{"id":908,"date":"2016-04-05T15:36:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T20:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medicaldistrictvet.com\/blog\/\/medicaldistrictvet\/?p=908"},"modified":"2022-08-29T12:49:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T17:49:31","slug":"your-pets-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicaldistrictvet.com\/blog\/your-pets-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Pet’s Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kitten<\/a><\/p>\n

The temperature is slowly creeping up to Chicago springtime levels, though all Midwesterners knew to brace for that inevitable April snowstorm.<\/p>\n

Regardless of your gritty Chicago expectations, we hope you are starting or continuing all your flea and tick medications as well as your heartworm control. You can reference the previous post about this,<\/a> but remember these are two separate medications that need monthly administration. If you have questions, call or bring in your animal. Also with the season changes come allergens. If your dog or cat is susceptible to allergies, watch carefully, and make sure they are not getting uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

This month’s topic\u2014your pet’s diet\u2014is one of utmost importance and one that is too often influenced by non-doctors. Your dog\u2019s and cat’s diet is a huge part of their continual\u00a0care and health, so it is important to know your options.<\/p>\n

This column can\u2019t address every aspect of diet, but it can help you figure out if the diet you are using is right for your pets, specifically.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t Go by Price<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cost of a diet does not indicate how effective or healthy it is. There are great diets available from your local grocery store. There are not-so-great diets available from your specialty organic pet store. You cannot let cost be what determines what you feed your pet.<\/p>\n

2. Special Diets<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sex, age, and specific metabolic status of your animal are integral factors for determining what it should be eating. If you have three cats and two dogs in your house, there’s a chance that they may all benefit from different types of food. That being said, it is not always possible to feed every animal something different, so you need to make sure that you’re not feeding anything that has negative impacts. Puppy food would not be great for an older dog with kidney disease, and geriatric food for an elderly husky that needs to lose weight would not be healthy for a spry little one-year-old mutt. The same goes for cats.<\/p>\n

Special diets have been formulated to address specific health conditions in dogs and cats, including:<\/p>\n