You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

We know an awful lot about the nutritional requirements of cats and dogs, yet every year veterinarians see pets that have got broken legs and even fractured spines, simply because they have been fed on an exclusively meat ration. 

For some reason owners believe that meat is good and that they are doing the best for their animal by feeding the "best steak" or "fresh liver" to their pet. Meat as part of a balanced diet is good, particularly for cats which are strict carnivores. It provides an excellent source of protein and other nutrients, but it must be mixed with other ingredients to create a properly balanced ration..

The reason is that meat and offal are deficient in calcium, and relatively high in phosphorus. As a result, if you feed an exclusively meat or offal diet your poor pet will have to maintain it's blood calcium levels by removing calcium from it's body stores. As you know, most of the body's calcium reserves are in the bony part of the skeleton. So, your pet's clever hormone system will remove calcium from the bone to keep the amount circulating in the bloodstream "normal". The result is decalcification of the bone, which leads to thin, brittle bones. These bones can fracture very easily - even the act of walking can cause a fracture. Unless the dietary problem is corrected your veterinarian won't even be able to repair the fractures because the bones won't heal properly. Eventually, untreated animals will become totally debilitated, and possibly paralysed if the spine fractures .

Provet advice : NEVER feed an exclusively meat or offal ration to your pet. Ask your veterinarian about his/her recommendations for feeding your animal.

Provet advice : NEVER compile your own ration for your pet without getting the formula approved by an independent advisor - your veterinarian !

Updated October 2013