There is a significant difference between dog and cat food even though their may appear to look the same. Cats need a much higher amount of protein and fat than dogs do. Also, cats have different needs than dogs, so don’t feed your cat dog food, or your dog cat food. Remember, Cats are primarily carnivores and need plenty of meat in their diet. Here is what to look for when you are deciding what to feed your furry friends.

Avoid Cat Food Fillers

Cats need to eat food that is rich in protein, so make sure the amount of fillers is kept to a minimum. Carbohydrate rich food is not good for your cat, so don’t buy cat food that is full of them. Instead, read the labels and buy a cat food that is not filled with fillers and other by products. Even when a cat food is high in protein, it doesn’t mean that the protein comes from a meat source. Avoid those blends which contain a lot of wheat or rice, and look for a meat source as the first ingredient.

Cats Need Protein

Your cat food should always be rich in protein. The protein should come from a meat source such as poultry or fish, and should be the first ingredient. Many cat food brands advertise chicken, beef, and tuna flavored cat food because they know that cats need protein and cat owners are looking for quality cat food. However, you need to make sure the cat food you buy has a sufficient amount of protein regardless of what flavor it is. Also, some will list chicken as the first ingredient, however, when it is listed as “chicken” this means raw meat. Approximately 70% of it is water, so when it is cooked with the other ingredients, chicken will probably really be the 5th to 7th ingredient.

Look for Taurine content

Check the cat food you buy for an amino acid called taurine. This amino acid is very important in your cat’s overall health, and your cat will eat as much food as it has to in order to supplement this particular amino acid. So, if you are buying cheap cat food that does not have the proper nutrients your cat will eat a lot in order to get the nutrients it needs. If you buy a nutrient rich cat food then your cat will eat less and save you more money while still getting proper nutrition, and probably not gaining a lot of weight either. Look for taurine on the ingredient label.

Canned or Dry Cat Food?

Cats should be fed a mixture of both dry and canned food. The dry cat food should be given for free feeding. Canned cat food should be use as a supplement at meal time because it has extra water in the food. Look for canned cat food that has a high amount of protein from a meat source. You can mix and match with dry and canned cat food as long as they have a high nutrient density. Cats should always have access to water, and you should consider having an extra bowl of water always available.

FUS/ Crystals

Cats are subject to FUS, crystals that can cause urinary tract disease and pain. Feline formulas should be carefully designed to reduce or eliminate this problem through low magnesium and low ash, correct pH levels and high digestibility. Look at the percentage of magnesium and ash on the label of what you are feeding your cat. You can also play a major role in controlling this problem by always having fresh water available. Cats drink and store water differently from dogs. They store body water in highly concentrated urine. High concentrations can lead to crystal formation. In our work with cat owners, we find there are several ways to enhance water intake to reduce problems:

- Always keep fresh water readily available, 24 hours a day.

- Place food and water dishes several feet apart and feed and water in a quiet area.

- Place a second water dish close to your cat’s favorite spot.

- Feed canned cat food (to provide additional moisture content) for one of the meals.

- Leave dry kibble available at all times.

Cats will nibble/feed between 10-20 times throughout the day and night. Eating over an extended time also allows for continuous water intake to balance the food intake.

Summary

Here’s what to look for:

- High protein and high fat content.

- Meat as the first ingredient.

- Avoid those blends which contain a lot of wheat or rice fillers.

- High Taurine content.

- Low Magnesium and low ash content.

Fox Valley Pet Foods provides All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, the very best for your best friend. To learn more about our All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, go to: http://www.foxvalleypetfoods.com

About The Author

Fred Ege provides All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, the very best for your best friend. To learn more about our All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, go to: http://www.foxvalleypetfoods.com

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Health conscious customers are giving a great deal of thought these days to things like preservatives, so-called “fillers”, and synthetic additives. They are more and more reluctant to ingest any sort of chemicals or give them to their animal friends. An increasing number of individuals are exercising, eating properly, and generally doing whatever it takes to maintain an optimum level of health.

Just as the saying goes, “You are what you eat”, the same applies for your pooch. With people being more health conscious today, and being careful what goes into their bodies, it is also possible to create wellness pet food (http://healthierdogs.com/dog_food) for the four-legged member of the family. Dog owners are no longer forced to feed their dogs whatever is being processed and spit out by the large factories. They can now choose between any number of wellness pet foods on the market.

One of these foods is Sojos food. It’s a unique mixture that allows you to make your own healthy dog food from a special mix in a package. All you have to do is add a protein to the mix, and then you will have a healthy blend of nutrients for your dog. Sojos food is a food that you can feel good about giving to your dog.

