What Goes Into Your Pet's Food?
"A pet-food manufacturer recalled 60 million units over the weekend after at least nine cats and a dog died of kidney failure. No one has identified the source of the contamination, but the company said the recalled products included a suspect batch of wheat gluten. What else goes into pet food?" Slate's Michelle Tsai answers the question, and it may not be stuff you're comfortable with.
What we should all take away from the recent food recall is that if you love your pets, you should be careful about what they eat. Don't just buy the cheapest sack of kibble on the supermarket shelf or the can with the most appetizing sounding name, read the list of ingredients first. And be wary of long lists of things you can't pronounce, just like you would be with what you put into your own body. Pick the right food and then make sure you're giving them the appropriate amount for their weight, age and activity level—food poisoning isn't the biggest threat to pet health, obesity is.
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2 Comments:
Also, just because a manufacturer advertises heavily or has a healthy-sounding name doesn't mean it's a high-quality food. Read the ingredients; if it sounds like something you'd eat its probably good for Fido or Fluffy. Stay away from foods that list meat or fish by-products as one of the first-named ingredients. And a healthy animal needs and wants protein, not cereal or other vegetable products. Boiled, unseasoned chicken is a terrific food for most healthy cats and dogs on an occasional basis.
ronfrankl at 4:38PM on 03/21/07
Look up BARF. It is raw food for dogs, mostly raw chicken. My dogs eat a good healthy human grade chicken dry kibble. It is expensive and I don't mind paying because I know it is good.
JerzeeTomato at 1:03AM on 03/22/07