By Lisa Parent

Navigating pet nutrition: Vet tech discusses risks of raw food diets and alternatives

Dec 13, 2023 | 6:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Pet owners always want the best for their furry family members. One of the best ways to keep your pets healthy is by feeding them a proper diet.

Suzanne Koenig is a registered veterinary technician at Cypress View Veterinary clinic.

When considering the option of feeding your pet raw food from the grocery store, Koenig emphasizes the difficulty in monitoring the nutritional value of the diet and ensuring your pet maintains a steady weight.

Handling raw meat also introduces risks for both pets and their owners, as pets may be susceptible to contracting illnesses such as salmonella and E. coli.

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Koenig says the best food for your pet is usually a therapeutic line of food, often sold at a vet clinic.

“With the therapeutic lines, all the research has been done by the companies to make sure that they are complete and balanced and good for the pets. Different nutrition can give different results, and we want to make sure that it’s tailored to what that pet would need,” explains Koenig.

She adds, “if the animals are already on a complete and balanced diet, having things added in is not always necessary. If there’s something that needs to be added in, after you’ve talked to your veterinary care provider, they’ll be able to let you know which supplements would be beneficial for that animal.

Koenig says when unsure of what to feed your pet, always talk to a veterinarian.