For my first cat's diet, I would use a commercial pet food supplemented with a lot fresh meat, fish, eggs and cheese, although she was always quite partial to the dry, crunchy food. So, I decided to find her the healthiest dry cat food on the market that I could find. I was able to find a highly recommended brand from Canada with lots of high quality ingredients and only natural preservatives. With delicious items like real chicken, chicken livers and fat, turkey, salmon and whitefish, eggs, alfalfa, kelp, and other fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, this cat food's ingredients was like a gourmet degustation menu.
The AAFCO label is the first element the consumer should look for on a dog food package. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. The AAFCO approval is required for every dog food provider to be able to put their product on the market. Another type of basic information available on dog food packages is the nature and proportion of nutrients it contains. To conform to the AAFCO regulations the label should display the ingredient which has the highest percentage of the total weight first. In a descending order of weight, the ingredients should also be stated by their specific names and not a general terminology such as "grain" instead of "corn."
Not knowing of these dangers, I used the gourmet dry food as almost half of my cat's diet. She was one of those that developed neurological problems, all because of my ignorance. She began having great difficulties swallowing food, had trouble urinating and defecating properly, and developed wobbly hind legs-all of which contributed to a serious loss of weight. After a while, it was almost like she was a shell of her former active, happy self. Her veterinarian finally suggest I euthanize her, after all attempts at treatment failed.
I have since become more knowledgeable and passionate about the benefits of a natural, balanced, homemade diet for all pets. Although I will very rarely recommend a few acceptable commercial food brands, I most often advise my veterinary patients to give their pets real, home-prepared foods.
Despite what most of the research suggests, there are still many vets that discourage homemade pet foods and recommend "premium" processed dry foods as the better option. Even though such commercial brands are creatively marketed as optimum food choices for your pet's health, nearly all research says this is far from true. Evidence shows that as the use of these "premium" pet foods have increased, the overall health of our pets have dramatically decreased. While poor genetics, inappropriate lifestyle, and over-vaccination are contributing factors, most pet health issues are attributable to the pet's diet. Because of improper diets, our pets are increasingly diagnosed with life threatening illnesses, including skin diseases, mouth diseases, diabetes, digestive disorders, as well as epilepsy and cancers. With all of the information now available, we can no longer dismiss the connection between decreasing pet health and increasing use of mass-processed pet foods.
If you want your pet to enjoy a long and healthy life, it is essential that you provide it with a balanced, natural diet made with fresh, real foods. Learning from my earlier experiences, I now provide my pets with my own homemade recipes made with any number of fresh ingredients, from raw fish and raw chicken wings, to the raw organ meats from beef, chicken, and lamb. Because providing greens is also important, I will also add parsley or wheat-grass, broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, apple, pear, pineapple, and whatever other fruits and vegetables I have available. Also vital are vitamins and minerals from kelp powder or nori flakes. I only use human-grade ingredients, and usually prefer them to be organic.
It certainly does not have to be difficult or expensive to provide your pet with a healthy, natural diet. Furthermore, you will feel good in knowing that your pets are getting sufficient nourishment that promotes rather than depletes optimal health and well-being.
The AAFCO label is the first element the consumer should look for on a dog food package. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. The AAFCO approval is required for every dog food provider to be able to put their product on the market. Another type of basic information available on dog food packages is the nature and proportion of nutrients it contains. To conform to the AAFCO regulations the label should display the ingredient which has the highest percentage of the total weight first. In a descending order of weight, the ingredients should also be stated by their specific names and not a general terminology such as "grain" instead of "corn."
Not knowing of these dangers, I used the gourmet dry food as almost half of my cat's diet. She was one of those that developed neurological problems, all because of my ignorance. She began having great difficulties swallowing food, had trouble urinating and defecating properly, and developed wobbly hind legs-all of which contributed to a serious loss of weight. After a while, it was almost like she was a shell of her former active, happy self. Her veterinarian finally suggest I euthanize her, after all attempts at treatment failed.
I have since become more knowledgeable and passionate about the benefits of a natural, balanced, homemade diet for all pets. Although I will very rarely recommend a few acceptable commercial food brands, I most often advise my veterinary patients to give their pets real, home-prepared foods.
Despite what most of the research suggests, there are still many vets that discourage homemade pet foods and recommend "premium" processed dry foods as the better option. Even though such commercial brands are creatively marketed as optimum food choices for your pet's health, nearly all research says this is far from true. Evidence shows that as the use of these "premium" pet foods have increased, the overall health of our pets have dramatically decreased. While poor genetics, inappropriate lifestyle, and over-vaccination are contributing factors, most pet health issues are attributable to the pet's diet. Because of improper diets, our pets are increasingly diagnosed with life threatening illnesses, including skin diseases, mouth diseases, diabetes, digestive disorders, as well as epilepsy and cancers. With all of the information now available, we can no longer dismiss the connection between decreasing pet health and increasing use of mass-processed pet foods.
If you want your pet to enjoy a long and healthy life, it is essential that you provide it with a balanced, natural diet made with fresh, real foods. Learning from my earlier experiences, I now provide my pets with my own homemade recipes made with any number of fresh ingredients, from raw fish and raw chicken wings, to the raw organ meats from beef, chicken, and lamb. Because providing greens is also important, I will also add parsley or wheat-grass, broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, apple, pear, pineapple, and whatever other fruits and vegetables I have available. Also vital are vitamins and minerals from kelp powder or nori flakes. I only use human-grade ingredients, and usually prefer them to be organic.
It certainly does not have to be difficult or expensive to provide your pet with a healthy, natural diet. Furthermore, you will feel good in knowing that your pets are getting sufficient nourishment that promotes rather than depletes optimal health and well-being.
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