Advice

Both the Anti Struvite supplement and a urine-acidifying diet have been formulated to achieve a specific urine pH. When these two products are combined, it is virtually impossible to predict the effects on the urine pH. It is therefore not advisable to combine Anti Struvite with a urine-acidifying diet.

Intestinal Support is a supplement that should be combined with dry food. It supports, among other things, the growth of carbohydrate fermenting microorganisms. These so-called 'good bacteria' provide a better intestinal health when they are offered the right food source. When the growth of carbohydrate-fermenting microorganisms is stimulated with Intestinal Support, this bacterial colony needs more carbohydrates in order to maintain itself. Dry food is rich in carbohydrates, which is an ideal food source for the good bacteria. Wet food, on the other hand, contains little carbohydrates and relatively high quantities of protein and fat. In case of a shortage of carbohydrates, the good bacteria switch to fermenting proteins. However, they are very inefficient in using proteins as an energy source. As a result, the bacteria produce harmful by-products, which can lead to health problems in the long term. It is therefore very important to tune the diet and the pre- and/or probiotics supplement.

When your dog is suffering from lessened appetite is it possible to support your pet in different ways. Some tips that can help stimulate the appetite of your pet are:

• Mix food (dry as well as wet) with warm water, so the scent is released
• Do not offer cold food, always at least at room temperature
• Slightly heat the food
• Mix wet food of the same kind with dry food
• Pour home made bouillon (without added salt and seasoning) over the food
• Mix the food with meat (TROVET Unique protein)

When your dog has always been a decent eater and only recently developed a worsening appetite, it is always wise to

Your cat is on a hypoallergenic diet because of food hypersensitivity. Your cat is reacting well to the protein or carbohydrate source it is currently eating. When giving your cat something extra you will risk giving something which can trigger a hypersensitivity reaction.

Kidney problems and struvite are two disorders that are difficult to tackle simultaneously. This is because anti-struvite diets acidify the urine and this is undesirable in kidney patients. Kidney patients are less efficient in regulating the acid-base balance in the body. When a urine-acidifying diet or supplement is given, the animal's kidneys are unable to raise the pH of the blood sufficiently, which can lead to acidosis (blood acidification). Acidosis can cause health problems in the long term. To prevent acidosis, kidney diets slightly raise the urine pH. This, however, increases the chance of the formation and precipitation of struvite. In patients with kidney problems and struvite, a choice between two evils has to be made. In these cases, the priority goes to kidney failure, because animals with this condition can only be supported with a kidney diet. Struvite can be prevented by acidifying the urine and by increasing the urine volume. Since animals with kidney problems are less able to regulate the acid-base balance, increasing the urine volume is the only option for the prevention of struvite. We recommend that animals with these two disorders should be prescribed the wet food variant of a kidney diet. This minimises the burden on the kidneys and dilutes the urine, which reduces the chance of struvite formation.

No. This is a common misconception. An allergy is always caused by the protein fraction of the product. Pure fats and oils are allergen-free and thus unable to cause an allergic reaction. The fat and oil sources in our pet food are carefully purified, resulting in a protein free ingredient.

A characteristic of hypoallergenic diets is that these consist out of one carbohydrate source and one protein source. Hypoallergenic diets are often formulated with more exclusive and unique ingredients. For example: Hypoallergenic (Rabbit) contains the protein source rabbit and carbohydrate source rice. A maintenance food such as Adult or Sterilised is not suited as hypoallergenic diet. Healthy pets can always be fed a hypoallergenic food, but a patient with food allergy cannot always safely be fed a ‘regular’ food.

The diagnosis of food hypersensitivity will be done by your veterinarian with the help of a so called elimination diet. For 6 to 8 weeks your dog or cat has to eat a special composed diet. This diet consists of one (unique) protein source and one carbohydrate source. When the hypersensitivity reaction of your dog or cat decreases during this period, it is safe to say your dog or cat was hypersensitive to a specific ingredient in the previous food. For these cases TROVET has developed a special PURE MEAT range with unique protein sources, called Unique Protein. These products consist solely of meat and are guaranteed free of additives. Unique Protein is not a complete food. Unique Protein is available in the following protein sources:

• Unique Protein (Horse)
• Unique Protein (Lamb)
• Unique Protein (Rabbit)
• Unique Protein (Turkey)
• Unique Protein (Venison)

More information for elimination diets for dogs. More information for elimination diets for cats.

TROVET has treats for supporting the function of dietary food. These are also suited for healthy animals. Check out the ' Responsible rewards' section on our website and the TROVET Treats Indicator.