Sudden change in diet for cats and dogs can lead to significant intestinal upset. Let’s look at the main causes and how we can manage the dietary transition to a new feed to reduce discomfort for both pet and owner.
When a pet is on a regular source of nutrition for a period of time, the gut adapts to that particular source of nutrition. A sudden change of diet disrupts that adaptation, often leading to a change in stool quality and quantity. Due to the different compositional make up of different ingredients, digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract struggle to adapt quickly enough when there is sudden change. This leads to a larger stool due to a less efficient digestive capacity and a small but significant change in the water content in the colon leading to looser stools.
Slowly introducing a new diet is highly recommended to reduce any potential discomfort to your pet. Many pet foods recommend a dietary transition plan on their packaging which will assist to reduce any potential negative effects. A typical dietary transition plan will occur over the course of a week starting with split of 75% existing diet to 25% of the new diet for 2-3 days, then moving to a 50/50 ratio for another 2-3 days, after that it moves to a 25% existing diet to 75% of the new diet for another 2-3 days and then finally moving to 100% of the new diet. This will assist the digestive enzymes to adapt better to the new diet which can assist reduce discomfort
Cherish Pet Food has a dietary transition plan on the side panel of every bag to assist with the adaptation to our range of pet food and to nourish mind, body and spirit.
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