Nutrition — Food for Thought

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You have heard the saying, "You get what you pay for." You can count on the fact that inexpensive foods are low in quality. It is simply impossible for a company that sells grocery store brand food at pennies per pound to use high quality meats and whole grains as ingredients.

Rather than nutritional muscle meat, "by-products" are now the meat source for most cat and dog foods. By-products include bones, blood, intestines (often with fecal matter) and other "left over" parts. Further, these by-products vary widely in nutritional value, depending on the particular batch. Grain products, once considered only fillers, have also replaced meat as substitute protein sources for cats and dogs. Many cat and dog foods list corn as the first ingredient on the label. Corn is a much cheaper energy source than meat but much less nutritious.

Pet food companies, realizing that consumers are becoming more aware and health conscious, are making adjustments to keep their share of the market. Unfortunately, these changes are usually not in the ingredients, but in the marketing of the products. Next time you are in the grocery store look at the front of a bag of Purina's Beneful. The bag portrays wholesome fresh veggies and beef chunks encircling a happy pooch and reads "With wholesome grains and real beef." However, according to government standards, using "with" on a label merely requires that the ingredient make up 3% of the food by dehydrated weight. Turn the bag over and read the label. Three of the first four ingredients in Beneful are grains. Dried peas and carrots are 17th and 18th on the ingredient list, after sugar, salt and preservatives.

Many chemicals are added to pet foods as preservatives, flavorings and colorings to improve the overall appearance of the food. Anecdotal reports indicate that such "poisoning" of our pets has contributed to the increase of cancer, degenerative disease, autoimmune disorders and skin problems seen in the past couple decades. As our practice philosophy has become more "wholistic," we have come to realize the value of nutrition.

Each pet has individualized nutritional needs. Factors such as breed, age, condition, lifestyle, allergies and individual preferences all affect nutritional recommendations. Undeniably, nutrition is a cornerstone of health.

Vetcetera approved brands include Wellness, Innova, California Natural, Wysong and Solid Gold (canine lines). Purina's Pro Plan and One diets are better quality than the rest of their lines. There are many other excellent quality diets on the market.

We encourage you to take an active role in researching the best nutrition for your pet! Remember, by law ingredients must be listed in descending order of their amount in the product. Look for meat at the top of the list. Become a label reader.

Ask us to teach you how to body condition score your pet so you can monitor his/her weight regularly at home. An extensive recent study demonstrated that the lifespan of lean dogs was two years longer, on average, than their chubbier counterparts. This data can be extrapolated for our feline patients too. We recommend that you strive to keep your pet lean for optimal health.