In this episode of the Pet Nutrition Show, hosts Amanda and Dr. Anna Sutton discuss the dietary needs of puppies and kittens, including the risks of giving calcium supplements, differences in growth rates and nutritional requirements between small and large breeds, and the importance of high-quality protein, vitamins, and minerals.
They also touch on the challenges of home feeding versus commercial diets, and suggest supplementing with omega-3s and antioxidants. Dr. Anna provides a practical food hack using baby food to introduce pets to new flavours and textures.
00:00 Welcome to the Pet Nutrition Show
00:28 Pet Q&A: Can I Give My Puppy a Calcium Supplement?
01:44 Understanding Puppy and Kitten Growth Rates
04:45 Nutritional Needs of Puppies and Kittens
10:33 Breed-Specific Nutrition: Fact or Fiction?
16:35 Commercial vs. Homemade Diets
18:21 Home Food Hacks: Treats for Puppies and Kittens
FEED GUIDE NOTES:
Feeding Puppies
- Caloric Requirements: Rule of thumb method
- Small Breed Puppies: Higher metabolic rate, requiring about 110-130 calories per kg per day.
- Medium Breed Puppies: Moderate metabolic rate, requiring about 90-110 calories per kg per day.
- Large Breed Puppies: Lower metabolic rate per pound, requiring about 65-90 calories per kg per day.
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Adjusting Based on Activity and Growth: Monitor your puppy’s body condition and weight against the growth charts for their breed and adjust the food intake as needed. Puppies should have a visible waist when viewed from above and a tucked-up belly. Adjust portions if they seem to be gaining too much weight or not growing as expected.
- Frequency of Feeding:
- Under 4 months: 4 meals per day.
- 4-6 months: 3 meals per day.
- Over 6 months: 2 meals per day.
Feeding Kittens
- Caloric Requirements: Kittens typically require about 110 -130 calories per kg of body weight per day ( divide by 2 for every 1/2 kg)
- Adjusting Based on Activity and Growth: just like dogs, monitor the kitten’s body condition and adjust food intake accordingly. Kittens should be lean but not too thin, with a visible waist and a smooth, rounded tummy. Adjust feeding portions if the kitten appears too thin or is gaining weight too quickly.
- Frequency of Feeding:
- Under 6 months: 3-4 meals per day.
- 6-12 months: 2-3 meals per day.
- Over 12 months: Transition to adult feeding schedule, typically 2 meals per day.
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Have a listen to the show, but if you’re more of a reader, here's the transcript:
[00:00:00] INTRO: This is the Pet Nutrition Show with Amanda and Dr. Anna.
[00:00:06] AMANDA: Welcome to the Pet Nutrition Show, where we talk pet nutrition with a sustainable focus. And I'm here with my co host, Dr. Anna Sutton, who will be talking about Diets for puppies and kittens.
[00:00:17] ANNA: I certainly am. And I do love puppies and kittens. Who doesn't like puppies and kittens, Amanda?
[00:00:22] AMANDA: But before we get into that very interesting subject, there's time now for Q& A.
[00:00:28] INTRO: Pet Q& A, where we answer what you're wondering about food, moods, and poos.
[00:00:34] AMANDA: Now, Anna, the question is Can I give my puppy a calcium supplement?
[00:00:39] ANNA: Yeah, that's a really good one. And I think it probably comes out from the human world where people go and give their children, you know, little calcium supplements or lots of glasses and milk and so forth.
[00:00:50] ANNA: For puppies, especially, also for kittens, Giving a calcium supplement to your pup unless they actually need it and your vet has said they [00:01:00] need to have one is really a no go and that's because Puppies don't regulate their calcium absorption very well at all Actually, they don't start really doing that till about six months of age So, when you go and give a calcium supplement to a young pup, you can upset the balance of calcium and phosphorus.
[00:01:20] ANNA: And what that can do is interfere with skeletal development. So, so bottom line, please don't give your, your puppy or kitten calcium supplements unless you're a vet. Says you need to.
[00:01:33] AMANDA: Okay. Good to know because we do often do things which are sort of, you know, I do it for me. So why wouldn't I do it for you?
[00:01:40] AMANDA: That kind of thing. Yeah, absolutely. So let's get to the. the main game here and talk diets for puppies and kittens. But, but first up, how different are puppies and kittens really?
