What do you feed your pets?
Discussion
As some of you will know, I started a thread last March regarding our Retriever who suddenly out of nowhere started having fits approx every 2 weeks. He has had every test possible & all came back negative & the vets are telling us that there is nothing wrong with him & put him on medication (2 tablets a day). His fits over the course of the year started to get worse so they put him on 3 tablets a day which has reduced the fits back to approx 1 or 2 per month. Anyway on to the food. After doing our own research it became apparent that certain dogs can be sensitive to food & these allergies can cause the animal to fit etc so we have completely changed his diet & he is now on the "science plan" dog food which is basically dried food but with with no silly bits added to it to make it colourful etc. We have also cut out all of the "tip bits" he was getting of our plates so now he just eats his food & nothing more. So far he seems to be alot happier, always really lively & absolutely loves this food. In general he is alot happier & looks alot healthier. In terms of his fits & will this food help, who knows only time will tell as he is due one within the next 2 weeks. We are trying him on this food simply to see if allergies he may had with his other food was/is causing the fits. I am supprised that the vets never suggested changing his diet & to my knowledge they never gave him an allergy test. Some animals can be sensitive to certain foods & this is why we have to give this a try because his fits scare the crap out of us!
Jasandjules said:
Our cats and dogs are fed raw food. Raw beef, chicken, hearts, lungs, liver, pork and lamb.
We were giving ours Chicken until we found out that this is in the top six foods not to give animals with food allergies. Along with eggs & fish. Obviously this is fine for animals without these allergies but I was suprised at seeing these foods on the list at all.callyman said:
Our cat lost a lot of his coat after we moved him from science plan over to go cat (cheaper, but still a good name we thought)
He's now back on science plan and is looking 100%
Like you say, the food can really upset the balance.
Good to hear. He's now back on science plan and is looking 100%
Like you say, the food can really upset the balance.
We are just hoping that he stops having his fits. Sounds crazy but food can be a huge factor in these things.
Our labs eat biscuits of any brand and liver, chicken wings, bones, whole fish, heart, anything raw basically that has sinue and bone on it. They also get all veg scraps. I give them one starve day and if they are really begging they get a game of hunt the carrot whilst on a walk.
I was nervous at first but they seem to excel on it, we tried science plan and they crapped orange and they would smell more. Seems the biscuits do the filling and the good stuff does the nutrition.
Biscuits are much cheaper than the expensive stuff but half of their meals is meaty stuff so the costs work out about the same.
I was nervous at first but they seem to excel on it, we tried science plan and they crapped orange and they would smell more. Seems the biscuits do the filling and the good stuff does the nutrition.
Biscuits are much cheaper than the expensive stuff but half of their meals is meaty stuff so the costs work out about the same.
AdiT said:
Jasandjules said:
Our cats and dogs are fed raw food. Raw horse, chicken, hearts, lungs, liver, pork and lamb.
Corrected that for you... sorry couldn't resist.Mine is on Symply, it is dear but tried a couple of others and the weight dropped off him and it is a struggle maintaining a decent weight on him. He also has bits and bobs to make it appealling, sardines at least twice a week, scrambled egg a couple of times a week, trout, off cuts of roast meat. Oh and after his dry breakfast, he has some bran flakes with goats milk (Bran flakes to help try and keep his anal glands clear and goats milk to help with an old muscle injury (probably doesn't need the goats milk anymore, but he loves it and I'm a soft touch)).
My old boy was on Royal Canin hypoallergenic due to medical conditions and that was that, no other scraps etc, until he was refusing to eat it and I had to force feed him, or friends had to come round and chant "down it" at him whilst he ate, bit odd asking friends to pop round to chant at a dog but it worked for a couple of weeks.
In the end it was causing so much stress to both of us (and he was refusing to eat when the same people came round) that we changed and went to boiled chicken and rice as an alternative.
My old boy was on Royal Canin hypoallergenic due to medical conditions and that was that, no other scraps etc, until he was refusing to eat it and I had to force feed him, or friends had to come round and chant "down it" at him whilst he ate, bit odd asking friends to pop round to chant at a dog but it worked for a couple of weeks.
In the end it was causing so much stress to both of us (and he was refusing to eat when the same people came round) that we changed and went to boiled chicken and rice as an alternative.
Edited by Spiffing on Wednesday 13th February 16:30
Bob (the cat) gets one 60g pouch/pot of wet plus 25g dried per day.
The pouch is 'Almo Nature Jelly', or 'Applaws'. These are both human-quality wet foods, since I wouldn't give my cat anything that I wasn't prepared to eat myself.
If I have raw meat to hand, he gets that, but ready-cooked pouches are convenient since I work long hours with little time for fresh food shopping.
Dried food is 'More Senior' from Pets Corner. This has a higher meat content than any other dried food, and the biscuits are of a size where Bob has to crunch them. (Previously he'd swallowed his James Wellbeloved kibble whole.)
I've debated the whole raw/wet/dried thing, and decided that on balance, a mix of everything is probably best to ensure he stays in tip top condition.
The pouch is 'Almo Nature Jelly', or 'Applaws'. These are both human-quality wet foods, since I wouldn't give my cat anything that I wasn't prepared to eat myself.
If I have raw meat to hand, he gets that, but ready-cooked pouches are convenient since I work long hours with little time for fresh food shopping.
Dried food is 'More Senior' from Pets Corner. This has a higher meat content than any other dried food, and the biscuits are of a size where Bob has to crunch them. (Previously he'd swallowed his James Wellbeloved kibble whole.)
I've debated the whole raw/wet/dried thing, and decided that on balance, a mix of everything is probably best to ensure he stays in tip top condition.
Our three cats get HILLS Science Plan dryfood too. This is what we have been feeding our now 12 year-old female cat since she came to us at age six. She has only seen a wet twice since. Once because of a bite and the other for sterilization. The other two eat it happily too. Also they get somee wet food called Porta 21.
Raw meat doesn´t seem to hit home with them.
We will occasionally give them dryfood Orijen too. I think they make food for dogs too.
A wet bill where I am is costly. We are looking at £270 easy.
So forking out some extra money for good quality food is not a big deal. Especially if wet visits are reduced because of it and less stress for the animals.
I remember my first visit to the pet store after we got Minnie 6 years ago. The staff pointed to the right of a large shelf in the store and told me "Everything on that side is like going to McDonalds". Then she pointed to the other side of it and said "Everything on that side is like going to an well-reputed exspensive restaurant. Everything on that side is good and well-balanced food."
Raw meat doesn´t seem to hit home with them.
We will occasionally give them dryfood Orijen too. I think they make food for dogs too.
A wet bill where I am is costly. We are looking at £270 easy.
So forking out some extra money for good quality food is not a big deal. Especially if wet visits are reduced because of it and less stress for the animals.
I remember my first visit to the pet store after we got Minnie 6 years ago. The staff pointed to the right of a large shelf in the store and told me "Everything on that side is like going to McDonalds". Then she pointed to the other side of it and said "Everything on that side is like going to an well-reputed exspensive restaurant. Everything on that side is good and well-balanced food."
boobles said:
Jasandjules said:
Our cats and dogs are fed raw food. Raw beef, chicken, hearts, lungs, liver, pork and lamb.
We were giving ours Chicken until we found out that this is in the top six foods not to give animals with food allergies. Along with eggs & fish. Obviously this is fine for animals without these allergies but I was suprised at seeing these foods on the list at all.This is a horrible thing to watch, it effectively eats the muscles and we were very lucky that we caught it in time. Dave will never be 100% but every day he gets stronger.
The more people that are made aware of this the better.
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