Wow.

Ok. Please bear with me here in this post about the evil cat food. That article is extremely interesting. However, like most things that come out of the media you have to read it all with a grain of salt.

My background is a BS in Dairy and Animal Science. I spent a couple of years in my college career learning about the Meat Industry and worked in Meat Science research for several years after I graduated. I have been in meat packing plants all across the US. This includes the big 3 out in the midwest and several smaller ones here in PA. I have been everywhere from the kill floors to the rendering areas. No. They are not pleasant. And I will never say they are. However, not once did I ever see a dead pet or road kill about. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I just never witnessed it myself. There are abuses in the meat industry and there is always room for improvement. But there are also alot of good people that their main goal is to provide a safe product. The pet food industry is a offshoot of the meat industry. There has to be a place to go with the parts of animals that we do not eat. I am not going to go into detail about this.

I also have some problems with the pet food industry and have done so much research into what is a good pet food formulation. There is a delicate balance between good nutrition, reasonable costs and the health of our pets. It is true that our pets would not live as long as they do without the commercial pet food industry. Many years ago when cats had to scavange for their meals or had to depend upon table scraps and a bowel of milk they also didn't average the long lives they do now. It is not just a matter of good vet care. The good nutrition they receive is also an important part of that. I know with cats nutritional blindness is something that is just not seen as often because of the pet food industry. The ingredient Taurine is VITAL to a cats health. It is also difficult but not impossible to formulate a homemade diet with enough Taurine. If you plan on feeding a homemade diet it is best to consult an expert about this. Please don't just start giving your cat some chicken and rice and assume this is the best diet for them.

Saying all of this there are several pet food I will not feed my cats. But my problem is the preservative Ethoxyquin. It has been shown to cause intestinal cancer in cats. Yet several major brands still use this as the major preservative because it has such a majorly long shelf life. Science Diet is one of these. I also will not feed my cats SD because of some of the ingredients. Many many years ago my vet had me put one of my cats on Science Diet KD. I read the label. One of the primary sources of protein was PORK LUNG. Two problems with this. Neither pork nor lung is easily digestable by cats. While on paper the formulation worked but in practicality it didn't. But back to Ethoxyquin. Many cat foods will no longer use it as a primary preservative however, it is often used in the rendering process of the fat and meats. But since it wasn't directly added to the pet food it doesn't have to be listed as an ingredient.

Whew.

I then put my cats on a pet food called Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard. It uses natural ingredients and human grade proteins. I thought I had found the perfect cat food. However, after a year and a half my 2 cats that were a good weight are now too thin and the other 2 that needed to lose weight have gained. Also the 2 thin ones have been chewing the hair off of their bellies and legs. While I initially assumed this was just behavoral I now am wondering if it can be diet related also. So I have switched again to Royal Canin and have put the 2 thin chewers on the Sensitive Skin formulation and the other two chubs on the lite formulation. Now this isn't to say that Wellness is not a wonderful product. I still really like the ingredients they use and I have gotten most of my friends to switch to it and they are happy. Also my cousin is a certified vet technician and the clinic she works for will not sell SD but encourages the use of Wellness products.

As a finale to all of this I would encourage everyone to do research on what they are feeding their cats. Read labels. Be informed but don't overreact. The pet food industry while is not regulized (sp) it has also helped to give us pets that are living well into their teens and longer. Just please don't make your cat vegetarian. They are carnivores and really need the protein.

as a side note to this sermon I have also been reading about the link between moisture in diet and kidney disease. There seems to be a pretty direct link.

Sorry this was so preachy and long.

Denyce