Pet Nutrition Myths Addressed

 

          Indians take pride in their cuisine. I don’t think there’s any other place in the world with a food palette as colourful and as diverse in taste as ours. Flavours, like languages change every few kilometers in this country of diversity.

 

          I think it’s natural then for pet parents to want their pets also to experience this explosion of tastes and smells. Most pets I find are not on the right diet, because in our country, somewhere in the process of making our pets a part of the family we forget that they belong to a different species with different needs.

 

          The millennial parent however is very different. They respect the difference and want their pet to have the best and hence seek an opinion from the very opinionated internet. Most articles on nutrition are a perspective at best with little foundation in the science of nutrition or actual facts.

 

Here are some myths, old and new, about pet nutrition that need busting!

 

 

1.    The classic milk/ roti/ bones problem

 

I blame cartoons for this. If anybody has grown up watching Jerry and his feline friend (which most of us have), you will automatically put a bowl of milk in front of a cat.

 

 

 

While a hungry cat or dog is definitely going to enjoy consuming milk (it has lactose! It’s sweet! It’s dessert!), thus making you feel good about feeding them, you must know that these guys don’t have the enzymes required to break down that lactose once they are adults.

That means runny stools!

 

While Tom also enjoyed his milk, nobody really let us look into his litter tray to know how loose his stools were.

So milk is an absolute no no.

 

Dog and the bone? It’s our childhood all over again that’s ruined pet nutrition for us! NO. Bones, cooked or otherwise can splinter in the gastrointestinal tract and lead to major surgeries.

 

Roti or any kind of ‘human style cooked food’ is not something I would recommend for the simple fact that, they are NOT human.

 

 

2.    Raw food is the latest trend

 

While one section of parent refuses to believe that their dog is a dog, there is another section that wants their carnivore to be wild and free. Feeding raw food diets because dogs or cats in the wild will do just that is the premise behind this trend.

 

 

 

While I agree with you on that…. How many shihtzus or boxers have you seen prancing about in the wild? Your ‘wild’ animal stopped being wild when we as humans bred them into the breeds that they are today.

Also, have you ever checked on the lifespan on those wild ancestors who ate raw food? Our caveman ancestors made a lot of food choices too that did not end well for them.

 

Rant aside, it’s a scientifically proven fact that raw food does increase the risk of diseases such as salmonellosis, listeriosis, campylobacteriosis. All these are zoonotic diseases, passed off even to humans and can be fatal to both.

Raw or BARF food does give them a better, odourless stool, it has seen to help some of them with skin related issues as well but it really isn’t that great a plus to counter for the minuses this type of diet has.

 

If you still feel good about feeding raw, go ahead. But know the risks involved. Make sure you handle this raw food very carefully and sanitize any utensils that have been used in the process. Remember, India may not always follow the same hygiene standards for raw meat as other countries that this trend is filtering down from.

 

Though dogs and cats can remain asymptomatic while harbouring salmonellosis, this doesn’t hold true for us. You wouldn’t want to fall terribly sick just because you insist on your pet eating raw food.

 

 

3.    Byproducts are not good and preservatives suck

 

With new homecooked, ‘natural’ dog food finding it’s way into the market, you are told that packaged dog foods use byproducts which are poor in protein, those preservatives cause cancer and a whole host of other things with no foundation in the truth.

 

‘Human grade’ protein is always used on some packaging to lure a doting pet parent into thinking that the packaged pet food does not have ‘human grade’ protein.

 

 

 

Good pet food brands use organ meat (this is the byproduct we are talking about and is the only one allowed in packaged food) and often organ meat has protein with a far higher digestibility than that of skeletal muscle. (Look at the ingredients always! If a food talks about having horns and hooves then that’s the one you should be avoiding)

 

By products therefore are not synonymous with bad quality as misconstrued by a lot of people, they infact just tell you where the meat is coming from.

 

The preservatives used in these foods are antioxidants. Most of them with a natural source, like Vitamin C or rosemary extract. Canned food does not contain preservatives. (Read labels on every packaged food so you know what they contain!)

 

While dry packaged pet food may not be able to make itself sound as wholesome to you because it comes in a package and is processed and the kibbles don’t look appetizing to you, this food goes through feeding trials where nutrients and calories are accounted for, unlike food offered without feeding trials where you have nothing but the makers words to take for how nutritious it is.

