that is somewhat lower in protein and phosphorus than the high-protein foods typically suggested for cats with diabetes only.

The Bottom Line

Diabetes in a pet isn’t a death sentence, and it’s certainly not a death sentence for your wallet. While some cases require more complicated measures as far as diet goes, it very well may be possible to buy what your pet needs over the counter. Since every pet is unique, it pays to work with your veterinarian to land on the diet that works best for your pet.

RELATED POST: A Suddenly Picky Kitty May Have Hepatic Lipidosis

Probiotics Maintain the Natural Balance for Your Pet

Posted on October 27, 2016 - 8:25 am by
Taste of the Wild

The digestive tract is more than a conveyor belt for processing food. It’s also the largest immune organ in the body. As such, it’s believed to play an important role in your pet’s overall immune function and health. And probiotics are essential to helping it do the job.

Much of the digestive tract’s ability to affect immunity depends on the balance of beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria inside the digestive tract. Normally, these bacteria help digest food, absorb nutrients, support intestinal function, manufacture vitamins and modulate the immune system.

But the natural balance of these bacteria in your pet can be disrupted by a number of factors such as sudden diet changes, garbage ingestion, the stress of boarding or travel, and even antibiotics. This can cause an increase in harmful bacteria at the expense of beneficial bacteria, leading to diarrhea and sometimes vomiting.

Restoring the balance with probiotics

Oral administration of live, beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, in the right amounts may help boost the number of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract and reduce the number of harmful bacteria. Although scientists are still learning about probiotics, studies in both human and veterinary medicine have shown promising results. Human studies, for example, indicate that probiotic administration may help with intestinal disease, diabetes, some skin allergies, weight loss, liver disease and more.

The nutritional benefits for pets may also extend beyond resolving diarrhea. One study in puppies, for example, showed that probiotics may help improve their immune response to vaccination.

How probiotics work

While probiotics are still being studied, it has been suggested that they work by making the intestinal environment less welcoming for harmful bacteria. These beneficial bacteria may make the surrounding area more acidic, take up adhesion sites on the intestinal lining, use up more nutrients and even produce compounds that might destroy the harmful bacteria.

All probiotics aren’t the same

The next time your pet has diarrhea, you might be tempted to feed him grocery store yogurt, with active bacterial cultures. But the same probiotics that may help people might not do the trick for animals. There is some evidence that species-specific probiotics, containing the particular strains of bacteria normally found in the dog or cat’s digestive tract, may deliver better results.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if the probiotic contains the right bacteria if they can’t survive manufacturing, storage or the acids in a pet’s gastrointestinal tract. So probiotics must undergo rigorous testing to ensure they’re viable in the animal. Testing is also important to make sure the bacterial strains are safe for the animal, capable of enhancing the bacterial balance in the gut, and ideally, able to positively impact the immune system.

Probiotics for pets are typically available in pill and powder form, or may be part of a nutritious diet. For example, every Taste of the Wild dry canine formula is enhanced with K9 Strain® Probiotics and every Taste of the Wild dry feline formula contains Viables® Probiotics. These strains are added after the cooking process to help ensure the beneficial bacteria are alive and able to support healthy digestion for your pet.

As always, if you have any questions about how probiotics can help your pet, talk to your veterinarian.

Healthy Snack Choices to Tip the Scales in Your Pet’s Favor

Posted on August 25, 2016 - 8:20 am by
Taste of the Wild

Food is love, right? We embrace our pets with tasty morsels as a reward for going potty. Or a buttery biscuit slipped under the kitchen table. And a scoop of ice cream while watching TV. So is it any wonder that an estimated 56 percent of dogs and 60 percent of cats in America are overweight or obese?

But pets are often the real losers when we show this kind of love. Overweight dogs have been shown to live an average of two years less than their lean counterparts. And extra weight puts pets at risk for all kinds of health problems, from diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure to heart and lung disease, cranial cruciate ligament injury and numerous types of cancer.

So if you really want to show your pet how much you love him or her, consider switching to healthy, low-calorie treats. And remember, if you don’t want your pet’s diet to become unbalanced, treats should never account for more than 10 percent of the total calorie allotment for the day. When in doubt, ask your veterinarian how many calories your pet should be eating daily, and if there’s a treat available from your favorite pet food manufacturer, don’t hesitate to ask about it as well.

FOR DOGS, THINK FRUITS AND VEGGIES

Most dogs are more than happy to crunch on a raw carrot. Same goes for green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, celery, cucumber, zucchini and even cubes of baked sweet potato. You can slice ’em, dice ’em and even cook vegetables, too. And there’s no need for butter, salt or candied sauce — most dogs like veggies just the way they are.

