My cat has been prescribed a low-allergen dry food. I can buy it online, or from my vet’s office - but in either case, I need to verify that the fuzzbutt has a prescription.
Why is a prescription needed? I could understand it for actual pharmaceuticals - but presumeably, this food is fairly benign stuff. Whither the need for such tight controls?
Conspiracy theory: Your pet needs to have an examination by the vet in order to get the prescription, and that means more revenue for vets. The food manufacturers benefit even more from this arrangement, because some people who wouldn’t otherwise bother to spend that kind of dough on pet food will do so if it’s seen as medically necessary.
Non-conspiracy theory: Some of these foods can have a significant affect on the animal’s health, like formulas for kidney problems, and should not be given to every pet just because the owner thinks it’s a good idea (“I think my dog pees too much - I’ll get him the kidney food”). It does seem that some would be relatively harmless for any animal, like extra chunky for dental health, or low-filler (or whatever they do) for allergies. But then again, if you suspect your pet does have bad teeth or allergies or whatever, it’s better to have them see a vet first, rather than guessing randomly that some food or other ought to do the trick.
I think it’s mostly if not entirely the latter, although there may be a dash of the former in there.
ETA: And for what it’s worth, both of my guys are on prescription food. One has congenital dental issues, and the other has age-related kidney problems. In both cases, there’s a marked reduction in their symptoms when they’re on the prescription stuff. So at very least, it’s not just snake oil.
What Heart of Dorkness said, minus the conspiracy theory stuff (honestly, those theories make me want to scoop my eyeballs out and throw them at people :p)
Yes, some of those diets would be fine for a healthy animal that doesn’t need them. Others wouldn’t, and some might have adverse effects if used incorrectly. An obvious example would be diets used for bladder stones - there are many prescription diets for different types of stones, and the wrong diet could make the problem worse.
Many prescription diets aren’t appropriate for all life stages, some require monitoring if they are used for an extended period, some should not be used with certain medications, and many are contra-indicated for certain health conditions. They are not intended as a substitute for veterinary treatment, and should only be used once a diagnosis has been made.
Owners often try to diagnose their own pets, and mostly get it wrong.
Seconding what toodlepip said. In the case of allergies, when the decision to use a non-allergenic diet is made, other possible things that could cause similar clinical signs have to be ruled out/treated concurrently/sequentially/whatever the current standards are, and those need a veterinarian to check on that.
There ARE some prescription diets that can be used for long periods of times in many animals and do not cause significant problems, but others need constant monitoring to make sure they’re doing their job in helping the animal, and are not making anything else worse.
I just thought of something else to say… Prescription diets are the easy way to skip a visit to the veterinary nutritionist (they DO exist) to prepare a homemade diet specific to an ill dog’s need.
Think about all the times humans are referred to nutrionists or dieticians for various reasons such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, renal disease, gastric disease, etc.
Since for most of the dogs their food is already kibble (or canned dog food), a specific diet based on that, that can help control/treat/prevent/clear/minimize diseases is useful. It is the veterinary equivalent to a nutrionist or dietician.