Pets today are suffering from the same diseases of modern civilization as their owners: obesity, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal illness, and cancer.
The skyrocketing cost of veterinary care and treating pet illness when it strikes has caused some owners to resort to carrying pet health insurance. One surprising story I read about recently was a man who forked out $495 to save his constipated goldfish!
Yes, this really happened.
The good news is that proper diet that mimics what our pets would naturally eat in the wild largely avoids these chronic and degenerative health issues. The bad news is that the commercial pet food that the vast majority of owners rely on varies considerably from a natural diet in terms of macronutrient profile, particularly for cats and dogs.
For example, the majority of pet food brands on the market including the supposedly healthier choices carried by veterinarians themselves contain grains, legumes and/or starches such as corn, wheat, rice, oats, peas and potatoes in amounts completely inappropriate for the feline or canine diet.
Why?
The reason is that these foods make for pet food that is cheap to produce with a higher profit margin as compared with the same pet food made primarily with meat which is what dogs and cats would naturally be eating in the wild.
A feral cat, for example, would never be seen gnawing on a corn cob or digging up potatoes from someone’s garden to eat. Rather, the cat would be catching the rats, lizards, and other critters running around the garden instead.
In addition to inappropriate foods, dangerous ingredients lurk in commercial pet food which can also contribute to illness over the long term.
The best answer is DIY dog food and cat chow. The prey diet, as it is known, is unfortunately not an option either practically or financially for many people.
If purchasing pet food is the route you need to go, the next best thing is to become well versed in what ingredients to avoid and switching to a non-toxic brand if necessary. There are several brands on the market now that not only mimic a cat or dog’s diet in the wild but also are free of dangerous ingredients.
Below is a list of additives to watch out for according to a recent article from the winter issue of The Cultivator, produced by the Cornucopia Institute.
Carrageenan Present in Most Pet Food
Be wary as even organic brands like Newman’s Own and Blue Buffalo grain free pet food can contain carrageenan!
Carrageenan is a thickener and emulsifier made from seaweed, that while natural, induces gastric inflammation when processed by the intestinal tract in isolation from its natural state.
Recent, independent research (2014) at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago examined the process by which carrageenan induces an inflammatory response in both human and mouse epithelial cells. The inflammation occurred using doses less than the expected average daily intake for a person weighing 132 pounds (60 kg).
For the first time, this important research showed that the inflammation that occurs from consuming foods containing carrageenan develops in both mice and humans, with the likelihood that a similar, negative reaction would occur in cats and dogs.
If you are feeding your cats or dogs primarily canned pet food with carrageenan in it, they will be consuming amounts known to cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract!
Forward-thinking pet food brands (such as this and this) are now producing cat and dog food without carrageenan but beware of veterinary recommended brands like Science Diet that still contain it as of this writing.
False non-GMO Pet Food Claims
Watch out for misleading claims about “naturally GMO-free” ingredients in pet food. Unless the brand is organic, the feed consumed by the livestock used to produce the pet food is virtually certain to be of GMO origin.
Also, remember that over 90% of soybean and corn grown in the United States is genetically modified (GMO). Corn gluten meal is a common substitute for meat in pet food, so if yours contains this or any other form of corn or soy, there is a high probability it is GMO unless the brand is certified organic.
Note that there is a new USDA non-GMO label approved for meat only if the producer can prove that all the livestock feed used is GMO-free. Unfortunately, this label is currently missing from pet food.
Pet Food Ingredients from Food Industry Waste
The shocking truth is that pet food manufacturers regularly use food industry waste products in the production of cat and dog food.
Watch out for pet food label ingredients marked as animal fat and/or bone meal (MBM) which often is sourced from expired grocery store meats, animals that were sick and died at the farm, and restaurant scraps which would include rancid, toxic (likely GMO soybean oil) grease from deep-fat fryers.
In addition, ingredients labeled as animal fat and MBM are the most likely ones to indicate pet food that is contaminated with sodium pentobarbital. This drug is used by vets and animal shelters to euthanize animals.
