Pets are often treated as a part of the family or our best friends, but does that treatment apply to what we are feeding them? Pet food companies are notorious for adding ingredients that are harmful to pets or ones they simply cannot digest. Others just put in a bunch of filler ingredients that do not really do anything for your pet’s health and well-being. However, doing your research into brands, consulting a veterinarian, or feeding a raw food diet are all viable options to keep your pet happy, healthy, and mentally stimulated.
Dog and cat food are the most well-known cases of filler ingredients or unhealthy preservatives in pet food, and this extends into the world of exotic pets as well. Whether your pet has fur, feathers, or scales, making sure that they are getting all the nutrients and vitamins they need is the top priority.
There has been a trend going on for a little while in some pet owner circles with feeding a raw diet or doing a mix of processed foods and raw foods to help their pets feel their best. In some cases, feeding a processed food diet is bad for their mental and physical health like rabbits. While yes, feeding only pellets will get them the vitamins and nutrients they need, it does nothing for their mental stimulation or their dental health.
Every veterinarian I have ever gone to has complimented the natural food diet of my rabbits, which consists of vegetables and leafy greens, and recommended I stay on it. The key to any raw food diet, no matter the species, is to ensure that you are providing enough variety to keep things interesting as well as varying the levels of different vitamins and nutrients in their diet, just like they would get if they were in the wild. For dogs, that usually means raw meats, bones, and some vegetables like what they would end up eating in the stomachs of prey.
With cats, dehydration is common because they do not drink regular water very often, and if they do, it is running water, making cat water fountains immensely popular for that reason. Because they do not drink regular water, they have to get it from somewhere, and that is normally from their food. Feeding a wet food diet is an effective way to make sure your feline friend is getting the moisture they need to be healthy, but bloody or rare raw meat, organs, and eggs are all part of those diets.
The most important thing to keep in mind is reliable sourcing, regular visitation, and consultation with a veterinarian, and lots of research. The kinds of research include what foods are safe, what chemicals are present that may be harmful, how to balance these meals for them, what supplements you may need to add, etc. A veterinarian will be vital in helping to formulate a diet plan and balance the portions for individual animals. Keep in mind that while there is no substantial research to support whether a raw food diet is better for an animal, it is important that they have variation in their food. Most people cannot stand to eat the same thing for every meal, why should the smaller members of the family have to?