When our food loving pets “all of a sudden” decide to turn their nose up at their meal, we can definitely feel a sense of worry that something may need to change. Are they bored with their food? Are they sick? This month we want to focus on fasting - why it may be normal and how it actually helps our pets.
Fasting is the body’s natural way of resting. During rest, healing and detoxification happens. This is an important process that cannot be done when the body is busy eating, then digesting, then using those nutrients to make energy, build muscle, and store fats and nutrients.
Most detoxification takes place during the most restful time of day, typically between 2 and 4 am. When our pets decide to skip their morning meal (or any meal) and fast instead, it can be for a variety of reasons. Our pets are intuitive; taking the time to listen to their cues can help us understand why they might be fasting, and what is going on at a deeper level.
For example, if your pet doesn’t really like to eat breakfast, more than likely, their liver is working extra hard during the natural detox time in the early morning hours and needs to take a little longer to help the body stay as well as it can on their current diet. This is natural and healthy - forcing them to eat breakfast is not. Broths are good to offer in these instances, for small amounts of electrolytes, fat globules and easy to digest proteins that help reduce inflammation and support a healthy gut microbiome.
Next, check-in. What is your pet eating? Is there a way to better support the diet for optimal digestion? If possible, consider adding kraut, broth, high quality protein toppers or lightly steamed green leafies like dandelion greens or nettles; slippery elm and marshmallow root may also be useful to support digestion and GI comfort.
If their diet is more processed and carbohydrate rich, it will be less digestible. Skipping a meal can allow their body to put its energy toward eliminating toxins from the food. Realize, however, that pets on such diets are the least likely to skip a meal (and probably shouldn’t), but will be hungry and looking for something else to eat. Carbohydrates are used up quickly for energy, but are often in excess for most pets calorie needs. They will be stored as fats that are more difficult to metabolize - pets will want to eat more frequently to have sugar continuously available. Like us, they can become “hangry” (and may continue to be overweight or gain) without having the carbs, or energy source, they are used to.
If your pet fasts in this situation, it may mean they are sick; or that their food makes them feel sick. They may then look for another similar food, with different flavor, texture, etc. in hope that the new food won’t make them sick as well.
Fasting should not be considered for cats that eat a carbohydrate rich diet. As discussed, carbohydrates are quick energy and are needed consistently. If a cat has acclimated to this diet, fasting may cause a life threatening disease called hepatic lipidosis where the liver has to immediately use fats for calories, but quickly becomes overwhelmed.
Cats that eat added fats and have acclimated to them won’t be susceptible to hepatic lipidosis and will have an easier time fasting. Since fats make an animal feel full, cats eating fats may fast intermittently.
Fasting dogs that eat a carb rich diet may show symptoms of withdrawal and become immensely hungry, same as for people. These patients may counter surf, eat things they normally wouldn’t and develop extremely bad behaviors.
A healthy diet of proteins and fats - such as a raw food that is well digested, actually reduces the need for excess food. A pet eating a raw diet, rich in a full array of proteins (amino acids) and many different fats including omega’s 3, 6 and 9’s; short, medium and long chain triglycerides including saturated fats along with all other needed vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals can easily fast, and often will on their own.
If you change your pet’s diet to the one mentioned above - to “species appropriate” foods - then your pet may decide after awhile that they are actually full! In the beginning, they may skip meals intermittently to give their body the opportunity to adjust and heal. They may also over eat the raw (or lightly cooked), nutrient dense food to store much needed nutrients that have previously been deficient, and may need extra nutrients if they are overcoming inflammation or early dis-ease. But after a while, they will most likely not need to eat so much; especially if they are / were overweight.
With all this said, fasting is not always beneficial, and we should always take into consideration the broader picture of health, age, and activity level in our individual pet. For example, if your pet has high energy/nutrient demands, fasting would not be right for them. This includes underweight pets, puppies and kittens, and pregnant or nursing mothers.
There are also underlying imbalances or dis-ease that require more regular and frequent meals, such as diabetes/sugar handling issues or digestive stress, like acid reflux. If your pet “hunger pukes” when they are not fed twice per day, or when they are fed later than normal, fasting will not be beneficial for them. In such situations, the priority is to focus on the underlying imbalances and support digestion (and modify their diet if necessary).
Usually, our pets are the ones who decide if and when they need to fast. If fasting is recommended for your pet, you can skip about 1 meal per week on a rest day (or 2 to 3 per month) as long as your pet is eating adequate nutrition, including calories. Instead of their meal, offer a raw bone to munch if your pet has learned to safely eat them, and/or broth.
Alternatively, you can feed 30% less of their normal diet for 1-3 days, depending on the activity level of your pet and the food being fed.
If you have questions, we are here to help; we have assisted many, many pets with weight loss, poor digestion, weight gain, and myriad of other issues, and can use what we know to help you know whether your pet is healthy fasting or actually sick, and what steps to take to improve your pet’s digestion and overall health.
