Like humans, every pet has individual diet needs

Unfortunately, there isn’t exactly a food pyramid for animals.

This means following arbitrary nutrition guidelines aren’t an effective way to measure the quality of your pet’s diet.

Dr. Heinze said that while most mammals require the same basic nutrients in their diet, different species have unique ways of acquiring and processing some essential vitamins and minerals.
She told INSIDER, “As an example all mammals, birds, and reptiles need vitamin A, but the sources are potentially different. Dogs, people, tortoises and parakeets, for instance, can convert vitamin A precursors from plants – [like] carrots, dark green leafy veggies, etcetera – into active vitamin A. However, cats need to get already-made vitamin A that only comes from animal tissue – i.e. meat.”