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Educational Articles
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The "ancestral diet" for dogs and cats is a broad term for a feeding plan that generally mimics what a wolf or wild cat might consume in the wilderness. In practice, there is great variability in nutrients, ingredients, and safety considerations for food sold or produced as an ancestral diet. This article reviews these considerations, so that pet owners, along with their veterinary care teams, can make informed decisions for their pets.
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Taurine is a type of amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins. Taurine is an essential amino acid for cats. Taurine deficiency leads to feline taurine retinopathy, a weakening of the muscle cells in the heart (dilated cardiomyopathy) and may cause digestive disturbances. Since the 1980s, all cat diets are supplemented with enough taurine to meet the normal cat's needs. A healthy cat that eats a high-quality cat food that is appropriate to its life stage does not require supplementation. Supplemental taurine is used as a treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy in cats.
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A lustrous coat is a signal of vitality and health. The food your pet eats can significantly impact the condition of their skin and coat. A balanced diet plays an essential part in supporting your pet's skin and coat, and should include essential fatty acids, protein, vitamins and minerals. If you are concerned about the condition of your dog or cat's skin or coat, consult your veterinarian in case there is an underlying nutritional or medical condition.
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Nutrition plays an essential role in treating and preventing urinary stones (uroliths). Since the diet can affect urine dilution, composition and pH, pet foods can be critical to the success or failure of treatment and prevention. Important factors are covered, such as the importance of water intake, diet composition, relative supersaturation (RSS) testing, and urinary diets.
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Helping your pet lose weight may be challenging at first, but with a little patience and persistence, you can be successful. Research has shown that small amounts of weight loss help improve the quality of life for overweight pets: they feel better, move easier, play more often, and live healthier lives. This handout focuses on commonly asked questions and tips for owners to help their overweight pet successfully achieve some weight loss.
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Tube feeding is important to maintain adequate nutrition and prevent liver problems in cats that are anorexic for at least 2 days. Tube feeding may be needed because of a mechanical problem interfering with ingestion of food or because of a systemic illness that is causing the cat to be anorexic. There are several different options for tube feeding. Naso-esophageal/naso-gastric intubation passes a tube down the nose into the esophagus and sometimes into the stomach. This is only suitable for short term feeding. Placement of an esophageal tube requires sedation or anesthesia as a hole is made through the skin and esophagus to pass the tube through into the esophagus. An esophageal tube can be maintained for weeks to months. A gastrostomy tube requires anesthesia to pass a tube through the skin directly into the stomach. This is beneficial for longer term feeding. A tube must be protected to prevent the cat from pulling it out. The recommended diet is administered in liquid form by a syringe several times a day. Complications are rare with clogging and inadvertent removal most common.
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Treats are a wonderful way to provide positive reinforcement to your cat during a training session. Choose low-calorie foods such as green beans, zucchini squash, and watermelon. Avoid foods that are potentially harmful, such as chocolate, garlic, onions, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, and products that have xylitol. Limit high-calorie treats and keep treats within 10% of your cat's daily calorie intake. Keeping training sessions short and engaging while providing appropriate foods as treats can be a wonderful way to strengthen the human-animal bond.
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Too much vitamin A can lead to poisoning. While somewhat uncommon in North America, vitamin A toxicity is sometimes diagnosed in cats that are fed primarily table scraps. There seems to be considerable variability in how susceptible individual cats are to this problem. It takes a long time for the clinical signs associated with vitamin A toxicity to develop; symptoms do not usually appear until the cat is at least middle-aged.
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Weight-loss programs are not easy, especially when an overweight animal cannot exercise. Veterinary therapeutic diets, automatic feeders, food puzzles, and animal rehabilitation therapy are tools that should be considered for every pet's weight loss program. Pet parents who are motivated to help their overweight dog or cat lose weight should work closely with their veterinary healthcare team to address concerns and discuss ideas for the pet's home environment. The most successful pet owners recruit family and/or friends to support their plans. Patience and persistence are often needed because weight loss doesn't happen quickly.
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Palatability refers to how good a pet food or treat tastes, and it is based on the preferences of a dog or cat. Palatability is a combination of how a product smells, tastes, and feels. Pet food companies spend a lot of time and money studying how to improve the palatability of their products. This article addresses several commonly asked questions about the "how", "what", and "why" of making pet foods as tasty as they can be.