For some dog and cat guardians, food cooked with fresh ingredients that we buy ourselves in the supermarket can be a very attractive idea when choosing food for our four-legged companions.
Shopping, manually selecting ingredients, and preparing food may even seem like a good way to show them our love. However, although it sounds quite simple, the reality is different and, unless you have developed a feeding plan with a specialized veterinary nutritionistthere is a great risk that it will not provide you with the necessary nutrition.
To give an example, A dog needs around 37 nutrients in its daily diet. to have healthy bodily function and, in the case of cats, around 40, according to the European Federation of Pet Food (FEDIAD). But do tutors know what these nutrients are? Here is the difficulty of preparing this type of homemade diet.
The FEDIAF nutritional guidelines for cats and dogs collect these nutritional needs at different stages of our pets’ livesfrom growth to old age, and are reviewed by other independent experts in veterinary nutrition from all over Europe to provide our furry dogs with a “complete” food, similar to a person who regularly receives their menus prepared by a human nutritionist.
Beware of nutritional deficiencies
According to the data of the study conducted by the University of California, David School of Veterinary in 2013in which 200 different home-prepared dog food recipes were analyzed, 95 percent were deficient in at least one essential nutrient. Additionally, 84 percent of the recipes lacked several necessary nutrients.
Although it is not impossible to provide a nutritionally balanced diet at home, These results show that it is a complicated task with very little margin for error, Since, in addition to having to make sure we are providing our furry friends with the necessary nutrients, controlling calories can also be difficult.
Balancing the correct amounts of protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrates along with specific vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids is complex.
For this reason, international federations dedicated to pet feeding always recommend expert advice. “Most pet food products on the market are designed to provide total nutrition.”they assure from the National Association of Pet Food Manufacturers (ANFAAC).
“These products will carry the term ‘complete’ indicated on the food packaging, a legal definition that means that, by law, that food must contain all the nutrients that a pet needs in the appropriate proportions,” they add. “Balance the correct amounts of proteins, fats, fibers and carbohydrates along with vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and specific amino acids It’s complex, but that is the daily responsibility of pet food manufacturers.”
Do we then forget to cook at home?
That homemade food is not ideal or the easiest to prepare and offer to our furry companions It does not mean that we cannot carry it out. If we contact a nutritionist who helps us formulate an appropriate diet and we have the time to do so, we can cook for our furry friends.
It is also an option to offer them an occasional prepared meal, a special day, since being something out of the ordinary, “it will not interrupt the nutritional balance of the general diet”, as explained by ANFAAC. “However, we must try to avoid foods that are toxic to them.”
An example of these are onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, chocolate, avocados, certain nuts, and foods sweetened with xylitol, which we should avoid them whether we cook for our dogs or cats, or if we offer them a small bite of any dish we prepare.
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