During an FDA inspection of a PETCO distribution center in April, widespread and active rodent and bird infestation was found. The FDA inspected the facility again in May and found continuing and widespread infestation.

Do you honestly mean to tell me it took FDA inspectors to tell PETCO they had rodents and birds in their facility????   Their own quality control measures didn’t alert on it?  And it took at least two visits and warnings and it STILL didn’t get their attention?   From now on, PETCO will not even get my cat litter business.

The FDA wants PETCO to “adequately control and prevent pests”.  One could assume that will involve poisons and pesticides, once again in close proximity to your pet’s food.

If you purchase from PETCO, you will want to read the entire FDA news release. 

The distribution center in Joliet, Ill., provides pet food products and supplies to PETCO retail stores in 16 states including Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01854.html

This is just one reason why I’ve fed small company, quality-controlled holistic pet foods for over ten years.

Teresa Holladay
The Holistic Pet Food Blog
http://IsYourPetFoodSafe.com

Keeping you informed on pet food safety news and ingredients.

I received this email on June 11: 

Our cat Samson is 12 years old.  I noticed today and yesterday that he is having some trouble jumping up onto the counter where he eats, sleeps, prowls :-).

Anyway, I was wondering if maybe it is his joints. 

If so, would you be able to recommend a product that could help him with this?

Just  wanted to let you know that I’ve been giving Samson the fish oil and glucosamine/chrondotin “hip action” natural treats since Wednesday.  He has been so much better!!!  I hope and pray that this continues.

Thanks again for sharing your insight and wisdom with us!!

I have been house-sitting for some dear friends.  They are due back today.  Somebody tell me how to have a chat with them that they are killing their cats!

I try not to be obnoxious with friends and their pets.  If they ASK, I’ll give them some good advice, help them get hooked up on safer pet foods.  Otherwise, I don’t say anything.

But this was ridiculous.

They have a beautiful one-year-old tortie who is probably 20 pounds overweight!  Her feeding instructions?  “One full can of 9 Lives and one full can of tuna every morning and night, plus she free feeds 9 Lives dry.”   Arggghh!!  I can just FEEL that cat developing diabetes and kidney disease by the minute.  She is so sluggish and acts like she doesn’t feel well.  She’s so big she can hardly move. 

They think it’s cute.  I have to tell you, I do cat rescue and feed about 20 cats.  Many are long-term members of my household.  Not a single one, not in years, has ever been overweight.  In fact, we never get bladder problems, kidney problems, or diabetes.  No cancers, even.  I want to say to them, you KNOW this about my cats, don’t you know it’s about the food I feed them?!

Then they have a sweet little tuxedo cat, about nine months old.  Charlie, a very loving guy.  His feeding instructions?  “One pouch of Whiskas and ONE POUCH OF TREATS every morning and night, plus the dry”.  At nine months, he should be bouncing off the walls.  All he does is lay on the sofa.

I didn’t feed them as much as I was told, and Charlie most definitely did NOT get those treats every day.  Gosh, that’s like giving your children cake at every meal.  He fills up on the treats and then leaves everything else to get crusty and dry.

In the wild, cats eat mice, which nutritionally break down to being 3% carbohydrate, 40% protein, and 50% fat.

But most commercial dry foods are between 30-70% carbs (because they get their protein from carb sources like corn and wheat). 

And the canned foods found at the discount pet food stores and grocery stores have the same carb mix, a little flavor from by-products, and water.  (And oh, how I shudder and recall the great China recall when I see “wheat gluten” on the label).   They just don’t have the nutrients cats need.

I want to tell my friends, LISTEN.  Give me the money you spend every month on cat food.  For the same dollar amount, I can get you a super premium canned food (Instinctive Choice, the best on the market, or maybe one of the Halo Pets foods) and any of a number of super premium holistic dry foods (Felidae, Life’s Abundance by HealthyPetNet, Paul Newman’s cat food, or Halo), and your cats will love them.

It’s VERY DIFFICULT to help a cat lose weight but if we start now, we might have a chance.  They will feel better and become more active and they might live a lot longer.

For most people, I couldn’t take their monthly low-grade pet food expenses and make the switch to holistic, but these friends are just plain way overfeeding.  An entire bag of treats at every meal????!!  The holistic treats I give my kitties say “no more than 5 kibbles per day”.  For that $1 a day treat bag plus what they spend on way too many cases on 9 Lives Canned, plus the dry, I KNOW I can feed their kitties nice, holistic canned, dry, and treats, and they will be better off for it!

Argghhhh!!

