Daily vitamins for dogs and cats

There's no doubt that a healthy diet is the best way for your dog or cat to get the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for maintaining health and warding off illness and disease. But unfortunately, our hectic lifestyles prevent most of us from making dog and cat food from scratch with fresh, whole foods. And even if you feed your pet a natural, high-quality commercial food, chances are it still doesn't provide all the nutrition that an animal needs to stay healthy and strong in today's world.

A high quality daily vitamin can supplement your pet with the optimal level of nutrients that may be missing from their food.

Essential nutrients are lost from fruits and vegetables because of growing and harvesting techniques. Dairy foods and meat are laden with hormones, and produce and grains are sprayed with pesticides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers. That’s a lot of toxins the lymphatic and digestive systems are burdened with eliminating.  Which, in turn, makes it difficult for the body to maintain normal cellular health. 

It's no wonder that the American Medical Association now recommends that everyone should take a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. Just as people can't rely on food for all our nutritional needs, neither can our pets.

Does a multi-nutrient supplement really make a difference for dogs and cats?

Absolutely!  There are literally thousands of studies done on humans and animals proving that supplements make a huge difference in overall health. Cancer, heart disease, arthritis, cataracts and allergies—almost all chronic diseases and conditions can either be prevented or improved by the right combination of nutritional supplements. And over the long term, the benefits can really add up.

Recommended Vitamins
from Vetri-Science:
Nu-Cat
Nu-Cat Senior
Canine Plus (Beef)
Canine Plus (Chicken)
Canine Senior

from Thorne:
Canine Basic Nutrients
Canine Geriatric
Citramins (mineral formula)

Kelp Help by NaturVet

What are some of the most important nutrients that animals need?

A multi-nutrient supplement for dogs and cats should provide your pet with proper amounts and ratios of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidant nutrients. Here are some of the essential nutrients that can benefit every dog and cat.

Vitamins

There are 20 of these known organic compounds found in foods.  They are essential for life and growth processes by acting as catalysts in many metabolic reactions and aiding in the metabolism of the energy nutrients.  If a vitamin needed to produce a specific enzyme is not present, the chemical reactions controlled by that enzyme cannot take place.  Likewise, the absence of vitamins in the diet results in specific deficiency diseases as well as impaired growth and development.  Vitamins work with minerals and enzymes to support an animal's digestion, reproduction, muscle and bone growth, and healthy skin and haircoat.

Vitamins are divided into two groups: water-soluble (B-complex and C) and fat-soluble (A, D, E and K). Unlike water-soluble vitamins that need regular replacement in the body, fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissues, and are eliminated much more slowly than water-soluble vitamins.

Some health problems may decrease the absorption of fat, and in turn, decrease the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K.

Fat-soluble vitamins:
• Vitamin A plays an important role in bone growth, tooth development, reproduction, cell division and gene expression. Also, the skin, eyes and mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, throat and lungs depend on vitamin A to remain moist.

Sign of deficiency: Conjunctivitis; cataracts, retinal degeneration, and other eye problems; weight loss; muscle weakness; reproductive and developmental disorders
Signs of excess: Skeletal lesions in kittens, particularly outgrowths of the cervical vertebrae, osteoporosis

• Vitamin D plays a critical role in the body’s use of calcium and phosphorous. It increases the amount of calcium absorbed from the small intestine and helps form and maintain bones. Puppies and kittens especially need adequate amounts of vitamin D to develop strong bones and healthy teeth.

Signs of deficiency: Rickets; abnormalities in skeletal development; progressive paralysis; reduction in body weight and food intake
Sign of excess: Poor appetite; vomiting; lethargy; calcification of soft tissues

• Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, protecting vitamins A and C, red blood cells and essential fatty acids from destruction.  Research has shown that vitamin E may help prevent heart disease and cancer.

Signs of deficiency: Poor appetite; depression; pain sensitivity in abdomen; fat tissue pathology

• Vitamin K plays an essential role in normal blood clotting and helps promote bone health.

Signs of deficiency: Excess bleeding; prolonged blood clotting time.

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Water-soluble vitamins:
B-complex vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins that are not stored in the body, are eliminated in urine, and must be replaced each day. All animals need a continuous supply of them in their diets.

• Vitamin C helps hold body cells together, aids in wound healing, assists in bone and tooth formation, strengthens the blood vessel walls, is vital for the function of the immune system, and improves absorption and utilization of iron. It also helps prevent nutritional ailments such as scurvy. Vitamin C serves as an antioxidant, and works with vitamin E as a free-radical scavenger. Studies suggest that vitamin C may reduce the risk of certain cancers, heart disease and cataracts.

