Small Animal Nutrition

With a comprehensive review of your pet’s medical history and an evaluation of their current diet, we can provide recommendations for feeding your pet – whether they’re healthy or have a medical condition. Diets can be formulated with preferred ingredients to meet your pet’s unique needs.

Conditions we treat

Gastrointestinal disease

Gastrointestinal disease in dogs and cats can lead to a variety of signs such as vomiting, weight loss, diarrhea, and decreased appetite. Dietary management often involves feeding a highly digestible, novel protein, or hydrolyzed protein diet. In some cases, diet alone will not manage the signs, and medications are required to suppress the inflammation. Conditions that may cause gastrointestinal signs include inflammatory bowel disease, protein-losing enteropathy, lymphangiectasia, and adverse response to food.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas and in some cases an underlying cause cannot be identified. The pancreas produces enzymes that aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Liver disease

Diets for liver disease require assessment of your pet’s liver function to determine the best nutritional approach.

Kidney disease

As kidney function changes the ability to eliminate metabolic waste can be compromised. Selecting a diet that will provide the essential nutrients without excess protein and phosphorus is beneficial.

Urinary stones

The formation of crystals and stones in the bladder is related to multiple factors, not all of which can be controlled for. Using diet to reduce the risk of urinary crystals and stones has been shown to be successful.

Cancer

While many pet owners and veterinarians are interested in the interaction between diet and cancer, many of the strategies implemented for the nutritional management of neoplastic diseases in dogs and cats are based on extrapolation of data taken from people, which may not always be applicable. The primary consideration in cancer patients is to provide them with a complete and balanced diet.

Diabetes

Dogs and cats with diabetes have alterations in their ability to utilize glucose. The goals of nutritional management of dogs with diabetes is to provide adequate calories to maintain a healthy weight and appropriate muscle mass.

Critical care

Nutritional support for dogs in cats that are ill or have sustained trauma is important to the recovery process.

Assisted feeding

The use of assisted feeding during an acute or prolonged illness can help ensure adequate calories are provided at a time when the need for nutrients is critical. Some pets with an illness are unwilling to eat the diet that is best for their condition. A feeding tube allows us to provide the nutrition that will meet essential nutrient requirements while still addressing the underlying medical condition.

Combination of medical conditions

Dogs and cats can have a combination of medical conditions that can make diet selection challenging, especially when nutritional management of one condition conflicts with nutritional management of the other condition. When a commercial diet is not available, we can help formulate a complete and balanced recipe to address multiple medical conditions.

Services

Commercial diet feeding plan recommendations

Selecting a commercial diet can be an overwhelming experience. We can help navigate the wide range of options available and create a diet plan for your pet.

Diet analysis

A comprehensive review of your pet’s current diet plan using food composition data from the United States Department of Agriculture’s nutrient database.

Diet formulation for healthy pets

Customized home prepared diet plans start with a review of the diet history. After identifying the ingredients your pet will enjoy, a unique recipe is created for your pet.

Diet formulation for pets with medical conditions

Like obesity, gastrointestinal disease, kidney disease, and liver disease

After a careful review of your pet’s medical and diet history, ingredients are identified to create a unique recipe that will meet the specific needs of your pet’s medical condition.