Dear LPG,  

Over the years, I have had a few exotic pets, including the odd reptile and a parrot, but now that I live on my own, I have decided to stick with more traditional pets.

I have a couple of cats who do an outstanding job keeping me company at home. Not too long ago, I saw a television advert where the sellers claimed they could provide the perfect food with some knowledge of your dog’s temperament. Nothing is wrong with that, although the implications got me thinking a bit…

If they make the perfect food for your dog, should you only feed your dog that perfect food every day?  A story came to mind…

When I was young, my family and I went on holiday to Torquay, Devon.  We arrived at the B & B late on a Saturday night and, on Sunday morning, had the best full English breakfast I can remember.   We got the same breakfast on Monday morning and were looking forward to it by Tuesday.  On Wednesday, it was OK; by Thursday, we were getting a bit bored, but by Friday, we had had enough, and we all felt that if we had never had another full English, it would have been fine.    

We pet owners have gone through a lot of trouble domesticating our pets. Dogs are much more reliant on their owners, which leaves me wondering if they would be more ready to welcome the same food served every day with the odd bone and biscuit added now and then but, in the case of cats (who come and go when they please), we are a bit like their bed and breakfast establishments, which leaves me wondering if they get fed up with the same food all the time.  

I have learnt what my cats will and won’t eat, although they don’t eat scraps. They were adults when I got them. One of my neighbours has had her furry friend since it was a kitten, and consequently, her cat will eat so many things that mine won't, including scraps from her meals.   

I asked some of my pet owner friends a few related questions, and the answers were educational.  Out of the five people I surveyed (3 dog and two cat owners), I found two that always get the same food brand, two vary the brands and types of food they offer their pets (from the sachets, tins and the dry biscuit type foods that need to be served with water and the treats - I include myself here), and then there is my cousin who lives on a farm in America, and who often tells me that though she does buy him food as well, she usually cooks her dog’s dinner herself.  

I asked the vet about this the last time I visited, and because I had nothing better to look up online one morning, I tasked Google with the same questions. The vet said they didn’t care, but I could not get an answer online. While searching, I found other information on the subject that interested me…

The consensus is that cats and dogs don’t care much about variety as long as they are not hungry, which I thought was a little sad. 

After all, from my point of view, variety is the spice of life, be it canine, feline, or human. What do the pet owners of the LPG internet world think?

PC. Forest Hill

PC shares what she found online…

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