For many years my first cat absolutely loved to eat the crunchy commercial pet foods, even when I supplemented that with lots of fresh meat, fish, eggs, and cheese. This is what started my search for the best possible dry cat food that I could find on the market. I came across one brand, made with lots of high quality ingredients and natural preservatives, that is produced in Canada and promoted by leading holistic veterinarians from around the world. In fact, this brand included real whitefish and salmon, chicken meat, livers, and fat, as well as fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables like pumpkin, kelp, and alfalfa.
The AAFCO label is the first element the consumer should look for on a dog food package. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. The AAFCO approval is required for every dog food provider to be able to put their product on the market. Information about the basic nutrients provided by a specific type of dog food should also be found on the package. The ingredients are listed in order of weight according to the AAFCO regulations. In a descending order of weight, the ingredients should also be stated by their specific names and not a general terminology such as "grain" instead of "corn."
Not knowing of these dangers, I used the gourmet dry food as almost half of my cat's diet. As a result, she became another of those cats afflicted with the irreversible neurological conditions. As she developed wobbly hind legs, and as she was having great difficulties swallowing, urinating, and defecating properly, my cat began to lose a whole lot of weight. When she started having trouble simply breathing, I really began to fear the worst. Her veterinarian finally suggest I euthanize her, after all attempts at treatment failed.
From this experience I learned the great importance of natural and balanced pet diets, especially those that are homemade. Although I will very rarely recommend a few acceptable commercial food brands, I most often advise my veterinary patients to give their pets real, home-prepared foods.
A good number of veterinarians continue to recommend processed, "premium" dry pet foods, in spite of evidence suggesting these can be extremely detrimental to your pet's health. These commercial brands are creatively marketed as the healthiest diet options for your pet, even as the companies know this not to be true. An overwhelmingly amount of research shows a strong connection between a dramatic decline in our pets' overall health and the increasing use of those "premium" processed pet foods. There are many uncontrollable factors, such as over-vaccination and poor genetics, that contribute to pet health problems, by far the most important factor is an insufficient diet. Our pets are now regularly diagnosed with all sorts of conditions, from skin, teeth, and gum diseases, to diabetes, obesity, renal failure and anal gland blockages-all of which can be traced to improper nutrition. It should now be clear that an obscene number of our pets' health issues are directly attributable to the consumption of such mass-produced, processed pet foods.
If you want your pet to enjoy a long and healthy life, it is essential that you provide it with a balanced, natural diet made with fresh, real foods. For my own pets' recipes, I will choose anything from raw chicken necks, wings, even whole carcasses, to raw fish and eggs, organ meats from beef or lamb, in addition small amounts of dairy items. Because providing greens is also important, I will also add parsley or wheat-grass, broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, apple, pear, pineapple, and whatever other fruits and vegetables I have available. Using seaweeds like kelp powder or nori flakes, I am able to add further vitamin and minerals to their diet. I make sure that all of the foods I use are organic, whenever possible, and are also of human-grade.
It certainly does not have to be difficult or expensive to provide your pet with a healthy, natural diet. Above all, you can take pleasure in knowing that your pet is now more likely to live a longer, healthier, and happier life.
The AAFCO label is the first element the consumer should look for on a dog food package. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. The AAFCO approval is required for every dog food provider to be able to put their product on the market. Information about the basic nutrients provided by a specific type of dog food should also be found on the package. The ingredients are listed in order of weight according to the AAFCO regulations. In a descending order of weight, the ingredients should also be stated by their specific names and not a general terminology such as "grain" instead of "corn."
Not knowing of these dangers, I used the gourmet dry food as almost half of my cat's diet. As a result, she became another of those cats afflicted with the irreversible neurological conditions. As she developed wobbly hind legs, and as she was having great difficulties swallowing, urinating, and defecating properly, my cat began to lose a whole lot of weight. When she started having trouble simply breathing, I really began to fear the worst. Her veterinarian finally suggest I euthanize her, after all attempts at treatment failed.
From this experience I learned the great importance of natural and balanced pet diets, especially those that are homemade. Although I will very rarely recommend a few acceptable commercial food brands, I most often advise my veterinary patients to give their pets real, home-prepared foods.
A good number of veterinarians continue to recommend processed, "premium" dry pet foods, in spite of evidence suggesting these can be extremely detrimental to your pet's health. These commercial brands are creatively marketed as the healthiest diet options for your pet, even as the companies know this not to be true. An overwhelmingly amount of research shows a strong connection between a dramatic decline in our pets' overall health and the increasing use of those "premium" processed pet foods. There are many uncontrollable factors, such as over-vaccination and poor genetics, that contribute to pet health problems, by far the most important factor is an insufficient diet. Our pets are now regularly diagnosed with all sorts of conditions, from skin, teeth, and gum diseases, to diabetes, obesity, renal failure and anal gland blockages-all of which can be traced to improper nutrition. It should now be clear that an obscene number of our pets' health issues are directly attributable to the consumption of such mass-produced, processed pet foods.
If you want your pet to enjoy a long and healthy life, it is essential that you provide it with a balanced, natural diet made with fresh, real foods. For my own pets' recipes, I will choose anything from raw chicken necks, wings, even whole carcasses, to raw fish and eggs, organ meats from beef or lamb, in addition small amounts of dairy items. Because providing greens is also important, I will also add parsley or wheat-grass, broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, apple, pear, pineapple, and whatever other fruits and vegetables I have available. Using seaweeds like kelp powder or nori flakes, I am able to add further vitamin and minerals to their diet. I make sure that all of the foods I use are organic, whenever possible, and are also of human-grade.
It certainly does not have to be difficult or expensive to provide your pet with a healthy, natural diet. Above all, you can take pleasure in knowing that your pet is now more likely to live a longer, healthier, and happier life.
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