Giving the right nutrition to your pet isn’t always as simple as going to the store and choosing a bag of food. Our veterinary team in Overland Park KS offers customized and comprehensive pet nutrition services to ensure your animal’s health needs are met!
Pet Nutrition Considerations for Different Life Stages
Pets’ dietary needs changes with age. Consider the following recommendations:
- Puppy and Kitten: rapid growth and development occurs in this stage, so puppies and kittens need to consume a relatively high amount of protein. They should eat puppy or kitten food—not adult food! This is also an important time to instill good habits, such as being able to take food gently from your hand, not being overly possessive or aggressive at meal time, and not begging for scraps from the table.
- Adult: Adult pets need enough food to support lean muscle and exercise. The right balance is critical, because many common ailments (like obesity and arthritis) can be prevented through food and lifestyle. Bear in mind that your pet’s ideal weight and activity level will determine how many calories are needed. Look for cat or dog food that has high quality ingredients like animal protein, complex carbohydrates, and essential fatty acids. The less sugar and artificial ingredients, the better!
- Senior: older dogs and cats may have chronic illnesses or dental health problems which require keen management. We may recommend giving your older pet certain supplements to optimize health. As your senior companion ages, she’ll probably move around a lot less, so she may not need quite as much food as she used to.
- Based on current research, we recommend against grain-free diets and raw diets.
How an Overland Park Veterinarian Can Help You Identify the Best Food for Your Cat or Dog
Different pets have different nutrition needs, so bring your companion in with any questions! Our Overland Park vet team can help you:
- Make sense of pet food nutrition labels
- Determine how much food to give him/her based on age, weight, and activity level
- Manage underlying health conditions (e.g., reduced sodium diet for kidney and liver disease, reduced calorie diet for obesity, and essential fatty acid supplements for joint disease)
- Identify and avoid potential food allergies
- Learn which types of human foods are safe to give as treats (and which foods are toxic!)
Do You Have Confidence in How You’re Feeding Your Cat or Dog? Contact Nall Hills Animal Hospital for First-Rate Guidance
To schedule a pet nutrition appointment with a veterinarian in Overland Park, contact Nall Hills Animal Hospital today at 913-341-8836.
