A healthy and balanced nutrition is undoubtedly essential for a healthy body and mind. As a loving pet owner, many people feel a great need to provide their pet with only the best food, but which one is it? With the multitude of different food, it is often quite difficult to make the right choice. Especially since many don’t know the difference between the different foods. Here you have an overview of the differences.
The best food, does it exist?
Unfortunately, there is no feeding recommendation or a certain brand of food that is suitable for everyone. There are serious differences regarding the quality of a food, but the best is still to be seen subjectively. Every living creature has its own individual requirements for a healthy and balanced nutrition.
Depending on breed, sportiness, age, health and much more, the food has to be adapted. Unfortunately it is not so easy for a new pet owner to find out which food is actually healthy and of high quality. If you have any questions or a specific request, or if you are interested in feeding recommendations (quantity, food components), you can always contact nutritionists for animals, they will be happy to give you advice and support.
What is complete food?
This food consists of different components that are intended to cover the daily requirement of necessary nutrients and the daily adequate energy supply. All essential vitamins and minerals are contained in this type of food. In theory, you could feed your beloved pet exclusively with a complete food.
However, animal nutritionists advise pet owners to carefully examine the ingredients, as often not all ingredients and compositions are really suitable. Every animal has its own needs, which can also change over time. In addition, the quality of the food makes a decisive difference.
What is single food?
As the name suggests, this food consists of individual components. A single component would be, for example, meat (pure meat like when you barf). This alone cannot cover the daily requirement of all the important nutrients. A complete food can be created by combining different food components and possibly supplementary food.
What is supplementary food?
These food usually contain a higher content of minerals and/or trace elements and should be given as a supplement, as they cannot cover the daily requirement on their own. An example of this is treats or mixtures of minerals, which are added to barfen. Food supplements are available in every form from powder to oils to cans.
What is diet food/allergy food?
Dietary foods is needed when the animal has a disease. Dietetic food (complete food) or a dietary nutrition (food is individually composed of different single feeds) primarily aims to support and optimally supply the body depending on the disease.
Example weight reduction: In most cases, the fibre content is increased to ensure a long feeling of satiety and the fat content is reduced.
Urinary stones: Here, for example, the dietary food serves to acidify the urine in order to reduce the formation of struvite stones.
Allergy food is given when certain ingredients trigger allergies. These can be meat, carbohydrates or nutrient supplements. An allergy food therefore usually contains a protein source (mono or single protein) and a carbohydrate source that is unknown to the organism, and only one.
Summary
A healthy nutrition is an essential factor with regard to the individual health of our beloved friends. However, not every dog and not every cat has the same needs and above all the same tastes. Not all food is the same. There are different types of food, depending on the different requirements.