The mix contains herbs, grains, and dried sea vegetables, but fresh vegetables can also be added to the Sojos food (http://healthierdogs.com/dog_food/more-on-sojos-home-made-style-dog-food/) to boost the nutritional level. Some dogs love fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, bananas, grapes and even strawberries. To find out what your dog likes, offer a little of each fresh fruit or vegetable to him before mixing it into the dog food.

This blend contains no additives or filler. Given the fact that canine digestion is intended to cope with raw foods rather than those which are cooked or canned, this meal you have prepared yourself will be ideal for any dog and will make him or her healthier and happier.

About The Author

Conscientious dog owners are careful about the type of dog food (http://HealthierDogs.com/Dog_Food/what-exactly-does-commercial-dog-food-contain/) they feed their canine friend. Consumers are preoccupied virtually preservatives, fillers, and unnatural flag and flavorings. As the saying goes, “You are what you eat”, and this applies for your doggy. With full understanding these days about what goes into their bodies, it is also workable to create wellness pet food (http://healthierdogs.com/dog_food) for the four-legged member of the lineage. One such nutrient is Sojos food (http://healthierdogs.com/dog_food/sojos-homemade-dog-food-mix-and-more/). It is a mix that allows dog owners to create their own thriving homemade pet food from a specially prepackaged mix

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Consider the price of the dry dog food. Often, dry dog food that are cheap or are not branded are made with ingredients like fillers and seasonings that are not necessarily good for dogs. These ingredient may be tasty, but they can be harmful to your dog. These dry dog food often have too much preservatives, which can cause your dog to develop health problems that may eventually cause them to suffer later on in life.

To increase the vitality and life expectancy of your dog, go with good quality dry dog food. You don’t really need to purchase the most expensive dry dog food there is, but it is best if you stick with dry dog food that is manufactured by a reputable dog food company and is priced reasonably.

The main ingredient in the best dry dog food is rice, corn or soybean. High quality dry dog food will also have other ingredients such as beef and chicken. Stores also sell dry dog food formulated specifically to a dog’s age. Manufacturers classify the different types of dry dog food as being for puppies, adult dogs and senior dogs. Purchasing the dry dog food that’s most suitable for your dog’s age is always important.

If you want to know what are the best dry dog foods, ask your veterinarian. Veterinarians would often recommend the branded dry dog foods. These brands are more expensive, but if you have an older dog, it may be to your advantage to pay a little more for the best dry dog food.

You will know if you’ve picked the best dry dog food by the way your dog looks and feels. When you take your dog for yearly shots, his coat should be healthy, his eyes should be clear and he should be full of energy. If your pet doesn’t look well and seems lethargic, there could be something wrong with his diet. It is always wise to keep notes about what your dog is eating on a daily basis. This way, a veterinarian can diagnose your dog more quickly and recommend the best dry dog food for your pet.

About The Author

George Chao, owner of Digital Excellent Free Online Magazine – http://www.digitalexcellent.com/

Help your pet live healthier and longer, find the right dog food for your dog. You can find more information at http://www.digitalexcellent.com/dog-food

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Is premium dog food better for your dog? Should you reach for the generic brand dog food to save money or spend a fortune on premium dog food to treat your dog right? With so many premium dog foods out there to choose from, how do you know which one is right for your dogs?

The answers are yes, no, and you don’t have to choose anymore. Of course everyone wants the best for their dogs. Dogs are so popular these days, even the rich carry them around in designer made bags. Everyone reaches for the premium dog food that can afford it.

John Miller, professional dog fancier, has the secret to premium dog food. In fact, he has premium dog food down to a science with 245 recipes to tickle your dogs fancy. With all the unhealthy chemicals in commercial premium dog food formulas, John Miller, has created a new way to help keep your pet happy, and healthier longer. He has 50 years of experience in creating premium dog food recipes that big companies tried to pay $500,000 for his recipes and silence.

These are such great premium dog food recipes that even the rich and famous will be having their chef’s serve up a platter for the dainty doggies! There are premium dog food recipes for young dogs, old dogs, fancy dog biscuits, dog bones, treats, and even recipes to keep the fleas away. He even has recipes for dog shampoo, dog safe insecticides, dog safe fertilizers, Skunk Odor Remover, and others.

The best part about all these premium dog food recipes is that they cost little to nothing to make them. John Miller also gives a guarantee that your dog will be healthier when implementing these recipes into their diet. It doesn’t get any better than this.

If you want John Millers 245 premium dog food recipes then you need to check out his book 245 Recipes. I highly recommend this book for those dog lovers who truly know the importance of a healthy diet for their dogs.

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About The Author

L.D. Mairet has other articles relating to dogs at http://dog-food.blogspot.com Dog Food, http://premium-dog-food.blogspot.com Premium Dog Food, http://dog–trainer.blogspot.com Dog Trainer, http://dog-behavior–training.blogspot.com Dog Behavior Training, http://dog-training-basics.blogspot.com Dog Training Basics.