Synthetic Preservatives a Common Pet Food Ingredient
Be sure to check your pet food labels to ensure they are free of synthetic preservatives such as Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and propyl gallate.
These ingredients have been linked to cancer.
Look for natural preservatives such as vitamin C, Vitamin E (sometimes listed as tocopherols) and plant oils such as rosemary.
How Does Your Favorite Pet Food Brand Stack Up?
Do a quick label read on your pet’s food.
Does it contain any of these ingredients listed above?
If you find disturbing ingredients that concern you, I would suggest that you check out the Organix (for cats – this is what I have recently switched to) and Cocolicious (for dogs) brands which are grain free and do not contain the harmful ingredients outlined in this article (with the exception of the shredded chicken flavor from Organix, which still contains carrageenan as of this writing … choose any of the other flavors instead).
More Information
Constipated Goldfish Saved with $465 Surgery
Fast and Easy Fix for a Stinky Cat Litter Box
Dirty Secrets of the Pet Food Industry
The Ideal Traditional Diet for Pets
The Pet Food Diet Deception
Picture Credit
I recently read an article from Dr. Becker, a holistic veterinarian, in Illinois, and she interviewed a Feline Health and Nutrition Guru who said cats and dogs need protein as the main part of their diet. Most commercial foods on the market lacks enough protein and contains more grains and fats. I checked the cat food I was giving my cat and noticed the fat content was twice the amount as protein.
Dr. Pierson has a list on her website that gives the protein/fat/carb percentages of commercial cat foods you might want to check out. I switched to another brand of cat food (which I won’t mention here because it may be against the website policy) and it does not contain carrageenan.
According to the chart, the brand mentioned by Sara has at most 25% protein to 62% fat, and 13% carb, which is fairly typical of commercial canned cat foods. The brand I chose has protein/fat/carb ratio of 79/21/0.
I’ve been using Planet Organics dog food for years. I remember when a 30lb bag was $35.00. I now pay almost $50 for a 25 lb bag. However I have very few vet bills so I consider it a wash.
My cat like Organix cat food.
I’ve been feeding my puppy (1 year) canned food from the store and she has always had trouble digesting/eating it. I think quality in canned foods isn’t that great; they just throw in a bunch of things that we think are healthy and advertise it as healthy. I agree with this article when it says that we feed our pets food that they wouldn’t naturally eat.
Sometimes I think it may just be cheaper to buy a bunch of chicken breasts/meat and feed my puppy that, since she’s relatively small. She’s also a Jack Russell so she won’t get too big and won’t be so costly to food quality food.
Thank you for this article, it was very informative. I’ll be looking into feeding my puppy more natural products.
I’m looking at Organix and wonder about the cans? I wish the wet food was packaged in something other than aluminum cans. Are they lined with plastic? I have read that both cats and dogs do better with moist food. Especially cats who are easily dehydrated because in the wild they would get more moisture from their food. They aren’t natural water drinkers and don’t drink enough from a bowl.
Wet pet food is much better than dry kibble for sure. Unfortunately, the wet food typically comes in cans … not a perfect choice exists currently unless you bite the bullet and make your pet’s food yourself. Organix is the best I’ve found so far for cats … even the raw pet food in the refrigerated section of my healthfood store is packaged in plastic with questionable ingredients.
I have fed my dog Organix for years and their cans are not lined with plastic. I buy it from amazon’s subscription and save a lot of money that way. I receive a two month supply every two months. My dog loves the food and I love the easy delivery. No Carrageenan.
I feed my dog just as I feed myself, a whole foods and species appropriate diet. I began feeding him a raw food diet at five months old. He was a picky eater and was plagued with a dull coat, itchy skin and ear infections. A few months after I began to raw feed he blossomed into a beautiful, shiney dog who loves his food and had no health issues at all. I feed nothing from a can, bag or box. He get a diet of human grade foods in this ratio: 80% muscle meats from a variety of animals ( chicken, beef, quail, duck, goat, etc . . . ), 10% edible bone (duck necks and chicken legs and only raw; never offer cooked bones as they can not only chip teeth, but can cause digestion problems or tear insides while raw bone is totally digestible), 5% liver (from various animal sources) and 5% organ and tripe (also sourced from a variety of animals.) his treats are meats and organs, but dehydrated.
