There is such a variety of food available it is difficult to know what is best for you and for your pet. There are homemade diets, raw diets and lots of options to choose from. The reason there are so many choices is because not one food is good for all pets, just as humans could not tolerate the same diet. For example, broccoli is a vegetable that is good for us, but not everyone likes it or can eat it.
Commercial Pet Foods for Dogs and Cats
At HIghview and Meadows Animal Clinic we offer Medi-Cal Royal Canin diets and Hills Prescription diets. These two companies are companies that we trust and provide studies and proof of the efficacy of their diets.
Reading Pet Food Labels
Click here! to watch a short, informative video debunking pet food myths!
When it comes to food you get what you pay for. Lower priced diets have more “filler” and lower quality ingredients. You might be surprised to know that it is impossible to determine the quality of the food by the ingredient list. For example, some pet food manufacturers boast that meat is the first ingredient in their food, implying that there is more meat than any other ingredient, which is misleading. One way they accomplish this is by breaking the grain component into several different categories such as wheat flour, wheat shorts and wheat, thereby lowering their place on the ingredient list.
Another way is to put “whole chicken” as the first ingredient. This is the precooked weight and most of this weight is water which evaporates during the cooking process. Also the percentage of protein listed does not tell you what the quality or “bioavailability” of the protein is.
Unlike dogs, cats have no carbohydrate requirements. They are true carnivores and must eat protein in order to survive. Recent research suggests that the relatively high carbohydrate content in most commercial cat foods may be contributing to the high prevalence of obesity seen in our household cats (in addition to the sedentary lifestyle of course). Obesity in cats, just like in humans, significantly increases the risk of diabetes. Watch for foods that claim to have “high protein.
Nutrition Facts and Myths
Corn:
Myth– It’s just a filler, Fact – Fillers have no nutritional value, therefore the diets we trust would not use this ingredient if there was no purpose for it. Corn is packed full of valuable nutrients that help the skin and coat, such as antioxidants, vitamins A & B, selenium and zinc, amino acids cysteine and methoinine and fatty acids.
Myth- It’s not digestible, Fact- Whole corn is covered by a protective fibrous layer called hull. When this layer is broken down, it allows digestive enzymes to break down the fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Studies have shown that grinding corn allows greater digestibility.
Grains:
Myth – Too high in carbs, Fact– A grain free formula does not mean it is a starch free formula or that is it nutritionally aligned to your dog or cat’s precise needs. Many new grain free ingredients such as sweet potato or tapioca still contain starch. In fact, starch is required to create a kibble and gives its pillow like appearance.
Myth- Causes allergies, Fact- An allergy can be caused by any ingredient with protein. Grains have shown to be no more allergenic than any other ingredient such as fruits and vegetables.
Raw and Home cooked Diets
Myth- Easy to balance, Fact- Making a diet is never easy unless you can scientifically measure every ingredients digestibility and nutrient levels. Many home made or raw food diets are nutritional unbalanced, not enough nutrients or too much.
Myth- Safe, Fact- When dealing with home prepared and raw diets the chances for bacterial contamination are significant. While your pet may be able to deal with these different pathogens, humans usually cannot. You may take every precaution in your kitchen for safety, but your pet can carry these pathogens and potentially contaminate anyone who comes into contact with your pet.
By-Products
Myth- Low quality, Fact- By products are a secondary product in addition to principal product. They are not, in the diets highview and meadows animal clinic sells, beaks and feet. Numerous ingredients can actually be considered a by-product such as connective tissue, wheat, bran, tripe, salami, beef liver, etc.
Myth- Not safe, Fact- By-products are as safe as any other meat ingredient. Any meat by-product, when sourced from a high quality facility, is selected from clean, fresh parts of the a healthy animal. Sometimes by-products are incorrectly associated with diseased animals but this is absolutely not the case with reputable pet food manufacturers. This is why we choose to sell products from only specific food companies who take precautions with all of their raw food material.
