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Clearly the most important issue is: "What should I feed my pet?" There are diets on the
grocery shelf for sensitive stomachs, sensitive skin, joint disease, hairball formulas, etc.
We have diets for the puppy and kitten, the mature pet, the "working" or active pet. We have
foods for the indoor "couch potato" dog and cat, as well as weight-loss diets to help our
four-legged friend lose weight.
Many of these foods show cuts of meat, vegetables, and grains on the panel of the bag or can.
There are diets designed to look like what we might eat, and those flavored for us as well.
We have very inexpensive (read: cheap) foods for the budget conscious. These diets rely on
poorly digestible "fillers" for their energy source. And, in this category of diets, the dry
kibble is actually extruded as a gruel and cooked, adding animal fats or flavors, by spraying
the final product with oils (haven't you ever wondered why dry dog food feels greasy?).
Lastly, in this group, the protein content may approach 30% but may only be 60% digestible.
Then, we have foods that don't contain grains, wheat, corn, soy, preservatives, artificial
colors or flavors. Many of these diets are made of wholesome, organically grown fruits and
vegetables, fresh deboned meat and fish. These foods are made to better suit the nutritional
needs of the dog or cat, using more available and more highly digestible sources of protein
with a 95% digestibility!
Then the question might be: "which category of foods should you feed?" Clearly, the second
category is the better food. But, let's break it down even a little further.
It has been said that "dogs and cats are the healthiest when fed whole, natural foods - USDA
chicken, turkey, lamb, fish, whole grains, rice, barley, fresh fruits, and vegetables."
Today's pet food industry sells billions of dollars of pet food annually. Many of the major
grocery store brands rely heavily on corn, and wheat (and wheat gluten) as the energy source.
Dogs and cats don't need large amounts of carbohydrates due to their ability to hydrolyze
glycogen. So why feed corn as the source of protein? In terms of digestibility, corn is only
54% digestible; wheat is only 60% digestible, and rice is 72% digestible. Animal proteins
(deboned turkey, chicken, chicken livers, fish, lamb) approaches 95% digestibility.
We have a number of good to excellent quality pet foods to choose from. For information on
"how to choose a healthful pet food," log on to
www.californianaturalpet.com or visit www.dogfoodproject.com.
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