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Hello,
and welcome to
Cat Puz zles!
The
Human-Companion Animal Bond:
The Bond and Behavioral Aspects of Feeding, Part 2
By Myrna Milani, BS, DVM
An old truism states that nothing is nutritional if the animal won't
eat it. Unfortunately, many times we forget that feeding our pets consists
of five separate components that determine how much benefit our pets
derive from what they eat:
" What we feed our pets
" Where we feed our pets
" When we feed our pets
" How we feed our pets
" Why we feed our pets
Let's exploring each one of these individually and see what it can teach
us about quality pet mealtimes.
The Ideal Diet
The most we can say about the ideal diet is that it's
exactly that: an ideal. The more researchers learn about the nutritional
needs of dogs, cats, and other pets, the more they realize they still
need to know. Meanwhile the processes of domestication, development
of more purebreds with limited gene pools, and the introduction of new
breeds from exotic locations daily adds more variables that complicate
the quest for that ideal. Diets considered "totally balanced"
ten years ago no longer earn that designation today; ten or even five
years from now, the same may hold true for today's nutritional offerings.
So what's a concerned owner to do? As with so many aspects of pet ownership,
becoming an informed consumer underlies the selection of the ideal diet
for your pet. Although clever advertising and promotional strategies
may attract you, don't let these serve as the sole reason you choose
a particular product. Make sure it meets your pet's nutritional and
any special (behavioral, medical, age, etc.) needs, too. If you're not
sure, check with your veterinarian. Also, many pet food manufacturers
list toll- free customer service numbers and web site addresses you
can contact for further information about their particular products.
And don't forget about that prime ingredient of any good diet: fresh
water. Our pets need fresh, clean water every bit as much as we do.
Because of this, make it a habit to change your pet's water every time
you feed it-and don't forget to wash the water bowl when you clean your
pet's food dish daily.
Pet Dining Areas
When most of us think of the ideal environment in which
to eat our ideal meals, visions of serene surroundings invariably come
to mind. Not surprisingly, few pets feel comfortable eating and drinking
unless they feel reasonably safe and secure in their feeding area, either.
Presumably this connection between security and eating becomes established
when each newborn mammal gravitates toward its own guaranteed milk supply
furnished by a warm, protective, caring animal mom. The runt of the
litter might not get the fullest or most accessible breast, but that
comfy food source is his or hers alone.
Compare that pastoral scene with what Patsy, the Grover's, cat experiences.
The Grovers put Patsy's food and water dishes in the corner of their
busy kitchen next to the counter.
"We keep them there so we don't accidentally kick them and because
we keep her food in the corner cupboard under the counter," Ms.
Grover gives an explanation familiar to many pet owners.
However, eating in that area poses several problems for Patsy. First,
a lot of activity takes place on the counter above her head. This occurs
because the Glovers typically feed their pet when they prepare their
own meals. One of the Glover children puts food into Patsy's bowel,
then turns her attention to making a pizza. Compared to the dry food
in her bowl, the scents and texture of those pizza fixings offer Patsy
a much more tantalizing mealtime option and she pesters her owner for
treats. Her owner succumbs to the feline begging and drops bits of cheese
and pepperoni to her pet which the cat gobbles up instead of eating
her own food. In this case, something as seemingly unrelated as the
placement of Patsy's food bowl results in an overweight cat on an unbalanced
diet.
Certain feeding locations also may serve as a source of stress for our
pets. The position of Dante's food bowls tucked against the kitchen
wall forces the timid dog to eat and drink with his back to the room.
Because feeding in this position makes him feel vulnerable, he won't
eat or drink if visitors or any other perceived threats occupy the kitchen.
Other animals who find themselves in this position may move their food
to other, more secure areas, carting chunks of canned food under the
couch or owner's bed to eat in private. Cats may flick both dry food
and water out of their bowls so they can eat and drink facing the room
instead of with their backs to it. (Some cats will also do this if their
whiskers touch the sides of the bowl when they put their heads in it
to feed.) Both cats and dogs may cover their food with paper, articles
of their owners' clothing, or other objects carrying the owner's scent
to protect it. This behavior harkens back to one in wild dogs and cats
called caching whereby they hide food until optimum feeding conditions
occur.
Pause here a moment and think about where you feed your pet. Did you
select it because it offers a safe haven in which your pet can eat and
drink comfortably? How does your pet act while eating? Does it gobble
down the food while keeping one eye on all other activities in the area?
Is it constantly looking over its shoulder? If you have more than one
pet, do the animals interfere with each other during mealtimes? What
about people: do they deliberately or inadvertently distract the animal
when it's trying to eat or drink?
If your evaluation reveals any weak spots, consider making some changes.
Timid animals and those in multiple pet households often feel more comfortable
eating in their own private space, such as a crate or carrier. Even
something as simple as an upside down box with a pet-sized opening cut
in one side can serve as a private dining room to ensure a calmer mealtime
ambiance.
If space doesn't allow for such changes, sometimes changing the time
we feed our pets can improve the quality of their mealtimes. In fact,
changing feeding times can produce other benefits, too, and we'll discuss
these and the other elements of quality pet mealtimes in detail in the
next commentary. (Part 2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2005, Myrna Milani, TippingPoint, Inc, Charlestown, NH All
Rights Reserved Worldwide
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to read about
cats? Myrna has written some great articles about them and other animals
and the human-animal bond. To read them, go here: www.mmilani.com
Publishers, you are welcome
to reprint this article in its entirety provided you retain the above
resource box and include this notice, plus notify us of the day(s) you
will be running it.
I care. If any of the links above do not work, please
email me
with the name of the link here:
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