Handling alternative dietary requests from pet owners

Abstract

The goal of this article was to provide veterinary practitioners with an overview of the types of alternative dietary options available to pet owners and a practical method by which to evaluate the nutritional adequacy of these various options. Our approach to categorizing the alternative dietary options is based on the nutritional adequacy of these dietary options, because patients will be at risk for nutrition-related diseases if fed a nutritionally incomplete or improperly balanced diet long term.

Keywords: Alternative diets; Commercial pet foods; Homemade diets (cooked, raw); Nutritional adequacy; Nutritional assessment; Unconventional diets.