A COMPLEMENTARY FOOD IS NOT A SNACK… IT IS FOOD!
You’ve definitely found yourself choosing wet food from pet shop shelves or an online store, unable to decide among the multitude of varieties, flavors, textures… and labels!
Yes, because among the types of wet food available to create a complete and balanced diet, we have COMPLETE foods and COMPLEMENTARY foods. And the internet adds to the confusion, where it’s increasingly common to read that complementary foods should only be used as snacks!
COMPLETE VS COMPLEMENTARY FOODS FOR DOGS AND CATS… WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES!
But what are the differences, and what should we pay attention to when choosing them?
A food is defined as COMPLETE when, fed in adequate quantities of that specific product alone, it provides a balanced and correct intake of energy and nutrients: it therefore contains the right amount of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins needed to meet a animal’s minimum and essential requirements.
When we find the COMPLEMENTARY type, on the other hand, we must remember that it is an unbalanced food, therefore lacking in some nutrients and excess in others. It’s important to correctly pair this feed with others, to meet and satisfy the same requirements as before. The ultimate complementary food is the can or pouch of wet food.
WHY COMPLEMENTARY FOODS ARE NOT SNACKS
So is it a more inconvenient or complicated food to use? Or can it be considered a snack, or a treat, rather than a proper meal? Absolutely not! In fact, complementary foods are very important because they make it easier to provide a varied diet. In fact, it’s much simpler to change the flavor of a can than an open bag of kibble. And rotating foods provides a wide variety of nutrients, adding an extra supply of necessary and beneficial substances for the animal itself and its gut microbiota.
The gut microbiota is the set of “good bacteria” present in the intestines of every living being, which feeds on what is provided through the diet and, when in balance, ensures the well-being and harmony of the entire body through complex and delicate regulatory mechanisms.
A healthy microbiota will contribute to the overall health of our animal and can also be ensured through dietary variability that makes its composition varied, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
OTHER BENEFITS OF A MIXED DIET
Adding practical formats of complementary wet food, paired with a complete diet, offers numerous other benefits for dogs and cats, in addition to making a varied diet easier:
- Lower risk of excess calories (and resulting overweight).
- Greater water intake, when paired with complete dry food. In fact, wet food contains an average of 70% moisture compared to just 8-10% in dry food. And, especially in cats, low fluid intake has important consequences
- Complementary wet foods can be made from quality meat or meat by-products, a source of high-quality proteins.
It’s still important to include these in a daily balanced diet aimed at completing the provided nutrients, varying flavor or microbiota substrates: follow the recommended dosages to avoid calorie excesses, which are possible, pair them with complete foods or other complementary foods that provide the missing nutrients, to ensure a correct intake of essential requirements.
COMPLEMENTARY FOODS AS PREY
Pay attention to not using them as snacks or “fillers” because they are actual meals, especially for cats which need frequent small meals. This is a safe way to ensure a varied diet that aligns with their nature.
Just like in nature, a cat’s small prey doesn’t always contain all the nutrients, but they complement each other to provide the amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals felines need that aren’t present in equal quantities in all prey. A wild cat is indeed able to ensure a balanced and varied intake by eating different types of prey, so too for domestic cats we can simulate this trend by using complementary foods in their daily diet.
Dr. Alessandra Calini
Veterinarian specializing in nutrition