Grains or No Grains? What is the answer to feeding or not feeding them to your pet?
As you may have discovered by investigation, there is a variety of information on the inclusion of grains in a pets diet. Should you add them, lots of them, a small portion of grains or no grains at all?
Did you know?
- Cats and dogs can’t break down and digest whole grains directly from the plant source. In the wild, cats and dogs ingest grains from gut content of their prey animals.
- The grain has already been chewed and partially digested by the prey of the animal. It has also been fermenting in the animal’s gut at 38.5C, which allows a great deal of nutrition to be released.
Are Grains Safe?
Yes, they are safe when implementing them into your pet’s diet. See below for my reasons why:
- Grains are perfectly natural for your pet’s consumption, but they must be presented as whole grains, unprocessed, crushed and pre-fermented, to mimic the grains found in their prey gut content.
- Your pet’s diet can include a small portion of grains as a source of carbohydrate, with their fresh meat, plus some green vegetable matter.
- Whole grains are a valuable source of nutrition and provide natural roughage to support normal healthy bowel movements.
Dogs Versus Cats
What is the difference between dogs and cats when it comes to grains?
- Dogs are omnivores and thrive on a combination of meat, plant-based material, including grains, fruits and vegetable matter, and their bodies are fully able to process these grains when presented in the appropriate form (up to 20% of the diet).
- Cats differ slightly because they are true carnivores and need to consume fresh meat to survive. They are not scavengers like dogs and will only eat fresh prey. Cats do consume some grains in the wild, but grains should make up less than 10% of a cat’s total diet.
Lenny’s Kitchen Natural & Complete Muesli is a simple and convenient way to feed your dog or cat grains in a raw food diet.
By Dr Bruce Syme
