Your pet's diet

A pet’s Diet page records what the pet eats: each food, how much, when and how you prepare it. From that it works out how many grams and calories the pet gets a day and compares them with the usual need for its weight and activity. It also warns you when a food contains something the pet is allergic to, and tells you when a food in the diet is recalled.

Where

Pets → My Pets → a pet → Diet tab: the current foods at a glance, how the plan compares with the usual need, and how many warnings there are. Open diet takes you to the full page (Record diet when nothing is recorded yet).
The full page is at /dashboard/pets/{pet}/diet. Back to the pet with Back to pet.

Who can see and change a diet

Who	Sees	Can change
The owner and co-owners	everything	everything
Your care circle with full access	everything	everything
Your care circle with limited access (a groomer, a sitter)	the current foods and amounts only	nothing
A vet with access to the pet’s health chart	everything, including the history	with write access to the chart: changes, outcomes, and Confirm prescription
Anyone else	nothing	nothing

Someone with limited access sees “You can see what {name} eats and how much. The rest of the diet is shared with the owner and the full care circle.” Someone without access sees This diet isn’t shared with you. See Sharing a pet or a litter for care-circle access.

The Diet page

From top to bottom:

Recall notices, when a food in the diet has been recalled (see Recall alerts).
Current plan: one card per food, with Since {date} and the Total a day in grams and calories.
Energy: the plan’s calories against the usual need, with the nutrition disclaimer.
Warnings, when there are any.
Intake: the chart of planned and logged amounts by day, week or month.
Feeding log and Bags, side by side.
History: every earlier plan, with outcomes.

What each food card shows

The food’s name and brand (or your own name for a custom food), its role (Main food, Treat, Supplement, Topper, Medicated food) and its kind (Kibble (dry), Wet food, Raw, Freeze-dried, Dehydrated, Fresh-cooked, Home-made recipe, Chew, Milk replacer…).
How it is given: the amount per serving and the schedule (“Twice a day at 7:30, 18:00”, “Free-fed through the day”, “3 times a week”), the preparation (soaked for so many minutes, water added, warmed…), what it is mixed with, and Given with medication.
Grams a day and Calories a day.
Labels: Waiting for review for a food you added that is not reviewed yet, Recalled, Vet authorisation on file for a prescription diet, and Confirmed by a vet {date} once a vet has confirmed it.

When a figure starts with about, it was worked out from a typical weight for that unit, not from your food’s label. A cup of kibble, for example, is about 100 g, a cup of wet food about 240 g. To make it exact, weigh one level serving once and type it in Grams in one {unit} when you edit the food. A food counted in pieces has no grams; its calories come from the label’s calories per piece.

Each card’s menu has Edit, Stop feeding, and for a vet Confirm prescription.

Edit changes how the food is given (amount, unit, schedule, preparation, notes). To feed a different food, change the diet instead.
Stop feeding asks for the Last day fed and an optional reason. The food stays in the diet’s history.

The energy target

The Energy section compares what the plan gives with the usual need: the calories a pet of that weight usually needs a day at its activity level.

Close to the usual need: the plan is within 10 % of it.
About {percent} % above the usual need / About {percent} % below the usual need: more than 10 % off.

Below the gauge it says how the need was worked out: “Usual need: {kcal} kcal a day, worked out from {weight} kg ({date}) and the activity level {activity}.” The weight is the latest one on the pet’s records. Without a weight the page says Record a weight to compare the plan with the usual need, with a Go to weight button.

The activity level comes from Diet settings. Left on Work it out from age, a puppy or kitten under 4 months counts as early growth, under 12 months as late growth, then as a neutered or intact adult from its reproductive status. You can choose another level, such as Inactive, Low activity, High activity, Gestation or Lactation.

Setting a target by hand

If your vet or nutritionist gave you a daily figure, choose Set a target, enter Calories a day (kcal) and, optionally, Who set it, or why (“weight-loss plan from Dr. Lee”), then Save target. The page then says “Target set by hand: {kcal} kcal a day.” Use the usual need goes back to the estimate.

