When we are talking about the diet of four-legged friends, the first thought that comes to mind is meat. We know that um, our dog loves chicken, and our cat for fish, we read how nutritious the meat on the animals and often look on their foods the ingredients on the label, in order to choose a product that has meat or fish as the first ingredient. But it is the food of animal origin the only nutritious choice, or are there alternatives?
Plant foods (legumes, vegetables, oils,fruits) are rich in nutrients. The diet of the pet requires, among other things, proteins, good quality, minerals and carbohydrates that provide energy without burdening the body with unnecessary sugar and fat. Pulses are an excellent example of a plant food that can work as a source of protein rich in minerals and trace elements. Peas contain calcium and manganese, lentils iron and copper and chickpeas magnesium and potassium. In addition, all legumes contain plenty of fiber, which regulate the motility of the bowel, through balancing the flora and support the operation of the perianal glands.
Legumes have given to an animal in a suitable form so as to digest, that is cooked and, in cases of a sensitive digestive system, pureed. The administration in its raw form is not recommended, due to the presence of phytic acid, which inhibits the absorption of many nutrients. Legumes canned good is to be avoided, due to the high presence of sodium, since the salt in the canned food is used as a preservative.
The reduction of meat consumption and the adoption of a way of eating based on vegetable sources of nutrients are now quite popular in our country, with the result that more and more guardians interested in starting a vegetarian diet to pet them. The question that automatically arises is whether it is possible your dog or cat to survive on a vegetarian diet and the corresponding answer depends on the type of animal.
Dogs are omnivores and can, under circumstances, be adapted to a full and balanced vegetarian diet. However, particular caution is required because, although all the necessary ingredients found in vegetable sources, it is not used in the body such as the respective animal origin. A typical example is omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in oils such animal (fish oil) and vegetable (linseed oil) origin. Dogs need omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are found in fish oils (eg. salmon oil). Flaxseed oil is rich in Omega-3 fatty acid ALA, which the dog can't convert it to EPA and DHA, in order to benefit from this.Therefore, linoleum can not be considered as a remarkable source of omega-3 fatty acids for dogs.
In cats, the complete vegetarian diet is even more difficult, because it is mandatory carnivorous animals and they have nutritional requirements, which are covered only from animal sources. Examples are taurine (the failure of which can lead to blindness or heart failure) arachidonic acid (which is essential fatty acid for cats) and vitamin A. In particular, for vitamin A, a lot of people have the impression that an animal can form, and from plant sources, such as,for example, the carrot. Indeed, they contain beta carotene, which is the precursor of vitamin A, but the body of the cat can use to compose. For this, and you must take in preformed shape, i.e., vitamin A (retinol), ready for use by the body. Also, even if the body of the cat could convert the beta carotene, for example, carrot, vitamin A, probably is the carrot again, not considered a significant source because as mandatory carnivorous animal, the cat is not likely to have a large amount of carbohydrates in your daily diet.
The reasons for which a guardian animal wishes to have a vegetarian diet for the animal, except for personal, likely to be medical. A frequent health problem in pets, especially in dogs is allergies. Allergies can be due either to environmental causes or in food. In the cases of food allergies, so of allergies due 100% to any component of the food, the culprit is almost always a protein. The proteins that have been combined primarily with allergies to animals are the chicken, the beef, egg and wheat, which are common components of most of the feed. To fight effectively an allergy, you have to eliminate the culprit. In these cases, often the solution is a vegan food, which does not contain animal proteins.
If someone wants to start a vegetarian diet to the pet, the initial question is whether he prefers a ready commercial industrial food (eg, dry food or canned) or a homemade baked food (raw food diet here, as we understand it is not an option because the pets can't πέψουν easily the most vegetables and fruits in raw form). In the case of a dry food or canned, marketed several options full χορτοφαγικών feed for dogs and cats. In the case of the homemade diet, it is recommended only for dogs and the sources of protein that are chosen are usually the soy (e.g., tofu), lentils, peas and chickpeas. Add the remaining ingredients (rice, vegetables,oils, etc.) and selected the appropriate supplements. From there, it is proposed that the medical supervision of the animal every 4-6 months, to assess the nutritional status. In terms of tests, most of the nutritional deficiencies they take a while to "look" at the hematology profile (maybe 2-3 years), so it doesn't make sense to do it regularly a full package of exam, for this reason. However, the regular general examination of the urine can be helpful, because the increased intake of vegetables affects the pH (acidity) of the urine, with the result that favored the formation of crystals and, later on – if not addressed in a timely manner - stones.
Until today, there have been some studies in dogs on the safety of long-term consumption χορτοφαγικών feed. In 2018, he had published a survey of the FDA (the corresponding FDA in America) related to dogs and was associated cases of dilated cardiomyopathy with the consumption of food, in which 20% of calories, and over, came from the beans. Nevertheless, at present there is no official conclusion, therefore, this is the case is that, as long as the food is full, balanced, and the body responds well to this (which we can see through the regular monitoring previously mentioned), there is some contraindication for the daily administration of the.
