Choosing Healthy Food for Your Pets

Choosing Healthy Food for Your Pets

A healthy body starts with a balanced diet and good nutrition. In fact, many health conditions in pets can be addressed and improved with dietary adjustments.
Choosing food for your dog or cat, however, isn’t always as simple as choosing healthy food for yourself. Dogs and cats have different digestive systems and body chemistry than humans do, so a healthy diet for a pet doesn’t look exactly like our own.
Thankfully, there are lots of great pet food formulations available ready-to-go, complete with all the calories and nutrition your pet needs.
We recommend selecting pet food for your pet based on your dog’s or cat’s specific lifestyle, health, weight, age, size, and medical history. The following pet food brands, however, are a good place to start:
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Top-Recommended Dog Food Brands

  • Wellness Complete Health
  • Instinct Original Grain-Free
  • First Mate
  • Hill's Science Diet
  • Nature's Logic
  • Blue Buffalo Life Protection
  • Taste of the Wild
  • Purina Pro Plan
  • Orijen
  • Nulo Freestyle

Top-Recommended Cat Food Brands

  • Lams Proactive Health
  • Hill's Science Diet
  • Purina Pro Plan
  • Purina Cat Chow Complete
  • PetGuard Organic
  • Fancy Feast
  • Royal Canin
  • Friskies
  • Open Farm
  • Smalls
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Raiding the Pantry for Your Pet

There are a variety of human foods that make good snacks or treats for your pets, too!
Good snacks for dogs include plain, boiled chicken, rice, chopped carrots and green beans, unsalted and unsweetened peanut butter with no xylitol, watermelon (with the seeds and rind removed), blueberries, plain popcorn (no unpopped kernels), and bananas in moderation.
Cats can enjoy a snack of tuna, mackerel, chicken, or beef – be sure to avoid overly salty meats to prevent dehydration and salt poisoning. They can also enjoy cheese, bananas, and pumpkin.
Just be careful when feeding your pet human foods to be sure it doesn’t contain ingredients toxic to dogs or cats. Since their digestive systems are so different from ours, certain foods that are safe for people are actually quite dangerous for pets. Some can cause mild illness while others can be fatally toxic.

Nutritional Counseling and Weight Management With Our Woodland Park Veterinarian

If you’re struggling to find a healthy diet for your pet, if your pet is overweight, has arthritis, suffers from allergies, or has a sensitive stomach, our veterinarian can help you choose the right food to meet your pet’s unique health and nutrition needs.
To learn more about selecting pet food, treats, and nutritional supplements for your dog or cat or to schedule a nutritional counseling appointment, we welcome you to contact Compassion Animal Hospital today.

Why Your Pet Needs a Bikini Body Now (Pet Obesity Awareness)

Cat with Obesity

Why Your Pet Needs a Bikini Body Now (Pet Obesity Awareness)

Whether your pet wears a bikini, one-piece, or just his natural fur for swimming, it’s important that cats and dogs stay in shape and maintain a healthy weight. All beach-body jokes aside, pet obesity is a very real and very serious health problem for our pets. More than half of dogs and cats in the United States are classified as either overweight or obese.

What Causes Obesity in Pets and Why Are So Many Pets Overweight?

Similar to humans, pets most often become overweight and obese due to eating an improper diet and not getting enough exercise. Occasionally, additional factors (endocrine disorders or medications) can also contribute to weight gain.
Dietary choices for pets are confusing. Which foods are best, how much food pets should eat, how often pets should be fed, and whether or not pets should have table scraps is unclear to many pet owners.
Overweight Pets

Why Chubby Pets Aren't Cute

Okay, we’ll admit that all pets are cute, but pet chubbiness shouldn’t be encouraged the way it is with funny pictures and jokes circulating the internet. Overweight and obese pets face a plethora of health risks such as:
  • Arthritis
  • Diabetes
  • Heart, liver, and kidney disease
  • Pancreatitis
  • Respiratory problems
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Cancer
  • Shorter lifespan

Is My Pet Overweight? How to Recognize a Fat Pet

Your cat or dog should have a visible narrowing at the waist (in front of the hind legs). A sagging belly, a sausage-shaped physique, or a broad/flat back are all signs of too much weight. If you’re unsure, you can always ask your veterinarian to determine a healthy weight range for your pet based on species, breed, age, and size.
Overweight Dog

Weight Loss and Managing a Pet's Weight

If your pet needs to lose a few pounds, we highly recommend scheduling a veterinary appointment. Dr. Cooper at Compassion Animal Hospital can help you set a healthy weight goal for your pet and provide you with a weight loss and weight management plan to achieve it!
First, our veterinarian will examine your pet and screen for any health conditions that could be contributing to the excess weight. Once underlying conditions have either been ruled out or treated, we’ll help you and your pet begin working toward their weight loss goal. In addition to setting your pet up with a daily exercise routine, we’ll help you make appropriate dietary choices for your pet. The right food, scheduled meals, proper proportions, and limited treats will ensure your cat or dog receives ample nutrition and calories while enabling them to reach a healthy weight.