Q. What is the best dry food for my little long-haired female Chihuahua?

ANSWER : A. It would actually be better to feed your kitten canned food, as dry food has a lot of carbohydrates. Cats are obligatory carnivores, and not carb-eaters. In order to give you an amount to feed for dry food I would need to know which food you are feeding as they are all different. I suggest you check on the cat food bag. If the bag does not give you an amount, I would not trust it to be a complete food. You should then get a food from a reputable company such as Hill’s Science diet, or similar. As for wet food feed three times daily around 2oz each time, best to feed the pate style food.

ANSWER : A. They do not require wet food if they have sufficient, complete formula dry food; most cats will self regulate their intake of dry food. You can use sachets as a treat or regular meal but it will be important to monitor their body weight and make sure they are not becoming overweight with the addition to ad lib dry food; you may have to restrict their dry food if this is the case. Every brand is different in its feeding recommendations also so it is impossible to advise about ‘how much food’. Your vet tech can recommend if they need to gain or indeed lose weight and can advise in relation to specific brands for your cats

ANSWER : A. You should be offering her some wet cat food. Any brand is okay, but you could find a high quality food if you look hard. Cats prefer getting their water from their food, so it’s important to use wet food for a cat instead of just dry food. It’s okay to feed her white meat chicken, and things like that if you want, but you should definitely be feeding some sort of CAT FOOD.. and I bet wet food would be appealing to her considering it’s very moist, like baby food. You can even mash it up further, and look for a food that is really liquidy.

ANSWER : A. Cats with stopped up noses tend to eat much less, as you’ve noted, because they can’t smell their food as well. And the smell of food is pretty important to a cat’s appetite. You can start by warming up the food in a microwave – not too hot, test it yourself by putting your finger right in the center, as the temperature of microwave food can vary – as this will intensify the smell and hopefully make your cat more interested.

Saline nose drops, like those that are used on little kids, are safe to use on a cat to clean the discharge that is dried around and in the nose. There’s a brand called Little Noses that’s available in the U.S. That I like. You can put it on a q-tip and try to remove the debris. Humidifying the air with a humidifier can help as well, or you can put the cat in the bathroom and run the shower enough to generate steam. Don’t use “real” nose drops like Neo-synephrine or anything else like that – cats quickly build up resistance to them.

A 3 oz can of food is an OK amount in 24 hours, but do try the techniques above to help your cat get more interested in food. You might also try some baby food – no garlic or onions in the ingredients – as cats usually really like the taste of it.

ANSWER : A. I’m going to recommend a dog food that is extremely expensive, but absolutely worth the price. It is a food that is fantastic for dogs with many allergies because it is essentially just air-dried raw meat, muscles, vitamins, and kelp. It is called Ziwipeak http://ziwipeak.com/ and it is the best dog food on the market! I feed it to my dog so I do not have to worry about getting raw-food portions right. If you’re worried about the price, there are so many other types of food out there you’ve probably never heard of. You do not have to get food through the vet in order to find the right food for your dog. Many grain-free foods are typically good for dogs with allergies, brands like Merrick, Taste of the Wild, Orijen, etc are great kibbles. It may be pricey, but it’s all about trial and error here unless your vet can tell you exactly what the allergy is and how to manage it.

ANSWER : A. Is your dog on a senior dog food? I would get your dog on a high quality high protien dog food. Ask a pet store assosicate or your regular vet for a food recommendation. When you buy a better food the dog will have to eat less to get the same amount of energy from the food. The dog has to eat more of the cheaper foods to get the energy it needs from it. Meaning more poop and buying more food. So the cost really evens out. So the lessen your dogs bowel movements get on a better senior dog food. Next talk to your vet they may have a recommendation. If you switch dogs do it slowly by mixing the foods. Start with 10% new 90% old mixed for at least a week until you have switched to 100% new 0% old. Senior foods have more fiber to help with bowel movements. Take the dog outside to go potty more frequently, right before bed time.

ANSWER : A. If you are on the dry diet you may wish to see if your veterinarian offers a wet food version of the prescription which can then be mixed with the dry food in small amounts to make it more palatable. If on dry food only, you can try to add some water to the food to moisten it and increase palatability. Bland foods such as boiled chicken or scrambled eggs (with nothing added to them) may also be added in small amounts to make it more palatable however it is always best to check with your treating vet prior to adding them in case there is an interaction with any supplements or medications you are giving.

ANSWER : A. Both types of food are good. If you want to use dry food you can always soften it up with warm water before giving it to your dog. It is easier to overfeed dry food and cause bloat but when given the right dose dry food is fine.