natural pet
increase in these diseases may be due to harmful ingredients in commercial, meatbased foods.”
Owners that switch from commercial foods report their animals display thicker coats, brighter eyes and greater energy. However, dogs and cats require specific ranges of vitamins, minerals, fats and carbohydrates, so it’s important to ensure that nutritional needs are met and a healthy balance is maintained.
n Home-Cooked
Kibble Quandary A Fresh Look at Pet Food by Julie Peterson
E
ating healthy completed a study of We are seeing more is a family 1,084 pet food products, cancer, neurologic affair, and that screening them for more conditions and kidney includes the family pet. than 130 toxins and disease, and there However, what works contaminants linked to for humans may be cancer and other conis evidence that the less than optimal for ditions. Results showed increase in these Fluffy or Fido, as each cadmium, a heavy metal, diseases may be due in 94 percent of the prodrequires a species-speto harmful ingredients ucts, along with arsenic cific, nutritionally in commercial, balanced regimen. and lead. Most pet parents opt Contaminants aren’t meat-based foods. for commercial dog the only concern. “Up to ~Armaiti May or cat food that comes 50 percent of commercial in a bag or a can, but foods are composed of many are beginning to consider more meat meal and byproducts,” says Armaiti natural options. “Kibble is often the most May, DVM, owner of Dr. May’s Veterinary economical way to feed your pet. But its House Calls, in Los Angeles. processed state makes it the least optimal,” These can include meat from dead, says Angie Krause, DVM, at Boulder Hodying, diseased or disabled animals, and listic Vet, in Colorado. even rendered dogs and cats from animal Canned food is also heavily processed shelters, says May. “We are seeing more and potentially toxic. In 2017, Clean Label cancer, neurologic conditions and kidney Project, a nonprofit testing laboratory, disease, and there is evidence that the 32
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Pet food recalls have prompted some families to start cooking for their charges, but it’s not as simple as sharing the family dinner. “There are online calculators that can help you create and balance recipes for dogs and cats. Balancing a diet can be tedious and often requires added supplements,” says Krause. Seeing a four-legged friend thrive was worth the extra time and cost for Yvonnda Stamp-Agent, a homemaker from Rockvale, Tennessee. Emma, a schnauzer mix, suffered from itchy skin, anal gland leakage, kidney crystals, vomiting and other problems. “We switched to home-cooked wild salmon and flounder protein with fresh organic vegetables and fruits, along with vitamin and mineral supplementation.” Emma recovered and is now an energetic 5-year-old.
n Raw The biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) diet, as described at BarfWorld. com, contains raw meats, vegetables and cooked grains and legumes. Proponents say it improves health from tooth to tail. “Buddha, my orange tabby, is 22 and no longer has an issue with hairballs,” says Kim Bolin, a Reno, Nevada real estate agent, who has fed raw for three years. Stephanie Krause, in Keego Harbor, Michigan, says her three dogs are more relaxed, probably from the time and effort needed to eat large bones—and they haven’t needed a teeth cleaning since going raw. “After eating raw bones, there was plaque laying all over the floor.” The BARF diet can be homemade, although most choose prepared frozen or freeze-dried products to ensure nutrient balance or to avoid handling raw meats. An-
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Healthy Alternative Diets
