by Ilaria Persello

According to an estimate from Coldiretti, the federation of Italian farmers, reported some time ago inside Il Sole24Ore, 60% of pet owners spend between 30 and 100 euros a month. And, if only 22% spend less than 30 euros a month, according to EURISPES, 18% of the owners dedicate a budget between 100 and 300 euros in the same time frame. They are an impressive amount. In Italy, pet food weighs about 3-4 billion euros on family expenses. Not just food, even though it occupies a consistent slice of the pie (57%). This amount almost doubles if we add vet expenses (26%) and the ever-rising budget for litters, antiparasitic, etc.

About 10 million cats, little more than 8 million dogs, 13 million birds, 30 million fish, around 2 million small mammals, and almost 1.5 million reptiles find hospitability in Italian homes.   

Feeding our pet friends (in Italy, present in one in three families) is more and more expensive, with an annual price increase of almost 10%.

For such reason, many dog and cat owners, who represent the majority of home pets, are looking for alternatives to industrial food, be it kibble or canned wet food.

Almost 20 million cats and dogs have become official members of the families in which they live. If the life expectancy of our pet friends has risen notably, it is also because of their owner’s sensitivity to better vet cures and more appropriate nourishment. Food has a significant role in supporting the health and well-being of our pets throughout their entire lives.

Correct and balanced nourishment for our beloved pets, even if a primary necessity, is also a form of prevention from some illnesses and metabolic disorders. But what can they eat? Our pets, and mainly dogs, are always hungry because of their predatory nature and eating disorders caused by stress or psychological distress. At times, we abound with food portions to make them happy, while it is a good rule not to exaggerate and know what they can eat considering breed, age, sex, weight and the psycho-physical state of the animal. What do our pets eat? To start, meat and fish are among the better meals we must look for, even when buying the best kibble or wet food.

They can eat any meat (beef, sheep, pork) for protein and energy supplies, and, hence, we need to understand which of these meats to choose among the already prepared foods, following the taste of your pet and avoiding cold cuts since they contain fat and added salt, unhealthy for animal nutrition.  

Fish, instead, is rich in Omega 3, effective in preventing forms of arthritis, regulating metabolisms and effectively contrasting obesity of our pets. We should add such food to kibble in the specific diet defined by a vet or with particular supplements for dogs and cats.

Neither meat nor chicken, pork tenderloin, nor our leftovers are sufficient for their daily diet. Apart from factors such as the very long coexistence with men, specific livestock breeds, and changes in their life conditions, their physiology is still the same as that of their ancestors.

Wolves and big cats are hunting animals who kill other animals and usually eat their entrails. Essential nutritional substances are found not only in the meat of the muscles but also in these inner organs. They also eat their bones and the content of the prey’s stomachs. This way, they assimilate substantial oligo-elements and vitamins. Differently from cats, dogs are not exclusively carnivores. Ideally, their nutrition should include vegetal elements. We should consider what wolves and big cats eat as a reference for a correct diet for our pets, choosing between wet and dry pet food, which has meat in the first place of the ingredient list and the exact dose of selected vegetable components. What is better to put in our pet’s bowls? We can start with the most practical food (not always cheap): dry food, available everywhere, from supermarkets to pet-dedicated stores, from chemistries to the internet. Che cosa è meglio mettere nella ciotola dei nostri pet? The first step, anyway, is to read the list of ingredients to check if there are additives and preservatives and the percentage of proteins they contain (the best products have a 30% percentage of proteins). You need to check the percentage of meat (or fish) and fresh vegetables. The amount of crude ash should be much lower than 7%. In recent years, we have opted for biological dry food. They are practical, have a long store life, and you can easily cart them. Furthermore, they have balanced nutritional properties. You must follow recommendations and dosages that vary according to the animal’s weight, pathologies, age, or other needs. Among its disadvantages is a greater thirst (you must always leave some water nearby).

What I have written for dry food is the same for wet food in yins of bags. The primary difference is that meat or fish nibbles are tender and in sauce or gelatin. Sometimes, they contain small amounts of rice, vegetables or fruit. Often, they are much appreciated even if each pet has its tastes, which change very rarely. Also, here, the recommendation is not to exceed quantities.

Similar to dry and wet food is the so-called superfood: snacks, biscuits or various foods. You must use them to reward or treat your pets as food supplements or for specific needs and prefer more natural snacks such as dried fish, chicken or meat.

A new, or better, an old tendency is home-cooking food for cats and dogs, foods made using ingredients common in our recipes but prepared differently. It is not food made from waste, but it comes from raw and cooked foods that follow precise proportions: 70% meat, occasionally eggs, ricotta cheese or parmesan cheese, 20% vegetables and fruit, and for dogs, 10% cereals.

The cons are its cost and practicality; homemade food pros are the advantage of offering fresh foods with no preservatives or additives, minor dermatitis, allergic effects, less tartar, and digestive bugs, but be adopted seriously and continuously. Home-cooked food must effectively balance the pet diet to avoid nutritional imbalance, such as the lack of taurine in cats. The help of a nutritionist is necessary, but the internet and bookshops can be a valid support to tasty and healthy recipes.

Another nutritional approach is the BARF diet (bones and raw food), which has pulpy bones, mainly raw meat, entrails, fruit and vegetables. Food must be fresh, not industrially processed, and without cereals.

BARF is an uneven diet with nutrition unbalances and lacks and could lead to serious pathologies. The main advantage of this diet is that its food regime is similar to what animals would eat in the wild.

Recent studies have confirmed that dogs and cats, born predators, have an enzymatic patrimony that helps them have a diet almost exclusively based on proteins derived from meat and fat, without cereals and dairy.

In the so-called paleo diet, fresh fruit and vegetables provide a minimum intake of carbohydrates is ensured. They add appropriate supplements (herbs, spices, whole honey) to ensure adequate calcium and other salts. Paleo is a natural diet, and one can comfortably put it into practice. It is complete and tolerated. This diet provides all the essential nutritional elements for the dog or cat if prepared by an expert veterinary nutritionist.

The last and most extreme frontier is the vegan diet. There are dried foods that substitute meat proteins with those of legumes. They are similar to the traditional ones and contain balanced vitamin supplements. They have balanced nutrition values, but cats might not digest them well.

Contrary to dogs, cats are not omnivores but hyper-carnivores, incapable of digesting and metabolising effectively vegetables. The feline organism does not like the presence of starch, fructose and fibre. Felines take in carbohydrates, exclusively as glycogen, from the muscles and liver of their prey. The physiology of cats requires a specific protein composition, different from cereals, legumes, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables, to avoid nutritional deficits.

For the well-being of dogs and cats, we must ensure they have a diet suited to their age and health. A puppy or kitten has meal times and nutritive needs different from an adult, neutered or elderly animal. A cat has different nutritional requirements than a dog and cannot eat the same foods to avoid serious problems. Only in this way will our friend have all the proteins, fats and carbohydrates available as the nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy and long-lasting life. Proper nutrition comprises these essential elements and can help prevent the most common health problems. However, excellent quality food is not enough: the ideal lifestyle of our four-legged friend brings them to vent the energy acquired through movement and play. The too often sedentary lifestyle of pets, associated with excessively high-calorie diets, can lead to the diseases of civilisation that include diabetes, overweight and intolerances, just like it happens to us humans.