Check out our top five tips to remember when it comes to feeding your cat or dog. By Lauren McKellar.
- What goes in …
It’s the messy part of dog ownership — what goes in must go out! It’s very important to take note of any drastic change in your pet’s faeces, especially when you have a change in diet. Of course, you don’t have to break it down — just keep an eye out for any particularly loose stools or strange and unusual colours that could be an indication of a food intolerance or potential illness. - Keep human food for the humans
Sounds simple, right? Human food = human recipient. We know what it’s like — it can be hard to resist those puppy eyes or that casual purr as you eat your dinner with a very captive four-legged audience. Still, it’s recommended that you don’t feed your pet table scraps. Not only is it bad for their diet and potentially life-threatening, if the wrong food is given you can end up with a very needy dining companion. - Watch & learn
While you don’t need to monitor your dog’s every meal, make sure you do check out how much your dog is eating from time to time. This can alert you to any change in health. For example, if your dog isn’t eating as much as usual, it may not be feeling well. Watching can also help alert you to any eating problems your pet may be experiencing. Is it wolfing down the meal too fast? Does it have trouble accessing the food when given? If you have multiple pets, do they eat comfortably together or is there some aggression? Checking in on your pet when eating every now and then can help alert you to changes in health or behaviour. - Keep it clean
You wash your plate after every meal, so why does it take you so long to give the dog and cat bowls a clean? Keep these surfaces clean to not only avoid any potential health and bacteria complications for your pet, but also to avoid nasty smells and odours. - H2O
Fresh water is needed by your pet every day to ensure they don’t get thirsty. Don’t forget to wash the water bowl, too, to prevent mould and mildew build-up, and ensure it’s positioned out of direct sun to ensure you don’t lose too much liquid to evaporation.
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