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Apart from age, degree of activity, environment, pregnancy, lactation and disease remember that all animals are individuals and vary in their efficiency at processing foods. It is very important not to overfeed and to reduce the amount fed at the first sign of obesity.
There are various food types which you can feed your pet but always remember to feed a balanced diet.
You can make you own food for animals but this can be very difficult and time consuming. Also it is difficult to ensure that you have the correct minerals and vitamins in the correct amounts. It is much easier to buy a food which is already made in the correct proportions.
The commercial foods are generally very good and have the amounts to be fed daily on the labels. These foods come in three main types;
Tinned food is available as a complete diet or for mixing with the corresponding dry food. When it comes as a complete food this means that you do not have to add anything to it to ensure that your pet has a balanced diet. Other tinned foods have to be mixed with a meal or biscuit in order for it to be a balanced diet. These foods can be quite expensive to buy, and once opened do not keep for very long.
Dry food can be complete or a mixer. If it is a mixer then it has to be fed with the corresponding tinned food. Dry foods are the easiest to store and the most economical to buy. When feeding dry food a plentiful supply of water should always be available.
Semi-moist foods are highly processed foods which are balanced diets and can be fed on their own. It doesn't store very well and is quite expensive to buy.
All of these foodstuffs have their advantages and disadvantages. If you find one that your pet likes and has no upsets with then it is best to stick to that one food. Animals on the whole are quite happy with the same food and, unlike humans, can quite happily live on the same food throughout their lives.
When feeding your pet it is always a good idea to split their daily food requirement into two meals, one meal in the morning and one in the evening. This will prevent, to some degree, scavenging outside mealtimes.
No matter which food you decide to feed always ensure that your pet has a supply of fresh water available at all times.
Another important point to note is that you should use the food as indicated on the label as different types of food are used in different ways and at different stages of your pet's life.
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