Nutrition
by Missy Brown, MAGRR volunteer

The single most important factor in a healthy dog or cat is nutrition and exercise.  As humans, we always hear,
"Exercise!" and "Eat right!" and we are always (or at least we SHOULD be) watching what we eat.  Funny that while we are careful about our diet and our food, we can shovel a few scoops of grocery store kibble into a bowl and feel like we are doing right by our pets.

The same nutritional philosophy that humans adhere to should be true for our furry companions.  Even more so, because they can't communicate things like, "Gee, Mom.  I feel lethargic.  Maybe I'm not getting enough iron."

Please explore the articles below for more information on feeding your companion animals. I have tried to look at the topic objectively and fairly, and have put countless hours into finding, what I believe to be, facts on this topic. You may be surprised!

 A Primer in Pet Foods

There are many websites, books, and magazines that address the issue of pet foods, and it certainly is becoming a more popular subject among those who share their lives with furry companions.  And rightly so.  It's high time we really considered what we are feeding our pet.

So, what IS to be considered?  What things should you know?

In our first article, A Primer in Pet Foods, we'd like to briefly touch on some of the issues facing us.

The pet food industry is a booming business, and there are so many claims being made, and new products coming out.  We are plagued by various ads, commercials, fancy packaging, and nifty names.  What we don't see is the source of the food, the ingredients, the processing, or the great masterminds behind the ads.

Although the industry is regulated by the AAFCO, the Association of American Feed Control Officials, the standards for production, labeling, and marketing are very different than the same for human foods.

For instance,  meats that a human would never consume, like rotten meat, factory farming waste, meat from dead animals, and road kill CAN be put into food.  Often called the silent industry, rendering is needed for all of America's waste, but if it isn't used somewhere, that is money going down the drain.  What better way to use it than pet foods?

Another consideration in choosing a food is deciphering the label.  Ingredients such as chicken, chicken meal, chicken by-products, chicken by-product meal, chicken digest, poultry meal, etc. are all completely different.  How do you know what is best?  How do you know what parts of the chicken are in each ingredient, and if it even is chicken?

And how about names?  Are we to believe that a food with the word 'natural' in the name is somehow better than a food without that?  Are there certain requirements a company must meet to make that claim?  What about those names that tug on your heartstrings, like those containing words such as 'best' or 'dog lovers' or healthy' or even 'chicken soup'?

Preservatives will thicken the plot even more.  Many of the commercial pet foods are preserved with chemicals that are known carcinogens, and these are chemicals we are forcing our companion animals to ingest daily.

And what about the quality of the ingredients?  I am sure you've heard the term 'human grade' in regards to pet foods.  What makes that different from other formulas, and is that a claim that is even allowed or recognized by the AAFCO or FDA?

Oh, yes.  And let's not forget ingredients that are more likely to cause allergic reactions in our pets.  Fido is scratching and is constantly itching, and it's a possibility that something as simple as a food change can alleviate it.

All of these concerns, and many more as well, make choosing a food for your friend about as difficult as it can be.  The best thing you can do is educate yourself.  Learn all you can, make informed decisions, and do what is best for you and your friend.

Quality or Quantity?

"But I don't want to spend that much money on food!" you say.

Yes, I know.  Me, neither.  But you really do get what you pay for, and those grocery store kibbles generally aren't the best.  And although many quality foods are more expensive, you really feed less because the ingredients are better absorbed by your dog or cat, and they aren't full of junk that just passes on through.

There are many different kinds of foods, and the more you are willing to pay, the better the product will most likely be.  Decide what you can afford to spend on your pet's health, and find the best food you can with that amount.  Find a 'level' that you feel comfortable in.

Generic - Some of the lowest quality brands are found in grocery stores or general stores and are loaded with junk.  These 'generic' foods, as I call them, will often contain many allergens, a lot of fillers, poor quality proteins, and harmful preservatives.  It's not uncommon for them to contain by-products, a lot of corn, and even meat sources that aren't specific like 'meat meal' instead of a named protein source.  These are typically foods that you feed a lot of, but that aren't absorbed well.

Poor - Then you have another level of foods, the 'poor' foods.  These are ones that have brand names you recognize and know, and often will trust.  But many of these foods, too, have fillers, poor protein sources, and may have chemical preservatives as well.

Decent - Now, let's leave the grocery store and venture into the next level of foods.  These are what I call 'decent' foods and are found at most of the pet supply stores. 'Decent' foods have natural preservatives, and have named protein sources.  They will still generally have fillers such as corn or wheat, and will most likely contain some allergens.  Overall, these are better foods, and in a pinch, I'd feed them.  Most brands you'll find will fall into this level.

Good - But take it a step further.  Weed out the foods that use ingredients from pet food processing and find brands that use products that a human would consume.  These are what I call 'good' foods.  These meats come from USDA inspected plants, and won't contain road kill, euthanized pets, rotten meat from grocery stores, etc.  Some will have by-products, but they come from inspected facilites.  The foods in this category will also use natural preservatives instead of BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin.

Great - Next in line are the 'great' foods, or foods that have all the qualities of a 'good' food without by-products.  These will contain chicken meal or chicken as opposed to chicken by-product meal.  They'll also have more meat sources listed in the first five ingredients than fillers like wheat and corn.

Excellent - And now let's find even better ones, which, surprisingly enough, I call 'excellent' foods.  These are human grade foods with no allergens.  Common allergens are corn, wheat, dairy, and soy, to name a few.  You'll see potatoes, barley, and rice in place of those other ingredients.

Top Notch - Then you finally come to the best kibbles you can find.  These are 'excellent' kibbles that have added probiotics, or digestive enzymes.  They have chelated minerals, which are better absorbed by the body because they are bound to amino acids.  And they have veggies in the mix, too.

Natural - Then you have natural foods, which are foods you'd find your companion animals eating if they could choose to do so....your food!  Raw diets are becoming increasingly common, and more is being learned about this method of feeding each day.  These can be purchased already prepared, or you can make them at home.

Although there are many foods suitable for feeding, we prefer to stick with the excellent, top notch, and natural category.  After all, don't your fur-kids deserve the best?  We think so!