confused, rethinking petfood, what about raw pet food?

[MomLovesClassics]

Not sure how I found these sites dogfoodsecrets.com and catfoodsecrets.com but I glanced at them today. The one about dog food states that euthanized animals are sent to the dog food companies. It also tells how you can be paying $35 for a bushel of corn if you purchase a bag of dog food, and other strange things. While I do my best to purchase what I think is ethical I am rethinking. I did not purchase the ebook, or look to see if there was a printed version, because I don't think I could handle reading anymore. I am now thinking maybe I should go the raw route, and purchase the raw food, or prepare the food myself. According to them you can make your pet's food much cheaper, and they will be healthier. I do know you can find human grade meat can food for cats. It is said can food is better for cats. I am very confused right now. It is sad that consumers can not trust companies, and must do so much research in order to have confidence in feeding their pets.

[2cents]

One word of caution about the raw diet-you'll want to only use fresh meat...not the store meat that has been sitting out and may have been frozen then thawed. Unless the meat is fresh, you run the risk of introducing bacteria into the pets diet and they can get very ill. I know..we tried the BARF diet (yes...that is the real name). Our dog got very ill with the raw meat. We even tried the packaged raw meat sold by a specialty pet store and she became ill with vomiting and runny stools. Then I changed to cooked meat. Throughout the pet food scare I made our own pet food. I cooked meat in the slow cooker then ground it up in my processor and bagged it in ziplocks (in daily sizes) and froze. It was a lot of work and I'm not sure if I saved much in terms of money. I did it mainly because I didn't know which food to trust. There are pet food companies that are safe to feed your pet (no euthanized pet issues in the manufacture) but you need to research. These are some good ones: Evangers, Flint River Ranch, Merrick.

 

Another thing about making your own pet food especially if you are making it for a cat. Cats need special nutrients and you'll want to carefully read the internet sites that have recipes specially for cats. Those nutrients will need to be added. I am thinking about Taurine in particular. Taurine is added in commercial pet food. Can food is best for cats. They are meat eaters and dry food is not their normal diet. If you buy canned be sure to get the ones where the first 5 ingredients are meat or meat by product.

 

Making pet food is probably the best food for your pet but you'll need to do a little research to really know if it is doable for your family. Hope this helps! :)

Edited September 14, 2009 by 2cents

[Night Elf]

I have been with the same vet for over 10 years and have absolute trust in her recommendations. She put our dog on a raw frozen diet. We buy Nature's Variety and Primal. It's healthy and I really like how efficient it is in her body. Her poos are small and not smelly because there is very little waste coming out.