Dog food is food intended for consumption by dogs or other canine. Some people make their own dog food, feed their dogs meals made from ingredients purchased in grocery or health-food stores or give their dogs a raw food diet. Many others rely on commercially manufactured dog food.
- Frozen or Freeze-Dried, comes in raw or cooked (not processed) form. The idea is to skip the processing stage traditional dry/wet dog food goes through. This causes less destruction of the nutritional integrity. To compensate for the short shelf life, products are frozen or freeze-dried.
- Dehydrated, comes in raw and cooked form. Products are usually air dried to reduce moisture to the level where bacterial growths are inhibited. The appearance is very similar to dry kibbles. The typical feeding methods include adding warm water before serving.
- Fresh or Refrigerated, produced through pasteurization of fresh ingredients. Products are lightly cooked and then quickly sealed in a vacuum package. Then they are refrigerated until served. This type of dog food is extremely vulnerable to spoiling if not kept at a cool temperature and has a shelf life of 2–4 months, unopened.
- Homemade Diet often comes in a bucket or Tupperware-like package. In the past this was thought to be a diet that owners create themselves. However, recently, many small companies have begun to home-cook dog dishes and then sell them through specialty stores or over the Internet. Many pet owners feed dogs homemade diets. These diets generally consist of some form of cooked meat or raw meat, ground bone, pureed vegetables, taurine supplements, and other multivitamin supplements. Some pet owners use human vitamin supplements, and others use vitamin supplements specifically engineered for dogs.
- Vegetarian dog foods are manufactured by several companies. They are usually balanced and contain ingredients such as oatmeal, pea protein, and potatoes instead of meat to supply protein. A dog owner may choose to feed a vegetarian food for ethical and/or health reasons, or in cases of extreme food allergies.
Cat food is food intended for consumption by cats. As cats are obligate carnivores most commercial cat foods are fortified with supplemental nutrients. One of the most important is the amino acid derivative taurine, as cats cannot synthesize the compound. Cats fed taurine-deficient dog food may develop retinal degeneration and go blind,
Dry vs Wet Food
Studies have not shown any difference between a dry or wet food diet for dental health. Cats generally do not 'chew' their food and usually only crunch once or twice before it is swallowed. Cats also lack the enzymes that humans possess inside their mouths to help breakdown the food they eat.Vegetarian or vegan food
There are vegetarian and vegan cat foods available. Vegetarian cat food usually is fortified with nutrients such as taurine and arachidonic acid Some vegetarian cat food brands are labeled by their manufacturers as meeting AAFCO's Cat Food Nutrient Profile while other manufacturers recommend their products to be supplemented and not used as a complete diet[- Healthy balanced meat pet food diet containing all essential vitamins and minerals are found in our Cuisine food range for Cats and Dogs.
- All natural ingredients, ranch raised from
- No colours, salt, sugar, chemicals, artificial preservatives fillers or grains.
- Gently air-dried, or in moist formulations, ZiwiPeak pet food maintains the nutritional integrity of natural raw materials.
Salmonella can jump from pet food to humans in several ways, said Barton Behravesh. Pets can shed salmonella in their feces for up to 12 weeks after infection, even if the dogs themselves don't appear sick. Children might have also played with the pet food and then put their hands ⎯ or the food itself ⎯ in their mouths. But the researchers' interviews revealed equal reports of kids playing with or tasting pet food in both infected and uninfected households, suggesting something else was going on.
One of the strongest predictors of illness turned out to be whether the family pet was fed in the kitchen or not. For children under age 2, feeding a pet in the kitchen raised the risk of infection about fourfold. It's likely that the salmonella bacteria multiplied in dirty pet-food bowls, Barton Behravesh said, making cross-contamination and infection more likely.
