5 Types of Pet Supplements and What They Do
When you’re a pet parent, it’s your top priority to provide your fur kid a healthy, active, and happy lifestyle. You ensure they play with fun toys when you’re not home, nap on the coziest beds, and stay fresh with the best-smelling pet shampoos.
While it’s rewarding to know your pet is having fun and looking great, it can be easy to overlook other aspects of their well-being until you notice something out of the ordinary. That’s why giving your pet supplements and vitamins on a regular basis is essential to helping them thrive inside and out.
Much like humans, each dog or cat has unique needs that may require different essential nutrients to ensure their wellness is in peak condition. These are 5 types of pet supplements and what they do for your cat or dog.
Hip & Joint Supplements for Flexibility and Mobility
Whether your dog runs laps around the yard or your cat climbs on top of a bookshelf, our furry friends always find inventive ways to stay active. And with every movement, they’re putting pressure on their joints and bones. Over time, it’s natural for dogs and cats to develop joint issues because of normal daily exercise and activity.
Blends of glucosamine, chondroitin, and methylsulfonylmethane (also known as MSM) are common supplements that can help support your pet’s hip and joint health.
Glucosamine is a compound naturally found in connective tissues to support normal joint function. Chondroitin, a sugar protein found in joint cartilage, is also helpful to joint health. Similarly, MSM provides sulfur—another source of maintenance for joints and cartilage.
In addition to helping build strong bones and cartilage, these supplements can promote joint lubrication and support flexibility and mobility.
Skin & Coat Supplements for a Lustrous Coat and Reducing Shedding
How can you resist petting and snuggling your four-legged friend when their coat is so soft and shiny?
To keep your pet’s fur in the best condition possible, nutrition plays a major role. And as with humans, fatty acids—such as omega-3 and omega-6—are essential to keeping the skin and coat healthy.
Fatty acids can also help with dry skin and fur issues. While it’s not possible to eliminate fur or hair lingering around your house, supplements can support dry coats and shedding.
Healthy Promise™ Skin & Coat supplements for dogs include green tea and yucca schidigera extracts for added antioxidants to help support cellular damage.
🐾 Related: 5 Natural Benefits of Fish Oil for Dogs
Multivitamins for Overall Wellness
Think back to the days when your pet was just a puppy or kitten. Are you picturing a fast-moving fur ball with seemingly never-ending energy? Although your pet’s zeal probably kept you on your toes, it still feels good to see our dog or cat’s energy levels high.
That’s where a daily multivitamin can assist. Multivitamins are all-in-one chews or tablets that are typically jam-packed with many vitamins and minerals—making them a smart companion to balancing your pet’s overall wellness.
These chews or tablets usually include a combination of vitamins and minerals that offer multi-beneficial perks. Our Healthy Promise™ Multi-Vitamins, for example, include magnesium, iron, zinc, Vitamins A, C, D, B vitamins, and many more.
Whether it’s iron to support with a healthy blood flow and energy levels or thiamine (a B vitamin commonly found in brewers yeast) to maintain in metabolism, each vitamin and mineral plays an important role in contributing to your fur buddy’s overall energy and wellness!
Regularly feeding your dog or cat an all-in-one vitamin helps support many aspects of your pet’s health including their immune system, heart health, skin and coat, and energy.
Prebiotics and Probiotics for Healthy Digestion
The gut is home to a majority of the immune cells in dogs and cats, according to PetMD.com. That’s why keeping digestive health in peak condition is critical to helping your dog or cat feel their best.
Prebiotics and probiotics offer similar benefits to our pets as they do for us as humans. But first, what’s the difference between the two?
Probiotics are the living organisms—bacteria and yeast—that are naturally found in the body. They are dubbed the “good kind of bacteria” because they help balance belly bacteria to keep digestion on track, according to Healthline Media. When looking for probiotics for your pet, you will find they are measured in Colony Forming Units (CFUs) to indicate how much bacteria is in each dose. CFUs can range from the millions to billions, depending on the formula.
Prebiotics, on the other hand, are compounds such as fiber that feed the probiotics, according to U.S. News. In short: for probiotics to thrive, they need to eat prebiotics.
Regularly feeding your pet this type of supplement will support a healthy digestive tract, promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, and help support their immune system.
Calming Supplements for Stressed or Nervous Dogs and Cats
When you have a pet, chances are you both get a bit apprehensive when the calendar flips to July. Loud noises such as fireworks or thunder commonly send our pups and kitties into a state of disarray and stress.
When we see our furry friends experience anxiety or stress, we can feel their discomfort, too. Calming aids are beneficial for soothing and pacifying your cat or dog in many types of stressful situations, including thunderstorms, heading to the grooming salon, traveling, or simply experiencing new surroundings.
Many calming products out there include ingredients that humans may themselves have experience using. For instance, chamomile can help relax muscles (especially those in the digestive tract); and ginger can help settle an uneasy stomach.
Calming aids are a smart supplement to have on hand, especially in the summer months or when you’re anticipating a trip or a grooming appointment. In fact, most supplement benefits generally take effect within a couple hours once the ingredients are in the bloodstream.
Whether you’re welcoming home a new puppy or just adopted a cat, it’s never too soon or late to introduce them to pet supplements. Explore our entire line of Healthy Promise™ cat and dog supplements to help your best friend live their fullest life each and every day. If you need assistance determining the best types of vitamins or supplements for your pet, always consult your veterinarian.
