The feeding of a puppy or kitten a balanced, well rounded diet is extremely important. These animals are in growth stage, therefore they need exaggerated amounts of specific nutrients to develop properly. Your basic ratio (80/10/5/5) diet is not suitable for growing puppies & kittens. At this age the cat/dog does not have the ability to regulate minerals efficiently in the body. There are no stores of extras to fall back on & vitamin & mineral deficiency can happen quickly. It is highly recommended to feed an NRC or AAFCO complete formula to growing puppies and kittens.
If you are set on feeding your own ratio based diet then you should make a few very important changes to the ratio guideline.
If you are set on feeding your own ratio based diet then you should make a few very important changes to the ratio guideline.
- 10% bone is NOT enough! A growing puppy will need between 15%-18% bone, it can actually be as much as 20% before calcium : phosphorus ratios are too far off. 17% bone is kind of the "happy" place most will require & a good place to start.
- Organ content also needs to be increased. Liver will need to be anywhere between 5%-7% and the "other" secreting organ will need to be at 7%-9%. If you have an understanding of what the organ is providing you may go a little higher, if not stick to a good variety and stay near 7%.
- The remaining amount is your muscle portion. This needs to be well varied and include non secreting organ. I would aim for at least 30% of this to be non skeletal muscle meat (lung, heart, gizzard ect).
- Holes will still exist in this ratio even with all the above followed. Most notably, iodine, vitamin E, Vitamin D, & manganese. Kelp fed in appropriate amounts will fulfil iodine. Fish of appropriate species in appropriate amounts will fulfil vitamin D. Manganese can be met with blue mussels & or green tripe. Vitamin E may need to be fulfilled with a natural vitamin E supplement during growth period. These are not the only places a ratio could be lacking, they are however the most common ones.
My advice is to either have a custom formulation done for your growing puppy or kitten here, Custom Services OR use an AAFCO approved for ALL LIFE STAGES commercial raw food. Once your pet is out of growth stage you can be much more lenient on how you feed and can follow my percentage-based guide.