Provide Good Nutrition

1. Record weight and body condition score (BCS) when you examine animals at intake, and repeat regularly throughout shelter stay.

• Route animals promptly to the veterinarian if you observe significant weight gain or loss.
• Having an accurate weight and BCS is a part of calculating an animal's daily nutritional requirement. The amount each animal is fed can be calculated from a formula that takes into account an animal's life stage (adult, young, pregnant, nursing), health status, activity level and very importantly, the particular food chosen.

2. Provide the correct amounts of food for dogs and cats of different weights and life stages. Our calculator lets you enter the number of kcalories per cup of a specific food and then calculates the quantities for weight and life stage for dogs and cats.

3. Create a written feeding protocol for each group of animal population in your shelter based on the foods in use, and train your staff to use the protocol.

4. Assign staff to feed animals at consistent times.

5. Monitor whether animals are eating, drinking, and eliminating. Worksheets help you track this information consistently. If you observe significant appetite or elimination abnormalities, route animals promptly to the veterinarian.

ASV Shelter Guidelines for this Topic

• Nutrition
• Monitoring and Daily Rounds
• Rodent/Pest Control