{"id":347,"date":"2017-03-16T18:27:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T01:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.moonlightdogcafe.com\/?p=347"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:56:12","slug":"pet-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moonlightpetstore.com\/pet-health-pet-nutrition\/dog-cat-health\/pet-food-research\/pet-food","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate Guide: Choosing the Best Pet Food \u2013 What Nutrients Should Be in Your Dog or Cat’s Food?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Nutrients Do Dogs and Cats Need in Their Diets?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To understand the necessary building blocks in your pet food for optimal health, we need to start from the basics of the dog and cat\u2019s biology. Feeding a cow meat just doesn’t make sense. First of all, we will start by addressing the controversy of whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores.\u00a0Secondly, we will document the necessary building blocks in pet foods as a benchmark as this is key to assessing whether pet food is complete and healthy.<\/p>\n

When pets are younger, it seems that you can feed them pretty much anything because it isn’t often that health issues show up immediately.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>They may seem resilient and we expect they will not encounter any major health issues.\u00a0However, years down the road when they are not just pets but integral members of the family, it can be a shock that your cat or dog\u00a0 develops bowel disease, diabetes, kidney disease or pancreatitis to name a few.<\/p>\n

We often\u00a0forget that what we eat is literally broken down and assimilated by the body same as our pets.\u00a0Note that we are not saying that food is the only factor that can cause or mitigate diseases<\/strong>. Other factors such as genetics, activity level, immunization and environment can have an impact on your pet\u2019s life and health.<\/p>\n

Understanding the Natural Diet of Dogs and Cats<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dogs and cats are carnivores<\/strong>. In order to have a conversation about what food dogs or cats require, this distinction is important. Cats are obligate carnivores while\u00a0dogs are adapted to carbohydrates<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Here are the reasons why both are carnivores :<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Cats have no salivary amylase for carbohydrate pre-digestion while dogs have little salivary amylase. All this means is that they should be eating primarily meat.<\/li>\n
  2. Physiologically, the teeth of dogs and cats are meant for chewing\/ tearing meat & grinding bones.<\/li>\n
  3. In addition, they have shorter digestive tracts, as they don\u2019t need to break plant matter, which takes a longer time. The stomach pH of dogs and cats are also more acidic to help them digest meat and bones better.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Note that we are not making any evolutionary claims just physiological evidence to back the fact that dogs and cats are carnivores.<\/p>\n

    What Ingredients Should Pet Food Contain for Good Health<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"Different<\/p>\n

    The Importance of Protein for Dogs and Cats<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    The first basic necessary building block for dogs and cats is protein.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Proteins are only important because of the 22 amino acids that both dogs and cats need to be healthy.<\/strong> Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Dogs can produce 12 of these amino acids on their own while cats can only make 11 amino acids. The remaining amino acids that pets need from pet food are arginine, histidine, lysine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, trytophan, valine and taurine for most dogs and all cats:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"Amino<\/p>\n

    The best sources of all these amino acids for dogs & cats tend to be meat, animal organs & in some cases fish.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    However, not all proteins are created equal.<\/span><\/h5>\n

    What Are Poor Protein Sources in Dog and Cat Food<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    For \"Soyexample, your pet\u2019s food could have 40% protein but a portion could be\u00a0provided by soy, peas or meat by-product. Meat by-product could include animal hide and hooves. Although you have a high protein content (called biologic value (BV))<\/strong>, these are not easily digestible forms of protein for cats and dogs.<\/p>\n

    Soy has been used as an inexpensive way of adding protein (BV of 67%) to pet foods. However, it is not a species-appropriate pet food, which means dogs and cats won\u2019t naturally seek this out as food. Using soy also ignores that it can cause\u00a0food sensitivities, potential hormonal issues, and interfere with thyroid function. However, don\u2019t congratulate yourself yet if your pet food does not have soy or peas in it<\/p>\n

    In terms of plant protein, Soy is a good source of Lysine and Tryptophan.\u00a0Note that as your dog gets older, their requirement for proteins go up<\/strong> even in animals with kidney disease. A study by Dr. Delmar Finco, showed that \u201cmortality was actually higher in the low protein group\u201d1<\/sup> for dogs with renal disease where \u201cthere were no adverse effects of the high protein diet.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n

    Do Dogs & Cats Need Fats and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Pet Food?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Next in terms of need is Fats, which is rich in energy and provides the essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6s). <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Omega-3 fatty acids tend to have an anti-inflammatory benefit and common sources tend to be flaxseed oils and fish\/krill oils<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019d suggest the krill oils are better\u00a0as they have the antioxidant Astaxanthin but you could rotate between these sources.<\/p>\n

    What Vitamins and Minerals Should Be in Pet Food?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Vitamins and minerals in food are essential for life.<\/span><\/strong> There are 2 types of Vitamins: \"Cat<\/p>\n