- Pam told the story about Squall, her adopted kitty who had vomiting and diarrhea problems despite repeated wormings by her veterinarian. He and Quistas, another adoptee were eating cheap 97 cents-a-bag cat food, until Quistas became pregnant, and a pet food store lady read Pam the riot act then suggested a quality kitten food (TechniCal, a Canadian brand) that would give Quistis enough calories and fat to have healthy kittens, and to get healthy herself. Let Pam finish the story herself:
As it turns out, the higher price is totally worth it. Quistis had two healthy kittens, one of whom is still with us today. Squall stopped having bright red diarrhea and has permanently joined us inside, and will never ever be banished to the outdoors ever again because of human ignorance. Our vet murmurs in approval at my answers to his food questions during their yearly checkups, and everyone - everyone who comes over notices the healthy, shiny, soft coats of my kitties.
And might I also mention that with 10 cats in a 2-bedroom apartment, nearly everyone who's come over has expressed amazement that the house does not smell the least bit smelly or stinky.
Erika Wrote: Two of my seven cats (Felix and Six) have had incidences of urinary crystals. The vet prescribed Science Diet c/d, which I fed for a while but disliked. I slowly changed the dry food (which was the largest percentage of their food at the time) over to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. I switched their wet food from SD c/d to a rotation of Wellness, Nutro NC, Natural Balance and currently, Chicken Soup wet. Both cats have been tested as free of crystals while on this diet.
On the other side of the coin is the huge population of cat owners who have always fed the supermarket brands of pet foods to their cats, and have seen no reason to change. The foods are relatively cheap, the cats like them, their coats are reasonably shiny, and they are reasonably healthy. So like the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I could have fallen into this category. My cats for years had been fed a diet of Friskies dry food, and they always seemed to be healthy and happy. There was no compelling to make changes to something that had always worked, until I started reading and researching.
Why Should I Fix It?
The "soft" answer might be, "because switching to a better food will give your cats even glossier coats, brighter eyes, much better health, and a reasonable expectation of a longer life." The "hard" answer is this:
As more and more is learned about the things that presently go, legally, into cat food, the onus is put more and more on the pet owner to decide which of those cat foods his cat will eat.
Mad Cow Disease Raised New Fears
Since the first Mad Cow was discovered in Washington state in December, 2003, the government has scrambled to plug holes in the dike of the FDA testing processes, and to enact new regulations that will help protect the (human) consumer. It may be a process of "too little, too late, however. Mad Cow Disease is caused by rogue prions, the nasty mutant proteins believed also responsible for: variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (the human form) and Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (the feline form), and variations affecting several other species. All forms of prion disease are fatal.
And while the FDA has enacted new regulations for beef intended for human consumption, rendered meat by-products, including all those nasty things mentioned on page one, are still allowed in pet food, and those by-products could come from downer cows.
This is not some hysterical hypothesis; One pet food has already been recalled because of the possibility it included BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), in May of 2003:
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has learned from the government of Canada that rendered material from a Canadian cow that last week tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as mad cow disease) may have been used to manufacture pet food, specifically dry dog food, some of which was reported to have been shipped to the United States.
The food was subsequently recalled by the U.S. distributor, The Pet Pantry International.
Mad Cow Scare Pales Next to 2007 Recalls
The unfolding pet food recall stories in 2007 brought a sense of horror never experienced before to American consumers. When it seemed that the lists of newly-recalled pet foods would never end, recalls of other products imported from China moved toward those for human use: drugs, children's toys, toothpaste.
In the wake of the pet food recalls, few consumers believe that "big brother," in the form of the FDA, will help us. Personally, I've always been big on personal responsibility, so I haven't substantially changed my way of shopping for my cats food. The only way I can help ensure my cats' nutritional needs is by reading cat food labels and choosing accordingly. I also rotate my cats' canned and dry foods, so that they are never eating a preponderance of any given brand or variety.
I hope my readers will follow my example.
If you found this article useful, you might want to enroll in my free email class, The Role of Food in Your Cat's Health.