[00:01:51] ANNA: Yeah, it's funny. I used to, to think about puppies and kittens and think, Oh, well, there's probably not much difference really.
[00:01:57] ANNA: But when you take a step back and think about it, [00:02:00] actually there is. And of course, one of the obvious ones is that puppies and dogs in general come in all shapes and sizes. I mean, you've got from like one kilo, haven't you? Oh, all right. Two to three kilos. One kilo is a bit low. That's a pretty
[00:02:16] AMANDA: skinny
[00:02:16] ANNA: dog.
[00:02:16] ANNA: That is pretty tiny, isn't it? All the way up to like 80 kilos, huge dogs. So there's a huge variance for growth rates, so much, much wider than there is actually in cats. Cats, uh, on the other hand, uh, you know, yeah, you have small cats and, and big, and big cats, but you might go to, you know, I suppose around 10 or 11 kilos for a huge cat.
[00:02:41] ANNA: You know, a big, big feral type or the Bengal type breed, where the average cat's around five kilos, isn't it? So it's not nearly the range of growth that you get in a dog. So thinking about a growth there, puppies actually get to about 50 percent of their adult weight in the first [00:03:00] six months of life. And yeah, if you put it in those numbers, well, that's anything from, you know, You know, a couple of kilos, all the way up to, you know, 40 kilos, so it's huge.
[00:03:10] AMANDA: So dogs get to half their adult weight in the first six months of life. And where do kittens get to in the first six months of life?
[00:03:19] ANNA: Yeah, kittens are Again, fairly similar in that regard. They grow hugely in the first six months and then it slows down. Where it's different though is that kittens reach their adult weight usually by 12 months, whereas puppies, particularly for the large breed dogs, they can go on still growing for up to two years.
[00:03:41] ANNA: So there's definitely difference in growth rates.
[00:03:44] AMANDA: So just to get this picture in my head, basically. A cat is growing at a relatively even rate, that suggests, right, because they got to half their adult weight in the first six months and then they reached basically their adult weight in the next six months.
[00:03:58] AMANDA: So that's pretty [00:04:00] even.
[00:04:00] ANNA: Yeah, much more even.
[00:04:01] AMANDA: And so then what you're saying is that dogs tend to get to 50 percent of their adult weight in the first six months, so they're growing very, very quickly. And then over the next, up to 24 months, that's the remainder of their weight is then being put on at a slower rate.
[00:04:16] AMANDA: Or the growth at a slower rate. Is that correct? Yeah, that's
[00:04:19] ANNA: right. And that affects lots of different things, including their skeletal rate of growth and so forth. And that's why, you know, small dogs are not big dogs. Small puppies are really not quite the same as big puppies because of these difference in rate of growth.
[00:04:35] ANNA: So cats are like small dogs in that regard.
[00:04:38] AMANDA: And so if we're just looking at dogs then, what does that mean from a nutrition perspective? Let's just Let's just talk dogs. What does that mean from a nutrition perspective?
[00:04:48] ANNA: So, from a nutrition perspective, it means that small dogs and large dogs have slightly different nutritional needs.
[00:04:57] ANNA: So, all of them, regardless, need [00:05:00] high protein, high quality protein. But for in terms of energy requirements, the smaller breeds typically need a higher energy requirement than the larger breeds because their metabolism is, is higher. And then for the larger breeds, we actually tend to slow, reduce that energy a little bit so that we don't let them grow too fast between the age of six, six months and two years.
[00:05:26] ANNA: What happens if they do? So if they grow too fast and you give them excess nutrients, and particularly if you max out the energy. And if you match this with an imbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio, what happens is essentially the bones grow too fast and you get these bony abnormalities and lameness and all sorts of joint issues.
[00:05:47] ANNA: And it's really not a good thing for the dog. So controlling growth through that six months to two year mark is really important, particularly for those giant dogs. So that's dogs. If we go back to kittens, they also [00:06:00] need. a higher protein diet than an adult, and actually they need much, much more than a dog.
[00:06:05] ANNA: So for example, a dog, you might go for a small breed dog 20, 26, 28%. Again, large breed dog, you might go 26, 28. Even for small breed dog, you could go higher than that. But a kitten, That's on a dry matter basis. A kitten could be, could be looking as high as, you know, 32, 33, 35 percent protein on a dry matter basis.
