Travel-Friendly Food For Pets

Before travelling, always make sure that whatever option you go for, your pet is accustomed to beforehand, as making sudden dietary changes can lead to stomach upset.

Image credit: Freepik

When travelling with pets, most pet parents gravitate towards dry food. Why? Dry foods don't spoil as easily or require refrigeration. They are also lighter to carry. Anjali Kalachand, Nutritionist, and Co-Founder, of A Petter Life shares travel-friendly foods to carry while travelling with your pet friends.

Kibble

It is your regular dry pet food (which is processed via extrusion and high heat). When it comes to Kibble, they come in varying qualities, therefore I would urge pet parents to always read the ingredients list, and ensure that there are not too many ingredients in there that one cannot pronounce! 

Did you know that the first few ingredients listed are what the bulk of the kibble is made up of, if it reads, wheat, soy, corn, and poultry bi-products be sure that these are red flags as what this signifies is that the bulk of the food is either a filler or leftover meat cuts from the human industry. Always read the ingredients so you can be sure that you are feeding something healthy.  

Dehydrated preservative-free meats (dehydrated at lower heat and preservative-free)

Dehydrated meats, on the other hand, don't have as long a shelf life as kibble, but are dried at lower temperatures for preservation purposes- these are generally preservative-free. One can also rehydrate this with warm water to give it a feel like fresh food. 

Retort packaged food also exists nowadays, this involves high heat processing to kill off any bacteria and sealing in sterile containers to preserve long shelf life at room temperature. While retort packaged food may lose some nutrition due to the high heat process it goes through, it represents a good option for those used to fresh food and who refuse to eat kibble. 

For example, for those who are sticklers for fresh feeding or have dogs or cats who are used to their home-cooked meals and are fussy otherwise, we have also pre-packed their fresh meals, frozen them and they have been transported for 24-hour drives with dry ice.