7.5 Cat and Dog Nutrition

Feeding

Dogs and cats are fed by life stage. Dietary goals include good quality of life, maximum longevity, optimization of performance, and disease prevention. Obesity is the number one nutritional disease in dogs and cats, and is present in 12–40% of animals. Health risks such as musculoskeletal disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, reduced immunocompetence, and decreased life span are all associated with obesity. Other conditions associated with nutrition are dental disease and urolithiasis (Root Kustritz, 2022a).

Determination of food dosage is the basis for nutritional management, and is a basic skill in nutritional therapy. We must calculate food dosage with the understanding that dogs and cats may be fed a complete and balanced diet, supplements, and treats (Root Kustritz, 2022a).

Specific diets are produced to feed dogs and cats for specific life stages or activities. Examples include diets for growth, lactation, adults at maintenance, athletes / performance, and geriatric animals. Some diets are breed-specific. Veterinarians can prescribe diets to treat specific diseases; highly digestible diets may be prescribed for intestinal disorders, and diets with unique proteins may be required for dogs that are allergic to common pet food ingredients (Root Kustritz, 2022a).

We often rely on a nutritional adequacy statement from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to determine if a pet food is nutritionally balanced. While AAFCO does not regulate pet food, they provide guidelines for the nutritional needs of different species of pets at different life stages such as growth, gestation, lactation, maintenance, or all of the above. Dog and cat foods will have labels on them describing that they meet AAFCO guidelines for a specific species and life stage (Rishniw, 2023).

Types of Food

• Kibble
  • Dry food, bite-size chunks
• Canned
  • Wet food in a can, generally classified as paté (smooth, blended consistency) or stew (chunky)
• Treats
  • Not nutritionally balanced, high palatability, meant for intermittent feeding
  • Includes dental sticks (dogs), pill pockets, and chews (dogs)
• Home-cooked
  • Owners making their pet’s meals with human food
  • Note: These should follow a recipe or be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist to ensure they are properly nutritionally balanced
• Raw
  • These can be home-made or commercial, and are composed of raw meat, bones, and some vegetables
  • Risk of nutritional imbalance and bacterial contamination
• Grain-free (dogs)
  • Can be wet or dry, contain a high proportion of peas, lentils, other legumes, and other ingredients including potatoes
  • Potentially linked to heart disease in dogs, but not confirmed yet
• Vegetarian
  • Often does not contain enough proteins for cats, who are carnivores

(Root Kustritz, 2022a)

Mixing Medications with Food

Some medication can be mixed with food, which makes it easier to administer. A veterinarian should confirm if medications can be mixed together and whether or not to give them with food. Some brands create treats that are specifically designed to hold pills, to make oral administration easier. Medications can sometimes also be mixed with canned food so the pet has a harder time picking out the medication from the food. Pets also find the flavour more appealing.

 

Ways of Feeding

Free choice feeding = ad libitum or ad lib.

• Food is freely available at all times
• Increased risk for obesity and decreased awareness of how much a pet is eating
• Only for dry food, as wet food, raw food, and home-cooked food will go bad

Food restricted or meal feeding

• Measured amount of food is given at intervals throughout the day
• Best control and knowledge of intake, and best control of body weight

(Root Kustritz, 2022a)

Body Condition Score

Body condition scoring: System of assigning a numerical score based on physical characteristics indicative of fatness. These include the amount of muscle and fat covering different areas of the body (Kustritz, 2022b).

When determining the body condition score of dogs and cats, we often use a scale of 1–9. Large animals are done on a scale of 1–5. Therefore, it is important to always mark what the score is out of to avoid confusion, as 4/9 is ideal while 4/5 is overweight.

Generally, on a 9-point scale, 4 or 5 are ideal body weight while 3 is ideal on a 5-point scale.

References

Kustritz, M. R. (2022b). 11. Nutrition: Herbivores. In Veterinary preventive medicine. University of Minnesota. https://pressbooks.umn.edu/vetprevmed/chapter/chapter-11-nutrition-herbivores/

Rishniw, M. (2023, May 04). AAFCO pet food labeling. VeterinaryPartner. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=8808771

Image Credits
(images are listed in order of appearance)

Dog food examples by Matea David-Steel, NorQuest College. Used with permission.

Cat with food examples by Kelly Robertson, NorQuest College. Used with permission.

Pill Pocket (cat) by Matea David-Steel, NorQuest College. Used with permission.

Pill Pocket (Dog) by Matea David-Steel, NorQuest College. Used with permission.

Orange food bowl by Matea David-Steel, NorQuest College. Used with permission.