Therapeutic diets for cats and dogs are targeted food formulas that particularly assist and prevent diseases or oncoming illnesses, they can positively impact your pets life even if your he/she is taking medication. Therapeutical diets for animals are often known as a specialized diet, which can only be prescribed by your veterinarian; you will not be able to buy them in any shop or supermarket. Should you come across therapeutic food for your pet in the local supermarket, I’d suggest that you avoid buying it since the label claims can not be true.
When my cat had surgery about a year ago, he was prescribed a special diet to relieve him from being sick, I have to say it worked wonders!
These special diets are formulated to assist animals with their gut, digestion and relieve the kidney’s of extra work. These formulas have even to this day helped many animals lead a happier life by easing their symptoms of whatever disease they’re suffering with. This type of diet helps animals recover from an illness as it did with my cat, helps stop the progression of a disease and if a disease is hereditary it could prevent an onset.
Today, you can buy special formulas for just about any type of animal and they’re available in both dry and canned.
The founder of therapeutic diets for animals
These special diets for animals were introduced by a veterinarian named Mark Morris during 1940, his goal was to help provide a diet plan for suffering animals. Some of the common illnesses that animals suffer with today are kidney failure, allergies, weight gain, heart disease, cancers of all types, diabetes and much more.
Mark Morris therapeutic diet was named Prescription Diet KD, KD stands for kidney disease. Afterwards, Morris began formulating various other prescription diets to treat and relieve animals with ill health, this led him to the creation of Hills Pet Nutrition ,which can be found in at your vets even today.
How do therapeutic diets assist your pet?
Therapeutic diets assist in certain metabolic processes within the animal body, depending upon the prescription formula it will help with digestion, blood pressure, sugar levels or whatever needs to to be targeted by the special diet. Veterinarians will know which formula to be prescribed according to the type of illness, because of this you should never try to replicate the diet with a supermarket formula, it just wouldn’t help.
Likewise, if a healthy pet were to eat a therapeutic diet, then they’re health may suffer in the long term because they’re diet will not be complete or balanced for their nutritional needs.
Therapeutic diets for animals have a different nutritional makeup compared to to supermarket food. This is not to say that supermarket foods aren’t worthy, in fact many are very good. I have created many articles on foods, nutrition and which brands are the best for animals. To name a couple of good brands would be Orijen and one that’s not so expensive is Applaws Grain Free range, I always feed my pets a grain free and cereal free diet.
To give you an example of the differences between a therapeutic diet and a non-therapeutic diet; if a cat is suffering from heart disease then their sodium levels need balancing more than a cat that doesn’t have heart disease. This would suggest that if a cat that doesn’t have heart disease consumed a therapeutic formula for that disease, then he’d eventually have serious health problems.
Your veterinarian will only prescribe a therapeutic formula after giving your pets numerous evaluations. If your vet particularly feels a special diet would be effective, then he will advise you and prescribe it. Though these diets can be costly because the ingredients are of higher quality, your pet will live a better quality life if you take your vets advise.
If you are using a therapeutic formula to assist in recovery, then make sure your pet doesn’t stay on this diet longer than advised because as you can see it could have a negative and harmful impact eventually.
Monitoring your pets with a therapeutic diet
Regular check ups will be required by your vet when this type of diet is prescribed just in case there are any health changes. This will help your vet make some tweaks to which food your pet should eat. Monitoring pets is part of the process to helping your pet get well quicker.
If your pet is currently consuming a special diet prescribed by your vet and you feel there might be something wrong or he’s taking a turn for the worse, then please take your pet to the vet straight away to be monitored.
When your pet has been given the correct formula, you should begin to see major improvements, it really is quite remarkable how these special diets work!
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