Usually I am not very verbal about endorsing products. Maybe I am to friends, but only if it is already brought into a conversation. However I can't help but talk about my cats and their food. Before the whole food contamination thing, I was feeding them the generic pet food. Purina indoor formula or something. Because it sounded "healthy". Then I decided to try feeding them "organic" cat food, or what I thought was organic. Again, because I thought it was "healthy" for them. Then there was the cat food contamination. There was no food that was safe, and it even reached the Nutro food that I thought was safe. It got so bad and so many brands were getting hit that I went as far as researching what cats need in their diet and how hard it would be to feed them a diet of people food and supplements to makes ure they had everything they needed. It's not as easy a feat as I thought, adn I knew going into it it would be though.
One of the problems with the cat food and the ingredients being imported from China is that the labeling laws are different between ouir countries, and not just in pet foods; in human foods too. If there is less than a certain percentage of an ingredient, they are not required to put it on the label. That and they cut corners and don;t see anything ethically wrong because it saves them a buck. For instance, cats needs a certain amount of protein in their diet, and if you look on the package, you will see their breakdown of how much protein, iron, fat, etc is in the food by percentage. The food companies purposefully added the melamine to the wheat and rice gluten to give the illusion of higher protein concentrations in the food. When run through tests, the chemical looks similar to protein, so they add that instead of the full amount of protein in order to save a little bit of money and seem to have no problem with the fact that it is killing pets.
Because I cannot sit back and accept that I will have to feed my cats food that can potentially kill them, nor can I dedicate the time and research I need to figure out what "people food" in what percentages is safe and most healthy for the cats, I decided to change the food I feed them. I found out from a friend that she feeds her pets human-grade food. Basically, there is nothing in these bags of animal food that would not be the same grade that would be safe for human consumption. If it's not good enough for people, it's not good enough for pets.
These are three of the pet foods I know that have human quality ingredients:
Wellness Pet Food
Flint River Pet Food
Innova Pet Food
My cats have been eating Flint River food for senior cats (even though they are not old kitties) because it has a lower fat content that is suitable for indoor cats who do not get quite enough excersize running aorund in a yard. And here comes the "sales pitch"... I can't believe how their behavior has changed since I started feeding them this food. Previously, they were lethargic, didn't play as much as I wanted, and were chubby and lazy. Since I have been feeing them this food for about a month, they are still a little chubby (hopefully that'll change) but the energy they suddenly have! They chase each other around the house, they play with everything, and they actually wear themselves out from being so active instead of simply being lazy and laying aorund all the time. Think about the engery difference we would have if we ate veggies, fruits, and hummus for a week versus a snickers bar for every meal for a week. Can we say lethargic much?
Never will I go back to the other crap food. And I really urge everyone to consider what you are giving your pets and if you would yourselves put in your own bodies what you are feeing the animals that don't have a choice other than to eat what you put on the floor for them.
Done preaching!! :o) Just wanted to share.
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2 comments:
YAY!!! I am so sad that so many pets had to die or get sick to get people to realize that most commercial pet food out there is crap. I have been in the "natural" pet health field for years and have been telling people over and over about how bad the food is, but most people say "its too expensive" or whatever. I think more people like you have realized that its worth it to pay a little more... you get what you pay for. I have been feeling my cats Innova and Wellness for years. Its also important for cats to get canned food, and filtered water (if you aren't doing that already).
Thanks for spreading the word!!
-Your SP
As I think about it more, the $20 bag of 20lb cat food is definitely inexpensive compared to the $20 bag of what, 5-10lb cat food. (My measurements are off, but I'm sure everyone gets it: big bag-o-crap for cheaper than little bag-o-good) However, what does it cost to have to worry about the food you buy each time you run out and the cats need food? And which is cheaper; a $20 bag of good food or dialysis, vet bills and medicine that the cat is going to have to take for the rest of their lives... plus the food you feed it.
We talk about pets as though they are our babies and our children; would we at the same time go to the grocery store and buy the cheapest food available no matter how much fat/crap/lack of nutrition and feed them to our kids just because "it's too gosh darned expensive!"?
In reality, the good food is not too expensive. Even with 2 always hungry cats, the small bag of Flint River is lasting over a month. I sure as heck can't feed myself for a month with $20, let alone a week. :o)
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