Doesn’t my Vet know what’s best to feed my kitten?
The shocking answer is “No!” The fact is 80% of Veterinarians did not learn about nutrition in their schooling. They did not learn disease prevention. They did not learn how to keep an animal healthy. What they did learn is how to treat illness and disease. God bless them for that! But what a shame and great disservice to themselves and the millions of pet owners across the country that Nutrition is an ELECTIVE course in veterinary college. And, when chosen, it is a short, few hour course. It is basically useless in teaching our vets how to help us help our pets.
And for those few vets who did take the Nutrition elective –
Guess who supplies the “teaching” material for those rare nutrition classes? If you guessed the pet food industry, you are right! This is another case of the fox guarding the hen house. A lot of heavy marketing aimed at veterinary practices is done to promote unhealthy Iams and Science Diet-type foods. I’m sure there are several folks nodding their heads “ohhhh that’s why my Vet promotes that garbage!” You got it. Now I am sure that your vet’s intentions are good and that his or her heart is in the right place – he/she simply was not taught any better (or anything in the case of those who elected to not take the Nutrition elective at all) and more than likely, was otherwise “brainwashed” by the so-called “instructors” (which were merely Sales Reps for Iams and/or Science Diet) to believe that those foods were healthy and beneficial for your pet. Truth, however, is those foods are NOT healthy or beneficial to your pet.
At a minimum, pet owners should ALWAYS read the ingredient labels on the pet food packages. Pay particular attention to the 1st Five (5) listed ingredients (this is what the food contains the most of) You should AVOID feeding your cat food that has “ANIMAL BY PRODUCTS;” “CORN,” “CORN MEAL” listed as one of the first 5 ingredients.
For those that don’t care to read this blog in it’s entirety, I will get to the point right now (for the factual data to back this up, please continue to read):
1. Dry food is NOT best choice for your cat/kitten. It does NOT promote healthy teeth either. Rather it is full of preservatives, by-products, carcinogens, and oftentimes even MOLD. It is the cause of numerous disease processes and a big contributor to the overall dehydrated status of a large percentage of household cats.
2. Carbs serve no purpose in the feline diet. If you insist on feeding commercial cat food to your cat, please feed the “grain-free” types.
3. Science Diet and Royal Canin are two of the unhealthiest foods on the market – despite the fact that 90 percent of veterinary offices promote this garbage. Read the ingredient labels and refer to the plethora of research available online. Corn, Soy, and by-products are NOT a healthy part of any diet to feed your feline.
4. Canned food is better and healthier for your kitten/cat than any type of dry food.
5. Cats do not benefit from “free-feeding” and you should not leave a bowl of dry food out for them to eat at their leisure. You should however offer fresh water at all times. Adult cats can be fed 2-3 times per day and kittens under the age of 12 months should be fed 4-6 times per day as they require more calories and protein to support their growing bodies/brains.
6. Raw diets are the healthiest diets for your cat. However, raw diets are not convenient options for many owners and therefore, many do not choose to feed raw to their animals. The next best option is wet (canned) premium GRAIN-FREE foods (not Fancy Feast)
Are Processed Foods at the Root of All Feline Illness?
Diabetes, arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease, low immunity, even cancer – all of these diseases are ultimately caused by chronic inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to healing by bringing an increased immune response to the site of an injury or infection, but when inflammation becomes chronic, it damages the body and causes illness.
Processed foods aggravate chronic inflammation
It has long been accepted in human medicine that processed foods cause and aggravate chronic inflammation, and this is also true for our cats. Highly processed pet foods may well be at the root of many of the degenerative diseases we’re seeing in pets. Ironically, many veterinarians recommend these diets to their patients as the ultimate in “complete, balanced” nutrition. “Most small animal veterinarians spend the majority of their time as clinicians treating inflammation,” says Dr. Steve Marsden, one of the chief educators of veterinarians worldwide in complementary veterinary medicine, with board certifications in Chinese herbology, acupuncture, and naturopathic medicine. “For some, it is disheartening how they have to continually reach for the same old anti-inflammatory drugs, with all their attendant side effects. More alarming, too, would it be, if they realized the diets they sell in their front office were actually the cause of all that inflammation.”
Metabolic syndrome
A processed diet high in fat or carbohydrates creates a vicious cycle of sustained oxidative stress and damage from inflammation, which can eventually lead to insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is often referred to as Metabolic Syndrome. This has been well documented in human medicine, and is probably even more true for an obligate carnivore like the cat.
Once Metabolic Syndrome is present, inflammation becomes more entrenched and less likely to resolve itself. Conventional treatment with corticosteroids only amplifies insulin resistance, and can result in full-blown diabetes.
Genetics also play a role in the development of disease, but cat guardians have no control over that. They can, however, control what they feed their cats.