Regulating your pet's hunger and appetite is more complex than you might think.
However, it is essential to offer a ration that satisfies your pet without giving too much or too little, so that your pet keeps its healthy weight throughout its life (and so that it stays healthy).
The sensation of satiety occurs when hunger disappears. Giving your pet too much food, too little food or too many treats completely disrupts the satiety center and causes your pet to become overweight, which in turn can lead to more serious illnesses.
The volume of the ration and the frequency of meals are essential to regulate satiety, but the time it takes your pet to eat its ration is also essential.
The longer the animal takes to eat, the faster the feeling of satiety appears. Hence the importance of avoiding gluttony, and offering your pet food that can be chewed, whose density is high enough and why not, anti-glutton bowls to slow down the absorption of food too quickly.
An additional way to slow down the absorption of food is to moisten it with water - this will slow your pet down and provide extra hydration, which is great in hot weather!
Factors that influence hunger
Insulin:
It regulates the level of glucose in the blood by ingesting proteins and carbohydrates. If too much is ingested, insulin will force the cells to burn glucose to reduce the blood sugar level, instead of burning fat.
Animals that store too much fat will paradoxically be hungrier! Hence the need to establish a balanced meal frequency and ration for your pet.
Nutrient balance:
Via the quality of the food or via the absorption of your pet's organism. If the food is not balanced (micro and macro nutrients), satiety is unbalanced. If your pet has problems with intestinal flora or assimilates its food poorly (loose stools, etc.), then the feeling of satiety will be deregulated and your pet will be hungrier than usual.
Stress :
The animal will produce cortisol (stress hormone). The more stressed your pet is, the more cortisol is present in the body and will affect satiety. This phenomenon is also similar to humans, don't you eat more when you are stressed?
Spaying and neutering:
The procedure will suppress most of the sex hormones. This suppression will lead to a greater storage of fat, play on the feeling of satiety and by definition, cause weight gain!
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