The nutrition disclaimer

Every Energy section carries this note:

Calorie needs are estimates from body weight and activity. They are not veterinary advice: talk to your vet before you change how much your pet eats, especially for a puppy, a kitten, a pregnant pet or one with a health condition.

Warnings

Warnings are reminders. None of them stops you from saving a diet: you can always record what your pet actually eats.

Warning	When
”This food contains something {pet} is recorded as allergic to.”	A food’s ingredients include an allergen recorded as a food allergy on the pet’s health records. The warning names the food and the allergens.
”This package is part of an open recall.”	The package is covered by a recall that is still open. See the recall jumps to the notice.
”This is a prescription diet and no vet has confirmed it yet.”	A prescription diet without a vet’s confirmation.
”There’s no weight on record, so the usual need can’t be worked out.”	No weight on the pet’s records.
”The calories of a food aren’t known, so the daily total is incomplete.”	A food has no calorie figure (the daily total then shows (some calories unknown)).
”The plan gives more than 10 % above the usual need.” / “…below the usual need.”	The plan is more than 10 % off.

When you save a diet, Change diet also lists its allergen and recall warnings under “Check these before you start:”, so you see them before you start feeding the new food.

Recording or changing a diet

Choose Record diet (first time) or Change diet. A diet change starts a new plan: the current plan ends the day before the new one starts, and stays in History.

Reason (only when changing): why the diet is changing: Vet’s advice, Health, Pet’s preference, Cost, Recall, Out of stock or Life stage, and an optional note (“itchy skin, trying a fish-based food”).
Food: pick the food in one of four ways (see below).
Kind: its Role in the diet, Kind of food and Preparation (Served dry, Soaked, Warmed, Mixed with wet food, Thawed, Cooked, Blended, Other), with Soak time (minutes) and Water added (ml) when they apply. Tick Prescription diet: vet authorisation on file when a vet prescribed the food; a food sold only with a vet’s authorisation is ticked for you.
Amount: the Amount per serving and the Unit (grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, cups (US), cups (metric), scoops, cans, pieces, kcal), and optionally Grams in one {unit}.
When: the Schedule:
- At set times: add each Feeding time; the number of times is the number of meals a day.
- Free-fed: the amount is what you put out for the whole day.
- A few times a week: how many times a week, from 1 to 50 (for treats and chews).
Here you can also tick Given with medication and add notes.
Review: under Keep from the current plan, ticked foods carry over unchanged and unticked foods end the day before. Add another food repeats the steps for the next food. Set the Start date and choose Save diet.

Four ways to pick a food

Tab	How
Scan	Use the camera and hold the barcode on the bag or can inside the frame. No camera, or the camera is blocked? Type the 8 to 14 digits under the bars in Type the barcode and choose Look up.
Search	Type at least 2 letters of the brand or the product (or a barcode). Pick the food, then Which package do you buy?
My recipes	One of the recipes you wrote in Recipes.
Custom	Anything else, such as “boiled chicken and rice”: a Name of the food and, if you know them, the Calories per 100 g (between 1 and 900).

The camera is used only while the scan screen is open. It needs a secure (https) page and your permission; if it is blocked, the screen says so and you can type the number instead.

Adding a food that isn’t in the catalog

When a scanned or typed barcode isn’t in the catalog, the Add this food sheet opens: “Barcode {number} isn’t in our catalog yet.”

Add Photos of the package: Front and Ingredients are needed; Back, Guaranteed analysis or feeding guide and a Barcode close-up help the review.
Optionally type the Brand, Product name, Kind of food, Package (“4 kg bag”), who it is For (Dogs, Cats) and anything else.
Choose Send for review.

You can Use this food for your pet straight away. It is marked Waiting for review and only you see it until it is reviewed; then everyone can find it.

Feeding log

Most owners only need the plan. The Feeding log is for when you want to record what was actually eaten, for example during a food trial or while a pet is unwell.

