“What is the best food for my pet?”

There is often no perfect diet to suit every pet, however there are some things to keep in mind when choosing a type of pet food for your furry friend. Here’s some of the most common food types on offer for dogs and cats.

Dry pet food
Dry pet food is easy to store and feed to your pet, and requires no preparation. Unlike meat, it can be safely left out throughout the course of a day for your pet to nibble on as required. Additionally, many dry pet foods have dental health benefits.

However, unless you serve it in an interesting fashion (e.g. in a food puzzle toy or scattered around the garden), dry food doesn’t provide your pet with much mental stimulation. Some dry foods can also be heavier in carbohydrates, which can encourage weight gain in less active pets.

Wet pet food
Tinned or sachet wet food is easy to store and serve, and many pets get excited by the meaty texture and flavour. These diets can be used on Lickimats for mental stimulation, or offered from sachets as bribery during nail clips!

However, wet pet food doesn’t have the same dental health benefits as dry food.

Home-cooked pet diets
A home-cooked diet can offer a variety of textures and flavours to provide interest, as well as help tempt picky eaters.

However, a good home-cooked diet will also require more effort in terms of storage and preparation. Additionally, many home-cooked recipes listed online are nutritionally unbalanced, particularly in regard to micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). So there is a risk that your pet may be missing out on essential nutrients that will help keep them healthy.

So… the best pet food is?
The best diet for your pet is one that is nutritionally complete and balanced for their life stage, in a flavour and form that they enjoy! We find many pets do well on “veterinary” commercial diets, which are thoroughly tested with feeding trials and food safety checks. If you wish to feed your pet a home-cooked diet, we advise consulting a veterinary nutritionist to ensure the diet is complete and balanced.

For more personalised dietary advice for your pet, consult our expert Pet Doctors’ team today!

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