BHA & BHT & ETHOXYQUIN

dr. doolittle

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In case you haven't read my first post, I did not recommend Hills, I just mentioned two other very respectable brands of food that will address the concerns about preservatives.
For the record, the ingredients list on a bag of food can be very misleading. There really isn't much governing the accuracy of claims on any food. I trust the diets I know because I have learned about the science behind them and I have seen them work.
 

elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

In case you haven't read my first post, I did not recommend Hills, I just mentioned two other very respectable brands of food that will address the concerns about preservatives.
For the record, the ingredients list on a bag of food can be very misleading. There really isn't much governing the accuracy of claims on any food. I trust the diets I know because I have learned about the science behind them and I have seen them work.
I have not seen those brands for sale here in US. They must be Canadian?
In fact, the stores near me have very limited selections of pet food, unfortunately. They don't have ultra-premium foods.

As for vets, the only thing they would recommend to me is Science Diet. If I thought it would help my cat with his FIC, I would feed it. But the cat doesn't have crystals, and his urine pH is good. I have read that it's not good to feed the cat acidifying diet unless he actually has crystals, because then he can develop the other kinds of crystals.
 

dr. doolittle

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They are both veterinary diets and available at most vet clinics. If your vet does not carry them they can likley be special ordered. Medi-cal is sold as VMD (I believe) in the US. Walthams and Royal Canin have merged and you should be able to get them through the vet clinic.
Pancreatitis is a very serious condition in cats that can lead to death. Changes in diet should be handled with great care. I would strongly recommend that Chrisitine consult her vet before making any changes.
 

dr. doolittle

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As for the FIC you are right that he should not be fed an acidifying diet. Most companies make a maintenance diet that promotes UT health without being an acidifying diet. Wet food really helps these guys as they get more water on a daily basis. Also supplementing glucosamine and getting regular cartrophen injections is said to help reduce inflammation.
 

elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

As for the FIC you are right that he should not be fed an acidifying diet. Most companies make a maintenance diet that promotes UT health without being an acidifying diet. Wet food really helps these guys as they get more water on a daily basis. Also supplementing glucosamine and getting regular cartrophen injections is said to help reduce inflammation.
He gets glucosamine. I had to ask the vet because I heard about it on the board. I know she wasn't even going to suggest it. Never heard of cartrophen. Of course the vet never mentioned it. I am not surprised. They told me there is nothing else they can do for the cat. I guess I could ask them about cartrophen .
 

geisha_girl

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Eliz, Royal Canin is sold at Pet Supplies Plus in my parts. I havent seen it at a pet store or Petsmart. I dont know when they merged with Waltham, it mustve been recently since I just saw RC at PSP the other week and they are diminishing whats left. We dont sell it where I work, for some reason or another, and PSP just came into my city about a year ago. Waltham is essentially the same thing as Pedigree (as far as dog food is concerned). From my understanding, they own it, as well as other low end cat foods. And just so you know, RC has a ground yellow corn in its first 5 ingredients. Im not too impressed with it myself. And when I took my Chi to the vet the first time, almost every piece of literature had something about SD on it..............of course-thats what they get paid to do.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

Eliz, Royal Canin is sold at Pet Supplies Plus in my parts. I havent seen it at a pet store or Petsmart. <snip>And just so you know, RC has a ground yellow corn in its first 5 ingredients. <snip>And when I took my Chi to the vet the first time, almost every piece of literature had something about SD on it..............of course-thats what they get paid to do.
There must be regional differences then, as in my area of the country, Royal Canin is sold at PetSmart and I believe Petco as well.

Actually, this isn't the case with all formulas of Royal Canin..you just have to check the label...the Senior 26 that I am using in a mix with another food for my oldster with CRF does not have corn (other than corn gluten meal as a protein source), and in another formula, corn is 6th...just saying that it's not a hard and fast rule that all Royal Canin foods have corn in the 1st 5 ingredients.

Please...you can say you do not like vets, or have had bad experiences with them, but I'd appreciate it if you would stop stating as fact that all vets do xyz. I happen to go to a superb practice, none of them behave this way.
 

geisha_girl

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I havent seen RC in Petsmart around here. We dont have Petco either. Im not saying I would NEVER feed it to my cats. It just wouldnt be first on my list. I actually know a couple of people who have had great experiences with RC. Its just my personal choice not to consider it intitially.

On the other hand, I cant exactly say I dont like vets. They are sometimes a necessary evil, much like everything else in life. But everytime I go to the vet they are trying to cram SD down my throat with their pretty pamphlets and promotions. And when I tell them what I am feeding my pets, they scowl at me and murmur something under their breath. And Im not making this up. Like I said Im not trying to get anyones panties in a bunch, but all it took it for one person to misinterpret what I was trying to say and now we're all taking shots at each other, myself included.
 

elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

I havent seen RC in Petsmart around here. We dont have Petco either. Im not saying I would NEVER feed it to my cats. It just wouldnt be first on my list. I actually know a couple of people who have had great experiences with RC. Its just my personal choice not to consider it intitially.