[00:06:30] ANNA: And higher fat as well, around usually 18, 20 percent to support their rapid growth and energy needs. So that's one of the other differences with puppies and kittens there.
[00:06:41] AMANDA: And so, when do they move from mother's milk to solid food?
[00:06:46] ANNA: Well, it's usually around that four to eight week mark. By eight weeks, both kittens and puppies are generally weaned by that point.
[00:06:56] ANNA: It's quite a challenging process, though, I have to say.
[00:06:59] AMANDA: [00:07:00] So what are the implications of this rapid growth, particularly the non, non linear, I guess, growth profile for dogs? What are the challenges that that poses for home feeders?
[00:07:11] ANNA: Well, it's several fold. It's matching the energy requirements to the dog, making sure they've reached the protein requirements and not being accessible or essentially having the right calcium phosphorus ratio as well as all the vitamins and minerals that puppies, all puppies actually need.
[00:07:31] ANNA: So, you know, if we think about vitamin and mineral needs for a minute, and home feed diets. Well, the essential vitamins for puppies are vitamin A for visual development, D for growth and bone growth, E for immunity, as well as the B vitamins that are essential for all dogs. And when you're home formulating, you need to get these in the right amounts.
[00:07:52] ANNA: And, and generally the requirements are higher for puppies than adult dogs. Vitamin A is a good example [00:08:00] here. Kittens. Again, I've gone on topic into kittens here, but kittens also have higher vitamin and mineral requirements than adult cats specifically in vitamin A. And then their calcium phosphorus requirements are about the same actually as an adult cat.
[00:08:17] ANNA: Whereas in dogs, the calcium phosphorus amounts are higher in a puppy, but the ratio tolerance is actually a little bit lower. And then the other thing that, uh, you need to think about when you're home feeding pups versus an adult dog is they have higher iron, zinc, and copper requirements than their adult counterparts.
[00:08:37] ANNA: Kittens are a bit the same, but they're alright on iron and zinc, similar levels to the adult, but they need more copper, for example. And the reason copper is so important, by the way, it's an important cofactor in lots of different biological reactions. So that's why you need it so much during that rapid growth period where you've got the bone and nervous system development into immune function and blood formation [00:09:00] and so forth.
[00:09:00] AMANDA: So it sounds like it can be a little bit complicated to work out how much. Kittens and puppies need at various stages of their growth curve, and we can put some notes about that in the show notes to help people, but I'm just wondering if you're not getting it right, what are some deficiencies that might then arise?
[00:09:24] ANNA: Yeah, look, luckily you don't see too many nutritional deficiencies these days, but if you don't get it right, You'll see it in their overall well being. So, for example, if the food's not meeting its energy requirements, your pup or kitten will be skinny or light versus their growth charts, and you'll start to see the ribs.
[00:09:45] ANNA: And you kind of don't want that in a pup or a kitten. If it's a specific nutrient, let's say it's a vitamin or a mineral, then you'll see it in there overall, you see it in, in lethargy, in just not, not thriving well. If it's [00:10:00] something like DHA or taurine or vitamin A, again, you'll see those sorts of issues do pop up with raw feeding and you can see issues with learning or visual development in In terms of DHA and vitamin A, you typically see through skin disorders.
[00:10:16] ANNA: So, sort of the easiest way to look at it is if your pup or kitten is not thriving, then it's time to go and have a look, go and visit your vet and see whether it's a nutritional deficiency at fault or whether they've got another underlying condition for that matter.
[00:10:32] AMANDA: And what about different breeds? Is there breed specific nutrition?
[00:10:35] AMANDA: I mean, I, I see on some, let's just say large pet care brands, that they do promote the sort of breed specific nutrition idea, but is that marketing or is it sort of
[00:10:47] ANNA: Yeah, look, that's an interesting one. So if you look at the AFCO or FIDIAF nutritional guidelines, they don't differentiate between breeds, right?
[00:10:55] ANNA: So you've got one set of guidelines for puppies and you've got one set for, or [00:11:00] growth, shall I say, and another set for maintenance, or adults for that matter. But, but these are guidelines. They're not actually guidelines. optimal nutrition and in terms of breed specific nutrition, yes, there probably is something in it.
