Pet Food

• Where to buy the pet food
• Cheap versus expensive
• Vet approved foods
• Changing pet food
• Changing feeding routines

 

Where to Buy the Pet Food

Pet food is available in a variety of locations.

Choosing where you buy your pet food is often about your budget. You may also have a place that provides better quality of service than another.

Pet food is sold in most grocery stores, pet stores, and online.

Grocery store items are often generic, cheap brands that will fit the budget, but may not provide the best ingredients for your pet.

Markets also tend to charge a little more than your pet food store or warehouse store.

Warehouse stores like the U.K. Pets at Home and Pet Supermarket provide bulk products at low cost, including the cheapest brands of pet food. Again the ingredients are not the best. Most foods are going to be filled with by-products.

A pet store is going to have the most variety in brands and ingredients. Any pet store is set up to service the needs of all pets, meaning the shelves are stocked with just about any choice of pet food there is to be sold in your area. You will find the cheaper versions that are in any store, all the way up to the most expensive brands, and vet recommended options. You can also find the most choices in flavours any brand may make. In a pet store, any need from food to personal pet care can usually be addressed.

You will have different types of pet stores. Some are large scale stores that sell numerous brands. There are also others that may sell only "all natural" or organic ingredients. Pet stores that sell specialty foods are again going to have fewer choices, more expensive prices, but are often going to serve the healthiest brands. These stores may also have their own brand that they make from all natural ingredients.

Vet surgeries tend to carry certain brands of pet food. Most of their brands are prescription and only available at the vet location. They may have the non-prescription brands as well, but they are certainly going to have the foods they recommend versus any brand you can find on the shelf. The food can be slightly more than found in pet stores, and certainly is more for prescription brands.

The quality of life you wish your pet to have should determine where you buy your food. You may not need the expensive vet recommended brands or prescription food to have a healthy cat. However, you do want to be careful of the quality of food you feed your pet. Less expensive brands tend to have by-products that can cause health problems for your pet.

Also consider the distance to the various stores you have around your home. If you are not near a certain location, you could spend more on petrol than you might save or have the budget for. Obviously the main focus should be on your pet's health, but you may be able to provide health and still shop at a store nearer to your home or work.

Online pet stores and individual manufacturers sell their food options for you to make an easy purchase. You may find an individual is making all natural foods for a lower price than you can find them in a natural pet store. You may also save a little petrol on having the food shipped to you, versus going to a store and purchasing it. You want to be careful of buying food online from small manufacturers, as there could be quality control issues.

Anyone can start an online business and they may not adhere to the proper quality required in making the food.

Online pet stores can be some of the same pet stores you have in retail locations or they can be strictly online bringing products from around the world or at least your country to your doorstep. Again, you want to be careful to check the background of any online company, read reviews, assess the brands they sell, and choose the food carefully.

 

Cheap versus Expensive

Spending a great deal on food is not always the best course for your pet.

For example, a cat that has a very sensitive stomach could not eat the prescription brand urinary tract food recommended by the vet or any of that brand food. However, a less expensive brand with high quality ingredients can correct the kidney crystal issues and provide a better, healthier life for the cat. Sometimes it is not about what is supposed to be the best food on the shelf recommended by all the experts, but what you can find to satisfy the needs of your pet.

The cheaper brands of foods sold for pets are going to be filled with certain ingredients that are not the healthiest for your pets. They can also be high in calories.

Animal by-product, processed cornmeal, and grains are usually the top three ingredients in the cheaper brands. You may think you know what is going into the food, but when you read the label you find there are a lot of questions and certain chemical words that seem strange. While the food is designed to keep your pet healthy, these products are not always the best and healthiest you could be feeding to your pet.

It is just like the most expensive foods can be overpriced for what is actually contained within the package. Expensive foods can still cut corners and be marked up for the store selling them for their profit margin. You will no longer see animal by-products, a high amount of grains, and processed cornmeal in most of these expensive brands; however, it does not always mean the food is worth the asking price. It is far better for you to read the label, consider whether you can purchase these same brands elsewhere for less, and then make an informed purchase.

 

FACT

Dry pet foods contain only the maximum of 50% meat because more than that gums up the manufacturer's machinery.

Source:pethealth101.com

 

Vet Approved Foods

Vet approved foods are going to get a tick mark in a lot of columns for health.

Most VAF foods are recommended by vets who help the manufacturers produce the food.

They examine the ingredients, assess if it helps pets, and then recommend it. This does not mean that all vet approved foods are the best.

The food may work for some of the pets that eat it and not work for others.

At the end of the day, all that matters is whether your pet is healthy, at a good weight, and obtaining the nutrients they need from the food they eat.

Remember the example of a cat that had a sensitive stomach? It applies to this section of the module. You may find that your pet is intolerant to certain ingredients or formulas that vets recommend.

What matters most is that you feed healthy, whole ingredients to your pet and not by-products or foods that are "too rich", but contain little nutritional benefit.

"Too rich" means the products have ingredients that are not well received by the stomach of your pet. It could be that the ingredients are something your pet is unable to digest or that causes acid reflux. You can liken this situation to eating too many sweets and feeling uncomfortable or like you may have an upset stomach.

 

Changing Pet Food

Changing your pet's food will require a specific method that is designed to make your pet the most comfortable during the change.

You should never put down a new food and expect your pet to tolerate it. Any animal's system is sensitive and requires a slow period of change.

Introduce the new food by mixing it in with the original food. Think about food in fourths. If you are supposed to feed 1 cup of food to your cat a day, then you will put in ¼ of the new cat food and mix it with ¾ cups of the old food. This provides a taste of the new food, but the body is still getting the food, your cat is used to. You also need to do this for dogs based on how much you feed them in a day. For about a week, you should provide the new food at this ratio.

During the second week, you will move to a half and half mixture. Make certain you are mixing the food completely and not just dumping half in and then the other half in without mixing it up.

The third week will be a reverse of the first week, where your cat is now getting ¾ of the new food and ¼ of the old food. By the fourth week or a month, your pet should be eating only the new food.

You also need to watch how your pet responds to the new food.

You will be able to tell within two weeks if your cat is eating the new food. Cats are especially picky. You may see your cat eat around the new food to get at the old food. If you see the new food left in the bowl, you should not increase the amount of food you give them. Instead, see if they will eat the new food first, without the old food present. If they eat that quarter cup because there is nothing else, then you can slowly work on changing their food.

However, if your pet refuses to eat the new food at all throughout the day when it is the only food there, you will need to try a different food. You may need to try several new foods before you find one your pet will eat. Most manufacturers have a money back guarantee allowing you to change food if you find your pet is unwilling to eat the brand. This also helps you save money when you need to find a better quality food or change your pet's diet to fit their health needs.

 

Changing Feeding Routines

Changing the food you feed is challenging and so is changing the feeding routine your pet has.

Pets get into routines and it takes time for them to adapt to any change. If there are already behavioural issues your pet has, then changing the feeding routine can become a large issue for your pet. You can reassure your pet and you can make certain that your pet is still getting the amount of food required for a healthy life.

Let's examine the need to reduce the amount of food your pet needs due to overweight issues.

Taking away a cat's food, especially when it has always had an eat-at-any-time routine, can cause behavioural issues.

Cats that starved as kittens or had to fight for their food and are timid can start to get sick if their food bowl is ever empty. The first thing to do is get a small food bowl. You are serving less food to your pet, so by providing a smaller bowl, your cat will not want to overeat because the bowl is getting empty. The perception your pet has of their food bowl and the amount left in it can stop your pet from overeating.

If you need to change the timing the food is served, then you should do so gradually if possible.

Sometimes work schedules change and there is nothing you can do. The best option in this situation is to feed your pet before you leave, immediately when you return, and a third time, such as before you go to sleep. By ensuring your pet is getting food before you leave and immediately upon your return, there will be less of an issue or worry for your pet. Your pet will also not feel upset or starving as much as if you ignore them when you leave or return home.

Changing the routine, such as what you give and when also needs to be gradual. For example, if you are going to feed more wet food, then you may want to provide it throughout the day with more frequent intervals versus when you set out a bowl of dry food. This is due to wet food requiring refrigeration.

 

 

Summary

Your pet looks to you to provide the healthiest food available to them.

Where you buy your food should be about location and budget, with an emphasis on the quality of the food.

Ensuring your pet is healthy is more important than saving money. You still need to pay attention to the pet food labels and ignore cheap versus expensive. Instead, look at the products, how well your pet eats the food you purchase, and overall pet health.

Vet approved foods do not work for all pets, but are a good place to start for proper ingredients and nutrients.

Also, be careful when changing pet foods and routines, as this can cause behavioural or medical problems in your pet.