Eight of the water-soluble vitamins are known as the B-complex group: thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, biotin and pantothenic acid. These vitamins are widely distributed in foods. They function as coenzymes that help the body obtain energy from food. They also are important for normal appetite, good vision, healthy skin, a healthy nervous system and red blood cell formation.

Vitamin B1 (thiamin)
Signs of deficiency: Neurological impairments including altered reflexes and convulsive seizures; heart-rate disorders; pathological changes in the central nervous system

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Signs of deficiency: Cataracts; fatty livers; testicular atrophy

Vitamin B3 (niacin)
Signs of deficiency: Poor appetite; weight loss; fiery red tongue, with ulceration and congestion

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
Signs of deficiency: Stunted growth; fatty changes in liver; small bowel lesions

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
Signs of deficiency: Stunted growth; convulsive seizures; kidney lesions

Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) and Folic Acid
Signs of deficiency: Weight loss; vomiting; diarrhea; intestinal disorders

Biotin is a co-enzyme necessary for many reactions in the body. It assists in the making of fatty acids, and in the burning up of fatty acids and carbohydrates for body heat and energy. It also aids in the utilization of amino acids, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B12.
Signs of deficiency: dermatitis and muscle pains

Folic acid (folate)
Signs of deficiency: Decreased growth rate; increased iron levels in blood.

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Minerals

Minerals are found in the bones, teeth, soft tissue, muscle, blood, and nerve cells.  They act as catalysts for many biological reactions within the body, including digestion and metabolism of food, transmission of messages throughout the nervous system, and muscle response.  They are also important in the production of hormones.  There is a synergism that occurs between minerals and other nutrients in the body, and the actions of specific minerals are dependent on the presence and proper amounts of other nutrients. 

Important minerals:
• Calcium is essential to the formation of bones and teeth; blood coagulation; nerve impulse transmission; muscle contraction; cell signaling.
Signs of deficiency: Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism; loss of bone mineral content, which can lead to collapse and curvature of lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones; bone pain, which can progress to fractures.

• Chromium is a trace mineral that is essential for the transfer of sugar from the bloodstream to muscle cells, thereby giving them the fuel they need to work.  Chromium is involved in maintaining cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and is necessary for muscle function.

• Iodine is important for thyroid hormone synthesis; cell differentiation; growth and development of puppies; regulation of metabolic rate.
Signs of deficiency: Enlargement of thyroid glands
Signs of excess: Excessive tearing, salivation and nasal discharge; dandruff

• Iron is essential to hemoglobin and myoglobin synthesis; energy metabolism.
Signs of deficiency: Poor growth; pale mucous membranes; lethargy; weakness; diarrhea
Signs of Excess: Vomiting and diarrhea

• Magnesium is needed for enzyme functions; muscle and nerve cell membrane stability; hormone secretion and function; mineral structure of bones and teeth.
Signs of deficiency: Poor growth; overextension of the carpal joints; muscle twitching; convulsions
Signs of excess: Urinary tract stone formation in the presence of high pH

• Phosphorus is needed for skeletal structure; DNA and RNA structure; energy metabolism; locomotion; acid-base balance
Sign of deficiency: Hemolytic anemia; locomotor disturbances; metabolic acidosis

• Potassium is needed for acid-base balance; nerve-impulse transmission; enzymatic reactions; transport functions
Signs of deficiency: Poor appetite; retarded growth; neurological disorders, including severe muscle weakness

• Selenium is important for defense against oxidative damage; immune response

• Zinc is needed for enzyme reactions; cell replication; protein and carbohydrate metabolism; skin function; wound healing
Skin lesions; growth retardation; testicular damage

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Amino acids

There are 22 different amino acids that mammals need for various metabolic and energy activities.  Dogs and cats are able to manufacture 12 of these, but need to get the rest in their diets.   Because they are only obtained through food, they are called essential amino acids. 

Additionally, cats require taurine in order to live. Without it, our feline friends develop dramatic health problems, including reproductive failure, growth retardation, retinal degeneration and heart failure.

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Why should I give my pet a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement?
Extensive research has shown that many modern-day ailments and diseases are caused by nutrient deficiencies, and exposure to environmental toxins. Fortunately, there is something we can do to support the health and the normal growth and development of our pets.  By enhancing your pet's diet with a wide spectrum of supplemental vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids, we can help make up for nutritional deficiencies … which means your best friend will stay healthier longer.

So stack the odds in your pet's favor.  Start today by giving it the required nutrients it needs for balanced health and the most practical “health insurance” that money can buy.

To view all of our high quality vitamins from Vetri-Science, Thorne Research and NaturVet, click here.

See the Geriatric Vitamins section for more information about nutrients that are beneficial to older cats and dog.