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You are here: Home / Archives for Cat Articles

Are premium pet food worth their price?

June 22, 2015 By Sunny Lim

I believe if you have had a pet with skin problems, you would have experienced a time when you went to a vet or pet shop and they tried to push you expensive prescription diet or top of the line gourmet hand cooked free range lamb with sturgeon caviar promising to be the end all and cure all for your pet’s skin problems. Well, did it?Canine Fine Dining

My guess would be most probably no. If it did however, you have no idea how lucky you are to find a particular brand of food that’s suitable for your pet’s condition (or why did it have to be the most expensive one?!). But I still know of many pet owners who chooses to stick to one particular brand even though they are not seeing significant results.

So then, is expensive food really better? The short answer is: Of course!

Reason? Is organic peanut butter better than Skippy’s? Of course! You’d get less pesticides and all of the chemicals that we don’t want, all for a few pennies more in exchange for good health, why not?

But is fancy organic peanut butter cultivated from virgin volcanic soil good for people with nut allergy?

How good a product is still has to depend whether it’s going to do any good for the body.

So how are we going to determine whether it’s going to provide the benefits? To answer this, we have to first ask what is primary result I want from the food? If you don’t you’re going to be persuaded into buying something you don’t need and most times, having more creates more problems. We’ll come to that later.

So what are some of the primary objectives you can have when choosing a food? Are you looking for any specific ingredients? Is it because your pets are fussy eaters? Skin issues? Underweight? Overweight? Kidney/Liver issues?

What’s your budget?

Just like buying a new phone, if we don’t know what’s the most important function to us, we’ll tend to go for the one that has everything and everything we don’t need (me included).

So once you have your primary objective identified, it’ll be so much easier for you and whoever is serving you.

And I always tell my customers that if they have been doing a lot of trial and error with different food, supplements and products, my good guess is that they already know what works and what doesn’t. Use your gut and trust yourself rather than what people tell you.

For me, even though something didn’t work out the first time, I’d still try two more times with different variations before I confirm its suitability.

But don’t go around changing your pet’s food every time it refuses to eat the same food. If you know they are fussy eaters, catering to their preferences may do them more disservice in the long run. Proper behavioral training is the solution to this issue.

How do manufacturers determine their price?

Luckily for pet food, where people buy it out of necessity than as a luxury, is has not reached a stage where manufacturers are charging crazy prices to position themselves as a premium brand. Of course there are brands that can give you more value in terms of the ingredients for the same price and you will learn how to choose one in this article.

But to simplify things, a $20 bag of food is not going to be of the same quality and as nutritious as a $60 bag of food even if they have the exact nutritional levels.

Why? First up, just take protein for example, I can take a whole bunch of hair, nails and skin of animals, grind them up and make them into kibbles and they will show a good level of protein, well, because they are protein.

Secondly, meat safe for human consumption will surely be more expensive than meat taken from ground up male chicks and rejects.

As for the fancy list of supplements, herbs and botanical? You probably can ask the manufacturers how many milligrams are added in a kilo. The amount is almost insignificant.

What should I look for?

If I have your attention up until now, you’d care enough to at least make sure that the food that goes into their mouth comes from the same carcass that goes into ours.

  1. Fresh Ingredients: The definitions are confusing as there’s no regulation on the definition on the use of the word ‘Fresh’ and every brand seems to be using that now. But if the price is medium range and up, it usually is dependable.
  2. Free range and antibiotics free: Although livestock are generally not slaughtered after their being administered with antibiotics, free range livestock especially from Australia and New Zealand have very low chances to be contaminated with antibiotics.
  3. Suited for your pet’s activity level: If you aren’t working out, you don’t need protein shakes. If your pet is more laid back, giving him a high protein diet might do him more harm than good. Remember, less is more.

Secondly, ask around if you have friends whose pets are on raw diets.

Proponents of raw diets have been touting the benefits of feeding animals like cats and dogs on raw for a long time and it has only gained popularity over the last several years. From experience and research, putting pets on exclusively raw diets from young does produce sturdier bodies and less dental problems.

