Pet nutrition workshops featured in all PETCO stores November 14

November 10, 2:59 PMCats ExaminerBarbara Kohn

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All 950 PETCO stores are featuring a pet nutrition workshop this Saturday, November 14 starting at 2 pm. A team of PETCO pet nutrition experts will be on hand to answer questions about the right food for your pets. If you can’t make it to a PETCO but would like to find out what the PETCO nutrition team suggests, you can take this online questionnaire. You’ll get recommendations on the types of food to feed your cat or dog based on its age, activity level, your choice, for example, of holistic vs. natural food selections and more.

Make Sure to Read the Label

In a recent survey PETCO conducted, the retailer found that 80 percent of pet guardians are confident that their pet’s food is healthy and nutritious. However, only four in 10 said they actually understand pet food labels. In response, PETCO has developed some guidelines to help pet guardians understand pet food labels. Here are some of their tips. Your vet should also be able to help.

Start with the guaranteed analysis: Like human food, the guaranteed analysis on any package or can of pet food tells you the overall fat, protein, fiber and moisture content of the food.

Determine the primary ingredients and protein sources: PETCO points out that ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight, but whole meats contain a lot of water so they weigh more than other ingredients. It’s therefore important to look beyond the first two or three ingredients – look at the first five to eight and ensure that there is a healthy combination of high-quality protein sources.

Look for a balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients that is right for your pet: One of the PETCO nutritionists can answer these questions about how much of each your cat or dog needs or check with your vet.

Combination of ingredients is more important than any single ingredient: Food can contain more than one form of the same ingredient. Read the entire label to assure you are giving your pet a healthy balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate sources – with “natural” names you recognize.

Don’t be misled by packaging: Just because the package has graphics with ‘wholesome’ looking ingredients doesn’t mean the food is. Look beyond illustrations and read the ingredient list and nutritional label.