It is important to provide dogs and cats, especially puppies with a complete and balanced diet. As puppies and kittens are rapidly growing and developing, their first year is the most important for future health. We believe that a premium quality dry food is the best nutrition for your pet. Tinned foods and rolls are of poorer quality, contain large amounts of water and non nutritional fillers and are responsible for many gastrointestinal upsets. Home cooked or mainly meat diets are usually unbalanced, are more expensive and time consuming to prepare and can sometimes contain harmful preservatives.

By feeding a premium dry food your pet receives the correct balance of energy, protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals that are needed for their particular breed, size and stage of life. Other benefits include good intestinal health, weight control, dental tartar control and a healthy coat. Being highly digestible, smaller, firmer stools with less odour are produced (easier and more pleasant to pick up!) Some premium cat foods also help to reduce the incidence of furballs and urinary crystals.

Pups should be fed 3 small meals a day for their first 4 - 6 months before reducing to twice daily feeding. Puppies should always be fed a growth or puppy food until they are fully grown (10 - 18 months depending on breed).

Kittens should be fed 3 small meals a day for their first 4 - 6 months before reducing to twice daily feeding. Kittens should always be fed a growth or kitten food until they are at least 6 months.

A lot of cats graze on food left out throughout the day. This is fine if your cat is

of normal weight. If your cat is overweight however, it is now recommended to feed two measured meals during the day in an effort to control weight gain. It is much easier to prevent weight gain than to lose it once your cat is overweight.

Dog food is not suitable for cats as it lacks all the essential amino acids that cats require.

• human only diets; a dog or cat’s dietary requirements are different to ours. Home cooked diets are usually unbalanced and pets fed this way may suffer from calcium deficiencies, bone growth abnormalities and poor immune systems.
• Meat only diets - they contain no calcium! The correct balance of calcium and phosphorus is very important for healthy bone growth and a puppy / kitten’s requirements are higher than an adult’s. It is difficult to get the right balance by adding calcium powder and milk is not a suitable supplement.
• Cooked bones - these splinter easily, have sharp jagged edges and have hardly any nutritional benefit. They injure teeth and gums and may become caught in the mouth, throat or intestines causing obstructions or painful constipation as your cat tries to pass them. Retrieval of lodged bones can be an expensive procedure! Raw bones are more elastic and digestible, they help to maintain good dental health but care still needs to be taken, every bone can be a risk.
• Raw fish – can cause thiamine deficiency (B vitamin) especially in cats which can lead to neurological signs including seizures, coma and death.
• Raw eggs – decreases the absorption of biotin (B vitamin) leading to skin and coat problems. Raw eggs can also contain salmonella.
• Chocolate; can be toxic and sometimes fatal.
• Onions are harmful to red blood cells and may lead to life threatening anemia.
• Large amounts of liver or cod liver oil may lead to vitamin A toxicity.
• Meat containing preservatives - some pet meats (and even human meat) contain large amounts of sulfa dioxide as a preservative. This may cause a vitamin B deficiency. Pet meats especially should not form a major part of your cat’s diet.
• Grapes – can cause kidney damage.

Feeding and nutrition is probably the most important factor in making sure your rabbit stays healthy. Many commercial rabbit foods don’t contain enough fibre (18 – 20% is required).

Rabbits should have constant access to good quality grass or grass hay, this provides a lot of fibre and encourages long periods of chewing for dental and digestive health.

Vegies and leafy greens are also very important, as a guide it is recommended by David Vella, a rabbit specialist to feed 2 cups of leafy greens per kg bodyweight per day (preferably 3 different varieties). Treats such as fruits, root veggies (carrots), capsicum and pellets should only be offered in small amounts (1 – 2 tablespoons per day per rabbit). Pellets and mixes should not form a main part of the diet.

Always make sure your rabbit has access to clean drinking water, preferably in a bottle.

For a detailed information sheet on feeding rabbits and rabbit care please visit www.davidvella.com.au and click on the pet care icon.