Diets for dogs and cats

Dogs and cats eat animal prey, ie they are not pure carnivores, but definitely not "grain eaters" either!

Prey animal eaters usually eat the entire prey animal. In detail, this means that they eat:

• Lean meat, rich in protein, fat and phosphorus,
• Skeleton from which they get the calcium,
• Blood with important nutrients such as sodium,
• Internal organs with the important fat-soluble vitamins (kidney, liver),
• Very small amounts of the intestine and the intestinal contents with the water-soluble vitamins from the pre-digested "food pulp" of the prey - mostly a herbivore (only makes up about 2-5% of the prey!)

Energy suppliers are fats (dogs / cats), digestible (!) Carbohydrates (dogs) and proteins (cats, dogs in need).

So fats and carbohydrates (dog) are the energy suppliers.

Dogs and cats need energy:

• to maintain body temperature
• for all metabolic activities
• to breathing
• for the bloodstream
• the growth
• for movement.

Proteins are the building blocks for building and maintaining body substance (e.g. muscles) and for the formation of new tissue, e.g. during growth or during pregnancy or for lactation.

The need for energy and proteins depends on many factors (age, breed, housing conditions, living situation, etc.) and must be determined individually for each animal. The requirement can even deviate up or down by up to 30% (principle of individuality).

Factors that affect energy and protein needs:

• Age (from the age of 7-10, the energy requirement drops by up to 25%)
• Race (coat, temperament, body surface, muscular animals have a higher energy requirement than high-fat animals with the same weight)
• Housing (kennel, sport, individual housing, group housing, breeding, companion dog)
• Constitutional type
• Life situation (lactation, stress, illness)

In the Determination of the energy requirement I would be happy to help your dog or cat and the creation of a ration.

If you feed your animal according to its gut feeling or according to the information provided by the feed manufacturer, either an excess or a lack of energy can result.

If the dog or cat experiences an excess of energy, this leads to obesity in adult animals with all the associated problems and diseases of the skeletal system (joints and bones) develop in growing animals. Both should be avoided at all costs for the well-being of the animal.

An energy shortage rarely occurs today. However, it would be to be expected if working or competitive sports dogs or nursing dogs / cats are fed a food with a low energy density.

When feeding proteins, attention should be paid to the biological value (amino acid composition and digestibility). Depending on the type of protein feed, its processing and treatment as well as the composition of the total ration, there are considerable differences. The amino acid pattern of the food protein should match the body tissues of the dog and cat to be formed. The better this agreement, the higher the biological value of the feed protein. Of course, meat has the best biological value for our dogs and cats. But in order to have a relatively high protein content in the finished feed, feed companies like to use cheaper protein suppliers such as corn. On the packaging, the customer can see that there is enough protein in the feed. Unfortunately, he often does not know that the biological value of corn protein, for example, is worse for the development of our dogs and cats than meat protein. But this often only takes effect much later.

All body health begins in the gut. About 80% of the entire immune system is also located there.

Unsuitable food, denatured protein, sugar, additives and preservatives cause the intestinal villi to stick together and their function around metabolic processes and vitamin resorption is severely restricted. As a result, deposits and putrefaction develop, which also enter the bloodstream via the intestinal wall and the villi and thus to the organs such as the liver etc. The body poisons itself and is also unable to absorb and process sufficient vitamins and nutrients.

The animal reacts with (skin) metabolic disorders, digestive problems, loss of energy and allergies. A vicious circle of intolerances, the fight against which begins with chemical agents such as cortisone. In order to counteract this vicious circle in a meaningful way, it is important to cleanse the intestines in a natural way and to support it in rebuilding a healthy flora. In addition, you should of course look at the current feeding to prevent the intestine from slagging again.