Overview of Pet Food and Treats

The old adage "you are what you eat" holds true for both humans and our pet friends.  The food you put in your pet's bowl is critically important to your cat or dog's health and long term well being.  It all begins with understanding the important relationship between your pet's health and good nutrition.  Despite equal approval by the only agency that regulates cat and dog food (AAFCO), all cat and dog foods are NOT created anything close to equal.  It is estimated that 60 to 70% of all health problems encountered in veterinary medicine are due to poor diets.  

These are the KEY items to avoid  in pet food and treats:

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ALL grains, but especially wheat, corn, barley, and soybeans contain glutens which can cause terrible harm to the digestive tracts of cats and dogs.

Artificial colors, Artificial flavors, Byproducts, Digest, Glutens, MSG, hydrogenated oil/transfat, Chemical preservatives: BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, Sodium benzoate, Propylene glycol, and Propyl galate

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Clermont Animal Hospital recommends diets that do not contain the above key items.  It is vitally important to read the label, it would be in the best interest of your pet to look for another food or treat.  For more detailed information about pet foods and treats and the harmful substances many of them contain, it is recommended to visit the following website: www.dogtorj.net.  The veterinarian who authored this web site spent six years researching the cause and effect of foods on both human and animal health. 

The following is a general breakdown of various pet foods.  It is not an all-inclusive list, but one to give a pet caregiver some idea of where various pet food shouyld be ranked.  It is not based on scientific double blind study, but merely by reading the ingredient labels against the lists above. The following grading scale is to help give the pet caregiver some guidance when it comes to selecting an appropriate food for their companion animal.  Again it is not scientific, but merely a general guide.  The scale is on a one to ten basis with 10 being the best.  Grades 3 and 5 have many of the itmes that should be avoided.  Even the grade 8 foods are not perfect, but they are considered to be better because of their higher quality ingredients. 

Grade 3:  Grocery Store Foods:  These foods are all owned by three of the largest human food producers:  Nestle, Del Monte, and Mars.  All contain one or more grains. 

Nestle controls about 1/3 of the US pet food industry and 1/5 of the global market.  Their names include Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, and Ralston Purina products such as Dog Chow, Pro Plan, and Purina One.

Mars (Masterfoods USA) owns Kal Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba, Waltham's, and Royal Canin

Del Monte owns 9 Lives, Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles-n-Bits, Nature's Recipe, Milk bones, and Meow Mix.

Grade 5:  Premium Pet Foods:  These foods are well known to most pet owners, but their quality has been questioned, especially since they were taken over by larger corporations.  Again, look to the ingredient lists to determine where they should be placed.  These include:  Science Diet, owned by Colgate Palmolive, Iams/Eukanuba, owned by Proctor Gamble, Purina Pro Plan, owned by Nestle

Grade 8:  All Natural Pet foods:  Many of these foods are not familiar to pet owners, but these companies do try to make a superior product.  The is not an all-inclusive list, but will give some ideas for a pet owner to consider.

Nature's Variety Instinct (available at Clermont Animal Hospital), Wellness CORE, Origins, Solid Gold, Innova, Timberwolf, Serengeti, California Natural, Artemis, Canidae/Felidae, Wysong, Avoderm, Merricks BG, Natrual Balance

Grade 10:  Home made raw food diet:  Feeding a balanced homemade raw food diet is considered the best by some authorities and controversial by others.  A decision to feed your pet in this manner should only be taken after careful studying and understanding.  There are some health concerns about handling and feeding of raw foods.  Also, if the homemade food is not properly balanced, much harm can be done to the pet.  Some dogs and cats cannot tolerate eating raw foods.  Below are some websites that will give you more information on this type of diet.

www.dogtorj.net, www.k9joy.com, www.petorlando.com, www.creationsgarden.com - click on the flying Basset icon

Frozen prepared raw food can be found at Pookie's Bow Wow Bakery in Ocoee and also at Pet Orlando on Sand Lake Rd (see website above)