Why pet foods get a bad rap

sarah ann

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What is it with people who blame the pet food company every time their pet gets sick? Especially considering they can't be bothered to take their pet to the vet when it gets sick?

For example this review: Purina Kitten Chow - Wish I had looked here before kitten #2 died after eating this stuff. We got one kitten in June and in early August he got sick, laying around, not eating and died. We got two kittens in September and one kitten died this week. Both were about 12 weeks old. So kitten number 3, who is also about 12 weeks old will not be fed this kitten food ever again. I contacted Purina, let's see if they respond.

They knew the first kitten was getting sick, but never took him to the vet?  The same with the second kitten?

Or this one: "I didn't realize my Cat, Boris, was ill from the food, I just noticed he started losing weight rapidly.I tried feeding him canned food, and then the expensive refrigerated cat food, which he would eat, but clearly was sick, and still losing weight. He died a VERY slow and painful death on August 23... It was clear he was dying, and wanted to be inside... So I let him in."

Umm, what about taking your cat to the vet? Really! You know your cat is sick and losing weight rapidly and couldn't be bothered to take your cat to the vet!

 Is the cat food really making the animals sick, or are the owners the issue? How are people supposed to make an informed decision on whether that brand of pet food is safe or not, when others write reviews without any supporting evidence that the pet food was the problem?

 Not every digestive problem means there is a problem with the pet food. I have one cat who will throw up randomly. She has suspected inflammatory bowel disease... If you take her off steroids she will have vomiting and diarrhea. It does not matter what food you put her on! I've tried dry food, wet food, grain free, hypoallergenic, different proteins, etc.

I had a rescue kitten who had seizures. He was malnurished and all his other siblings did not make it. I doubt the pet food was what caused his seizures!
 

pinkdagger

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I think this is a bit of a double edged sword. We could argue that pet food companies are bad, because some are. A lot of them engage in less than ethical behaviour, as many large companies do to sustain themselves and generate a profit. If we look at them from a concerned consumer point of view, of course they're bad. They may be bad for their exploitation of land, of people, of animals, of other industries, and on top of it all, some of them create subpar products too.

It's our responsibility as caregivers and owners to be well informed of a) our animals' needs, and b) our options. More often than not, it's not so much a food in general as it is an ingredient in food. Part of being well informed is being able to weed out those who leave reviews with no substance vs the legitimate reviews. I always look for reviews that have both an objective and a subjective point, and I look for reviews that do the same, whether it's for a pet food or a vet clinic or anything.

Objectively, we have to look at what each contains. Most of us on TCS recognize that plants and plant-based proteins are less than desirable for obligate carnivores like cats and ferrets, and subjectively, we look at how others' pets reacted to it. I can easily say "Fluffy's Recipe is an awful food with cheap ingredients, but the cats really liked the taste. It made their poop horrible though" and that's a better review than along, detailed, very unfortunate story about how a food killed their cats because someone didn't have that *click* to say "hey, maybe the cat is sick and I should take it to the vet". For some, people think it's easier to buy a different food than it is to visit a vet because it's more affordable and more within their control because most owners can't diagnose specific issues.

IIRC, I had seen a post of yours regarding a low amount of amino acid in Nature's Variety or another well recognized and frequently fed food - another thing to keep in mind is how anecdotal reviews are. Where dozens of cats may struggle with urinary problems, digestive problems, or maybe even neurological problems due to a trigger (whether that's environmental or from food), we also have to bear in mind that we need to do some risk management too. Sometimes you just don't know until something happens, especially if it's not something that can be tested for. If you see some bad reviews that say cats have fallen ill or died as a result of eating or using something but objectively it looks like a great addition to their diet and there are other reviews where pets have had no issues, you can either heed the warnings or take the risk and be at the ready for any emergency.
 

furmonster mom

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Maybe it's because people are realizing that there is a larger correlation between food and health, for both humans and animals, than what big industries (medical, veterinary, pharma, processed foods) really want to admit.

In human medicine, there is a divide between medical professionals and nutritionists.  Medical professionals are trained and supported by big pharma, while nutritionists are often looked down on as secondary support.  Yet, there are many illnesses that can be addressed by better nutrition rather than a pill. 

However, even knowing this, we still go to the doctor when we know our illness or injury is more serious than what a vitamin C or band-aid can handle. 

This same divide exists in the veterinary field as well.

The trick for pet owners is to recognize when an illness is related to nutrition or when it might be a more serious medical issue.  Since our pets can't actually communicate the specifics, it's a more difficult call than when *we* get sick.  For this reason, I do agree that a vet visit for an animal exhibiting symptoms over more than 2 days should definitely be taken to a vet for diagnosis.  However, I always encourage pet owners that once a diagnosis is made, to educate themselves on it and continue to ask questions.... including nutritional factors.

Case in point:

Our dog, Babee, started a slow decline that I didn't really recognize right away.  She was sleeping more, not as energetic, grumpy... I chalked it up to her age catching up with her.  She would occasionally skip a meal, or only eat half, but when she skipped 2 days in a row, I took her to the vet.  A few tests revealed that she had Addisons.  Interestingly, her initial tests were borderline, and they had to do a couple more specific tests to confirm the diagnosis. 

I was told that Babee's case was unusual, because most dogs present symptoms and crash within a couple days, not weeks.

Oh, and ya know what is recommended for Addisons patients?... a high protein diet.  Thankfully, she was already on a high protein (raw) diet, and I personally attribute her slow symptoms to that very fact. 

This is a case where nutrition and medicine actually worked together... as they should. 
 
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