I am so sad to hear people talk about their older pets and how they can’t jump on the bed any more… and the owners have not taken the pet to the vet.

Folks, dogs and cats are much like humans.  They get arthritis.  Do you see those commercials on TV where the people can’t lift their arm and can’t play with their grandkids, then they take a pill, and they get their life back?  How sad that we do not realize our pets’ arthritis can be remedied with over the counter supplements or even a trip to the vet.

In the June/July 2008 issue of Animal Wellness Magazine, an article on the Top 20 Supplements for Dogs & Cats lists chondroitin and glucosamine among recommended supplements, especially for older animals.  Each reduces pain and encourages normal joint function.  Fish oil, a powerful antiflammatory, is also something that can be used for pets with arthritis.

You can purchase natural arthritis supplements at the health food store or specialty pet food stores.  SOMETIMES, not always, your vet may carry these products.  If you pet is very old or especially fragile, be sure to check in with your vet, anyway, before adding something to its diet.

PetFoodDirect.com may carry special arthritic supplements.  HealthyPetNet, a holistic pet products company, also carries a number of supplements, including one called Agility which is made for dogs with arthritis. 

Please, if you have a pet who is slowing down, take the time to check in with your vet or to pick up one of these glucosamine, chondroitin, fish oil, or other supplements to see if it will help.  There is no need for our beautiful companions to live their last years in pain.

P.S.  DO NOT give your pets pain remedies made for humans such as aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, and so forth.  Their livers cannot handle these drugs and therefore, the drugs are toxic to them.  They MUST have pain remedies that only your veterinarian can provide. 

This comes from an article by Ann Brightman in the June/July 2008 issue of Animal Wellness Magazine.

1. Antioxidants
2. B vitamins
3. Calcium
4. Chondroitin
5. Colostrum - Speeds the healing process by as much as 50%.  [From Teresa: So effective, I use it for all my sick kitties.  There is a brand called "Transfer Factor" that manufactures a special veterinary colostrum, google on it to find a rep who will sell it to you at a discount because it is quite expensive.]
6. CoQ10
7. Cranberries
8. Dandelions
9. Echinacea
10. Enzymes
11. Essential fatty acids - Fish oils, flaxseed, hemp seed oils.  Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, very powerful.  [From Teresa:  Fish oil is so beneficial that I use it not only for my animals but for myself -- You get what you pay for, go for higher end brands with high DHA and EPA counts -- I use SeaLogix fish oil, which is top-rated].
12. Garlic - Suffers from misconceptions but is actually a very healthful herb for animals [From Teresa: When used in the doses permitted by AAFCO].  Antibacterial, antiparasitic, antiseptic, benfits animals with cancer, diabetes, liver, heart and kidney disease, staph infections… also a natural flea repellant.
13. Glandulars
14. Glucosamine
15. Grape seed extract  - Grape seed extract is not the same as whole grapes or raisins, which are toxic to dogs.  Grape seed extract contains healthy proanthocyanidins which are potent antioxidants.  Also rich in linoleic acide and a good source of Vitamin E.
16. Milk thistle [From Teresa: When you learn how beneficial is milk thistle, you will use it not only for your pets but for yourself.]
17. Prebiotics
18. Probiotics
19. Selenium
20. Taurine [From Teresa:  Do NOT buy cat food that omits this key ingredient and always supplement it if you are making your own food].

Holistic vet Shawn Messonier, DVM, lays the foundation for getting good antioxidants into your pet in the June/July 2008 Issue of Animal Wellness Magazine.  You hear how important they are in humans but your dogs and cats need them, as well.

“Oxidation” is a normal process.  You see it when a slice of apple turns brown.  It’s a result of metabolism, detoxification, and energy production.  A by-product of oxidation is something called a “free radical”.  The unhappy thing about free radicals is that they are toxic to cells and surrounding tissues.  Dr. Messonier states that many medical conditions have been linked to free radical damage:  Cancer, atherosclerosis, autoimmune diseases, diabetic cataracts, inflammatory bowel disease, nutrient deficiencies, premature aging, and viral infections.

An “antioxidant” fights the “oxidation” process, or, in other words, it fights the free radicals.  The body produces some antioxidants, but they can also be provided in the diet or through supplementation.

Antioxidants that you would want in your pet’s diet or supplements include:  Vitamins A, C, and E;  the minerals selenium, manganese, and zinc;  and nutritional supplements such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione, coenzyme Q-10 (Co-Q10), gingko biloba, bilberry, grape seed extract, milk thistle, and proanthocyanidins.  Note:  Many people confuse the grape seed extract, which is good, with grapes, which have been shown in limited studies to be toxic to dogs.  We’ll cover grape seed extract in a separate article but it is perfectly FINE in pet foods.  As a seed, it is NOT the same as the “full grown” grape.

