11/06/2026
What food to feed
Deciding which type of food is best for you and your pet can be difficult.
Last time we looked at Raw meat diets, today we will be looking at the pros and cons of plant alternative protein diets.
Like with all the diets we have looked at so far, this type of diet does have its place for the right individual’s but again does not mean this will be suitable for all pets. Knowing already that cats are obligate carnivores, we are already aware that this type of diet would be completely suitable and would cause serious health concerns.
However, dogs are omnivores like humans so when given a nutritionally balance and compete diet they are live a heathy life.
Plan alternative protein diets are normally given due to owner’s belief but there are other reasons to feed this type of diet, including environmental impact. These diets come as vegetarian or vegan forms; vegetarian form could use eggs and some dairy products in their receipt, both would have a mixture of vegetables, legumes, cereals, nuts, oils, seeds and fruit.
Pros
-May be used for short term elimination trial, this would not be a full trial as proteins are still present and not hydrolysed.
- More environmentally friendly
- Supports ethical beliefs to reduce the number of animals used for food
- Can be used where intolerances have been proven.
- More sustainable
- Can be tailer made for individuals, age and aliment
- Short term feeding hasn’t shown clinical signs of poorer health (further work needed for long term use)
Cons
- Risks of being incomplete and unbalanced nutrition, diets should always been developed by a board certified nutritionist
- If home made most are incomplete and unbalanced (a board certified nutritionist should be consulted) so there is a greater risk of imbalance of nutrients leading to excess or deficiency
- Can be more expensive for the ingredient and cost of an individually tailored recipe developed by a board certified nutritionist.
- Nutritional supplementation may be needed, again a board certified nutritionist should be consulted
- Higher risk of urinary crystals and stone formation due to urine being more alkaline
Next, we will look at how to read labels to help when deciding which diet is right for you and your pet.
If you would like more individual guidance please book a nutritional nurse clinic with Becki RVN, who has completed her certificate in small animal nutrition.
