[Gary W]

I am a strong believer that cats cannot have any grain in their diet, as it is just an open door to health problems. You may be paying a lot upfront, but your wallet will thank you when your kitty doesn’t get loads of health problems. Onto food!

Below are some recommended brands for Dry and canned foods:

Purina Fancy Feast canned food
Rachael Ray Nutrish both Dry/canned
Natural Balance
Wellness(I would feed it if they take out the garlic)
California Natural
Hills Science Dry Cat food
Blue Wilderness
Nutro(Natural Choice or Max Cat) (some people think it’s terrific and others might disagree)

Here you can find some top canned and Dry cat foods https://www.criticthoughts.com/pet/best-cat-food/

Of course, the more canned the better. To paraphrase our cat specialist vet’s recommendation, it’s best to feed a grain-free, low-carb wet-only diet. My suggestion for “best” foods would be canned foods with as much meat as possible and minimal (or, better, no) carby stuff like grains of any sort, peas, potato, and tapioca.

[Gary W]

you have alternatives to feeding Hill’s Prescription Diet C/d to your dog. First, if you are feeding C/d for struvite crystals and stones, you might just confirm that they are gone with a urinalysis, xrays, and/or ultrasound of the kidneys and urinary bladder.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Gary W.

[Gary W]

All homemade diets must be supplemented with calcium. The amount found in multivitamin and mineral supplements is not enough. Give 800 to 1,000 mg calcium per pound of food (excluding non-starchy vegetables). You can use any form of plain calcium, including eggshells ground to powder in a clean coffee grinder (1/2 teaspoon eggshell powder provides about 1,000 mg calcium). Animal Essentials’ Seaweed Calcium provides additional minerals, as well. And here is a good list of calcium-rich foods your dog may like.

Oils: Most homemade diets require added oils for fat, calories, and to supply particular nutrients. It’s important to use the right types of oils, as each supplies different nutrients.

Fish Oil: Provides EPA and DHA, omega-3 fatty acids that help to regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Give an amount that provides about 300 mg EPA and DHA combined per 20 to 30 pounds of body weight on days you don’t feed fish. Note that liquid fish oil supplements often tell you to give much more than this, which can result in too many calories from fat.

Cod Liver Oil: Provides vitamins A and D as well as EPA and DHA. If you don’t feed much fish, give cod liver oil in an amount that provides about 400 IUs vitamin D daily for a 100-pound dog (proportionately less for smaller dogs). Can be combined with other fish oil to increase the amount of EPA and DHA if desired.

[Gary W]

There certainly researched required before finalizing the best dog food. Feeding your dog a high-quality well-balanced food is one of the best things that you, as a pet owner, can do to keep your dog healthy. A good food will keep your dog’s hair coat shiny and sleek. It will strengthen his immune system. It will keep his digestive system in good health. But when it comes to choosing a dog food, the options seem almost endless.

I have gone through to one of the research article who gathered industry’s best dog food brands and it is always good if you have many good options in one place as recommended through amazon. So you can pick any one from here according to your requirement. Source: https://www.criticthoughts.com/pet/best-dog-food/

Though i preferred Purina Pro Plan as it has all the healthy ingredients and it Made with high-quality protein, including real chicken as the first ingredient. Also, Contains rice, an easily digestible source of carbohydrates, which help fuel energy

[Gary W]

As a rule, veterinarians consider a diet with less than 10 percent fat on a dry matter basis (less than 17 percent of calories from fat) to be low fat, while diets with 10 to 15 percent fat (17 to 23 percent of calories) are considered to contain a moderate amount of fat. Foods with more than 20 percent fat are considered high-fat. A few dogs may need a very low-fat diet, especially if they have hyperlipidemia, or if they react to foods with higher levels of fat.

To make a low-fat homemade diet, feed about half carbohydrates, and half low-fat meat, eggs, and dairy. The percentage of carbs can be decreased, and the amount of meat increased, if you use very low-fat cuts, or boil them to remove most of the fat.

The majority of the carbohydrates should be starchy foods, such as rice, oatmeal, barley, quinoa, pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and winter squashes (e.g., acorn and butternut), to supply low-fat calories. Other types of vegetables, such as broccoli, summer squash, and leafy greens can be included, but they supply fewer calories so they can’t replace the starchy carbs. You can also use a low-fat pre-mix designed to balance out a homemade diet, such as Preference from The Honest Kitchen.

The other half of the diet should be mostly low-fat meats, or meats cooked to remove much of their fat. Skinless chicken breast is very low in fat, but other parts can be used as long as you remove the skin and visible fat. Turkey, venison, goat, buffalo, and rabbit are low in fat, while lamb and pork are generally high in fat. Ground beef comes in varying levels of fat.

Whole eggs are relatively high in fat but are highly nutritious, so they should be included in the diet in limited amounts. A large egg has about 5 grams of fat, which is not a lot for a very large dog, but too much for smaller dogs. You can hard boil eggs and then feed just a portion each day, or split them between multiple dogs. Almost all of the fat and calories are in the yolks, so the whites alone can be added to increase protein without increasing fat, if needed. When feeding just egg whites, they should either be cooked or a B vitamin supplement should be added, as raw egg whites can deplete biotin over time when fed without the yolks.

Low-fat or nonfat dairy products are also good to include in the diet. Cottage cheese, plain yogurt, and kefir (a cultured milk product that is easy to make at home using low-fat or nonfat milk) are all good choices. Avoid other cheeses; even low-fat ones are high in fat (nonfat is okay).

Homemade diets should include organ meat, and most organs are low in fat. Liver and kidney should be fed in small amounts only, no more than 5 to 10 percent of the total diet (around 1 to 1.5 ounces organ meat per pound of food). Beef heart is quite low in fat and is nutritionally more of a muscle meat, so it can be fed in larger quantities, as long as your dog does well with it.

Fruits such as apple, banana, melon, papaya, and blueberries are fine to include in the diet in small amounts. Avoid avocados, which are high in fat.

[Gary W]

Give the dog a small meal of boiled white meat chicken (no bones or skin) and white rice. This can be the dog’s diet until the stool consistency returns to normal. If the diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours or your dog’s condition worsens at any time, call your vet immediately.

[Gary W]

You are right this just does not make any sense.

[Gary W]

The diet of all dogs should contain about 25 percent veggies, 25 percent bone and 50 percent meat (and five percent is varied organ meat.)

This doesn’t mean you have to give the same amount of vegetables every day. Let’s say it should be 25 percent over a longer period of time. One day less, one day more, it doesn’t really matter. I usually feed about the same amount that I add to ground or chunky meat. With a bone-based meal, I give no veggies.

[Gary W]

Simply dry the shells out and grind them in a clean coffee grinder until they are powdered and sprinkle the powder on your dog’s food.

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