Mary Allen
Castration changes your pet’s metabolism. You should therefore also adapt his diet to the new situation.
Why are Neutered Animals More Likely to Become Overweight Than Unneutered Ones?
Sex hormones are involved in the regulation of appetite and metabolic rate. If the sex hormone level falls after castration, both appetite and energy requirements change:
- Appetite increases by up to 25%
- Energy requirements are reduced by up to 30%.
- If you suddenly eat more, although you actually need less, you will logically become fat. But that can easily be avoided with the right food.
How Should I Change the Feeding of My Animal After Neutering?
Dogs and cats need fewer calories after neutering to cover their daily energy needs. However, the widespread advice to simply give less of the usual food has disadvantages:
- Since your pet is more likely to have a bigger appetite than before due to neutering, a smaller feed ration can lead to him or her constantly begging for food.
- With the FH diet, your dog or cat not only gets fewer calories but also fewer vitamins, minerals, etc. This can lead to deficiency symptoms.
So it makes more sense than FdH to switch to special food for castrated animals that are less high in energy but still satisfy all the nutritional needs of dogs and cats. High-quality dog and cat food for neutered animals often offer additional benefits, such as
- Reducing the Risk of Urinary Stones
- Preservation of lean muscle mass through high-quality protein composition and the possible addition of L-carnitine
- Enriched with antioxidants to protect against premature cell aging
When is the Right Time to Change the Diet?
Within 48 hours of neutering, your pet’s energy requirements are already decreasing while its appetite increases. It is, therefore, best if you slowly switch to a reduced-calorie food a week before neutering. Mix 1/4 of the new food with 3/4 of the usual food on the first and second day. On the third day, there is half and half. On the fourth and fifth days then three-quarters new and one quarter “old” food and then only the calorie-reduced food.
Please be honest with yourself when feeding: If your pet also gets treats, chewing sticks, leftovers from the table, or anything else, you must reduce the feeding to compensate for the additional calories. Otherwise, even the best food cannot prevent obesity. It is best to hand feed part of the ration as a reward.
How Do I Find Suitable Food for My Neutered Cat or My Neutered Dog?
On the large animal feed market, you will find feed for the most diverse life situations of dogs and cats. Calorie-reduced food comes under a wide variety of names, e.g. “light” and “diet food”, “for indoor cats”, “weight control”, “neutered” or “low-calorie”. But which designation should mean what? Understandably, many pet owners are very confused about this. Even Ökotest lumps “light food” and “diet food” together in one of its product tests, although one has very little to do with the other.
“Light” simply means that this food has fewer calories than the other foods from the same manufacturer. So it can still be higher in calories than a “normal” food from another manufacturer. Conclusion: Where “light” is written on it, there is not necessarily something in it that a nutrition expert would also call low-calorie. The only way to be sure is to look at the calorie content (if it is declared) or ask the manufacturer. Can’t help you here? Then you either have to try your luck to see if your animal is gaining weight, or stay away from this food.
“Diet food”, on the other hand, is a legally protected term. What is called diet food must serve a specific (legally prescribed) medical nutritional purpose and meet stricter declaration requirements. For example, a calorie content must be specified (for more information, see “What exactly is diet food?”). Among the diet foods, there are so-called “reduction diets” which are suitable for losing weight or for “maintaining weight in animals that tend to be overweight” – i.e. after losing weight against the yo-yo effect.
If your animal has been of normal weight up to now, a reduced diet is not necessary. A feed with the designation “Neutered” = English for “castrated” would be suitable. However, this term is just as little protected as “light” or “weight control”.