Since diet is one of the pillars of pet’s well-being, the main focus goes on nutrition. She highlights that as pet parents, what we feed our pets is very much dependent on us, so let’s make sure we do right by them!
Anjali Kalachand, a Pet Nutritionist has been helping and guiding many pet parents across India since 2019 to maintain a holistic and healthy well-being of their pets. She has listed a few most simple yet effective thumb rules for pet nutrition, that every new and old pet parent should follow.
1. Species Appropriate Ingredients- avoid milk, rotis, and too much rice. Our dogs and cats need good quality meat protein to thrive.
2. If you must feed processed food, go for a high-quality one. Always flip the packaging and read the ingredients. If the first few ingredients have wheat, corn, soy, rice, meat meal in them, stay away. Pet food companies have to list ingredients by order of proportion of that particular ingredient in that food, so the first 5-6 ingredients are telling of the food quality.
3. Don’t overfeed, like, in the human world, obesity in the canine and feline world is growing! And along with obesity, comes a whole host of other health complications.
4. And last but not least water. Fresh or raw meals are moisture-rich. However, if your dog or cat is on processed kibble, ensure that they are drinking adequate water. If your pet doesn’t gravitate to their water bowl, many have found that water fountains mimic the flowing drinking water sources that these animals would otherwise drink from. Invest in one. Other ways to entice your pet’s to drink water is to offer bone broth or even do a mix of yoghurt and water.