Let’s say you only have a small dog or cat under your care, commercial raw diets are generally affordable and I strongly suggest this option if you are able to allocate a monthly budget of around $70 – $100 for their food.

Watch out for these traps

  1. Sometimes bigger companies have shareholder’s stomachs to fill: And as a result more money may go into the branding that into the quality of the food. Like buying Panadol versus any generic brand of paracetamol.
  2. Long ingredients lists: Apart from being available in such small quantities that may not provide significant results, more ingredients means higher possibilities that something in the list is going to cause allergies.
  3. Grain free: As long you’re buying kibbles, there’s still going to be carbohydrates in the form of potatoes, lentils, peas et cetera. It’s the only way to hold the kibbles together. Nothing wrong with grains or carbohydrates, just that increasingly, manufacturers are using the term grain free to charge a premium when the cost may potentially be the same.

Some brands have potatoes as their first ingredient, nothing wrong with that. Potatoes are 80% water and some well known brands are using dried potatoes so that they can appear lower down the ingredient’s list.

Take your money and get supplements instead

That’s right. Paired with the right food, supplements double up the benefits of proper nutrition and gives the body help it needs to heal and strengthen itself.

But nobody walks into GNC and grabs everything. For me, the gut is where I start because what isn’t absorbed is just expensive poop and piss. To enhance absorption I recommend digestive enzymes as well as probiotics – minimum. Not all our food is absorbed and diseases starts in the gut (and it starts in the mind for humans) and enzymes helps break down the food to increase the bio-availability of the nutrients and the probiotics protects the gut from harmful bacteria and yeast which if has the slightest chance, will cause your pets health to plunge into a vicious cycle.

Then if your budget allows, you could add in another one and rotate between supplements like krill oil, multi vitamins or spirulina to help reduce free radicals and boost the immune system.

As long as it works

At the end of the day, you’re a smart consumer. What really matters is that the food matches your primary objective. If you need a convenient food with the less hassle to provide them with the best benefits, then raw (and expensive) is the way to go. Contrary, finding a food that is agreeable to your pet immune system and taste buds relies on trial and error or with an exclusion diet plan.

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Do you have any tips or tricks for fussy eaters or have issues you’d like some advice on? Leave your comment below!

 

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Dog Articles, Dog Health, Dog Nutrition, Home, Katty Diet, Long Live The Cat

Are You The Overly Attached Owner?

January 24, 2015 By Sunny Lim

Does the thought of losing your pet cause your  mood to go into a downward spiral and ruin an otherwise perfectly good day? Do you spend more time thinking and taking care of your pet than yourself?

Or is this you?

Overly Attached Owner

If you’ve answered ‘Yes’, good news is that you’re not Tin Man, but the not so good news is that you might be overly attached to your pet.

No, there’s nothing wrong with it. We all grieve when they’re gone, we all pamper them while they’re here. It’s natural. It’s what they do, and what they have that’s rare in humans that fills the emotional void and make us fall in love with them so deeply. Their unconditional love, no matter how little time we spend with them, how we look when we put on extra weight, their affection (except Mari-kun), their willingness to listen our complaints makes them the perfect companion.

Animals And Their Wizardry 

However, it’s also their almost perfect character (‘almost’ because they have the innate ability to do the dumbest things) which led many into a trap.

Although a pet can bring about great therapeutic healing as seen in therapy dogs, we need to be honest with ourselves if we can deal with the fact that most animals will leave this place before we do. It can even be a dangerous event if someone is already suffering from mental illness. Even to most people, a pet is more than just a furry companion – they can even mean more than a significant other or family members.

Too Much Of A Good Thing Makes Me Sick, Especially If The Good Thing Is Chocolate

Most people I know take the loss of their pet in stride, especially pets who died of old age. But life, not only is it fragile, the outcomes of daily events – big and small, is beyond our control. How many times have you bought someone a gift but only to get an awkward smile when they opened it up?

