Dog and Cat food—What’s the Big Deal?

By Mark C. Brown, DVM, CCRP

I am asked this question all the time—if only it were taken more seriously. Dog and cat food is, in my opinion, the most important “medicine” a pet will consume in its lifetime.

You’ve heard the old adage “You are what you eat.” Well it is true because the proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins that your pet eats are all fuel to replace or replenish the body’s needs for growth, healing itself, and maintaining minute-to-minute and second-to-second chemical events in the billions of individual body cells.

Commercial dog and cat foods were first created in the 20’s and 30’s. Little was known about nutrition, especially pet nutrition, so it is no wonder that the foods were very poor quality. Quite frankly pet food was just a way to get rid of extra grains that were being discarded from the farming industry. It wasn’t until later that meat was added. Since meat was a more costly commodity, only meat that could not be sold in the human market was used in pet food. Today we have the USDA,a federal government department, that is responsible for keeping our food safe. They have standards for meat to be consumed by people and anything that fails these standards must be removed and discarded from the human food production line. Guess where it goes? That’s right, almost 100 years after the introduction of commercial pet foods we still have tumors, abscesses, feet, beaks, guts, etc.processed into pet food. The USDA refers to this meat as 4 D meat:dead, diseased, dying or decayed,it is perfectly legitimate to use this in dog and cat food. Sowhen looking at a label you read “animal by-product or animal by product meal” this may be all 4-D meat.

Just recently over 100 dogs died in the US from aflatoxicosis. This is a toxin that is produced by a fungi that predominately grows in grain (corn) and legumes (peanuts and soybeans). A common practice of dog food manufacturers is to add corn, wheat, soybean meal and peanut hulls. These are cheap forms of protein and fiber and are acceptable by AAFCO standards (USDA’s pet food standards). Are these fillers highly digestible by dogs and cats? Can the manufacturer make a better food?Now that you are learning a fewpet food industry secrets, you probably can answer these questions for yourself.

Most pet food companies are now owned by Fortune 500 giants. Iams is owned by Proctor &Gamble, Purina is owned by Nestle, Colgate Palmolive owns Hills (Science Diet) and the list goes on. These companies are experts at two things: marketing and turning a profit for their stockholders. Good for them, but at the risk ofyour pet’s health?

Did you know that it is not uncommon for dog and cat food to be 6, 7, or 8 months old by the time it is purchased in a store? How would you rank the nutritional value of food in a paper bag that is 6 months old? What has to be put into food to keep it from spoiling if it is this old? I often think of Egyptian mummies and what had to be done to them to keep them from decaying after thousands of years--but I would never think of feeding it to my pets.

Lots of questions; how about some answers?

Dog and cat food should have as its first listed ingredient meat or more importantly meat meal (chicken meal is chicken meat with all the water removed leaving mostly high quality protein). The second ingredient should be a high quality protein/carbohydrate such as brown rice. Rich antioxidants, powerful probiotics, phytonutrients, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (fish oil), high quality vitamins and chelated minerals are great nutrients found in only a few available diets.

to say. Most people working in these stores are genuinely good-hearted, well-intentionedfolks but most couldn’t tell you the difference between a fatty acid and an amino acid. They have no business being nutritional counselors. So ask your veterinarian very pointed questions about pet food and don’t be afraid to read the label and ask what those words mean.

I recommend diets that I use personally to feed my pets and use exclusively in my kennel--a holistic diet that has been made only a few days before the bag is opened. I don’t like buying food off the shelf that could have been made months ago that contain harmful preservatives. I rely on the powerful components of food to help my patients grow, heal, and maintain bodily function. I do not take this decision lightly and feel that nutrition is a vital part of keeping pets healthy as well as treating the sick.

So can you tell me what is in your dog’s or cat’s food?Does your dog of cat food contain any of the following:

• BHA, BHT, or Ethoxiquin (powerful chemical preservatives which have been
  shown to produce liver disease (including cancer) in rats and mice when fed over time.
• Artificial coloring and flavoring.
• Animal by-products (remember what those were?)
• Corn, wheat, soybean, or peanut hulls
  

Some very healthy things you should look for in pet foods are:

• Meat meal as the first ingredient
• Brown rice as the second or third ingredient
• Phytonutrients
• Other Natural Antioxidants (Avidin or GSE)
• Probiotics (beneficial bacterial cultures that aid in digestion)
• Fish Oil and pelagic fish

So now tell me, what’s the big deal about pet foods?

(Dr. Brown is Owner & Chief of Staff at Central Animal Hospital on Pinellas Point and Central Animal Hospital & Tampa Bay K9 Rehabilitation Center on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg.)

Additional information can be found on www.centralanimal.net