[00:11:12] ANNA: So, for example, the smaller dogs like the Chihuahua or the little Dachshunds, you know, tiny sausage dogs, they have much higher metabolic rates than, for example, my big lab. And so their food needs to be balanced. higher energy density. So they need to be more nutrient dense, higher in protein and fat to support their rapid growth.
[00:11:32] ANNA: And then the kibble size really needs to be adjusted to accommodate the small mouths because when they're little, their mouth and teeth are really little compared to say Lester when he was a pup, you know, so you kind of get my, my meaning. But if you go to the medium breeds like Beagle, for example, those breeds beautiful cocker spaniels.
[00:11:53] ANNA: They need more of a balanced diet that supports steady growth without excessive weight gain or, or, you know, which can lead to [00:12:00] all sorts of things. And then when you get to dogs like my dog, the larger breeds like the labs or the Great Danes because they, their growth is really, really fast. They have a longer growth period and they're prone to skeletal problems that we just discussed.
[00:12:13] ANNA: We have to control their diet to manage levels of calcium and phosphorus and we need to manage the fat levels and energy densities because we don't want them to grow too fast. So yeah, absolutely. And I could go on and on and on about this, but that's probably about all you want for
[00:12:28] AMANDA: right
[00:12:29] ANNA: now.
[00:12:30] AMANDA: Okay, well, that's a good sort of, um, you know, rule of thumb kind of approach to that.
[00:12:36] AMANDA: I'm just wondering, so you're either using a formulated home cooked diet for puppies or kittens, or you're using a balancer that? is appropriate for puppies and kittens, or you're using a kibble for puppies and kittens. Should you also be adding some other supplements to promote anything in particular?
[00:12:57] AMANDA: Like you mentioned before that the AFCO [00:13:00] and FEDIAF profiles, we could really think about those as guidelines, not for optimal nutrition, but really an agreed minimum. So are there some areas where people could safely be adding supplements for their puppy or kitten?
[00:13:13] ANNA: Yeah, look, I think there is. So one of the key areas that in commercial diets is often towards the lower side, and that's partly from practical reasons and partly probably cost as well, the omega 3 levels.
[00:13:28] ANNA: And so one of the most important things you can do for your puppy or kitten is consider topping up with a good quality omega 3 fat like fish oil. Or a fish oil capsule, for example. And then the other thing is to consider things like antioxidants, particularly those in natural form coming from veggie blends and so forth.
[00:13:49] ANNA: Mixed fibers, because you want to start developing a nice diverse microbiome at this point, gut microbiome. So things like carrot fiber, apple fiber, pectins [00:14:00] are all great sources. If you're using pumpkin. Pumpkins are rich in fiber as well, mixed fibers, or you can look at a prebiotic blend, for example, that you can, you can buy online or, or from a pet shop.
[00:14:13] ANNA: And all of these will help. The other thing you can look at, we've had this, uh, we talked about this on the show, I think a few weeks ago, was these marine sulfated polysaccharides. So, um, what these, uh, do is, uh, They not only tackle various aspects of gut health, but they also help if you like support the gut mediated immune system.
[00:14:33] ANNA: And the reason that's important is you've got this immunity gap period, which is a gap between the immunity that the pup or the kitten gains from mom and the time till they can develop their own immune system properly. So, so those are the sort of things that actually, you know, give you a lot of bang for buck.
[00:14:51] AMANDA: When is that immunity gap?
[00:14:53] ANNA: It's after, it's typically after, between weaning and I think it goes to about six months. But [00:15:00] that's generally the period. It's basically around the period where you're vaccinating.
[00:15:05] AMANDA: Right. Okay. And so a little bit more immune system support at that time.
[00:15:10] ANNA: Absolutely. And there's some data to suggest it helps with vaccine potentiation.
[00:15:15] ANNA: So basically making the vaccine take if you like.
[00:15:18] AMANDA: And there's also research, and we can put a link to this too, that shows that the source of your Well, it was for puppies. So I assume that the same thing applies to kittens, but, but this was the source of your puppy also has an impact on their later development.
[00:15:35] AMANDA: And you know, all puppies are going through a series of stressors as they're leaving mom and moving into new houses, et cetera, new families. This research was looking at puppies that had come from large breeders, like a pet shop situation and. showing that those ones had a greater propensity to, uh, develop behavioral issues and that's also related to [00:16:00] anxiety.
[00:16:00] AMANDA: And I think there was also some related research that showed probiotic supplementation in those early times could help, uh, mitigate that. But anyway, that's the source of your puppy may also play. have a role here.
[00:16:14] ANNA: Yeah, absolutely. Puppy, the source of the puppy and the environment in which the puppy's raised in those early periods.
[00:16:20] ANNA: Absolutely. Because stress has just phenomenal impacts on all aspects of physiology, including the gut. And so you're dead right, uh, probiotics and also prebiotics could be really useful in that situation as well.
[00:16:35] AMANDA: So, finally, commercial versus homemade diets. I guess we've stressed here that it can be challenging to get it right for puppies and kittens.
[00:16:43] AMANDA: Anything further that you wanted to add about whether you go down, you know, the commercial or the homemade path here?
[00:16:49] ANNA: Well, I think it's important to remember that when we're talking about nutrition, we're talking about nutrients, not really just ingredients. So, as long as your diet's balanced and [00:17:00] complete and balanced and meets the nutritional needs of your pet at their appropriate life stage, whether you go.
[00:17:07] ANNA: Raw, home cooked, or commercial dry, or commercial wet, you know, probably doesn't really matter. That said, there are some benefits with both. So, convenience, of course, from wet and dry food, and texture differences, and you know, it's complete and balanced. Well, you assume you know it's complete and balanced.
[00:17:28] ANNA: Whereas home prepared diets and raw diets, you've got to prepare them yourself, so it takes more effort. You, you need to really understand what you're doing to get your macro and micronutrients right. And unlike a commercial diet, you know, you don't have access to, to labs 24 7 to test everything. So that, that is a challenge.
[00:17:47] ANNA: The only extra caveat said is, is when you're dealing with a raw diet, particularly for, for puppies and kittens whose immune systems are Uh, developing cooked might be a slightly safer [00:18:00] option here, at least initially because of the micro risk of a raw product. So that's the only thing to say there. If you're going down raw or home cooked diet, again, get your diets checked by a nutritionist and check in with your vet regularly and just monitor your, your, your pups and kittens and you're going to use a good dose of common sense as well.
[00:18:19] AMANDA: Excellent, Anna. Thank you. And now it's time for a food hack. And I think it's a treat for a puppy or kitten.
[00:18:27] INTRO: It's time for Home Food Hacks with Dr. Anna.
[00:18:30] AMANDA: I think today's food hack is a treat for puppies and kittens. And there's a reason we call them our fur babies, right?
[00:18:38] ANNA: That's right. That's right. They are little fur babies.
[00:18:41] ANNA: And this treat is actually coming straight out of the human babies, um, Portfolio, of which I've had two. This one's really about introducing your little one to different flavors and textures, your, your fur baby that is. So you can buy, you know, those little pouches or jars of baby [00:19:00] food. Um, and you know, they're not huge in size and when your pup's going through that transition phase to moving from weaning onto solid food, or even when you first get them and they're on solid.
[00:19:13] ANNA: food. You want to introduce them to lots of flavors and textures. So what you can do is you can take these jars and you can just pop a teaspoon or two on top of their mushed food as a different taste, or put a little bit on your finger if they're light licking. And just like kitties is just adding a little bit of variety and flavors and textures to help avoid fussy eaters later on.
[00:19:36] AMANDA: Which can be absolutely challenging when you end up with a fussy eater. I know.
[00:19:42] ANNA: Absolutely. So, you know, deal with it early on, and especially cats, by the way, because cats set their preferences when they're kittens. So if you only feed your kitten chicken, chances are when they're an adult, they're only ever going to eat chicken.
[00:19:56] ANNA: And that's just the way it's going to be.
[00:19:59] AMANDA: There are [00:20:00] some great tips there. So thank you very much, Anna. And thank you for listening to the Pet Nutrition Show. We hope you got some value out of this. This session on nutrition for puppies and kittens. And next week we'll be talking nutrition for seniors. As always, if you've got a question, let us know on any of our channels.
[00:20:20] AMANDA: And if you've enjoyed the pet nutrition show, we'd love it. If you left us a review, see you next time.
[00:20:27] INTRO: The pet nutrition show is proudly presented by planet a pet food, bringing dogs, a flexitarian diet, that's good for them and the planet.
