ANIMAL NUTRITION - THE INFORMATION LISTED IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT! Looking at nutrition from the animals point of view.
What we eat affects both body and mind and an unsuitable diet is one of the major causes of physical and mental problems for animals. Diet is also an easy place for animal owners to start making a positive impact on the stress balance. Before making any changes to your animals diet seek your vets advice. It is also important to read as much information as you can. There are numerous books and websites which can help to give a clearer understanding to the needs of your pet. A book which I can highly recommend is 'Give your dog a bone'
An animal's digestive system has evolved to be most efficient with specific food for example:
- Dogs are mainly carnivores with a diet based mainly on hunted or scavenged ruminants and small mammal carcases, however they also eat grasses and herbs, fallen fruit, berries, nuts and roots.
- Cats are true carnivores and one of nature's most efficient hunters, they only scavenge when forced to (for instance city strays) as they like their meat fresh; they cannot digest grain efficiently an need very little vegetable matter.
- Horses are non-ruminant herbivores with small stomachs and long intestines, designed for almost constant intake of mainly fibrous diet, low in soluble carbohydrates.
How many domestic animals do you know who eat a diet suitable for their evolutionary requirements? The more an animal moves away from it's evolutionary path the more likely there is to be problems.
Dogs have evolved over thousands of years to eat raw meat and bones, logically, this must be the food best suited to optimal health.In the wild, dogs would eat the whole carcass including fur, neural tissue and gut contents which can contain semi digested grass cereal and vegetable matter. The action of tearing and ripping at the carcass works their teeth, ripping up the skin would act like a dental floss!
Cats are true carnivores so meat should constitute at least 80% of their diet. Their digestive system is not adapted to synthesise nutrients from vegetable matter. Cats would usually consume small prey whole, larger prey would be eaten over several days. Due to relatively small size of prey, cats would need to hunt several times a day to fulfil their nutritional needs.
Horses are primary grazers but enjoy browsing for bark and leaves to a level of up to 10% of their total diet. Under natural conditions they would spend up to 16-18 hours grazing. Walking to eat is high on the horse hierarchy of behavioural needs. Horses eat all day long so their stomach is never empty and their day is filled with the search for food.