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Just imagine if we were to live on a diet completely made from synthetic materials and empty calories, or what we would call junk food. Because of this lifestyle, our health would suffer. We would be more likely to suffer from disease and reduce our lifespan considerably. The same applies to our pets, and often without our knowing it, we are the main cause of this problem.

Buying dog foods from the supermarket shelf is much the same as buying junk food for us; many dog foods contain chemical and flavor enhancers, the food which is often poor in quality, and most definitely not suitable for human consumption.

The process in which many dog foods are made includes rigorous cooking techniques, which destroys the natural colorings and flavors in the food. The result is that your pet may be eating artificial colors and flavors as well as missing out on the nutritional value of quality wholesome ingredients needed to live a healthy life.

The best way to find out what it is you are feeding your pet is to investigate the ingredients that are in the dog food; the first five ingredients listed on the label are the main content of the food. If the dog food contains by-products this is usually parts of animals that are low in protein and not really good for your pet, for example, ground feet, bones and intestines.

Look out for chemical preservatives used to keep the food from spoiling; these are often called BHA and BHT. Grains, such as corn, wheat, gluten, and soy are also very difficult for your pet to digest, and are used as a protein source, instead of meat products.

Ideally, a pet food should contain wholesome ingredients that are easy for your pet to digest; the main ingredient should be meat, quality meat that is fit for human consumption. Vegetables, anti oxidants, bacteria cultures, and protenated minerals should also be high on the list. Grains are not ideal for pets, with the exception of whole grain brown rice, which is easy for your pet to digest as well as helping to promote a healthy coat.

All of these impressive ingredients are useless, unless a proper technique free of colorings and flavorings are used. Pet food should be cooked in a way that locks in the protein, minerals, and fibers right from the start, without the need for artificial ingredients to be added.

Your pet deserves the chance to live a healthy lifestyle, just the same as its owners do. By providing nutritional, healthy wholesome premium dog and cat food for your pet, you can show your best friends how much you really care for them.

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What many pet owners fail to see, is that by feeding our dogs a diet that mainly consists of processed, poorly prepared dog foods or the equivalent of junk food, they may be causing many of the behavioral and severe illnesses that are found in dogs today. Basically, the diet that you are feeding your canine companion could not only be making him aggravated, hyper or plain old mean it could possibly shorten his life span.

A well balanced diet provides quality nutrition and in turn keeps the cells, tissues and organs healthy. This enables an animals’ immune system to stay in top condition to fight any invaders.

The same holds true for behavior. If you ate fast food and candy bars everyday, eventually it will affect your energy level and your mood.

Because we love our pets, this may be a little confusing for those who think that they are doing the right thing, say, feeding their pets dog foods out of the can. Admittedly, not all dog foods are bad. However, many are and contain ingredients that are difficult for your pet to digest and can make him sick. So how do you weed out the good dog foods from the bad?

In order to give your pet the best life, you must make sure that he has the best type of lifestyle, just like us humans. Before buying pet foods, check the label to see what is in the food. Basically, the first five ingredients are important. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients may have more vegetable protein than animal protein which means less nutrition and more clean up.

Canned food can also be full of preservatives, to keep the food inside from going bad. Dog foods containing preservatives should be avoided. Not only has the pet food been filled with preservatives that could cause your pet harm, the pet food has been boiled at high temperatures in the cooking process causing any of the useful nutrition found in the food to be lost anyway. Proper cooking of pet foods will ensure that no preservatives are needed to keep it fresh.

Keep in mind that canned dog food mainly consists of water so feeding a canned diet alone will not give your pet the proper nutrition they need to live a healthy lifestyle.

So let’s look at the things that should be avoided when buying pet food:

No Preservatives. Avoid foods that contain chemicals in them such as BHT or BHA. If these preservatives are found anywhere on the label, give the food a miss, as these chemicals can be harmful to your pet.

No by-products. By-products are the parts of meat that are unsuitable for consumption, such as the feet, necks and intestines of other animals. As you can imagine these parts of animals were not made to be digested by humans, dogs or any animals for that matter.

Beware of grains. Soy, corn, corn gluten and wheat gluten are often used as protein sources; however, they are generally inferior and difficult to digest.

Give your pet the chance at life that he deserves, feed him with a good nutritious premium dog food, free from preservatives and additives that are not meant for dogs. A great way to decide what is suitable for your dog to eat is ask yourself if you would eat it? If your answer is no, don’t feed it to your pet.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT REAL DOG FOOD DANGERS BEFORE YOU FEED YOUR DOG ANOTHER MEAL!