Food Rage and the Veterinarian Challenge

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