Food can be boiled, microwaved, or broiled. Unusual protein sources such as horse, duck, pork, rabbit, etc. are often used.Among the carbohydrates it is possible to use potatoes, green beans, lentils, peas etc. provided that the animal has never eaten them.
The ratio between proteins and carbohydrates is normally 1: 2 (1: 1 in cats and 1: 3 in dogs) but the amount of food required must take into account the lifestyle of the animal and its metabolic condition.
In general, a meat intake of 10g / kg is indicated in dogs and 20g / kg per day in cats, to which the corresponding amount of carbohydrates must be added.The greatest advantage of the home diet consists in the possibility of having a more accurate control of the food administered which is also free of dyes and preservatives.
The disadvantages are represented by the fact that this type of diet is somewhat unbalanced and not suitable for growing puppies, while if administered to adult animals for only three months it has no contraindications.These home-made diets retain a lot of water, especially if potatoes are used, and this can lead to less water intake by the animal and / or increased urine production.
For animals that tend to lose weight, it is sufficient to increase the amount of food administered.The second choice is represented by the use of hypoallergenic commercial products.The advantage of commercial nutrition is to provide well-balanced products that are easy to find and practical to administer.
Among these we distinguish hypoallergenic diets based on single sources of proteins and carbohydrates and protein hydrolysates. On the market there are various food products defined as “hypoallergenic”; not all, however, can be used to carry out a diagnostic hypoallergenic diet.
Many of them, in fact, despite being very digestible and well balanced products, are made up of a wide mix of foods or are labeled without specifying the exact composition of the ingredients present (eg: cereals, animal fats).
A true commercial hypoallergenic diet consists of only two, maximum three, selected ingredients and possibly has been subjected to a manufacturing process in which dyes and preservatives have not been used.The choice of one product rather than another will be conditioned by the patient’s food history and will always be based on the use of foods never previously used by the animal.