Thursday, March 20, 2008
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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Rule of Thumb for Pet Food Quality
When choosing pet food, it's good to remember this basic rule of thumb for food quality:
- Foods bought at your local generic grocery store are the absolute worst quality foods available. By and large, these pet foods are manufactured by companies that are small sibling companies attached to large human food/product companies. These pet foods generally are made up mostly of low-quality by-products -- unusable left-overs from the sibling human food companies. There is also the chance that some of these foods will contain 4D meats: dead, diseased, disabled and downed animals.
- Big-box chain stores usually sell middle of the road quality foods. Some have by-products, some don't. But mostly, they are foods made with cheaper ingredients, and you will often find ingredients such as corn, wheat, and other low-quality fillers. Again, depending on brands, you may run into 4D meats.
- Independent health-focused pet food stores are where you will find the highest quality processed pet foods. Plus, you will often find knowledgeable staff who will be able to help find a food that works best for your and your animal's situation. Also, you are more likely to find foods that come from companies that are willing to disclose their resources and manufacturing processes--much more important than you might think.
- Prescription foods at veterinarians' offices: You will find various foods recommended and sold at vet clinics, but more often than not, they are prescription diets from very large food companies, many of which are just bigger subdivisions of the very food companies sold at the grocery stores. People often go home with these foods following their appointments with little thought about the quality of these foods. I suggest that if you are feeding a food such as this, that you take a good look at the ingredient list. These foods tend to be made with low quality ingredients. I recently had a vet prescribe one of these foods for my cat, at which point I asked him what was in the food that would address the cat's problem. He was honest and said he did not know, and that he wasn't a nutritionist. I took it upon myself to research the food, and find myself the equivalent in a higher quality food. In our case, it was an ingredient within the food that I could find in supplement form, and simply add to my cat's already high quality raw food diet. There are usually better alternatives out there to the foods recommended at vets' offices.
A word on by-products. Surprisingly in the last couple weeks, I've had a number of people ask me what's so bad about by-products, anyway. By and large, by-products are not really bad at all. By-products tend to be the left-overs from the meat industry that we humans will not eat, but for animals who tend to eat , say, a whole chicken, by-products are meaningless to them. However, here is the key to why by-products are bad in pet foods, especially when they are the first few ingredients listed: a food made up primarily of by-products is sorely missing of nutrients. It's one thing to eat a whole chicken with the so-called by-products included, it's quite another thing to eat a meal mostly consisting of tendons, feet, intestines, etc., without any of the key nutrients for animals' health such as muscle meat, bones and organs.
I hope this basic rule of thumb for quality will be helpful. The more you can do for your animals' health while they are young and fit, the more you will keep them healthy when they are older and more vulnerable to diseases. Sort of an apple-a-day mentality for our pets.
- Foods bought at your local generic grocery store are the absolute worst quality foods available. By and large, these pet foods are manufactured by companies that are small sibling companies attached to large human food/product companies. These pet foods generally are made up mostly of low-quality by-products -- unusable left-overs from the sibling human food companies. There is also the chance that some of these foods will contain 4D meats: dead, diseased, disabled and downed animals.
- Big-box chain stores usually sell middle of the road quality foods. Some have by-products, some don't. But mostly, they are foods made with cheaper ingredients, and you will often find ingredients such as corn, wheat, and other low-quality fillers. Again, depending on brands, you may run into 4D meats.
- Independent health-focused pet food stores are where you will find the highest quality processed pet foods. Plus, you will often find knowledgeable staff who will be able to help find a food that works best for your and your animal's situation. Also, you are more likely to find foods that come from companies that are willing to disclose their resources and manufacturing processes--much more important than you might think.
- Prescription foods at veterinarians' offices: You will find various foods recommended and sold at vet clinics, but more often than not, they are prescription diets from very large food companies, many of which are just bigger subdivisions of the very food companies sold at the grocery stores. People often go home with these foods following their appointments with little thought about the quality of these foods. I suggest that if you are feeding a food such as this, that you take a good look at the ingredient list. These foods tend to be made with low quality ingredients. I recently had a vet prescribe one of these foods for my cat, at which point I asked him what was in the food that would address the cat's problem. He was honest and said he did not know, and that he wasn't a nutritionist. I took it upon myself to research the food, and find myself the equivalent in a higher quality food. In our case, it was an ingredient within the food that I could find in supplement form, and simply add to my cat's already high quality raw food diet. There are usually better alternatives out there to the foods recommended at vets' offices.
A word on by-products. Surprisingly in the last couple weeks, I've had a number of people ask me what's so bad about by-products, anyway. By and large, by-products are not really bad at all. By-products tend to be the left-overs from the meat industry that we humans will not eat, but for animals who tend to eat , say, a whole chicken, by-products are meaningless to them. However, here is the key to why by-products are bad in pet foods, especially when they are the first few ingredients listed: a food made up primarily of by-products is sorely missing of nutrients. It's one thing to eat a whole chicken with the so-called by-products included, it's quite another thing to eat a meal mostly consisting of tendons, feet, intestines, etc., without any of the key nutrients for animals' health such as muscle meat, bones and organs.