 

 

4.    Going the natural way

 

Natural only means derived from nature.

Again it is misunderstood to be synonymous with ‘good’ or ‘quality’

 

It does not talk about being processed or not. Organic means not processed. So technically all pet foods also have natural ingredients. Homecooked/packaged/tailor made, all of it is by definition, natural.

 

 

 

Natural will also not always mean that the quality is good. More often than not, putting ‘Natural’ on any pet food may be a marketing gimmick to have the naïve pet parent believe in the brand/product. So do your research on the company that’s providing the food and ensure that you are not getting swindled for quality with a promise of natural.

 

 

5.    Cats get kidney disease because of pet food I've heard

 

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease in cats between 10-15 yrs is about 32%. Which means almost 1 in 3 cats do get chronic kidney disease no matter what you feed them. It is an age related process and unfortunately all of us have to lose our feline friend some day.

 

This rumour has been making the rounds for as long as I have been in practice.

 

 

 

The facts are that a cat fed dry food will often not consume enough water. 

This happens because we don’t always know how to manage this fussy species. Their water bowl needs to be away from the food source and most cats like a running source of water. If this has not been provided and the cat is on dry food only, there is a chance that enough water will not be consumed and this is might lead to earlier onset of chronic kidney disease. So it is a little unfair to put the blame entirely on the dry food, while our managemental practices are also lacking.

Ensure your cat is hydrated enough every day and even if it’s on pet food, it is not going to be a victim of early onset kidney disease.

 

I recently saw this long post on a pet parenting group insisting that cats be fed what nature intended for them to eat i.e. raw meat. And apparently this prevents early onset kidney disease.

This is NOT TRUE. While raw meat will provide more moisture and is as nature intended it to be, remember it also can give your cat toxoplasmosis and other diseases. They probably will not get an age related kidney disease then because they might succumb to something else before that.

Feeding what they would eat in nature does not guarantee a long and healthy life.

 

 

6.    Grain free means less allergies

 

It is a common belief that grains cause allergies in pets. That dogs and cats do not need carbs at all. 

 

Both of these are just that, beliefs. Dogs and cats both do need small amounts of carbs in their diet for it to be wholesome. As far as allergies are concerned, wheat gluten is the only known allergen among grains. Not very common.

There are enough and more studies that are indicating that a grain free diet can cause dilated cardiomyopathy.  So feed them some grain and prevent that heart disease.

 

 

7.    Homecooked food is always superior

 

It is fresh, it looks good and you are aware of the ingredients that go in it. So yes, homecooked food is a good option for your pet. However you must get the balance right in terms of nutrition or the pretty looking diet is going to give your pet some serious deficiencies.

 

Pet parents are often taken aback when they realize that a homecooked meal may also work out more expensive when you get the balance right. In practice, I’ve found that most often the protein amount is severely lacking in pets on a homecooked diet.

 

 

Talk to a person qualified in pet nutrition (in India this is limited to people who have a keen interest and done diploma courses in pet nutrition from certain universities with no veterinary background, or vets with a keen interest who have furthered their education in pet nutrition. Take your pick. From among these qualified people. Not other pet parents. Please.) and get the balance right.

 

A calorie calculation based on your pet’s weight, body condition score and age and lifestyle will have to be made and ingredients for the homecooked meal decided accordingly.

Also with homecooked food, you need to be careful that it doesn’t get spoilt.

 

 

 

          I am a vet surgeon with additional education in pet nutrition and rumours and myths that float around about pet nutrition need to constantly be addressed. Trends in human nutrition somehow find a way to worm their way into the pet food industry as well and not all trends are healthy or right.

 

As a fellow pet parent, my sincere advise would be that there are good and bad pet food brands out there and there are good and bad homecooked meals, start up options out there. Do not just rely on anyone’s word for it.

 

Homecooked does not always mean good and packaged pet food does not always mean bad. It all depends on who is providing it and what goes into it.

 

Do your research (the correct kind). Take advice from a person who is qualified to make sound nutrition related decisions for your pet.

 

Nutrition is the cornerstone of good health. Facts over fad.

 

 

 

Good food for good health!

 

Dr. N