This way I know what he is getting and I do not question the ingredients. I figure we go to great lengths to feed ourselves and families whole, clean foods so why not our pets? It costs no more than feeding premium kibble. I joined a few raw dog food co-ops locally which has saved me lots of money. Just do a search on the web. These groups will also mentor you while you learn the process. Your biggest investment will be an extra freezer to store your food. Be careful about buying from the grocery stores as much of that meat has saline injected and will make the dog sick. My vet praises my dog’s health, his shiney coat and sparkling clean teeth and my once picky boy is a happy member of the clean bowl club. I taught him to eat his food from a bowl which I set on a towel to keep my floor clean where he eats. I used a spray I make from essential oils to clean up my food prep area each day and in my four years of raw feeding have never had an incident of cross contamination from working with raw meat. Preparing his meal each day takes me about five minutes. The hardest part of feeding my dog properly is thawing the 40lb boxes of food and bagging it into manage portions to re freeze to await use. That takes about a half of an hour per box. I thaw one at a time in a Rubbermaid container so it is no hardship for me. Most raw fed dogs I have met among my co-op members live longer with less incidence of illness and are beautiful! Many are show dogs so it is the preferred diet in the ring too. I do not show my boy as he is my companion buddy, but I could because he is a beautiful, raw fed dog. Do your research then do what is best for your pets health and happiness. I was so nervous at first, but with a little help from my friends in learning I now cannot say enough good about raw feeding.
Oh, I wanted to add that the only supplements I offer my dog are a tablespoon of 50/50 blend of organic kelp and alfalfa powder and one pump of Grizzly Salmon Oil mixed in his food two days a week. Neither are necessary, but it is an extra boost of dense nutrition that I learned from those who show their dogs and win. You can get both from Amazon.
Thanks for this! I’ve been switching my dog and cat — which I’ve long fed grain-free kibble — to a refrigerated brand called Fresh Pet, and some Instinct Raw as well, as I can manage it financially. Their health is so important to me.
For less than $1 per LB I feed my dogs raw chicken backs/necks/hearts/gizzards, table scraps, and a few of our chicken’s eggs per week. Healthiest dogs around.
If people do a little research there are companies that cut meat for restaurants/grocery stores/etc and have necks/backs/etc that you can buy for .59 per lb. They have ground chicken parts for .79 lb.
Do you cook them? Regarding both meat and eggs?
OK, what about for those people who cannot afford those prices? Wouldn’t it be better to feed kitties cans of tuna? Any other suggestions? (cheap!) While I love our kitty, there is no way I could afford those foods. I understand the danger of some brands of pet food, as the dry food we used to give our cat caused a UTI (which we treated at home). We since switched to dry food that doesn’t list corn as the first couple of ingredients and also canned food, and she hasn’t had a UTI since.
Tuna is not enough and is missing much of what a cat requires to remain healthy, for example taurine. You need to offer a variety of foods to accomplish a balanced diet. Offering good balanced food is not hard nor expensive, but it does take some knowledge to get it right. There are many groups on Facebook and Yahoo groups who can help build your knowledge about how to feed your cat properly. Do some research on raw feeding your cat.
If you are going to make raw food for your pet, PLEASE click through to my article on the subject that outlines what to do. You need to be careful about this to ensure that it is properly done and your pet is receiving all that he/she needs.
Thanks so much, Sarah. I will look into that.
Thank you, Carol for the info!
oh man.. i have 3 goldens; feed them a non grain food from costco. ugh bad?
Thanks for writing about this important topic.
I might add a couple things to the list, like synthetic supplements such as folic acid, as well as industrial oils which are likely rancid and toxic not to mention genetically modified (soybean, canola, corn, etc.)
Luckily, there are lots of raw pet food companies springing up. It’s even possible to find some that source from farms that are at least somewhat cleaner and more sustainable. For anyone in the Twin Cities, Woody’s Pet Food Deli is a great resource. Every town needs a place like this, for pets whose people are not inclined to make their own pet food: