PET FOOD INFORMATION
PET FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENTThe pet food industry is responsible, efficient and at the forefront of technology. This means that it can minimise the use of resources while maximising safety standards.
VAT ON PET FOODThroughout Europe there is a wide disparity between the VAT treatment of food for pets and that for humans.
DOGS AND GRAPE POMACE Grapes and raisins are known to be toxic to some dogs whereas grape pomace has been used safely as an antioxidant in dog foods for many years without any reported adverse affects.
PET FOOD GUIDELINESThere is a huge body of information about pet nutrition which has been developed over many years.
BREED SPECIFIC DIETSThere is a wide range of pet food on the market to meet all needs and preferences; this includes diets that have been formulated to meet the individual needs of specific breeds.
BENEFITS OF PREPARED PET FOODPet owners feeding a commercially prepared pet food can have complete confidence they are addressing all their pet’s nutritional needs.
CARBOHYDRATES IN FELINE DIETSThe existing science highlights that the carbohydrate levels found in prepared pet foods, both wet and dry, are well tolerated by both dogs and cats, and are important for the nutritional contribution they bring.
LIFE-STAGE NUTRITION FOR PETSLife stage nutrition is the practice of feeding pets specific foods designed to meet their needs at a specific age or during a specific physiologic state such as pregnancy. By feeding to meet the needs of pets at varying life stages, owners can be sure they are providing their pet with optimum nutrition.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND WEIGHT LOSS DIETSWeight management is critical in maintaining your pet’s health and a number of factors need to be taken into consideration when assessing this. For example, the pet’s age, level of activity, sex, neuter status and breed must all be taken in to account. All dogs and cats are individuals and owners need to be aware to adjust feeding according to their pets’ life-stage and lifestyle.
CEREALS IN PET FOODGenerally cereals are used as a source of energy for dogs and cats, but they also provide a significant proportion of the protein to the total diet.
SUGAR IN PET FOODRefined sugars are expensive ingredients and in most parts not easily digestible by cats and dogs so they are rarely used as ingredients in pet food.
ADDITIVES IN PET FOODAdditives are used in both human and pet food to help ensure quality, safety, texture, consistency, appearance, odour or taste. Some additives are derived from naturally occurring materials (usually plants) and others are artificially produced substances.
RAW MEATY BONES DIETSIn the case of a diet where only raw meat and bones are fed, there is a concern particularly amongst vets and animal nutritionists, that this exclusive diet may not meet the pet’s needs without appropriate supplementation.
CATS
FEEDING YOUR CAT
UNDERSTANDING CAT FOOD
CAT ARCHITECTS
CAT QUIZ
DOGS
FEEDING YOUR DOG
UNDERSTANDING DOG FOOD
DOG ARCHITECTS
DOG QUIZ
FURRIES
FEEDING YOUR SMALL FURRY PET
RABBITS
GUINEA PIGS
FISH
HOW MUCH TO FEED YOUR FISH
FOOD QUALITY
NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
BIRDS
HOW MUCH TO FEED YOUR BIRD