No, I was just wondering if this is a common problem. I see now that she seems more concerned with the wrong kibble than she is with poison or contaminants. I guess that makes sense.
Just an aside - you folks do realize that pet foods are made by a very limited number of facilities that turn out five, six, two dozen brands, often competing ones? And from the same warehouse stocks of ingredients? The differences between them are often 90% marketing.
Calories are just a measure of energy. If “calories” are what matter, I could feed my dog sawdust. Lots of calories there. Or gasoline.
Perhaps we should have said “digestible calories”, then.
I don’t generally hang with the notion of whether a creature (man or dog) was “meant to” eat/do/use something.
Evolution, for one, is just one big long history of opportunistic adaptation. Our chimplike ancestors couldn’t walk on two legs very well. Does that mean our chimplike ancestors weren’t “meant to” walk on two legs? 'Cause clearly, some of the apes in our past did adapt to walking on two legs.
Until the domestication of livestock, humans didn’t use ruminant milk as a source of adult nutrition. Now we do. Some of us have adapted (lactase persistence), and some of us haven’t (lactose intolerance). That’s a far cry from saying we’re not “meant to” drink milk as adults.
If we find a way to make something edible, that means we can eat it. Period. Leave the "meant to"s to the theologians and philosophers.
True, but Corn is a huge part of the American Fast Food diet, the ONLY diet that Pollan sez is bad for you.
I am not saying a piece of cornbread or some sweet corn on the cob is bad for you, but there;s just too damn much highly processed corn in our diets. And, our pet’s diets.
Other than HFCS from corn and corn tortillas, what common processed and fast food items have corn products in them?
Dextrose is usually derived from corn.
Cornstarch is used in a surprising number of pre-packaged foodstuffs.
“Food starch” is, at least in the U.S., usually cornstarch.
And corn syrup (high fructose or otherwise) is used an awful, awful lot. (Not that replacing it with an equal amount of table sugar would likely be any better for you, but still.)
When I got my dog a few months ago I tried to figure out what I should be feeding him. He’d come with a bag of Purina Dog chow. I quickly found out there is plenty of bullshit science out there trying to promote one food or another. I pretty much gave up trying to figure it out. I settled on Costco’s Kirkland grain free. It was rated highly in a few different reviews. The deciding factor was pretty much ‘it’s expensive enough that I won’t feel guilty I’m feeding him garbage’ No idea if it’s actually any good. My dog will eat anything. Kirkland is the same thing as ‘tastes of the wild’ with different branding.
And of course your meat is fattened with corn.
Many premium cat foods advertise no grains (including corn) as if that were a plus. But doesn’t your cat nibble on grass? I keep wheat grass for my cats and they like to nibble on it. Although obligate carnivores, such roughage is good for cats, as it is good for us. It helps with digestion. Of course the main ingredients should be meat, chicken, or fish products, but grains may be of benefit, despite those brands that advertise no grains. And those products use potatoes.
Sure, and thus a little veggies is fine. But often the first three of four ingredients are corn in one form or the other.
No harm in some veggies, but other veggies would be better, and no higher than #3.
Agree.
You’re not seriously proposing that counts as “corn in the food.”
I didn’t say that I said “Corn is a huge part of the American Fast Food diet, the ONLY diet that Pollan sez is bad for you”. And if Michael Pollan thinks it counts, it counts.
Well, whatever the argument is, I think that takes it right off a cliff of absurdity.
Cats generally eat grass when they need to bring up a hairball. It’s like kitty ipecac.
Now see my cats absolutely thrive on it. (SD) Their coats all look fantastic, skin is good, weight, etc. In fact we had a cat that after she had been eating it awhile, her fur got so thick and soft, we couldn’t use a brush anymore, because it would just slide right over.
Unfortunately, one cat refuses to eat any other cat food than canned. Just will not eat it. And she can only eat a few flavors, or she gets diarrhea. She’s the pickiest little snot when it comes to cat food. (People food, on the other hand, she’ll eat anything she can get her paws on. And she’s very aggressive about it)
I listen to what my vet reccomended, and they’re all healthy and happy.
Pretty much, he’s the recognized expert in this, so what you call absurdity…
The wear mostly comes from bits of grindstone mixed with the meal.
When I start a pet food company I will make ours out of what dogs and cats like to eat. There will be plenty of chicken and fish skin, bones, and guts, of course, but also corn cobs, cigarette butts, and Cheetos. And the creme from Twinkies, when the new owners bring them back. A responsible pet owner lets Nature be his guide and observes what his pets eat when they are allowed to choose their dinner. Or you leave the garbage pail out, which is the same thing. Or, as happened to a friend, you leave a pound of marijuana on the dining room table. Then you need to add Cheez Waffies and marshmallows coated with toasted coconut to their diets.
Just because of this thread, we are trying the Blue Buffalo. Went to the Pet Store. Good God, there are a lot of exceptionally expensive brands.
Gave the food to the dogs and they were like meh. Had to buy a small tub of Rachel Ray Muttballs (yes, that is correct). Even then, they were less than enthusiastic.
Now, stupid Walmart Gaines burger knockoff and Kibbles, that they get enthusiastic about.
Dogs are stupid.
How DO dog and cat producers determine what a dog/cat food tastes like? How do we know that all cat/dog food doesn’t taste like cardboard to the animals?