Disputes of owners about what to feed pets, apparently, will not abate never. Some owners are inclined to the fact that the best choice - porridge with meat. And lovers of ready-made food assure: it is not always possible to prepare a balanced lunch on your own. Who is right? What is better - naturalka or dry food? Let's understand.
To maintain the health of the pet, he needs not only proteins and fats. Animals also need vitamins, minerals, micro- and macro elements. In this case, the correct ratio of all elements depends very much on the age and health of your animal. And this means that even a well-chosen diet should be periodically adjusted. In addition, if you are a happy cat owner, you will have to become an ace of cooking: one properly composed dish will obviously not be enough - cats, unlike dogs, like diversity. If you still tend to a homemade dinner, remember that vitamins and minerals will have to be specially added to the diet. This situation is more familiar to the owners of adult animals. And one more danger: pets, trained from childhood to home, may not want to switch to dry food. But most of the owners still agree: ready feed is an excellent way out. Very often properly selected food can significantly improve the health and appearance of your pet.
The quality of feed is determined not by the degree of promotion of the brand, but by what is included in its composition. All finished feeds are balanced. And in order to be completely confident in the quality of products and recipes, experts advise you to pay attention to the products of well-known companies that have their own research centers when choosing a ready-made feed.
Types of feed
Ready-made fodders for cats and dogs are of several types: classical (the formula of such food is as close as possible to the needs of an adult healthy animal), specialized (adapted to the characteristics of age, physical condition and breed, for example, marked Junior) and therapeutic and preventive (for example, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet - designed for a diet for specific diseases). As a rule, in any of these rulers manufacturers produce both dry and canned food. Which one is right for your pet? You can find out only by experiment.
Specialized feed usually costs 10-15% more than the usual product of the same brand, but you can be sure that you will ensure the daily energy needs of your friend without fear of overfeeding. For example, for dogs of large breeds, a feed with a protein content of at least 33-34% is necessary. In their usual diet, they are at best 15-20%, so your pet will either have to eat it more than normal and increase excess weight, or remain half-starved. But older dogs, on the contrary, it is better to reduce the content of proteins in the diet. Medical fodder can be the basis of the diet only after consultation with a veterinarian!
Saving or not?
Choosing the right type of food, think about its quality. In a good pet store today you can find products for the economy (Chappi, Kitekat), premium (Friskies, Pedigree) and super premium (Royal Canin, Purina, Hill's). Their main difference is in the amount of natural raw materials that are used in the production of feed. In the composition of feed, the economy class of plant proteins can be more than animals. A significant portion of the feed is made up of dyes and fragrances. Therefore, sometimes homemade food with vitamin-mineral supplements may be an order of magnitude better. It is not necessary to choose such feed for a constant diet. In the feed of the economy class of natural meat, there may be only 4-5%, including by-products, against 40-50% in the premium class. The ruler of such feeds usually consists of only two types: for young and adult animals.
Feed superpremium-class is much more expensive, but they have more energy capacity, and the daily rate of such feeds is relatively small. And this means that the feed is consumed less, which compensates for the difference in price. The feed data can be selected for an animal of a certain size, age and physical condition.
Premium food is somewhere in between. The quality of the products here is quite high, but the volume of the daily rate can be higher than in feed at a higher price.
Experts recommend
Just as you can not mix canned food and dry food of one brand, so do not mix feeds of different brands! If you feed your animal with ready meals, taking vitamins and any other food supplements is possible only after consulting a veterinarian, because all the necessary ingredients in a good feed are already there. Therapeutic and prophylactic feeds are not a medicine and can not replace drugs prescribed by a veterinarian.
Always carefully read the instructions and try to follow the recommendations for optimal dosage and feeding regimen. Thus, some products of the Light series, designed specifically for animals with excess weight, are best used only for fractional feeding, i.e. several times a day.
A rational approach
The better - "naturalka" or dry food to regale your pet - it's up to you. But know that to be determined with the choice of diet should be seriously and for a long time. Combining natural food with industrial feeds is highly undesirable. First, you break the balance, and secondly, increase the burden on your pet's gastrointestinal tract, which is fraught with serious diseases. If you still have to combine food, for example, because of frequent travel, then it's better to stop your choice on canned goods or "soups" - dry food intended for soaking with water. In vegetable "soups", by the way, you can add fresh meat. Never dramatically change the feed - to transfer the animal from one diet to another is necessary for several months. Dry food is preferable to canned food, there should be an average of two less croquettes on the menu. And in principle, no canned food can be completely avoided.
For rodents
In the wild, rodents feed mainly on cereals and other plant foods rich in fiber. Therefore, a good feed should consist of 2/3 of whole grains, with oats being preferable to corn or wheat (they have more calories). Flakes, granules and mini-crackers can not become the basis of your pet's diet - too soft food is not completely chewed, as a result - indigestion. And do not overpay forage with dried fruits: to preserve health, vegetables and fruits should only be fresh.
For birds
There is no universal food for birds, so buy only such food that is intended for your pet! A small bundle of high-quality feed costs as a kilogram of the usual grain mix, but the share of nuts, wheat and corn is minimal. In the diet of small ptah of sunflower seeds should not be more than 15-20%. There are too many oily substances in them, and a cheap feed can consist half of the seeds. In addition, the usual grain mixture does not contain important microelements for poultry health. Still birds need mineral briquettes with calcium and phosphorus and clean river sand for grinding food in the stomach - sand from the street for these purposes is not suitable!