Your Companion’s Diet Nutrition is the foundation of good health for our animal companions. Diet is the most important component of your pet’s health care. The best diet for your dog or cat is not unlike the best diet for you – it consists of a variety of whole foods enhanced with vitamins and minerals, enzymes and supplements, when necessary, to promote optimal health, prevent disease or to address health issues. Our animal companions are natural hunters and carnivores - just look at their ancestry. The dog at your feet (or on your sofa) has evolved from the wolf, and his digestive system is virtually the same despite thousands of years of domestication. They have very short intestinal tracts geared to the consumption and digestion of raw foods. The cat on your lap is a true or “obligate” carnivore (meat only diet) and is specially designed by nature to hunt small rodents and birds. Her digestive tract, as well, is intended to assimilate raw food best. Commercially prepared kibble has become the standard diet for most pets in our culture. It is relatively cheap and quite convenient. Knowledgeable guardians and many veterinarians, however, are becoming increasingly aware of the true nutritional needs of companion animals and are taking a proactive approach to nutrition by placing more importance on getting the highest quality ingredients and carefully controlled preparation than on cost and convenience. At Only Natural Pet Store we do our best to offer the healthiest options available for all lifestyles and feeding choices. Whatever food you choose to offer your pet, putting some thought into your decision now can produce big rewards over his or her lifetime and very probably help him or her avoid serious and costly illnesses caused by poor nutrition and feeding practices. Freshness When determining the best diet for your companion, there are two things to keep in mind: The fresher, the better, and rotation is optimal. First let’s discuss freshness. Fresh food is teeming with life. It contains natural enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in their most natural state, making them more digestible and more easily assimilated. Heat is the number one enemy of nutrients in food. The fresher the food, the more bioavailable the nutrients in that food will be. This means that the antioxidants in the fruits and vegetables listed in the ingredients will be far more likely to be intact and digestible in raw food than in dry kibble or canned food, which are processed at high temperatures. This is also true for natural enzymes, probiotics, amino acids and vitamins and minerals in your pet's food. The less heat-processed the food, the more likely it is that the nutrients will be preserved in their natural state by the time you feed it to your companion, and the more digestible those nutrients will be. So even if dry kibble is a part of your companion’s diet, adding fresher foods like fresh or frozen raw food & bones, or fresh cooked meat, healthy table scraps, freeze-dried or dehydrated foods and even canned food can enhance the quality of his or her overall diet. The Freshness Scale: Frozen raw food diets Freeze-dried & dehydrated foods Canned foods Dry kibble