FCVC continues from our previous article yesterday looking at what the best dog and cat foods are so that you can make a good an informed choice about what is available on the market and whether it is a good choice for your pet or not. We bring you these researched findings from Reviews.com:
Guide to Finding the Best Dog and Cat Foods
How to find the right dog food for your dog
Explore flavors
Just like humans, dogs have preferences. One of our office dogs, for example, devours salmon with gusto, but acts offended if he’s served bison. Since no single protein source is superior, it’s fine to cater to your dog’s preferences — or to explore a variety of flavors if you’re a new pup owner.
Consider allergies
Signs that your dog may have a food allergy include itchy skin, diarrhea and gassiness. If you don’t think your dog has a food allergy, he’s probably fine: Food allergies make up 10 percent of all dog allergies. But if you’ve noticed any of the issues above, it might be time to switch formulas. “When pets have food sensitivities or allergies, it is most commonly due to protein in the food,” Dr. Gary Richter told us. “Sometimes the problem is a meat like chicken or beef, and sometimes it is the protein component of plant material, such as wheat, corn or rice.”
Research availability
Our top picks are all readily available online, but some companies only distribute regionally or in specialty stores. If you prefer in-person shopping, you might run into some of our regional runners-up on the shelves. Rest assured that they are excellent choices of the best dog and cat foods.
Look at cost
No matter what your budget looks like, don’t feel guilty about sticking to it. If you’re willing and able, and want to splurge for our most expensive dry food on the list (Ziwi Peak), go for it. If you prefer paying less for Fromm Classic, our cheapest pick, we’re confident that it’s a balanced, nutritious and high-quality option. Don’t feel pressured to get the most expensive food in order to be a No. 1 dog (or cat) parent.
Consult your vet
After hundreds of hours of ingredient research and expert interviews, we ended up with 30 top brands of the best dog and cat foods. They’re all great and we’d feel good feeding any of them to our pets. However, you know your dog’s needs best. If you have any concerns, it’s a good idea to talk to your vet about which food will work well. If they’re unfamiliar with the presented issues, it’s recommended to reach out to a Boarded Veterinary Nutritionist for help or clarification. Veterinary nutritionists willing to give advice may be contacted through the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists.
The Best Dog Food
High-quality food helps your pup stay active and playful, with a shiny coat, a good appetite and a healthy weight. We reached out to nearly 50 experts and dug into more than 3,000 dog food formulas to find the very best. While we aren’t veterinarians ourselves, we’re confident all of our recommended brands offer high-quality protein and balanced nutrition. From here, your job is to find a formula your dog likes, at a price you’re comfortable with.
The Best Dry Dog Food Brands
- Fromm Classic
- Fromm Gold
- Holistic Health Extension
- Horizon Amicus
- Horizon Legacy
- Nutri Life
- Orijen Tundra
- Signature Pet Products: Leonard Powell Signature Series
- Tender & True
- Ziwi Peak
The Best Cat Food
The best cat food keeps cats healthy and happy — and it comes in a flavor they love. Any high-quality food needs to feature protein front-and-center, and won’t include any low-quality fillers, artificial additives, or ingredients that are toxic to cats over time. To find the most high-quality options available, we scoured the formulas of over 2,400 dry and wet cat foods on the market, read through research and regulations, and talked to veterinarians about what cats need to thrive.
The Best Cat Food Brands
After we made all of our cuts, the overall quality of our 70 remaining brands was still extremely uneven. A handful, like Orijen and Tiki Cat, led the pack: Every single one of their formulas and flavors hit our benchmarks. Others only offer one or two flavors that match our standards, while the rest of the product line-up is a miss.
Our finalists for best cat food had to fall into one of two camps: an entire brand’s worth of products we could confidently recommend, or a line of formulas within a brand for which we could do the same.
Brands
We found eight all-star options — companies whose every formula met our requirements and passed our cuts across the board.
- Acana Regionals
- Canada Fresh
- Feline Natural
- Holistic Health Extension
- Orijen
- Petite Cuisine
- Tiki Cat
- Ziwi Peak
FCVC vets understand that it can be difficult to find the best dog and cat foods to feed your pets. The top choices may not always be the most budget friendly AND your pets dietary needs may be different from other pets. We can help you figure out the optimum diet for your pet. Give us a call at 970-587-5140.
Related articles that you may find interesting – Pet Food Facts – What’s Really In It? and Recalls – Dog & Cat Food – September 2018
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