The packaging looks great, the ingredients seem sound as far as we know, and the kibble is in cute little shapes and colors. But what are we really feeding our pets? By understanding the nature of dogs and cats—and what they need not only to survive, but to thrive—you may be shocked to discover that the nice packaging is about the only thing that’s good about your commercial pet food.
First, understand that cats and dogs are carnivores. Contrary to popular myth, dogs and cats have not somehow evolved into omnivores. This myth arose because wild animals often eat the stomachs and intestines of grain-fed domestic animals they kill. However, when a wild animal hunts other wild animals, they don’t eat grains but rather the digested grasses and various other things that prey animals consume. For example, wild dogs and wolves will pick up the stomach or intestines of their prey and shake them out to rid them of these grasses and partially digested foods. Everything a dog or cat needs to thrive is in the meat and bone—not in grains. So, it stands to reason that they’re not thriving and, in fact, are barely surviving due to the primary ingredients in commercial foods: grains, along with many other undesirable ingredients we’ll uncover shortly.
The Hidden Truth About Commercial Pet Food
The pet food industry is closely tied to the human food industry, functioning as a way to dispose of the “leftovers” from human food production. While this article is too brief to cover the entire process, let’s provide some basic information to help you stay informed. First, let’s talk about that curious term: “byproducts.” Byproducts are a pet food industry euphemism for “junk off the slaughterhouse floor.” These are the remains after the meat has been stripped from the bone—such as beaks, feathers, entrails, blood, brains, etc. While these may not sound so alarming to anyone thinking that dogs are scavengers, the animals used or referred to here are often part of the 4-D classification. This stands for “dead, dying, diseased, and down” or disabled. If that doesn’t make your hair or fur stand on end, hopefully, what comes next will.
These “4-Ds” are rendered at very high temperatures and ground into a glob, with the fat rising to the top. This fat is skimmed off and sold as “animal fats”—another ingredient in your packaged pet food. Often, these rendered animals were other dogs and cats who were euthanized, sick, or even roadkill. Though cooked at very high temperatures during rendering, the process only kills any nutrients that might have been present. However, the pharmaceuticals used to euthanize animals can withstand the heat, so your beloved dog or cat ends up eating this in their “nutritious” food. To add insult to injury, this food is often rancid. Yes, rancid. These rendered animals and fats may sit in containers for days, becoming rancid as bad bacteria and mold thrive. And this is all allowable in pet food.
This “yummy” mixture is further tainted with food dyes, toxic preservatives such as Ethoxyquin—used to stabilize the food, but also an herbicide and just two chemical compounds away from Agent Orange, which killed many soldiers during the Vietnam War. Our pets are being poisoned by the very food they consume daily. Ethoxyquin is used to prevent moisture, so it enters our pets’ intestines, causing dehydration and creating a toxic intestinal environment. As a result, our pets can no longer properly assimilate their food, leading to diseases such as cancer. These foods also contain ingredients like corn syrup to flavor this unappetizing food and convince our pets to eat it. This, in turn, adds diabetes to the mix by introducing sugar our pets don’t need. To make sure we think the food is nutritious, synthetic vitamins are sprayed on top, duping us into believing it’s healthy for our pets.
If that wasn’t enough, the food is primarily poor-quality grains that should really be discarded as chaff. Why are cats and dogs, carnivores, being fed mostly grains? This is a cheap filler and a profitable way to dispose of this chaff. Grains are also the primary cause of yeast infections in dogs. Symptoms include chronic ear infections, incessant licking of genitals or paws, lick granulomas on the legs, habitual scratching, and rashes. This overabundance of yeast will travel up into the head, leading to loss of hearing, eyesight, comprehension, intelligence, and memory. These yeast infections start in the digestive tract, thanks to the grains in their diet, and then spread throughout their bodies, wrecking their health. To make matters worse, they are often treated with conventional medicine, such as antibiotics and steroids, which mask the allergy symptoms. Unfortunately, these pharmaceuticals only exacerbate the yeast problem by killing off any beneficial bacteria in your pet’s digestive tract, leaving them defenseless against disease and harmful yeast (bad bacteria).
So, What’s the Solution?
Feed your dogs and cats what’s natural for their species: raw meat and bones. Yes, raw. Raw bones are good for dogs, but cooked ones are not. For a dog, feed them equal parts bone and meat, totaling about 2-3% of their body weight per day. A high-quality whole food supplement can help them return to optimal health. Use natural remedies like essential oils, herbs, and homeopathy instead of pharmaceuticals and prevention medicines, and stop overvaccinating. If you do, your pets will likely thrive—not just survive.
About the Author:
Kim Bloomer is a natural pet care educator, host of the online radio show Animal Talk Naturally, and a proficient blogger and writer on natural pet health. Kim is also the co-author of Whole Health for Happy Dogs. She worked in the veterinary field for many years and continues to conduct extensive research into natural healthcare for dogs and cats. She is the co-founder of the new online continuing education program, Natural Animal World. Kim is currently enrolled in the Clayton College of Natural Health, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition and a Doctor of Naturopathy. She is a member of the American Veterinary Naturopathic Association.
Website: aspenbloompetcare.com
