If you want professional pet care advice, you need to seek the expert suggestions of a veterinarian. But, you can make trips to the vet short yet still meaningful if you already know a few things to expect, especially when it comes to pet vitamins. Thus, consider reading through the rest of the article to know the four things vets want you to know about pet vitamins.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Several pet owners think that giving certain supplements or drugs to their pets is relatively safe. But, the joyful disposition might quickly transform into a face filled with horror as the animals' behavior adversely changes.
For example, a cat may no longer jump on the bed, or a dog might not run as much as before. These adverse reactions might be the cause of improper drug or vitamin administration.
Many vets will tell you to exercise prevention as opposed to prioritizing to find a cure. After all, you’d want your pet to always be at peak health. Preventing health complications from happening should be a higher priority than telling yourself that there’ll be a cure.
One way to ensure that you're always exercising precaution in giving your pet medicines or vitamins is to do ample research. Search for legitimate and relative information before attempting to boost your animal companion's nutrition.
For instance, you might want to use Rimadyl for pets. Rimadyl is a brand name of the medicine known as carprofen, an analgesic or a pain-treating drug. Note that this medicine tends to be safe for dogs. However, it might not be without side effects.
Some dog owners reported that giving Rimadyl to their furry friends brought about certain side effects. Some of these pet owners even became heartbroken as their pooches died from the drug. Hence, you must research about certain drugs, vitamins, and supplements for pets before serving these products to your animal companion. It's also an excellent idea to communicate with your veterinarian before giving certain medications and vitamins to reduce potential life-threatening side effects.
Vitamins Differ From Each Other
Keep in mind that different human vitamins and supplements have varying ingredients and properties. Hence, it’s safe to say that this fact also holds true when it comes to vitamins for pets.
For example, manufacturer A created a multivitamin with excellent amounts of vitamin A. But, manufacturer B also developed a product with roughly similar components. But, this product has higher concentrations of B vitamins, particularly vitamins B6 and B12.
Veterinarians may implore pet owners to think about their animals’ nutritional needs before offering certain vitamins and supplements. For instance, your dog might not need additional amounts of vitamin C because you’re already giving them sufficient amounts of the said nutrient in their diet. Therefore, giving multivitamins with abundant vitamin C content might put the excess amounts of this vitamin to waste.
Also, you might put your poor pet at risk of overindulgence for specific vitamins. One example is feeding your cat too much vitamin A. Vitamin A toxicity may take a long time to develop. but the adverse effects might bring unnecessary suffering to your kitty. For one, they might develop a unique form of arthritis, wherein a new bone develops around certain joints. As a result, the animal experiences joint immobility and stiffness. Some cases might also lead to certain bones to fuse, causing severe pain and discomfort.
Therefore, read the labels or product descriptions of vitamins for pets before giving these drugs. Reading product labels shouldn’t take a lot of your valuable time. But, that time spent will protect your animal companion from dire health consequences.
Diet Is Still Essential
Note that treating your pet right doesn’t only mean that you should feed them nothing but vitamins and supplements. It would be best if you still feed your pet balanced diets to promote and maintain excellent wellbeing.
Keep in mind that diets differ for each animal. For example, human-grade meat can help dogs with their daily protein intake. But, giving significant amounts of meat might be harmful to your pooch's health, especially since some meat products contain preservatives.
As for birds, you may substitute the vitamin-rich pellets with whole foods. Some vitamin-enriched foods for birds are spinach, kale, melons, blueberries, and carrots. These food options help your feathered friend to remain at peak health.
But, what will happen if you only feed your pet vitamins and supplements? If so, you're making your animal companion miss certain essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. One example is protein as many pet supplements don't have this macronutrient.
Protein deficiency in pets, particularly in carnivores, like dogs, may promote certain health risks. Your pet pooch might experience hair loss, brittle nails, and dry skin if their body doesn’t have enough protein.
In summary, ensure that you compliment your pet's healthy diet with the right vitamins and supplements. Don't reduce or remove the animal's healthy diet in place of giving more supplements. Otherwise, you’re going to put unwanted risks to your pet’s health (not to mention your veterinarian might become angry at you for disregarding the animal’s diet).
Understand The Potential Risks
Always keep in mind that pet vitamins aren’t ‘cure-alls’ or ‘magic pills’ that can magically turn your animal’s health from bad to good in an instant. Note that serving vitamins or supplements to pets still has some risks involved.
For example, feeding a vitamin to your animal companion might promote dangerous interactions with other drugs. Furthermore, serving human vitamins, especially those in capsules or pills, might not properly dissolve in the animal’s body, causing potential digestive issues.
Given the potential health risks involved, ensure that your pet needs vitamins in the first place. Consult your veterinarian first to reduce the risks of possible vitamin toxicity.
Conclusion
Several veterinarians appeal to pet owners to properly care for their animal friends. Note that proper care doesn't only mean bathing 'Fido' every two weeks. Instead, ensure that your pet has sufficient amounts of essential vitamins in their body. Remember to research the vitamins and supplements you're offering, and never disregard the health benefits of balanced diets. Practice these guidelines, and your animal companion should always have excellent wellbeing.