It’s not about being indifferent, but knowing where to draw the line. Water and nutrients are essential for the growth of a plant, give it too much, it dies. Same goes for many things in life.

Pets are readily conditioned by positive things, they’ll soon know that all they need to do to get more treats and attention is to beg for it. Not only does it create obesity, anxiety and stress issues, having an unhealthy body and mind will manifest into in turn create more problems.

It’s A Matter Of Personal Reflection

It’s difficult finding the balance as most pet owners are either overly attached or nonchalant, both of which will create the same behavioral and health issues.

So in my opinion, only when we understand boundaries, of what’s expected of our pets (e.g. rules they need to abide), but also what’s expected of us – logically evaluating our pet’s best interests, will we be able to enjoy a healthy relationship.

 

Further reading:

Psychology Today on the technical aspects

Another psychologist talks about this in The Veterinary Expert

 

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Dog Articles, Dog Health, Home, Long Live The Cat, Pet Articles Tagged With: animal behavior, emotional attachment

Anesthesia free dental cleaning: The danger that runs deep

November 24, 2013 By Sunny Lim

The assumption that putting elder pets under general anesthesia would a high risk of death has been long-held. As pet owners, we are all afraid that we might become the accomplice in causing our pet’s premature death and vets don’t want to either. As a result, many have chosen to let establishments that boast anesthesia free dental scaling handle their pets teeth cleaning.

Imaging the difficulty some of you are already having when cleaning your pet’s teeth with a normal toothbrush. Fact is, grooming like cutting nails, teeth brushing is a very unnatural and invasive process for animals. Nothing in the wild would give them the same feeling that would make teeth brushing feel natural, and pets let us brush their teeth only because of trust.

Dental Disease Recall the last time you went for your regular dental checkup. Even when we brush our teeth twice daily and your teeth looks healthy, there’s still the need to remove calculus and plague from under your gumline; a procedure that many would agree, far from comfortable and soothing. So imagine a grooming salon using the same ultrasonic teeth scalers for your pet. Although they might be able to get rid of obvious tartar, it would be hard to imagine how does one do a thorough cleaning below the gumline without the use of anesthesia on our pets.

As saliva loses its antibacterial properties as your pet ages, or as the tooth becomes rough from tartar buildup, you might find that calculus can build up even with daily brushing. Take a small dog for example, it’s considered geriatric beyond 7 years old and I’ve seen a lot of dogs who are 17. But to be reasonable, lets say it lives till 13, are you going to deny your dog dental treatment for 6 years? You see, poor dental health doesn’t just cause bad breath. Especially at old age, tartar and decaying tooth can cause a myriad of problems. When I just adopted my Maltese, the nose and eyes had yellow discharge and diagnosis by the vet said it was a result of the poor state the whole set of teeth was in. Even in old age, giving your pet a dental overhaul, if it needs one, will do more good than harm.

“A more serious danger is the bacterial infection and resultant inflammation in the gums, which can send bacteria through the dog’s bloodstream, where it can wreak havoc with the heart, lungs, kidney, and liver. Dogs with chronic health problems that affect these organs and dogs with immune-mediated disease are at special risk of experiencing complications due to periodontal disease. For this reason alone, owners of these dogs should be the most proactive in keeping their dogs’ teeth clean.” – Nancy Kerns, Whole Dog Journal

Unless the animal have existing health problems, there are so many aged animals rescued from pet farms and their new owners would bring their adopted pets to have them sterilized and have their teeth cleaned and extracted if necessary without any complications. I believe that if the clinic is responsible, ethical and proper tests and screening are done prior, it’s relatively safe to put your pets under anesthesia.

Here are some professional opinion that’s able to address this matter in further detail:
Anesthesia-Free Pet Dentistry – By Animal Dental Care and Oral  Surgery
Nonprofessional Dental Scaling – By Mercola.com
Anesthesia-Free Teeth Cleaning For Your Dog – By The Whole Dog Journal

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Dog Articles, Dog Health, Long Live The Cat, Pet Articles

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