The 'Truth about Cat and Dog Food'

MinkaMuffin · 06-10-2011, 05:19 AM

Another article from NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/he...tml?ref=health

I think this Dr Nestle person didnt look into brands like Wellness, EVO, Merrick, etc. What do you guys think?

Meezer_lover · 06-10-2011, 06:55 AM

WOW. This Dr. Nestle is completely ignorant....not mentioning some very important things.
Like.....doesn't it matter WHERE the ingredients come from?? Quality of the ingredients?

And...."The first five ingredients of nearly every kind of dog and cat food are generally the same...." Excuse me? Really? I beg to differ.

There are many other things missing from that article as well.....I'm sure others will chime in.

CatsPride · 06-10-2011, 08:42 AM

nestle is run by purina so of course what she says goes... hhmmm Orijen is MUCH better then most.

Its made in Canada which have better food (for pets anyway I don't know about humans) standards then the usa. Instincts is 95% meat and liver if its real meat or slaughterhouse rejects is anyones guess.

Personally I think its true, for the vast majority, say 95% of all pet foods its true. There are even naster things in pet food but I wont go into details.

Nan · 06-10-2011, 10:52 AM

First first sentence makes me wonder what she feeds her kids (if she has any). For that matter, I wonder if she owns any pets.

The "truth" in her article is that yes, there is money made in the pet food industry & people do spend a lot of money on their pets.

dweamgoil · 06-10-2011, 12:44 PM

I didn't take offense with her article. All it says is that people will pay more for buzzwords and marketing gimmicks, that some pets are overindulged and fatter than they should be, and that animals can live on most commercial pet foods. Did we not know that, already? It's like with anything else, if you want to get a real value for your money, or your pet has special needs or you want them to be healthier than the average, or not be deceived by the marketing geniuses...research stuff on your own, become an educated consumer.

yellowdaisies · 06-10-2011, 03:46 PM

It's interesting that the article mentions marketing gimmicks toward the end, since the premium brands do barely any marketing at all. Until I started doing a lot of research on pet food prior to getting our cats, I'd never even heard of Wellness, Merrick, Weruva, EVO, etc. I definitely had heard of Friskies, Iams, Science Diet (I thought that was top of the line, as they lead people to believe it is), Fancy Feast, etc.

dweamgoil is right - you have to research yourself!! This is true of anything these days, since everyone just wants to sell their product to you, and that clearly does not mean it's the best product!

CatsPride · 06-10-2011, 06:25 PM

Yep... cats are carnivores and most cat food falls short of the line. its the reason why there are not more 20- 30 year old cats out there.

Kobster · 06-10-2011, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatsPride

Yep... cats are carnivores and most cat food falls short of the line. its the reason why there are not more 20- 30 year old cats out there.

Ya know, I agree with you, and you are right. Cats are carnivores and most cat food does fall short....BUT, my first cat ate grocery store brand/science diet cat food, dry only, her entire life and lived to be 22 years old. I've not had a cat make it past 10 since and am supposedly doing all the right things now. I think food is a very important factor in longevity, I don't think its the only factor.

All this to say, I don't think people should be made to feel guilty for feeding what they can afford to feed. Whatever that may be. As long as we make it possible for a cat owner to make an educated decision, at the end of the day, as long as the cat is well cared for, fed and loved, that is all that matters.

MinkaMuffin · 06-11-2011, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatsPride

nestle is run by purina so of course what she says goes... hhmmm Orijen is MUCH better then most.

Its made in Canada which have better food (for pets anyway I don't know about humans) standards then the usa. Instincts is 95% meat and liver if its real meat or slaughterhouse rejects is anyones guess.

Personally I think its true, for the vast majority, say 95% of all pet foods its true. There are even naster things in pet food but I wont go into details.

Do you mean that she works for Purina? Where did you find that info?

Fyreflie · 06-11-2011, 03:06 AM

which pet foods does Nestle make? (the company, not the doctor)! Yet another long list of things I will have to stop buying

06-10-2011, 05:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
MinkaMuffin Cool Cat Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 1,090	The 'Truth about Cat and Dog Food' Another article from NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/he...tml?ref=health I think this Dr Nestle person didnt look into brands like Wellness, EVO, Merrick, etc. What do you guys think? __________________ The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry. - French Proverb

06-10-2011, 06:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
Meezer_lover Senior Cat Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Kennebunkport, Maine Posts: 686	WOW. This Dr. Nestle is completely ignorant....not mentioning some very important things. Like.....doesn't it matter WHERE the ingredients come from?? Quality of the ingredients? And...."The first five ingredients of nearly every kind of dog and cat food are generally the same...." Excuse me? Really? I beg to differ. There are many other things missing from that article as well.....I'm sure others will chime in. __________________ ~Kimberly

06-10-2011, 10:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
Nan Senior Cat Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 860	First first sentence makes me wonder what she feeds her kids (if she has any). For that matter, I wonder if she owns any pets. The "truth" in her article is that yes, there is money made in the pet food industry & people do spend a lot of money on their pets. __________________

06-10-2011, 12:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
dweamgoil Cat Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New York Posts: 1,860	I didn't take offense with her article. All it says is that people will pay more for buzzwords and marketing gimmicks, that some pets are overindulged and fatter than they should be, and that animals can live on most commercial pet foods. Did we not know that, already? It's like with anything else, if you want to get a real value for your money, or your pet has special needs or you want them to be healthier than the average, or not be deceived by the marketing geniuses...research stuff on your own, become an educated consumer. __________________ DweamGoiL

06-10-2011, 03:46 PM	#6 (permalink)
yellowdaisies Tom Cat Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: California Posts: 368	It's interesting that the article mentions marketing gimmicks toward the end, since the premium brands do barely any marketing at all. Until I started doing a lot of research on pet food prior to getting our cats, I'd never even heard of Wellness, Merrick, Weruva, EVO, etc. I definitely had heard of Friskies, Iams, Science Diet (I thought that was top of the line, as they lead people to believe it is), Fancy Feast, etc. dweamgoil is right - you have to research yourself!! This is true of anything these days, since everyone just wants to sell their product to you, and that clearly does not mean it's the best product! __________________ Spencer and Katie and Lily, always in our hearts

06-10-2011, 08:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
CatsPride Banned Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 212	nestle is run by purina so of course what she says goes... hhmmm Orijen is MUCH better then most. Its made in Canada which have better food (for pets anyway I don't know about humans) standards then the usa. Instincts is 95% meat and liver if its real meat or slaughterhouse rejects is anyones guess. Personally I think its true, for the vast majority, say 95% of all pet foods its true. There are even naster things in pet food but I wont go into details.

06-10-2011, 06:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
CatsPride Banned Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 212	Yep... cats are carnivores and most cat food falls short of the line. its the reason why there are not more 20- 30 year old cats out there.

06-11-2011, 03:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
Fyreflie Tom Cat Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 527	which pet foods does Nestle make? (the company, not the doctor)! Yet another long list of things I will have to stop buying Last edited by marie73; 06-11-2011 at 05:22 AM.

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