Dr. Messonier’s article was limited to the necessity of antioxidants and a listing of key antioxidants.  He also included various warnings, such as, don’t give the human forms of the supplements, check with your vet, not all supplements are high quality, and so forth.    This article from the Holistic Pet Food Blog will go one step further to list the antioxidants in several top holistic pet foods.  Many pet food companies, especially holistic pet food companies, now add antioxidants to their formula. 

When it comes to cats, a meat-based, high-protein diet is the key.

The following is a guest article by Dr. Donna Spector, DVM, of Halo Pets.

If you are like most Americans today, healthy eating is part of your daily focus, and if you’re a cat owner, you can adapt your cat’s diet to match yours. Many pet food manufacturers are developing natural cat food designed specifically for the dietary needs of cats.

If the lion is the king of the jungle, its domestic cousin—the regal housecat—cannot be far behind! Cats seem to be descended from royalty and, like lions, they are true carnivores. They require twice as much protein as dogs, since they rely on protein (not carbohydrates) to produce glucose for energy. Since cats fuel their bodies with energy from protein, meat-based diets work best.

High-carbohydrate cat food can result in digestive problems such as diarrhea, gas and bloating. A diet high in carbohydrates may even lead to obesity and feline diabetes. Commercial cat food is often moderate to high in carbohydrates.

Research shows for best health, cats should consume a diet composed of at least 35% protein, 10% fat, and 20% carbohydrates. AAFCO, (the Association of American Feed Control Officials) the agency that establishes pet food guidelines requires cat food contain only 26% protein and 9% fat. “While these amounts provide the minimum daily requirement to survive, I believe they are only half the ideal amount to allow your cat to thrive with healthy digestion, strong bones, and a beautiful, full coat”, board certified veterinary internist Dr. Donna Spector explains.

In addition, AAFCO makes no recommendations regarding carbohydrate levels in cat foods. As a result, many pet food companies use grains as the base of their cat food products. While grains are an inexpensive way to meet AAFCO standards for protein and fat, they contribute a large amount of carbohydrate to the food. This often creates cat food with twice or three times the ideal amount of carbohydrates for cats. Feeding excess carbohydrates to cats leads to malnutrition and contributes to other conditions such as pet obesity , feline diabetes, intestinal disease and skin disorders.

Allow your cat to reach his or her maximum potential by serving holistic cat food meat-based recipes that provide ideal amounts of all the necessary nutrients to your cat to facilitate excellent digestion and optimum health.

About Halo, Purely for Pets

Halo, Purely for Pets is a holistic pet care company. Halo Pets offers cat owners new options: low-carbohydrate, meat-based cat foods that support a cat’s unique biology. Halo uses premium quality ingredients to develop wholesome, natural products for pets. Halo’s natural cat food, dog food, nutritional supplements, herbal grooming supplies and nutritious treats help pets to live longer, happier, healthier lives. Visit www.halopets.com for more information.
 

“No wheat, only meat”… that should be our mantra.

As a holistic pet food feeder for over ten years, I have long known that corn and wheat were the nemesis of our pets.  But I stumbled across this article of how Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins links the grain-based proteins in dry cat foods to the explosive incidence of diabetes in cats and thought the cat lovers out there would want to see this.  

“We all know in this life you get what you pay for,” Hodgkins says. “If pet owners really want quality, they need to show the industry that they’re willing to pay for it.”

Read her article in the Orange County Register here.

Learn to read the label of your brand here.

Evangers says that no food has been recalled, issues are related to record-keeping and other practices. Note that the reason the FDA dinged them was because documentation errors could result in underprocessing, thus causing botulism. Evangers is a well-reputed holistic pet food, this situation is becoming a study in FDA action and reaction.

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A recent inspection revealed significant deviations from prescribed documentation of processes, equipment, and recordkeeping in the production of the company’s thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. These problems could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of botulism.

If you are an Evanger’s fan, you’ll want to read this press release from the FDA. Many holistic pet food fans use Evanger’s canned dog food.  Just want to note that this is a documentation problem, not a recall, and Evangers maintains that their foods are safe.  They are a very fine company, this is typical of business interactions with regulatory authorities;  your favorite restaurant has probably had more health and safety issues than Evangers. 

I would say that if you’re an Evangers fan, you can continue to support and use their products.

Here is Evangers Corporate response to the FDA ding.

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