Dr. Cailin Heinze is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® and the Chief Academic Officer of the Mark Morris Institute, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote optimal companion animal health by providing educational opportunities for veterinary students and veterinarians in clinical nutrition. She also does some part-time consulting work for Balance IT, a company that makes software and supplements for home-cooked pet diets. She is an expert in home-cooked diet formulation and general pet nutrition and has a special interest in feeding pets with kidney disease and cancer.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) recently released the latest version of some dramatic proposed changes to pet food labels and held a short period of public comment. We review some of the...
Many pet owners can become concerned when they see "ash" listed as a percentage on the label of their pet's food. We explain what is meant by ash and why it is not very useful,...
The type of your cat food - wet, dry, fresh, or raw - not to mention the brand, can make a dramatic differences in what you will pay to feed your cat. We compare daily...
Pet food costs are particularly relevant right now, when the costs of many consumer goods have increased rapidly in the last year, leaving many of us paying more for our food as well as that...
Pet owners do not always have an accurate perception of the human risk of foodborne illness from raw meat diets. A recent study highlights the gap between pet owner's perceptions of their risk and their...
![To Chelate or Not to Chelate [Minerals]?](https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/maine-coon-5778153_1920.jpg)
Minerals in pet food can come from the main ingredients or be added as concentrated inorganic or chelated supplements. We review the differences in these sources so that pet owners can better understand the ingredients...
The determination of the amount of carbohydrate in pet foods is more complicated than most pet owners realize. We review how carbohydrate is "measured" in pet food and the limitations of this process.
There is a lot of confusing and contradictory information out there about feeding carbohydrate to pets. We review the science of how dogs and cats utilize dietary carbohydrate.
Pet food-associated illness or "food poisoning" is rare in pets but can cause serious illness. We review some situations that should raise your suspicion for food-associated illness and the steps you should take to figure...
Some pets eat way too quickly and this can result in health issues. We cover some tips for slowing down the food gulper in your life!