Not all pet foods are equal!

In theory it should be easy to feed our pets a great diet, all we need to do is open the packet of food and put it in their bowl, far less hassle than it is for us to ensure we get our ´5-a-day´! However, not all pet foods are equal and while the best quality diets will provide excellent, complete nutrition and dental care, the worst are positively damaging.

So, how do we ensure we feed our pets the best quality food we can afford and how do we get past the advertising and manufactuers claims to the truth? Here are my top tips for making sure you feed your pet the best food you can afford.

** Firstly, try to feed a 100% dry diet, or as close to this as your pet will accept. Not only are dry diets more practical to feed, as you can leave them down and they won´t attract the flies or go off, they also tend to be more economical than wet foods (which are 70% water and therefore not nearly as filling). Dry foods are also available as different ´types´, for example low fat versions, diets for sensitive skin or stomachs or different breeds, whereas wet foods have very little variation. Wet foods are also bad for dental health as they encourage tartar to form on the teeth, but some of the cheaper dry diets are not much better.

** Feed a dry food in which all the kibble are the same size and the same colour. Foods with a variety of shapes and colours in the biscuits are full of additives and e-numbers. They are designed to look interesting for US not the animal, who doesn´t care at all! These additives are bad for your pets health and e-numbers have the same effect on our pets as they do on small children! This rule is also true for small pets such as rabbits, who should be fed the diets which are 100% pellets, not the ´museli´ type diets.

** Don´t buy your pet from from a supermarket, go to a specialist pet store or your vet. The foods on the shelves in the supermarkets are there because they are cheap and have large advertising budgets, not because they are any good.

** Buy the most expensive food you can afford, you definitely get what you pay for! The better quality pet foods are more costly but they are worth the extra money and can work out surprisingly economical as you shouldn´t need to supplement the diet with anything else. A huge amount of common health problems in our pets, such as obesity, dental problems and diabetes can be directly related to a poor diet.

** Consider feeding a ´lifestyle´ diet. There are many different ones of these on the market now and they tend to be produced by the better quality food companies, so you can be sure of their quality! These are designed with the needs of specific animals in mind, varieties include diets for neutered pets, indoor cats, ones with sensitive skins or stomach and many more.

Hopefully this will help you ensure you feed your pet the best quality diet you can, which is probably the single most important thing you can do to help maintain them in the best of health. However, if you are ever in any doubt, ask! Your vets in-particular will be very helpful on this subject and will be happy to advise you.