On the other hand, I cant exactly say I dont like vets. They are sometimes a necessary evil, much like everything else in life. But everytime I go to the vet they are trying to cram SD down my throat with their pretty pamphlets and promotions. And when I tell them what I am feeding my pets, they scowl at me and murmur something under their breath. And Im not making this up. Like I said Im not trying to get anyones panties in a bunch, but all it took it for one person to misinterpret what I was trying to say and now we're all taking shots at each other, myself included.
My vets do the same thing with Science Diet, so I can relate. Haven't found one yet who didn't say to me to feed it to my cats.
 

gayef

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Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

... And when I tell them what I am feeding my pets, they scowl at me and murmur something under their breath. And Im not making this up ...
While this has nothing at all to do with preservatives in foods, food choices or food ingredients, I just had to respond to this ...

No, sadly you are not making it up. It has happened to me on numerous occasions and from numerous Vets and Vet Professionals. But then I always credited their response to me to the fact that I tend to be that one client they always hate to see coming in. I make them work too hard I've been told. I expect honest, concise answers based on reasonable effort at research to what I consider to be intelligent questions and if they don't know something, I expect them to admit it, then offer to research it for me. I am of the opinion that we hire professionals to advise us ... and they then offer us appropriate solutions which we may ~choose~ to employ or we may also choose NOT to employ. In other words, they work for us. I am giving them my extremely hard-earned money and the way I see it, to be rude or belittle me because of my choices only serves to allow me to let my fingers do the walking straight to the next vet clinic in the yellow pages, checkbook and all.

What with the number of people keeping pets in their homes growing astoundingly day by day, I think the vets and vet professionals are going to begin seeing a new breed of pet owner; one who is educated about animal care in general, who asks intelligent questions and when offered information, ALWAYS goes right out to thoroughly research it, makes choices for their pets based on sound judgement and a thorough knowledge of their individual companions and isn't afraid to doubt or confront when information isn't forthcoming or reasonable.

Again, sorry to hijack, but this is a topic near and dear to my heart, I'm afraid.

~gf~
 

pat

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Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

<snip>
On the other hand, I cant exactly say I dont like vets. They are sometimes a necessary evil, much like everything else in life. But everytime I go to the vet they are trying to cram SD down my throat with their pretty pamphlets and promotions. And when I tell them what I am feeding my pets, they scowl at me and murmur something under their breath. And Im not making this up. Like I said Im not trying to get anyones panties in a bunch, but all it took it for one person to misinterpret what I was trying to say and now we're all taking shots at each other, myself included.
Good, I hate that bunched up feeling
I am really sorry, I don't think I've necessarily been that lucky, but I also have had great luck by finding my favorite vets (on either coast) via recommendation..perhaps that is why it's been such a good fit. I wouldn't be able to work with any vet where there isn't respect for the research I may do, or my opinions...that would frost me!

Most of the time, you won't see "shots" here, it's a pretty safe and respectful place, one that I hope you will enjoy. Obviously you have a strong interest in the same area as a lot of us, I look forward to what you can share of your experiences/research.
 

sharky

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FYI for all this is a poketbook I have in my purse about addiditives in human foods..bha has an* which means generally recongnized as safe by the FDA, x which means the additive is unsafe or very poorly tested///can cause liver &kidney damage, behaviorial issues, cancer , weakened immune system ... should be avoided by infants small kids pregnant women and those sensitive to asperin... BHTsee BHA ..banned in England... this is from a booklet called food additives I found at my local health food store... It is written by a dr..

Reading that I would never give it to my babies ever again or myself for that matter...
 

luvmy4cats

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I have to agree with Geisha Girl regarding Science Diet and Veterinary clinics. I work as a receptionist in a clinic that happens to sell SD. The Vet and all of the techs all feed it to their pets. After their employee discount it's something like $20 for a 40# bag. I tell them I wouldn't feed it to my pets even if they gave it to us for free. I feed my cats (and dogs) only super premium brands such as Eagle Pack, Felidae/Canidae, California Natural, Wellness, etc. I remember we had a client once that had a German Shepherd with some stomach issues. The vet asked her what food she was feeding her. The woman told him she was using Canidae. He actually thought it was some cheap generic supermarket brand! He told her she should switch her to SD. He's absolutely clueless when it comes to food.
 

pat

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Well I've decided I am blessed with the vets I've been using these past 10 years, and my wonderful vet back East when I lived there....I would not have the same confidence in a practice that did this!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Well I've decided I am blessed with the vets I've been using these past 10 years, and my wonderful vet back East when I lived there....I would not have the same confidence in a practice that did this!
Mine is not a food expert but he is willing to listen and look over things...lol.. I gave him the homemade diet( he thought is was a great idea
 

pat

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Originally Posted by sharky

Mine is not a food expert but he is willing to listen and look over things...lol.. I gave him the homemade diet( he thought is was a great idea
 
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