Companion Animals

Companion Animal Micronutrient Welfare

Micronutrient deficiencies and imbalances in companion animal diets cause welfare suffering that may be subtle and chronic, requiring appropriate diet selection and veterinary nutritional advice.

Key Facts

Taurine deficiency in cats causes fatal dilated cardiomyopathy requiring meat in diet
Grain-free dog diets have been associated with taurine-related cardiac disease in some breeds
Calcium and phosphorus imbalances in homemade diets cause skeletal problems in young animals
Vitamin D toxicity from oversupplementation causes serious welfare problems
Iodine deficiency in cats fed home-cooked diets causes thyroid dysfunction

Welfare Considerations

Companion animal micronutrient welfare requires complete and balanced commercial diets or carefully formulated homemade diets under veterinary nutritional supervision. Supplementing incomplete diets or feeding fashionable but nutritionally unvalidated diets can cause serious welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Choose nutritionally complete commercial diets from reputable manufacturers
Consult a veterinary nutritionist before feeding homemade or raw diets
Be sceptical of dietary claims that lack peer-reviewed evidence