Nutrition

Every pet is unique, and their nutritional needs change over time. Our veterinary team can guide you through:

• Life-stage diets – ensuring puppies, kittens, and senior pets receive the right balance of nutrients for growth, maintenance, or healthy ageing.
• Breed-specific considerations – helping you choose diets appropriate for breeds with known sensitivities or metabolic tendencies.
• Weight management plans – customised feeding regimes and calorie calculations to help with weight loss or gain.
• Prescription diets – for medical conditions such as kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, urinary problems, or allergies.

For some conditions, diet is one of the most effective treatments we have. Prescription diets are specially formulated to support the body when it isn’t working as it should, and they’re often used alongside, or sometimes instead of, medication.

• Kidney disease: diets with controlled phosphorus and protein can slow the progression of chronic kidney disease, particularly in cats.
• Urinary problems: some diets can dissolve certain types of bladder stones and crystals, and help prevent them coming back.
• Gastrointestinal disease: highly digestible or hydrolysed diets are often the first step in managing long-term vomiting or diarrhoea.
• Food allergy: a hydrolysed or novel-protein diet is the only reliable way to diagnose food allergy and, for many pets, to control it.
• Diabetes: the right diet can make blood sugar easier to control, and some diabetic cats go into remission.
• Liver disease, joint problems and weight loss: targeted diets support each of these alongside other treatment.

Prescription diets should be fed under veterinary supervision, so we’ll recheck your pet and adjust the plan as needed. Read more about how diet fits into managing allergic skin disease and chronic gastrointestinal disease in dogs, and kidney and urinary disease in cats.

Weight gain creeps up gradually, and it’s genuinely hard to spot in your own pet. It’s also one of the biggest risks to their long-term health, linked to arthritis, diabetes and a shorter life.

Our nurse-led Weight Management Clinic is a friendly, judgement-free place to start. We’ll assess your pet’s body condition score, calculate exactly how much they should eat, and support you with regular weigh-ins, usually every four weeks, until they reach a healthy weight and beyond.

With so much information online, it can be hard to know what is truly best for your pet. Our team stays up to date with the latest research and can provide clear, practical recommendations tailored to your pet’s needs.

• Grain-Free Diets
  Many owners choose grain-free diets, but recent studies have shown a potential link between some grain-free foods (particularly those high in legumes) and heart disease in certain dog breeds. We can help you select a diet that is safe, balanced, and evidence-based.
• Raw Diets
  Raw feeding has become very popular, but there is currently no robust scientific evidence showing superior health benefits over cooked diets. However, there are well-documented risks, including:
  • Bacterial contamination – pets fed raw diets are more likely to carry Salmonella and antibiotic-resistant E. coli, which can pose a health risk to humans.
  • Tuberculosis (TB) – cases have been reported in cats fed a commercial raw venison product back in 2019,  representing a serious animal health and zoonotic concern.
  • Hyperthyroidism – feeding raw trachea, gullet, or neck tissue can expose pets to excessive natural thyroid hormones, potentially triggering hyperthyroidism.
  • Toxoplasma gondii infection – pets fed raw meat are at increased risk of contracting toxoplasmosis, which may lead to illness and potential zoonotic transmission risk to pregnant or immunocompromised humans.

Nutritional advice isn’t just for pets with existing conditions. At every routine health check or vaccination appointment, we can review your pet’s diet and body condition score. Early adjustments to portion sizes, food type, or supplementation can help prevent obesity, joint problems, and other chronic conditions.

We can also advise you on:

• Joint supplements for growing large-breed puppies or older pets with arthritis
• Omega-3 fatty acids for skin, coat, and anti-inflammatory support
• Dental diets designed to reduce tartar and support oral health
• Transition plans when changing diets to avoid gastrointestinal upset

Whisker & Woof is a Hill’s VIP Clinic. That means we can offer Hill’s Prescription Diet and Vet Essentials foods at competitive prices, with the reassurance that the diet has been chosen for your pet by our team.

• Buy in clinic and take your pet’s food home the same day.
• Or order online through the Hill’s Vet Shop for delivery to your door.
• Earn cashback on Hill’s food bought from us through the Hill’s loyalty scheme. Register at hills4me.co.uk using our clinic ID, [CLINIC ID], then scan your purchases to collect rewards.

Ask us at your next visit and we’ll help you get set up.

At Whisker & Woof, we pride ourselves on giving practical, science-backed nutrition advice you can trust. Whether you need help choosing the right puppy food, managing a cat with kidney disease, or navigating the world of raw feeding, we are here to support you and help your pet thrive.