I hope this basic rule of thumb for quality will be helpful. The more you can do for your animals' health while they are young and fit, the more you will keep them healthy when they are older and more vulnerable to diseases. Sort of an apple-a-day mentality for our pets.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Keeping Neighbor Cats Out of a Flower Garden
There are all kinds of spray repellents to keep animals out of gardens and yards, but most of them simply don't work, or have to be reapplied on a regular basis--like every 2 to 3 days.
One thing you can do, and it's worked for me, is put out a layer of volcanic rock as a mulch--make sure you cover the ground well. Cats, and probably other neighboring wildlife, don't like the feel of the sharp edges of volcanic rock on the pads of their feet, so they tend to avoid it.
You can usually find volcanic rock in a home building center, in their garden section, and for a decent price.
If you try this, let me know how it worked for you!
One thing you can do, and it's worked for me, is put out a layer of volcanic rock as a mulch--make sure you cover the ground well. Cats, and probably other neighboring wildlife, don't like the feel of the sharp edges of volcanic rock on the pads of their feet, so they tend to avoid it.
You can usually find volcanic rock in a home building center, in their garden section, and for a decent price.
If you try this, let me know how it worked for you!
Monday, January 16, 2006
Kitty Dandruff
Today on a natural living blog, a girl posted that her cat had dandruff problems and wanted to give the cat a bath. Here is my response to her:
You should probably first look at what your cat is eating. Check out the ingredient list and try to avoid foods with by-products, mystery meats, and/or chemicals for preservatives.
Also, if you don't already feed your cat wet food, that would be a great addition, while cutting back on the dry food. This will help keep the cat well hydrated.
Add an omega oil. Salmon (or fish) oil is good because it's helps strengthen the immune system as well as help the skin and coat. (In regard to cod liver oil, it is preferrable to only give cod LIVER oil during grey months of the year, as this oil has vitamin D and you/your pet can overload during the sunny months of the year.)
All of these suggestions would be good for both of your cats! [She has two cats and didn't want to give the other cat anything unnecessary.]
If you absolutely need to bathe the cat (though it's not a good idea), you can either get a good oatmeal shampoo from a health oriented pet store (not a big chain, etc), OR you can make up a solution of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and water, soak a towel and give the kitty a rub down with that. The ACV works better if it's raw, which you can get at a health food store. In a bucket, put about a 1/2 inch of ACV and then fill the rest up with water.
By the way, this also applies to dogs!
And another thing to think about when you are faced with this issue, is adding enzymes to the diet. They are, in my book, the most over-looked supplement, to both humans and pets. I'll have to get into enzymes in a future post!
You should probably first look at what your cat is eating. Check out the ingredient list and try to avoid foods with by-products, mystery meats, and/or chemicals for preservatives.
Also, if you don't already feed your cat wet food, that would be a great addition, while cutting back on the dry food. This will help keep the cat well hydrated.
Add an omega oil. Salmon (or fish) oil is good because it's helps strengthen the immune system as well as help the skin and coat. (In regard to cod liver oil, it is preferrable to only give cod LIVER oil during grey months of the year, as this oil has vitamin D and you/your pet can overload during the sunny months of the year.)
All of these suggestions would be good for both of your cats! [She has two cats and didn't want to give the other cat anything unnecessary.]
If you absolutely need to bathe the cat (though it's not a good idea), you can either get a good oatmeal shampoo from a health oriented pet store (not a big chain, etc), OR you can make up a solution of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and water, soak a towel and give the kitty a rub down with that. The ACV works better if it's raw, which you can get at a health food store. In a bucket, put about a 1/2 inch of ACV and then fill the rest up with water.
By the way, this also applies to dogs!
And another thing to think about when you are faced with this issue, is adding enzymes to the diet. They are, in my book, the most over-looked supplement, to both humans and pets. I'll have to get into enzymes in a future post!
Monday, January 09, 2006
About This Blog
Hi, my name is Yani. I'm the owner of a pet sitting business in Anacortes, WA, and I work twice a week in a health conscious pet supply store in Seattle.
This journal will casually focus on cat and dog nutrition, as well as health issues, that come up as interests to myself, or conversations and challenges I've faced with customers at the store.
I gather my information from tons of reading from books, health articles, online sources and conversations with holistic vets. What I say in this journal in purely my opinion and is in no way meant to be advice. If you are having issues with your pet, please work with your vet in addressing the issue, and your pet's individual needs.
I would advise having a holistic vet as one of your animal's human resources. Traditional western vets are great for diagnosing and surgeries, but often a holistic vet will look for the more underlying causes. When you determine an underlying cause and address that, the animal has a greater chance at becoming symptom-free for good!
This journal will casually focus on cat and dog nutrition, as well as health issues, that come up as interests to myself, or conversations and challenges I've faced with customers at the store.
I gather my information from tons of reading from books, health articles, online sources and conversations with holistic vets. What I say in this journal in purely my opinion and is in no way meant to be advice. If you are having issues with your pet, please work with your vet in addressing the issue, and your pet's individual needs.
I would advise having a holistic vet as one of your animal's human resources. Traditional western vets are great for diagnosing and surgeries, but often a holistic vet will look for the more underlying causes. When you determine an underlying cause and address that, the animal has a greater chance at becoming symptom-free for good!