Log a meal: pick the Food, the Amount eaten and its unit, the Appetite (Ate it all, Ate most, Ate some, Ate a little, Refused), When, and an optional note; then Save meal. The log lists meals newest first, with the grams and calories eaten.

Intake charts

The Intake chart shows the Planned amount, what was Logged, and the Usual need:

Period: Day (the last 30 days), Week (the last 12 weeks, starting Monday) or Month (the last 12 months). A week or month adds up its days.
Measure: Calories or Grams.
A day with no meals logged shows as not logged.

Under it, the Weight curve comes from the pet’s weight records. It needs two weights or more in the period.

Bags (which bag or can you opened)

Under Bags you can record the bag or can you are feeding from: Add a bag, pick the Package, type the Lot number (usually printed near the best-by date), Best by and Opened on, then Save bag. When the bag is empty, Mark finished.

It takes a minute and it matters: when a recall names particular lots or best-by dates, a recorded bag lets us tell you that your bag is affected, not only that you feed that product. Bags can be recorded for catalog foods in the plan.

History and outcomes

History lists every plan, newest first: its dates, the reason it changed, who recorded it (Owner, Vet, Care circle, Breeder) and its foods. Add outcome records how a diet went: Improved, No change or Worse, a date, and a note. You can also link a symptom from the pet’s records; the outcome links to the entry, and the entry itself stays in the records.

Recall alerts

When a pet food recall covers a package in your pet’s diet (one it eats now, or ate in the last 90 days), we tell you.

What everyone gets

A recall notice at the top of the pet’s page and of its Diet page: “A food this pet eats has been recalled”, with Review. It shows the recall’s title, who announced it and when, the product, and Read the recall notice.
A notification in the bell, which opens the Diet page on that recall.

There is one notice per recall for each pet. If the recall covers more than one package in the diet, the notice lists each of them once. Saving the diet again with the same food does not add a second notice.

The notice on the pet’s page is free and is never hidden behind a plan: everyone who can see the diet sees it.

What Pet Care Plus adds

With Pet Care Plus, the alert is urgent and reaches you on every channel: the bell, e-mail, push and a text message (SMS). Text messages are limited to 10 a month for each profile; after that, recall alerts that month still come by bell, e-mail and push.

”Same package” or “same lot”

If you recorded the bag and its lot number or best-by date is one the recall names, the notice says: “The recall names the lot you recorded for this food. Stop feeding it and follow the notice.”
Otherwise it says: “The recall covers this package. Check the lot number on your bag against the notice.”

Answering the notice

The owner (or someone with full access) answers Do you have a recalled bag?:

Optionally type the Lot number on your bag, then choose I have this lot. The notice stays, saying “You told us you have this lot. Stop feeding it and follow the notice’s instructions.”
I don’t have it removes the notice from the pet’s page.
Hide removes the notice without answering.

You answer once for the whole recall, even when the notice lists several packages. If you change the diet later and keep the same food, the answer stays: a notice you answered or hid doesn’t come back, and you don’t get the alert a second time.

Your answer helps us count how many pets a recall really reached. The notice also goes away by itself when the recall is closed.

Showing the food on the public pet page

In Diet settings, tick Show the food on the public pet page and choose Save settings. The public page then shows what your pet eats: each food’s role, kind, product and brand, and since when. It never shows amounts, notes, schedules, prescriptions or recalls.

A food you added that is still Waiting for review shows only as its kind (for example “Kibble (dry)”).
A custom food shows only as its kind, never the name you typed.

This is off until you turn it on.

Pet food research

If you turn on Pet food research (in Settings → Privacy), the foods your pets eat and the outcomes you record here also count in anonymous totals about each food, shown on the public food pages for groups of 10 or more pets. It is off unless you turn it on, and it never shows anything about your pet.

When a pet changes hands

The diet history goes with the pet, like its health records: the new owner sees the foods, the history and any open recall notices, and recall alerts go to the new owner from then on. Showing the food on the public pet page is turned off at the transfer; the new owner can turn it back on. See Transferring a pet.