Tendencies and Trends: Where Dog and Cat Nutrition Goes

Firstly, we feel deep empathy and love for our pets and start sharing nutritional habits and food they cannot digest, making them suffer from disorders or diseases. For example, obesity is not only a disease but also triggers heart and articular conditions, diabetes, or oncological disorders.

We should destroy the myth that being fatty means being healthy and be conscious that we demonstrate affection by sharing food, that is why we should seek healthy treats.

Nowadays, the market is prepared for this and even more; nutrition programs consider a small percentage of treats so as not to exceed the daily calorie intake.

On the other hand, there are feeding tendencies or food that, in my opinion, are insecure and not based on our pets' actuality. Is BARF or raw food a tendency or a trend with little scientific basis?

Sometimes, trends cause discomfort and are not always accurate. The truth is that cats and dogs have been able to differentiate from their wild ancestors, and it is not secure to replace the prey concept with raw diets, lacking tests and norms that ensure safety and meet nutritional profiles and macro/micronutrient requirements.

Once again, I highlight the range of information in the industry about different types and nutritional proposals, such as homemade food, dry and canned wet food, treats, and snacks, all with their nutritional profiles. As professionals, it is important to understand this to recommend the best option to each patient without making tendencies become an unproven trend but based on evidence that reduces the risk of error and enhances dog and cat well-being. By doing it, we promote health and quality of life.

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Source: All Pet Food Magazine