There are so many misconceptions about the dietary requirements for fibre in cats and dogs. The main one is the mistake of thinking that your pet has the same need for fibre as humans do.
The problem with most commercial pet foods.
Commercial pet foods are full of insoluble ingredients for pets, such as rice, tapioca, starchy vegetables, powdered cellulose or miscanthus grass.
If your pet food already contains 50-70% carbohydrates, any additional source of perceived fibre will be wasted. A good way to see if your dog has dietary problems with fibre is if stools are soft, sloppy and smelly. These are all undigested ingredients you are currently paying for.
However, fibre is essential to building your pet's microbiome and supports bowel health. As with everything, we must feed our pets a diet that is biologically appropriate.
What do wild dogs eat fibre-wise? They mainly consume full animal prey, along with the fur, tendons and ligaments of their catches. They might then nibble on a tiny bit of grass or eat the odd berry. But their main source of fibre is fur and bone.
How about cats? Cats are obligate carnivores, so they require no carbohydrates at all. Their fibre will be the bone, fur, tendons and ligaments of their prey.
How about carrots? How about kale? And...insert food here?
In short, our pets have no dietary requirement for adding vegetables to their diet. It is likely that the pet food you are feeding already has some vegetables in it, so giving your pet an apple or a carrot isn't going to help with fibre.
Our pets sometimes do need help with their gastrointestinal tract, so what can you give them to help?
Natural fur and bone products are unmatched when it comes to how effective, cheap and close to what they would eat in the wild, so they are good sources of added fibre.
Psyllium is also effective at firming up stools.
Additional sources of fibre are slippery elm. When combined with the digestive juices, the mucilage greases and soothes the gastrointestinal tract, firming up stools.
Another source of fibre could be very small amounts of boiled or steamed pumpkin.
If you feed your pet biologically appropriate food, they will get everything they need through it. So you won't need to add anything else to their diet.
Have any questions? Please leave them below.
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Hi, our dog has constant issues with ears and scratching; vet suggests allergies and recommended Royal Canin hypoallergenic; after reading your blog am interested in your thoughts
Can butternut squash or sweet potato be used instead of pumpkin?