ik that not all grain free foods are amazing, or even good, but what's going on with them and petco? i'm sort of out of the loop. ik they did their whole taking 'unhealthy' foods off of shelves, but that's all i know
Petco is taking all foods off their shelves that use artificial preservatives. The artificial preservatives found in dog food have never been proven harmful to animals, which is saying something considering that the main companies that use them (Purina, Hills, Iams/Eukanuba, and Royal Canin) all perform constant lifetime feeding trials on all their diets and employ veterinary nutritionists (i.e., those with ACVN certifiation or a PhD in animal nutrition) as opposed to literally every other food company that does not. More on that later. But essentially the only food companies left after removing those big 4 are boutique companies producing grain-free diets.
Basically it’s a huge marketing scam. People are afraid of big words they can’t pronounce and anything that’s “artificial” and not “all-natural.”
The problem is not with grain-free foods, exactly. While there are some examples of animals that truly need a grain free diet, they are few and far between. The only dogs that have ever been confirmed to have Celiac Disease is a very specific line of spaniels, and even they don’t need to be grain-free, just wheat-free. In some animals, being grain-free might help with IBD, but at any rate, the reasons for going grain-free with a pet are all scientific, rather than a non-scientific view that dogs and cats, as carnivores, should not be eating corn or other grains. But that non-scientific view is why the grain-free market has become so large and prevalent.
The issue is that no company other than those 4 mentioned above (Purina, Hills, Royal Canin, and Iams/Eukanuba) perform feeding trials. The foods made by other companies are formulated to meet AAFCO standards (the national scientific board that keeps standards of what nutrients pet need and how much), so technically they do include everything the pet would need, but they never test this out. Not every nutrient contained in an ingredient is going to make it into the animal’s body in a useful form, so just saying that you have a certain amount of blueberries in your food and this provides a certain amount of XYZ nutrient, doesn’t mean that the animal is going to get every bit of that nutrient. You can’t know how much nutrient is going to be derived from that ingredient until you perform feeding trials. Combine this with the fact that many of the rest of the food companies out there do not employ veterinary nutritionists. As a result of both these items, your pet is their guinea pig.
This horrible realization is currently rocking the pet world in the form of dilated cardiomyopathy - this means that the heart becomes large and weak and unable to pump blood well. Eventually it is fatal. Some breeds of dogs are naturally prone to this disease, but vets and veterinary cardiologists started noticing that breeds which are not predisposed were starting to have issues more often than what you would consider random chance. It turns out that they were all on B.E.G. diets - Boutique (a small company, often recently formed), Exotic (exotic proteins such as kangaroo, rabbit, alligator, etc), and Grain-free - and this includes commercial raw diets and homemade diets. The FDA has launched an investigation into it and are taking reports from any vet who has a case. They are currently in the beginning stages of performing clinical trials with BEG diets to see what exactly it is that allows for this condition, but the current thinking is that even if the diet contains enough taurine, it is not bioavailable enough (see above: “just saying that you have a certain amount of blueberries in your food and this provides a certain amount of XYZ nutrient, doesn’t mean that the animal is going to get every bit of that nutrient”) or that the presence or absence of another ingredient in the diet prevents the animal from using the taurine in the food, which is shown by the fact that adding taurine to the BEG diet of a dog that has the issue will often not solve the issue.
Right now the main recommendation to avoid this issue is to only use foods that fit the World Small Animal Veterinary Association guidelines - and these companies include? You guessed it: Royal Canin, Hills, Purina, and Iams/Eukanuba. These are the only 4 companies in America that run feeding trials *and* employ veterinary nutritionists. There exist other food companies that do employ veterinary nutritionists (although they are few) but none of them run feeding trials, so they still don’t fit the guidelines. If your dog does need a grain-free diet (or you really insist on the non-scientific reasons for feeding it), both Hills and Purina produce a grain-free diet that has not been shown to cause any issues. If your dog needs a hypoallergenic diet (as many people choose one of the BEG diets to have a novel protein - one that won’t cause allergy issues) there are novel protein and prescription hypoallergenic diets with these companies as well.
That Petco is getting rid of the only known safe diets and promoting pseudoscience is why I will not shop there anymore and will recommend my clients go anywhere but there, at least for pet food needs but ideally for everything. The BEG diet manufacturers are remaining mysteriously silent on this as well, pretending that it’s not an issue and instructing their reps to tell vets and consumers that the whole thing is a scam by the 4 mentioned companies to try to drive smaller companies out of the market (because FDA involvement and epidemiologic studies are totally scams and not evidence…)
My question is, what do BEG diet manufacturers have to lose by running feeding trials and employing experts? They can prevent hundreds if not thousands of health issues with their customers’ furbabies - but perhaps they would get results telling them that their “all natural” grain-free diets are actually unhealthy for pets.
If you’re interested in learning more, including records of which foods have recorded instances of nutritionally-deficient DCM, I recommend joining this group, which has an incredible amount of knowledge and information and is moderated by veterinarians who constantly answer questions and update the records. For my vetblr followers, if you indicate that you’re a vet student or other veterinary professional when you answer the group’s admission questions, they will invite you to the veterinary professionals version of the group too, which has discussion above layman’s terms.
This is going to be focused on cats since that is what I have and what I’ve researched and had experience with.
