Pet Diets and Nutrition: Helpful Links

Nutrition and diet plays a huge role in management of many, if not most, endocrine disorders affecting dogs and cats—just consider diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, Cushing's syndrome, and hyper- and hypothyroidism.

If you are like me, you didn't have a nutrition class during your veterinary training, at least one that had anything to do with canine or feline nutrion. And even if you did have a class, it's very likely that you may have slept through most of it, and you need nutrition help from time to time. If that is the case, you're not alone!

Below I've listed some links to websites that deals with various issues of nutrition, nutrion consultant services for vets and/or the pet owner, and tools to help in dogs and cats with obesity to help with weight loss. I've also included a section on home cooking and BARF (biologically appropriate raw food) diets since many of our clients ask us their use.

Nutrition Services for Veterinarians:

• American College of Veterinary Nutrition (help to find a veterinary nutritionist)
• Pet Diet Nutrition Consults
• Nutrition Support Service, University of California Davis
• Nutrition Support Service, Ohio State University
• Clinical Nutrition Program, University of California – San Diego
• University of Tennessee Veterinary Nutrition Service
• University of Missouri Clinical Nutrition Service
• Tufts University Clinical Nutrition Veterinary Specialty

Pet Nutrition Sites for Pet Owners Interested in Home Cooked Diets:

• Pet Diets
• BalanceIT
• Nutrition Support Service, Ohio State University

Obesity/Weight Loss Sites:

• Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP)
• Pet-to-Human Weight Equivalent Charts
• Calorie Calculators
• Calorie Content Database Searcher

FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition:

• Bad Bug Book — a refresher on "bad bugs" that can be found in pet food

Feeding Raw or BARF Diets (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food):

• Raw Learning (pro-BARF perspective)
• Barf World (another pro-BARF perspective)
• FDA: Is it safe for me to provide my pet with a raw food diet?
• Center for Veterinary Medicine Offers Advice on Raw Meat Diets
• Center for Veterinary Medicine Issues Draft Guidance on Raw Meat Diets
• FDA Issues Final Guidance on Raw Meat for Animals
• FDA Tips for Preventing Foodborne Illness Associated with Pet Food & Pet Treats
• Feline Nutrition Education Society
• Making Cat Food: CatInfo.org

Food Recalls, Market Withdrawals, And Safety Alerts:

• Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts
• Recalls & Withdrawals

Nutrition Tools and Calculators:

• Guaranteed Analysis Convertor
• Energy Requirement Calculator
• Binky's Nutrition Page (carbohydrate & protein content in cat canned/dry foods)

Other Informative Sites for Cats:

• Binky's Nutrition Page (carbohydrate & protein content in cat canned/dry foods)
• Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
• Cat Nutrition
• Feline Nutrition Education Society