Best foods

[nursecroft]

Originally Posted by MrsH

Thank you Nursecroft, that was very interesting. I know you feel strongly about ethically produced pet-food, however you did not direct your answer to my specifically highlighted words from a previous post of yours.

Where is the evidence that Whiskas ( named directly by you) does actually use "road kills including cats" None of the articles you quoted specifically states that this company carries out this practice. Unless you have direct evidence to support your specific claim, then I repeat that you are leaving the way open for the manufacturer to sue for libel.

Fair point, i would edit my post to some commercial food, rather than naming whiskers, but dont think i can as i posted it a while ago? Thanks i should have thought before i posted. I get abit over excited!

[EmmaG]

I seriously cannot believe that any manufacturer of pet food would go to the trouble of collecting animal carcases from the roadside to include in their food????

1 There wouldn't be enough roadkills to actually make this practice profitable to the said company.

2 You will find that the council clean up a lot of the roadkills on Britain's road NOT some pet food manufacturer.

[Elaine]

I think the thinking behind it is that roadkill and euthanised animals are taken to a rendering plant and from there they some how end up in pet foods.
http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q...2259&FORM=CVRE

[EmmaG]

Elaine that article said that it is a myth??? or am I missing something?

Quote

Pet foods contain euthanased pets, zoo animals and road kill.
This may be a myth started by raw food advocates to stop people feeding commercial pet foods. Although some studies in the US claim that pet food contains levels of phenobarbitone (the chemical used for euthanasia) this has not been seen in UK pet foods.
Pet owners wanting to know the type of meat used in a pet food should choose one that lists the source by name rather than a more general term such as 'animal meat' or 'animal derivatives'
All the ingredients in Burns are labeled and we only use chicken, fish, pork, venison, lamb and duck in our diets. Burns is made in the UK.

[Elaine]

According to Burns, they say it may be a myth. I love conspiracies but I think that it is a myth personally.

[Archer]

Originally Posted by nursecroft

Whiskas wet food pouches:

Ingedients: Chicken, Liver, Meat by-products, Modified Corn Starch, Colour, Natural Flavour, Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Gums, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Salt, Taurine, Vitamins and Minerals, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Nitrite (for colour retention), BHA/BHT, Water Sufficient for processing.

- chicken and liver but no word on what grade of meat.
Meat by-products are not meat - they're parts of an animal not fit for human consumption
Look - it also has BHA and BHT - both are chemical preservatives and carcinogenic (cause cancer)... I believe they've banned both from human products.
Sodium tripolyphosphate - sure it's good... for CLEANING PRODUCTS.
Disodium EDTA - this is TOXIC
Salt, modified cornstarch and artificial colours?!

I ca understand the worries with additives etc but I assume by-products would mean feet,beaks etc....surely cats/dogs would eat this in nature?Cats eat the whole of the animal they kill to get a balanced diet and excrete any waste.

[Daisy-Doo]

Originally Posted by Archer

I ca understand the worries with additives etc but I assume by-products would mean feet,beaks etc....surely cats/dogs would eat this in nature?Cats eat the whole of the animal they kill to get a balanced diet and excrete any waste.

I agree. It also includes feathers, hair etc...Which I'm not particularly thrilled about, but don't have a problem with most ABPs. And personally, I'm more concerned about the high grain/carbohydrates in some cat foods.

Offer me a food that has no by-products, but is high in grain, and another that has by-products listed with no grains added....And I'll go for the grain-free anytime

[dandysmom]

Cats in the wild do get some grains/vegetable matter. partially digested, I assume. when they eat the intestines. Some cats pluck the bird before eating, but do get some feathers too.....just a passing thought after reading the above

[Fiorella-Bella]

Since I'm from the states... I feed Fiorella Innova.
Innova or Wellness Core, Chicken Soup for the cat lovers soul,and EVO are just a few of the really good ones out here to use!

[nursecroft]

Wild cats eat primarily protein. Domestic cats eat more carbohydrate as cereals (cheap) are processed to make them as digestible as meat (expensive).

"Processed cereal and other vegetable proteins are cheap fillers. The items used include wheat, soy, maize, peanut hulls, rice and potato. The amount and type of carbohydrate in pet food affects the nutrient value the animal actually gets. White rice is highly digestible, even for cats, but other grains must be processed to make them 75%-80% digestible."

"Some "harmless" chemicals are toxic to cats due to the way their livers work. The preservative ethoxyquin used in dog food has never been tested for safety in cats, another reason cats should not eat dog food. Ethoxyquin is no longer used in human foods. It was developed as a rubber stabilizer and herbicide similar to Agent Orange and may cause liver/kidney damage, skin cancers and leukaemia, hair-loss, sight loss, foetal abnormalities and chronic diarrhoea. In animals it may also cause immune deficiencies, spleen, stomach and liver cancer.

Cats have limited ability to taste sweetness, but sweeteners are still found in cat food: beet pulp sugar, glucose, sucrose, corn syrup or molasses. They are not necessarily used to make the food taste sweet. Corn syrup is a "humectant and plasticizer" i.e. makes food moist and chewy. Diabetes is increasing in cats and may be linked to the over-consumption of sugar. Added sugar also affects the absorption of other nutrients and can affect bowel fauna. Artificial sweeteners may be linked to aggression and hyperactivity. It is alleged that unscrupulous cat food manufacturers rely on sweeteners to "addict" cats to dry foods in the same way that one company was alleged to add amphetamines to addict cats to a brand of canned food.

Salt increases palatability but excessive salt intake causes hypertension and kidney problems. A balance of sodium is vital for cellular health, but excessive amounts are damaging. Salt is added to dry food to stimulate the cat to drink and reduce likelihood of urinary blockages. Iodised salt may also be linked to the increase in hyperthyroidism in cats.

The feeding of cat food which is incomplete (not nutritionally balanced) will cause disease. Taurine deficiency leads to blindness and, if not rectified, death. Taurine-deficient cat foods occur because animal protein ingredients are decreasing and carbohydrates are increasing. Cats cannot make taurine in their own bodies and taurine comes from meat. Hyperthyroidism in cats is on the increase and may be linked excess iodine in cat foods. There are claims that hyperthyroidism first surfaced in the 1970s when canned food arrived. "


This is taken from articles i have read when researching what to feed Betz. I certainly do not feed Betz the 'ideal' diet feeding a raw diet is just not practical for me so i give her what i believe is the best i can with commercial food. Theres so much to read about good and bad ingredients in cat food, quite overwhelming! Sorry for long post the articles i listed in my previous post are quite interesting to read, well i think they are