Fasting is the body’s natural way of resting. During rest, healing and detoxification happens. This is an important process that cannot be done when the body is busy eating, then digesting, then using those nutrients to make energy, build muscle, and store fats and nutrients.
Most detoxification takes place during the most restful time of day, typically between 2 and 4 am. When our pets decide to skip their morning meal (or any meal) and fast instead, it can be for a variety of reasons. Our pets are intuitive; taking the time to listen to their cues can help us understand why they might be fasting, and what is going on at a deeper level.
For example, if your pet doesn’t really like to eat breakfast, more than likely, their liver is working extra hard during the natural detox time in the early morning hours and needs to take a little longer to help the body stay as well as it can on their current diet. This is natural and healthy - forcing them to eat breakfast is not. Broths are good to offer in these instances, for small amounts of electrolytes, fat globules and easy to digest proteins that help reduce inflammation and support a healthy gut microbiome.
Next, check-in. What is your pet eating? Is there a way to better support the diet for optimal digestion? If possible, consider adding kraut, broth, high quality protein toppers or lightly steamed green leafies like dandelion greens or nettles; slippery elm and marshmallow root may also be useful to support digestion and GI comfort.
If their diet is more processed and carbohydrate rich, it will be less digestible. Skipping a meal can allow their body to put its energy toward eliminating toxins from the food. Realize, however, that pets on such diets are the least likely to skip a meal (and probably shouldn’t), but will be hungry and looking for something else to eat. Carbohydrates are used up quickly for energy, but are often in excess for most pets calorie needs. They will be stored as fats that are more difficult to metabolize - pets will want to eat more frequently to have sugar continuously available. Like us, they can become “hangry” (and may continue to be overweight or gain) without having the carbs, or energy source, they are used to.
If your pet fasts in this situation, it may mean they are sick; or that their food makes them feel sick. They may then look for another similar food, with different flavor, texture, etc. in hope that the new food won’t make them sick as well.
Fasting should not be considered for cats that eat a carbohydrate rich diet. As discussed, carbohydrates are quick energy and are needed consistently. If a cat has acclimated to this diet, fasting may cause a life threatening disease called hepatic lipidosis where the liver has to immediately use fats for calories, but quickly becomes overwhelmed.
Cats that eat added fats and have acclimated to them won’t be susceptible to hepatic lipidosis and will have an easier time fasting. Since fats make an animal feel full, cats eating fats may fast intermittently.
Fasting dogs that eat a carb rich diet may show symptoms of withdrawal and become immensely hungry, same as for people. These patients may counter surf, eat things they normally wouldn’t and develop extremely bad behaviors.
A healthy diet of proteins and fats - such as a raw food that is well digested, actually reduces the need for excess food. A pet eating a raw diet, rich in a full array of proteins (amino acids) and many different fats including omega’s 3, 6 and 9’s; short, medium and long chain triglycerides including saturated fats along with all other needed vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals can easily fast, and often will on their own.
If you change your pet’s diet to the one mentioned above - to “species appropriate” foods - then your pet may decide after awhile that they are actually full! In the beginning, they may skip meals intermittently to give their body the opportunity to adjust and heal. They may also over eat the raw (or lightly cooked), nutrient dense food to store much needed nutrients that have previously been deficient, and may need extra nutrients if they are overcoming inflammation or early dis-ease. But after a while, they will most likely not need to eat so much; especially if they are / were overweight.
With all this said, fasting is not always beneficial, and we should always take into consideration the broader picture of health, age, and activity level in our individual pet. For example, if your pet has high energy/nutrient demands, fasting would not be right for them. This includes underweight pets, puppies and kittens, and pregnant or nursing mothers.
There are also underlying imbalances or dis-ease that require more regular and frequent meals, such as diabetes/sugar handling issues or digestive stress, like acid reflux. If your pet “hunger pukes” when they are not fed twice per day, or when they are fed later than normal, fasting will not be beneficial for them. In such situations, the priority is to focus on the underlying imbalances and support digestion (and modify their diet if necessary).
Usually, our pets are the ones who decide if and when they need to fast. If fasting is recommended for your pet, you can skip about 1 meal per week on a rest day (or 2 to 3 per month) as long as your pet is eating adequate nutrition, including calories. Instead of their meal, offer a raw bone to munch if your pet has learned to safely eat them, and/or broth.
Alternatively, you can feed 30% less of their normal diet for 1-3 days, depending on the activity level of your pet and the food being fed.
If you have questions, we are here to help; we have assisted many, many pets with weight loss, poor digestion, weight gain, and myriad of other issues, and can use what we know to help you know whether your pet is healthy fasting or actually sick, and what steps to take to improve your pet’s digestion and overall health.