Popular fruits for dogs include bananas, pears and apples (just make sure to remove the apple seeds, which can contain small amounts of cyanide). Strawberries, raspberries, oranges and blueberries are OK too. You can even puree fruits like pumpkins and seedless watermelons and freeze them inside a Kong. Just don’t go overboard because too many fruits and vegetables could lead to gastrointestinal upset.

A handful of air-popped popcorn, without added salt, is another low-calorie alternative.

There are, however, some fruits and vegetables you definitely don’t want to give dogs because of potential toxicity. These include grapes, raisins, currants, onions, garlic, chives and leeks. It’s also best to avoid fruits with large pits, which could pose a choking hazard or result in a digestive tract obstruction.

Good and Bad Fruits and Veggies for Pets Chart | Taste of the Wild

WHAT ABOUT CAT TREATS?

Cats, being carnivores, are all about lean meats and fish. A few bites of salmon, tuna or lean chicken will most likely elicit a purr. Raw vegetables, including carrots, green beans and broccoli are fine as long as they are cut into tiny pieces. To avoid a choking hazard, cooking the vegetables may be a better option. A spoonful of canned pumpkin (without added spices) can provide your kitty with added moisture and fiber, too.

Surprisingly, many cats are fond of fruits such as cantaloupe and watermelon. But it’s not the sugary flavor they’re after, since cats can’t taste sweetness.

Garlic, onions, chives and leeks are also on the no-no list for cats because of potential toxicity.

With so many healthy options for your pets, you can treat them with love and still help them keep their svelte shape.

Know What You’re Feeding Your Pet: Making Sense of Pet Food Labels

Posted on June 2, 2016 - 7:55 pm by
Taste of the Wild

Walking down the pet food aisle — or aisles — in your favorite store can be an overwhelming experience. With thousands of options available, how do you know which food is right for your dog or cat? Reading the pet food label — and learning how to decode it — is a good place to start.

In this post, we’ll look briefly at what information is required on pet food labels. We’ll also identify which sections of the label many pet parents may be ignoring while placing too much emphasis on another.

Helpful, but limited, information for guiding pet food choices

The information found on pet food packages is either required or optional, and some sections are more helpful than others when choosing pet food. Under current federal and state regulations, all dog and cat food labels are required to include specific information stated in particular ways:

  • Brand and product name
  • Pet species (e.g., dog or cat) for which the product is intended
  • Net weight of the food in the package
  • Guaranteed analysis of specific nutrients
  • Nutritional adequacy statement, which tells the type and pet life stage the product is suited for
  • List of all ingredients in descending order by weight, including water
  • Feeding directions, if the food is labeled “complete and balanced” or “100% nutritious”
  • Calorie statement
  • Manufacturer’s or distributor’s name and address
  • While pet food labels are factual, they’re also used to capture your attention in order to provide additional information about product features and benefits.

Nutrients, not ingredients

If you’re like most pet parents, you look first at the ingredient list when choosing a pet food. All ingredients used in a pet food recipe are listed in order of their weight, so ingredients with high water content — fresh meats and vegetables, for example — are listed before similar amounts of dry ingredients (such as lamb meal or duck meal).

We strive to provide honest and accurate information about the ingredients used in Taste of the Wild recipes. But it’s also important to remember that our furry friends require and thrive on nutrients, not ingredients. Ingredients supply nutrients; they also provide mouth feel or texture, enhance flavor and preserve freshness.

Where do you really need to look?

According to Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist at Tufts University, the two most useful pieces of information on a pet food label are the nutritional adequacy statement and the manufacturer.

The nutritional adequacy statement, which is usually found in small print on the back or side of a pet food package, confirms three important facts:

  1. Whether the food is complete and balanced, or intended for sporadic or supplemental feeding.
  2. For which life stage the food is intended.
  3. How the company determined the food is complete and balanced.

You also want to choose a pet food made by a reputable and knowledgeable company that follows strict quality control protocols. While the name and address of the food manufacturer or distributor is required on the pet food label, you may need to do some homework to learn more about the company and their food safety system. The answers to these questions should sway your choice of pet food:

If the cat or dog food is determined to be complete and balanced by using AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than feeding trials, is that determination made by formulation or by analysis of the finished food?

Taste of the Wild recipes are determined to be complete and balanced by formulation, which is supported with testing of the finished food to verify the presence of key nutrients.

Where is Taste of the Wild pet food made?

Taste of the Wild dog and cat foods are made in one of five manufacturing facilities, all located in the United States.

What specific quality assurance measures are used to ensure consistency and quality of ingredients and the final pet food?

Because it matters what you feed your pet, we work hard to ensure that the production of all of our recipes adheres to strict quality and safety standards. To learn more about how the quality of Taste of the Wild pet food is assured, check out this information.