| Dr. Jean Hofve (www.LittleBigCat.com) recommends
avoiding wheat or corn products
of any type when selecting pet foods. They can be contaminated with pesticides,
molds and other toxins. Also, corn is commonly genetically modified. Following
this rule increases the safety of what you feed—many recalls involve
contaminated grains. For instance, the Menu Foods recall involved wheat gluten
contaminated with the plastic melamine. The Diamond Foods recall involved
contaminated corn. We do not feed our pets any food or treats with wheat, corn
or soy products in them. For up-to-date pet food recall information, go to Dr.
Jean Hofve's webpage:
Pet Food Recall Information.
 Dr. Jean Hofve also has an excellent series of audio books on how to feed your
dog or cat:
How
NOT to Kill Your Cat or Dog - What the Heck Do We Feed Them Now? Go to
this page to order:
How NOT to Kill Your Pet.
Dogs and cats are both carnivores, designed to eat whole prey animals, not
grains. However, grains are widely used in pet foods because they are cheap
fillers and sources of protein. Despite what the commercials say, pet foods were
not invented to improve the health of dogs and cats—they were invented for our
convenience and to make money. They have only been widely used since the middle
of the 20th century. We now think that feeding dry kibble is the "normal" way to
feed our pets and anyone who does otherwise is coddling their pet or just plain
weird. Even many veterinarians scold their clients for feeding something other
than an "approved" commercial pet food. However, commercial pet foods have been
fed for less than 100 years out of the thousands of years that humans have had
pets. How did our pets survive before then? Dogs were fed raw bones from the
butcher and table scraps. Cats typically lived outside and hunted and were fed
table scraps as well. If they lived on farms, they also drank raw milk, a very
healthy food. In other countries where pet foods are less widely used (such as
Italy), people often cook for their dogs, just as they do for their children.
 Cats were domesticated by the Egyptians to protect their granaries from rodents.
They were the perfect animal for the job since, as pure carnivores, they ignored
the grain and feasted on the rodents. And yet today we insist on feeding these
descendants of the African wildcat dry kibble that contains more grain than meat
because it is cheaper and more convenient. In fact, people think they are
"spoiling" their cat if they feed it canned food rather than kibble. For an
excellent reference on why cats should not eat dry kibble, read Dr. Jean Hofve's
article
Why Cats Need Canned Food. While dogs are more omnivorous than cats
(obligate carnivores needing 70-90% meat), their diet should still be 60-80%
meat with limited grains. So, why are we feeding dry kibble, which cannot be
manufactured with more than 50% meat because it literally gums up the kibble
making machines? Dry kibble is nutritionally equivalent to feeding meat-flavored
cookies to our pets.
To learn more about the problems with commercial pet foods and the many options
for feeding our dogs, we highly recommend the film
Eat, Drink, Wag Your Tail,
available on DVD from Optimum Choices. This very entertaining and
professionally-produced film also features an extensive interview by Dr. Richard
Pitcairn, one of the most highly respected holistic veterinarians in the
country. You can also learn more by reading our Holistic Choices e-Book on
Optimum nutrition for dogs and cats.
Click pictures to order from our website
In our e-Book we discuss the following nutritional myths:
- Dry kibble cleans pets' teeth
- Raisins are healthy training treats for dogs
- Raw food is a dangerous "fad diet"
- Commercial pet foods provide a healthy, balanced diet
All these myths and other holistic questions are discussed in Optimum Choices'
new e-Book, Optimum nutrition for dogs and cats. Based on our 75+ years of
holistic experience, we utilize our scientific degrees to research what dogs and
cats are really designed to eat. We compare our commercial pet foods with the
diet nature designed our pets to eat. By looking at the nutrient deficient foods
we serve our pets, you will understand
why our pets have a higher cancer rate
now than humans. According to the Morris Animal Foundation, nearly 50 percent of
natural deaths in older cats and dogs are attributed to cancer (63% for Golden
Retrievers, Kali’s Wish Cancer Foundation).
We go on to explain why most holistic vets recommend a home-cooked or raw meat
diet for dogs and cats.
If you cannot do a home-cooked or raw meat diet, we suggest you visit your local
natural pet supply store for suggestions on brands to
purchase. If you don't have a store near you or you would like home-delivered
food, we suggest Life's Abundance pet food from
HealthyPetNet (only available for shipping within the U.S., Independent
Field Representative). The HealthyPetNet company recently sent the following
information about the pet food recall:
 We
have had several inquiries regarding our foods, since Life’s Abundance
contains “whole brown rice”. Some consumers are confused, as the newly
recalled Natural Balance foods include “brown rice” in their names. However,
the contaminated ingredient is not brown rice; instead, it is “Rice Protein
Concentrate”. None of our products include this ingredient.
Additionally, it is believed that this contaminated ingredient, like the
wheat gluten involved in prior recalls, was imported from China. We use only
human-quality ingredients from U.S. sources in our foods. There is no chance
that this ingredient came into contact with any of our products.
We are fully confident that our foods, as well as all of our products, are
completely safe. All of the products covered in the recalls of recent weeks
included either wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate (and possibly corn
gluten) in their formulas. We consider these ingredients to be unnecessary
fillers, and as you know, we do not use fillers in any of our foods.
We continue to maintain very strict quality control measures in the
manufacture of all of our foods, treats, care products and supplements. As
we have noted previously, we devote a great deal of energy into using only
the best vendors in the market, so that only the highest quality ingredients
are included in our products.
ALL HealthyPetNet products are completely safe.
If these expert dietary suggestions seem like too much
trouble or cost too much money, think about this final parting thought:
|
