The Benefits of Feeding a Variety

What is Variety Feeding?
Variety or rotational feeding is a holistic nutritional philosophy for nourishing your pet’s health and happiness. It means varying both food proteins (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) and food forms (raw, cans, dry, etc.) offered to your pet. In essence, the simplest way to think of variety feeding is to think about your own diet. Do you eat the same meal every morning and every night? No, of course you don’t. Humans have the ability to choose different foods every day. Chances are, if you ate chicken and rice for every meal, you would become bored with the flavor. Similarly, if you ate soup for every meal, you may get tired of the texture. Variety feeding allows pets to enjoy variety in their diet, and enables them to experience different flavors and textures for health and happiness.

What Are the Benefits
Although we believe there to be many health and behavioral benefits to feeding pets a variety of proteins, the four major benefits are the following.
More Complete Micro-nutrient Intake, Both Canines and Felines (Rotation of Proteins )
Most premium natural pet foods are complete and balanced. However, every food ingredient has a unique nutritional profile. This includes amino acid ratios, fatty acid profiles, and micro or trace nutrient compositions. For example, oatmeal is a great source of beta glucans, while brown rice is rich in manganese.
Variety in your pet’s diet delivers different food ingredients and promotes a well-balanced nutrient intake from a wide array of foods. For example, feeding Instinct® Duck Meal and Turkey Meal Formula, supplies your pet with a high level of the amino acid tryptophan. Feeding Prairie® Salmon Meal and Brown Rice Medley, provides high levels of omega fatty acids from fish. Both are excellent and complete diets that can be fed without rotating, but rotation allows your pet to experience the benefits of both.

Increased Water Consumption (Rotation of Forms)
Water is critical to life. Without adequate water intake, our cells experience detrimental effects and begin to die. However, not all pets will drink water, especially cats. The ancestors of our pet felines drank very little water because they ate fresh prey, which contains over 70% moisture. Many health problems that veterinarians see in their clinics are related to water imbalance. Urinary tract disease (stones, crystals), liver disease, kidney disease, and constipation are all indirectly related to water balance. Typically, the symptoms of these diseases can be alleviated by feeding a high moisture diet such as canned or raw frozen foods. Once the body is properly hydrated, the liver, kidney, and bowels have the opportunity to function correctly. More importantly, the urine becomes more dilute which prevents crystals from forming or turning into stones. The first line of defense against urinary tract disease is not always feeding a special diet – generally veterinarians will first suggest that their clients increase water consumption.

Interest at Mealtime, Both Canines and Felines
Some pets become accustomed to certain textures, flavors, and even brands; they become less inclined to try new foods or may become uninterested in their meal. With a variety of food choices, your pet will always be excited about the foods in his or her dish, anticipating the excitement mealtime brings.

Pets of All Breeds and All Ages Benefit from Variety Feeding
Ideally, feeding a variety of proteins should start as soon as your puppy or kitten can eat solid food. Starting with various flavors of canned and kibble, mixed with raw frozen diets, is an easy way to introduce your new family member to the benefits of a natural, variety-based diet. Eventually, the amount of raw food you feed your pet can be increased so that your pet is eating all 3 forms. These 3 forms need not be fed at the same meal — some people mix kibble and raw or kibble and canned while others feed kibble for breakfast and canned or raw for dinner. Any of these combinations are acceptable — the idea is simply to offer a variety.
If your pet is older, introducing him/her to rotation feeding may take a little bit of patience. Older animals tend to become imprinted on certain foods. It is much easier to transition younger animals to raw diets than it is for older animals.  For these cases, some owners find it useful to gently take the “chill-off” the raw food and serve it with canned or kibble. Likewise, cats that have been fed solely canned food may not like the crunchy texture of kibble. It is often recommended that small amounts of kibble be blended into the canned food to accustom your pet to the new texture of a dry food. Alternatively, some owners pour a natural chicken broth over the kibble.
Each pet is unique and there may still be some flavors he/she does not like. Interestingly, when disliked flavors are re-introduced after a few months of feeding a variety of proteins, many pets readily accept the once disliked flavor. Or perhaps your pet has developed a food intolerance or allergy to certain ingredients. In these cases, any degree of food rotation will be beneficial. Food allergies or intolerance are slightly different and may require a stricter diet. However, once the food-related symptoms are under control, many owners report that their pet is able to tolerate small amounts of the once problematic ingredient, though not always. Raw frozen diets are excellent for pets with food-related allergies.

At Nature’s Variety, our passion is the health and happiness of your cherished cat or dog. We are proud pet parents, just like you! So we understand that your pet has a special place in your family, in your life, and in your heart. Nature’s Variety is a natural pet food company located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our team is passionate about providing proper, holistic nutrition for your beloved dog and cat. Details about the entire product line, including retailers can be found at www.naturesvariety.com/about