Your pet’s diet can affect his mood, health, behavior, and energy levels, so feeding him the right food is important. Just like humans, all pets are unique and have individual dietary and nutritional needs. Here’s a look at some of the most common pet diets and their pros and cons.
Wet Food vs. Dry Food
When you’re choosing pet food at the grocery store or pet store, one of the first decisions you’ll make is whether you want to feed your pet wet food or dry food. Both wet food and dry food must meet the minimum possible standards for pet health and nutritional and dietary needs, but each type has its pros and cons. Wet food has a higher moisture content, is more aromatic, is easier to chew, and has higher satiety, but tends to be more expensive and doesn’t have as long of a shelf-life. Dry food has dental health benefits, is less expensive and more convenient, and offers more chances for enrichment while eating. You may choose to get the best of both worlds and add a small scoop of wet food mixed into dry kibble.
Raw Food Diets
A raw food diet contains no cooked items and doesn’t come in a kibble or canned form. You can buy pre-made freeze-dried and frozen options, though. The benefits of raw diets for pets are that they typically contain more natural ingredients and you know exactly what you’re feeding your pet, you can choose exactly what your pet consumes, and you can choose the source of your pet food ingredients. The disadvantages are that raw food diets are much more expensive than many other pet food options, there is a higher risk of bacterial and parasitic contamination, a higher potential for nutritional imbalance, a higher risk of tooth injuries, and the food is time-consuming to prepare.
Prescription Diets
You should only feed your pet a prescription diet if it has been recommended by your veterinarian. A prescription diet has medication or supplements combined with the pet food in order to treat or prevent certain health conditions. Prescription food may be recommended if your pet has or is at risk for IBD, kidney or urinary tract problems, digestive disorders, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic diarrhea or vomiting, arthritis, behavioral problems, cognitive issues, or food allergies.
If you have any questions about whether your pet’s diet is meeting his unique dietary needs, you should visit your veterinarian.
