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In some parts of the world, pet malnutrition is a major challenge, while in others, pet obesity is a growing problem. With so much confusing and inaccurate information available online, these Global Guidelines aim to help veterinary teams ensure that pets are fed according to an optimal and individually tailored nutrition plan. They also offer advice to support owner compliance.
Following on from the launch of the WSAVA’s Global Nutrition Guidelines in 2011, its Global Nutrition Committee (GNC) has developed a suite of tools.
These include practical aids for the veterinary healthcare team to make Nutritional assessment and recommendations more efficient, such as a diet history form, hospitalized patient feeding guide, body condition score charts, and calorie recommendations for dogs and cats. In addition, educational materials for pet owners have been developed. More tools are in development and will be added to this site. These tools are designed to help the veterinary healthcare team address Nutrition at every patient visit and to advance the central role of the veterinary healthcare team as the expert source of Nutrition information.
These charts and videos can help the veterinary healthcare team to accurately assess body condition, a measure of fat stores, at every visit.
Compared to the body condition score, which assesses fat stores, the muscle condition score assesses the animal’s muscle, which can be affected by disease or aging.
Quick one page charts listing starting points for calorie needs of the healthy dog and cat.
The Short Diet History Form is a quick questionnaire for owners to collect critical information on their pets’ diet.
This Nutritional Assessment Checklist is a tool to help ensure that all parts of the Nutritional assessment are performed – the quick Nutritional screening on every patient at every visit, and the extended evaluation for patients in which risk factors are identified.
A 2‐page summary of the WSAVA Nutrition Guidelines – what do they say, how can Nutritional assessment be incorporated into the standard physical exam, and quick tips for implementing the Guidelines in your practice.
This resource provides ideas for incorporating the Nutrition Guidelines into practice, including communication tips, ideas for using the guidelines effectively, and other ways to ensure that every patient gets a Nutritional assessment at every visit.
The Feeding Guide for Hospitalized Dogs and Cats can help the veterinary healthcare team select the appropriate patients that require Nutritional support, the optimal route, and to quickly determine calorie goals.
Feeding Guide for Hospitalised Cats and Dogs (ES, CH, FR, PT)
In some cases, nutrition for the hospitalized patient is best accomplished using either an esophageal feeding tube or a nasogastric feeding tube. How to place each of these is demonstrated in the following videos.
These videos have been generously provided by the Dove Lewis Memorial Emergency and Critical Care Hospital (atdove.org), for use by the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee
The Feeding Instructions and Monitoring Chart provides a step-by-step approach to determining appropriate calorie needs and writing effective feeding instructions, as well as a comprehensive Nutrition monitoring chart for hospitalized patients.
Raw meat based diets for dogs and cats are increasingly popular. This infographic sums up the potential risks associated with their use
Raw Meat Based Diets for Pets – (ES, PL, PT)
Information on the Internet can be confusing and there is lots of myth and misinformation on the topic of pet Nutrition. These guides (one for cat owners and one for dog owners) provide tips on effectively and objectively using the Internet. In addition, both include a list of useful and accurate Internet resources on pet Nutrition.
The Savvy Cat Owner’s Guide to Nutrition on the Internet (ES, CH, FR, PT)
The Savvy Dog Owner’s Guide to Nutrition on the Internet (ES, CH, FR, PT)
Nutrition on the Internet: most pet owners consider the ingredient list to be the most important factor in choosing a pet food. However, the ingredient list gives no information on the quality of the ingredients and can be very misleading on the overall quality of the food. The WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee tool provides owners with recommendations on how to use more important information from the label to select a food for pets.
Selecting a Pet Food – (ES , PL, PT, RU)
Are you confused by food labels? With so much information offered, it can be hard to find the data you need. These handy guides highlight the most important nutritional information to check to ensure that you feed your pet an appropriate and high quality diet.
Check out our nutrition label guides for North America (ES) (PT)
Check out our nutrition label guides for Europe (ES) (PT)
We are only able to respond to inquiries form veterinary professionals. We encourage pet owners to contact a local veterinarian.