An alternative to foreign food for cats and dogs: how to transfer a pet to a new food

In the last six months, pet owners have faced various problems with purchasing food. Foreign feed prices in specialized stores selling pet products increased by about 15%. And some well-known brands have completely disappeared from the shelves. Experts attribute this to several factors, including the lack of imported raw materials and the deterioration of logistics ties. We decided to find out whether there is a worthy alternative to well-known foreign brands among Russian pet food, and talked about it with Dmitry Fedoseev, veterinarian and general director of the Aibolit Plus veterinary clinic.

Dmitry Fedoseev, veterinarian, general director of the Aibolit Plus veterinary clinic.

Is there a worthy alternative to foreign pet food in Russia?

Of course, there is an alternative, but for many years, doctors of veterinary clinics did not look at Russian manufacturers. At that time, I did not want to choose and experiment, when foreign baits were actively sold on the market, had studies and a scientific basis. Russian food often comes up, leaves, reappears. In our country there has not been a dynasty that has been producing feed since 1900 – for example, the Italian Monge, which started production in 1920. There are good Russian brands of dog food (we’ll talk about cats below), here are examples:

Is there any Russian brand cat food?

Cat owners should wait for the transition to domestic brands in food. The fact is that aliens are produced using an extruder – the cost of this device is from $ 1.5 million, it dries meat. A piece is put in it, the extruder dries it and grinds it. The food is obtained from natural dried meat. As you start to save money on extruders or other similar production elements, the quality of the meat drops drastically. Over-dried, poor quality, heat-treated. As of January 2022, the Russian supply has certainly been made much easier technologically. However, you can pay attention to the following brands:

Is there a substitute for premium pet food in Russia?

Most likely, this replacement will appear in the near future, because everyone realized that the place in the market was vacant. The main player among Russian manufacturers is Miratorg. However, little time has passed so far to draw conclusions. And don’t forget the Purina and Mars factories. The companies are not Russian, they are produced in Russia with foreign equipment.

How is it safe for a pet to switch to a different food?

The ideal transition to another nutrient occurs within two weeks. During this period, it becomes clear whether it is suitable, because in the process possible negative effects can occur: allergies, wool quality, diarrhea. To safely switch to a new food, it is worth mixing it with the old one for two weeks. For example, add 20% of the new food and 80% of the old one and increase the amount of the first one every three days. This, of course, is an ideal scheme, but pet owners rarely adhere to it. The easiest way, when the food is gone, is to gradually start giving another one: one in the morning, another in the evening. This is not the most correct way, but the easiest to implement.

Should I give up food in favor of natural nutrition?

If you just want to be a personal chef for your cat or dog. It contains the proper balance of food, protein, fat and carbohydrates. You can try to cook it at home: add 17 g of carrots, 20 g of pumpkin and not too fatty meat in one serving. The main thing is to clearly measure everything on the scales and not do it “by eye”. In addition, food should not be prepared three days in advance, it should always be fresh, cooked in the evening – fed in the morning.

The times when people cook their own meals for their pets and give vitamins separately are long gone. Moreover, all the necessary additives are already integrated into the premium feed. But even half of the factory feed composition would be extremely difficult to reproduce at home.