Dear Kara: minced diet (Sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition)

I've heard that it's a good idea to feed cats wet food to encourage their water intake. Do you have any recommendations to increase water intake for cats that are on therapeutic foods?

Feeding canned food is a great way to increase water intake in cats. Increased water intake will help in the management of cats with feline lower urinary tract disease. Feeding moist food (>60% moisture) has been associated with a decreased recurrence of clinical signs in cats with feline idiopathic cystitis. Cats being fed a therapeutic food can be fed a canned food, either alone or in addition to the dry food. The special combination of nutrients will be disrupted if the owner changes the combination by feeding the cat a different brand of food. The canned formulas add variety to your cat's food without compromising your cat's health.

I took home an abandoned kitten that was left on our clinic doorstep. While she tested negative for everything in the book, she continues to have diarrhea. I'd like to feed her the new minced formula i/d®, but is it considered a "growth" food?

Following a complete evaluation from your veterinarian, the logical nutritional choice may be Hill's® Prescription Diet® i/d® Feline pet food. The i/d® Feline food is useful as a nutritional aid for cats and growing kittens with gastrointestinal disorders, such as your kitten's diarrhea. The i/d Feline food is formulated with potassium and B-complex vitamins to help replace nutrients lost through diarrhea and is highly digestible to ensure easy assimilation by the gastrointestinal tract. The i/d Feline and i/d® Canine foods offer appropriate levels of protein, fat, and calories to meet the special nutritional needs of growing kittens and puppies respectively. When feeding i/d to puppies or kittens, feed three to six small meals per day.

Food for Thought

Do you have any food suggestions for a Westie that has a severe food allergy? She has no teeth and trouble eating dry food.

A food allergy is best determined by a food elimination trail. If this Westie does not eat dry food consistently and the veterinarian's recommendation is for a canned food—Hill's® Prescription Diet® z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free Canine pet food, found in a 13 oz or a 5.5 oz can, should be the recommendation. This product has a single, highly digestible carbohydrate source that is formulated for adverse reactions to food and has no intact animal protein. It is enriched with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to help manage inflammation and nourish the dog's skin and coat. Finally, added antioxidants helps maintain a healthy immune system and the skin barrier function.

Is it true that wet food contributes to poor oral health in dogs and cats?

Studies demonstrate that the surface of teeth may be slightly cleaner in animals that are fed dry foods; however, this does not mean that a significant dental benefit is provided. There are specifically formulated and processed dental foods that effectively clean a pet's teeth as the pet chews, such as Hill's® Prescription Diet® t/d®. These pet foods provide significant dental benefits compared with a typical food, regardless of formulation.

Is it best to feed a combination of wet and dry food, or only one type of food?

Unless otherwise recommended by a veterinarian, the choice to feed both canned and dry food is pet and owner specific. Many pet owners—41% of dog owners and 67% of cat owners—prefer to feed both dry and canned food to their pets, thereby offering their pets a variety. The healthcare team should be aware that many owners use a canned food to top-dress the dry food or to treat their pet. However, many patients that are fed a therapeutic food are also being fed other pet foods or table scraps. To increase nutritional compliance, the healthcare team needs to reinforce the veterinarian's recommendation and educate the client on how the use of any other food formulations or table scraps in conjunction with the therapeutic food will dilute the power of the therapeutic nutrition.

A lot of our cats with chronic kidney failure lose weight and their appetite. What can we do to keep these cats in their best condition?

The healthcare team should recommend a therapeutic food early in the management of chronic kidney disease, but should not feed the food while the cat is hospitalized to help avoid a food aversion. It is critical, in all cases, to transition the pet to a new food over seven to 10 days to increase acceptance of the new food and decrease potential gastrointestinal issues. You should also educate owners to feed the food at room temperature. Feeding Hill's® Prescription Diet® k/d® Feline minced is a great way for your cats to gain the precise nutrition needed from a pet food formulated to manage cats with kidney disease.

We have a client who, at our doctor's recommendation, feeds dry Hill's® Prescription Diet® d/d® pet food to her cat. But the client also feeds the cat canned tuna. Do you have an alternate suggestion?

The veterinarian's recommendation needs to be reinforced by the healthcare team. This patient was recommended a novel protein food for a specific disease condition. Many pet owners prefer feeding both dry and moist varieties to their pet. Hill's has dry and moist formulations for the majority of the foods they make, and Hill's® Prescription Diet® z/d® and d/d® pet foods, which are formulated to nutritionally manage pets with food allergies, are available in both moist and dry formulations. In place of top dressing and/or treating with other wet or moist foods, educate the owner about Hill's Prescription Diet d/d moist pet foods. This will allow the cat to get the same precise nutrition and a more natural texture.

"Treating" with anything other than the recommended food or Hill's® Prescription Diet® Hypoallergenic Treats, may interfere with the d/d food, may provide excess calories and thus weight gain, and may expose the cat to higher levels of certain minerals. Most importantly, feeding anything other than the recommended Prescription Diet will actually dilute the power of the therapeutic nutrition.

Kara M. Burns, MS, MEd, LVT Veterinary Technician Specialist Hill's Pet Nutrition

Kara M. Burns, MS, MEd, LVT

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