Recently I saw a post on Feline Diabetes requesting proof that a high protein diet was proper for a diabetic cat. I think it should be the other way around. The onus should be on the pet food industry to prove to US that they are doing all they can for animal nutrition, for both sick and healthy cats and dogs. Of course that won't happen, because they are the Goliath, and we are just stupid people. Hence my challenge.
I challenge every veterinarian who thinks Hills and Purina, Science Diet and Royal Canin are the go-to foods for sick cats to look into these diets. What are the first five ingredients? We all know that ingredients are listed in order of quantity, so the top 5 really count towards the health of the recipient. Look into the claims these companies make about their foods. While you're looking into it, don't forget that these companies are the same companies who have sickened and killed our pets, over and over again, by using sub-par ingredients, insufficient supplementation, and most recently, rat poison. If our government has no agency in charge of making sure these claims are accurate, who should hold them accountable? Veterinarians should hold them accountable. You're the people who sell it to us, the people who trust you.
From Hills:
While there is no cure for diabetes mellitus, veterinarians recognize it can be controlled with insulin, exercise and proper nutrition. Fiber is key in managing the disease because moderate to high-levels of fiber lower insulin requirements and blood glucose levels. Fiber also makes the body more responsive to insulin.
Really? How so? What does fiber do to make a cat's body more responsive to insulin? Before everyone gets excited, let's remember that cats are not omnivores, so the rules of human and canine diabetic management do not apply.
From Purina about their DM product:
This very high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet fits a cat's unique metabolism.
Thank goodness, they know what kind of diet we should feed. Let's check out Purina DM's ingredient list.
Dry food:
Poultry by-product meal (JUNK), soy protein isolate (CARB), corn gluten meal (CARB), soy flakes (CARB), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E) (srsly?) corn starch (CARB)
Ok that was revolting. 4 of the top 6 ingredients are carbs.. and the 5th one is preservative-filled animal fat? How can you say this is low carb?
Maybe their wet food is better:
Liver (organ), water, beef, corn gluten meal (CARB), trout, fish meal (JUNK), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), wheat flour (CARB), soy protein isolate (CARB), powdered cellulose (TREE)
Liver should never be the primary ingredient in any cat food. Water is the 2nd ingredient? Even the cheapest grocery store brand doesn't do that. Guess what cellulose is? SAWDUST. I don't even want to get into how they came up with adding that.
Hills reports their carbohydrate values as being 18% for the dry food, and 2% for the canned food. How can this be with so many carbohydrate ingredients in their food? Well it can be that way because the government has no agency to force them to tell the truth. If all those ingredients were in YOUR food, you would not eat it, so why are people being instructed to feed this to their obligate carnivores?
Let's take a peek at the ingredient list for Fancy Feast Gourmet Chicken Feast, a low carb, high protein food sold at every supermarket in the United States.
Chicken, Chicken broth, Liver, Meat By-products, Fish, Poultry By-products, Natural and artificial flavors, guar gum, potassium chloride, iron oxide, tricalcium phosphate, salt, vitamin supplements (E, A, D3, B12), sodium nitrate (for color retention), thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate.
Hmm.. why does a 50-cent can of food contain better quality ingredients than one manufactured by the very same company and sold to veterinarians to sell to people who shop in grocery stores? You see, Fancy Feast is owned by Ralston-Purina.
So... if I'm not a graduate of vet school, why is my uppity self challenging you? I don't want to have to explain to any more vets why I am feeding my diabetic cats Fancy Feast, Wellness and Nature's Variety. The food recall was the red flag. "Veterinarian brands" were recalled. My own bag of Hills WD was recalled. A $25 bag of cat food was recalled due to sub-par ingredients containing rat poison. Isn't that enough to tell you that these companies do not care about our animals?
Some interesting links:
Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM
Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM
Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM, Esq.
Dr. Debra Zoran, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Well, Milkshake now has hyperthyroidism.
5 years ago
Posts
3 comments:
I'm so on board with your rant..
just a quick question though.. aren't these actually protein sources?
Poultry by-product meal (CARB), soy protein isolate (CARB), corn gluten meal (CARB), soy flakes (CARB)
poultry byproducts are usually parts of the chicken that aren't fit for human consumption. Maybe if they are mostly bone, but generally I would think that is a meat source - all be it a poor one. Soy protein isolate is protein. A completely inappropriate protein source but it is protein. I know cause that is what I have in my morning protein shake. Corn gluten is also a protein source. Again a very poor protein source for cats, but it is right there with wheat gluten. Cheap source of protein. Who cares that cats can't really digest these particular sources of protein. Soy flakes.. hum.. I am pretty sure soy flakes are protein because soy is a protein source, but that ones confuses me. Why flake it? maybe it is the junk left over from making soy milk?
and I can't believe (although why I should think Hills should have half a brain I have no idea) that Hills still thinks that fiber is good for a cat's insulin issues. Um.. that is so old school thinking. They used to think that because it works for dogs it should work for cats but cats are not small dogs!!! anyone who has done any reading in feline health should know that.
Hills sucks.
Hi Connie,
Thanks for reading my whole block of blather :D
In response to your questions, I will quote from Dr. Lisa Pierson's site.
"Grains should be absent but, unfortunately, grains are cheap so they are included in many commercial cat foods. Think 'profit margin'. Grain is cheaper than meat. If grains are present, they should be minimal in amount. This is where checking out the carbohydrate content comes into play. It is ideal to feed a grain-free diet. Corn, wheat and soy are thought to be common allergens (as is yeast) and the carbohydrate fraction of these grains will also cause a rapid rise in blood sugar in many cats. Soy contains phytoestrogens and also negatively influences the thyroid gland. Given how common hyperthyroidism is in the cat, soy has no business being in cat food. Unfortunately, soy is a common ingredient used by pet food manufacturers."
To my layman's eye, it would seem both soy and corn are very much carbohydrate sources for cats. For humans maybe not so much due to our omnivore make-up?
To me, regardless of an ingredient being listed as a protein source, if it is also a source of carbohydrates, then they have nullified their own claim of being attentive to carbohydrate load in their food. In other words, even if it's suggested to be a protein source, once it becomes a carbohydrate source as well, then it should not be in the food. One thing I've noticed is that when they add one plant-based "protein source", they also then have to add others to balance out the addition of the first. For instance, corn is alleged to be high in protein, but low in some amino acids such as tryptophan (I'm operating on memory here, hope I remembered this correctly), so then they have to add soy too. Wouldn't it just be simpler to use meat? Yes, but certainly not nearly as cheap. In the case of the Poultry By-Product Meal being the first ingredient, you see immediately that it must be very low protein because they've also added 3 other protein sources. It becomes very obvious very quickly that the longer the ingredient list is, the lower quality a product is.
I have no such defense for the poultry by-product meal being termed a carb (by me). Apparently I had a senior moment, and that is supposed to read (JUNK) because it is non-meat and listed as the first (and thus largest quantity) ingredient. Fixed and thank you for being attentive enough to my post that you caught this. :)
I love, love, love this rant!
So sick of people not only feeding the crap, but then defending it with "My vet told me to feed it" Why don't they get YOUR VET IS BEING PAID TO TELL YOU TO FEED THIS GARBAGE! Makes me want to SCREAM!!!
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