Does dry food cause kidney problems in cats?

Cats are particularly prone to urinary tract problems. They can be separated into upper urinary tract ( kidney and ureters) and lower urinary tract ( bladder and urethra) disease.
Most people when asking about this problem are referring to lower urinary tract disease -there was some speculation that dry diets were direct contributors to the incidence of bladder and urethra inflammation, infections and crystal formation, all causing symptoms of cystitis (difficulty passing urine).

We now know that there are several contributors to this complex disease- diet, weather
(cats don't like to go outside in the cold and wet, so will avoid toileting, predisposing them to cystitis!), environment ( threatening cats outside may make your cat reluctant to go outdoors), and most importantly- stress. Stress is actually the number one cause of lower urinary tract disease in cats, not diet. It is important that your cat is on a good quality, nutritious diet, as this will help to prevent urinary tract disorders, and when they do develop, we know these cats should be fed a "wet food component"- such as canned food to encourage them to urinate, but there is no direct link between feeding dry food and causing disease.

Does my dog get bored with one food only?

NO!!!! We hear this all the time- people feel their pets are "missing out" by only eating one type of food. If the food is a premium food like Hills or Eukanuba/ Iams, your pet is getting everything they need in the food. Changing the food constantly to try to provide variety will only make them prone to gut and skin problems and make them fussy!

Should I feed my cat milk?

No, we know that the majority of cats are lactose intolerant. This means that the sugar in cows milk can upset the gut of our feline friends - diarrhoea is the most common symptom of this.

Unfortunately, as most cats go to the toilet outside, we often don’t know if our cat had diarrhoea and so their problems go unnoticed. Diarrhoea in turn can cause dangerous weight loss and a poor coat for your cat.

Pet milk is lactose free which is a bit safer, but the best option is to feed a premium food where you know all your cats requirements are covered in one food, and always provide fresh water.

Should I feed my dog bones?

It is known that chewing on bones can help to keep dogs gums and teeth healthy. The problems arise when the bones start to fragment and then the dog starts to actually eat the bones. Your dog can develop all sorts of issues from ingesting bone fragments ranging from constipation to life threatening peritonitis. We recommend bones dogs can chew on but not chew up if you want to feed your dog bones (like the big cannon bones of cattle), but as we have products that can clean your dogs teeth as they eat, you may decide bones provide too much of a headache!