My cat was hospitalized a few years ago (he was about 8 at the time) because he couldnt urinate due to crystals in his urine blocking his urethra. I almost lost my best friend. I fed him a purina kibble for most of his life and had switched to a smaller brand that had no by product meal or peas (just oats) because he stopped eating it. When he was released, the vet recommended Hillls so I bought some from his office. This might seem like I’m supporting the decision but thats the farthest thing from the truth. My cat would NOT touch it. And what he did eat from hunger was immediately thrown up.
In desperation I looked up what the root causes of urine crystals in cats was (which my vet, one of the best rated in my city, did not tell me). It turns out to be rooted in moisture content. CATS SHOULD NOT EAT KIBBLE. PERIOD. Not just because of the low moisture content, but because it is incredibly prone to mold and mildew. If you must feed your cat kibble I am BEGGING you to break it up into smaller bags and store it in your refrigerator!
Anyways, using this information I decided to supplement my cats food with wet (budget issues prevented me from switching entirely at the time) and switch back to the dry food he liked. He has had no problems for over 2 years with the increase in water.
Now, I’m switching him to homemade food. This is not something I would recommend to everyone since it is a lot of work and a lot of science and costs about the same as an entirely wet food diet. The reason I’m switching him is because I HATE the ingredients of manufactured cat food. Cats eat meat. End of story. The reason peas are in cat food is to raise the protein content on the label but they aren’t able to digest or get anything out of them since their stomachs just don'thave the microbes to do so. They also do not need grains in their diet. (Ever wonder why your cats poop stinks? Or gets constipated? It’s the grains.) They also do not need vegetables or fruit or fish (except an incredibly small portion of fish oil for heart health.) In fact, a primarily fish protein diet can also cause urine crystals because of the heavy elements present in fish meats, especially large fish like salmon.
The food my cat is getting now is entirely chicken and/or Turkey ground with vitamins (recommend and tested by a different vet) and water. Cats naturally eat small rodents and birds and sometimes other little creatures when available. That’s it. They dont need anything else. My cat is now 10 and thriving because of the changes I’ve made. No more puke. No more smelly poo. Regular urination. The food I feed my cat is also human grade, not leftovers.
Now you want to know why vets and animal nutritionists would reccomend foods that large companies produce even though they contain gross amounts of species inappropriate ingredients? They are PAID to do so. Hills, Purina, all of them have contracted to vets offices to give them a cut of the sales. Additionally, they are contracted to universities for the student research and provide almost all textbooks and articles for their programs so no one can contradict them with any reputation. Honestly it all boils down to money. Fresh meats cost a ton more then the by product meals and grains and peas they pour in. Partially those savings are passed to you as the consumer, but with how expensive Hills and Royal Canin are in particular, I’m guessing they just make out like fat rats like any other corporation. Additionally, and I’m guessing here, but I bet the reason they want to denounce and discredit all the other brands is because they would loose sales if people found out how poor their food actually is. Like, do they even test the comparison between only fresh kills and their food? Or just their food against more of their food?
Who would’ve thought that feeding an obligate carnivore vegetables and grains would mess up their digestive system? It should be obvious.
Hey sorry (not sorry), none of this is true. Like, at all.
“In desperation I looked up what the root causes of urine crystals in cats was (which my vet, one of the best rated in my city, did not tell me). It turns out to be rooted in moisture content.” Nope! It is actually a result of genetics and the acidity or alkalinity of the urine. Struvite stones are the most common stones we see and can be dissolved by acidifying the urine with a proper diet, such as one of the prescription diets from Hill’s, Purina, or Royal Canin. Cats that are prone to other types of stones unfortunately cannot be dissolved in this way, but we can help prevent them from forming stones by putting them on a urinary diet (again, prescription) that alters the type of protein and minerals they receive that help reduce the body’s total content of the minerals in their specific stone type. And of course there are the “stress” or “calm” diets that provide tryptophan and other calming amino acids for cats that are prone to sterile stress cystitis which can lead to crystals if left untreated. While it is true that adding wet food or soaking the dry food with water will help dilute the crystals making it less likely for them to form stones, it is absolutely untrue that feeding dry food is the source of urinary stones.
“CATS SHOULD NOT EAT KIBBLE. PERIOD.” Nope! There is currently no consensus as to whether cats should eat only kibble or only wet food. Take it from the board-certified veterinary nutritionists at one of the top vet schools in the country (which 13-shades-of-purple is NOT): “In the end, in the absence of health concerns, either dry or canned food or a combination can be fed to cats or dogs and you should make this decision based on your pet’s individual needs, and your lifestyle, budget, and other factors.”
“The reason I’m switching him is because I HATE the ingredients of manufactured cat food. Cats eat meat. End of story. The reason peas are in cat food is to raise the protein content on the label but they aren’t able to digest or get anything out of them since their stomachs just don'thave the microbes to do so. They also do not need grains in their diet. (Ever wonder why your cats poop stinks? Or gets constipated? It’s the grains.) They also do not need vegetables or fruit or fish (except an incredibly small portion of fish oil for heart health.)” Nope! This is just… completely untrue. Cats can absolutely get nutrition from peas, grains (including corn), vegetables, and fruit. Constipation is not a result of grains… as an FYI, carnivores do not really use microbes to aid in protein or carbohydrate digestion, or much digestion at all. We use enzymes. A healthy gut microbiome is essential especially in the large colon where they help to pull moisture and final nutrients out of the food before it is excreted as feces, but the majority of digestion in carnivores happens in the small intestine using, you know, acids and enzymes, which you would know if you had any veterinary education whatsoever.
“The food I feed my cat is also human grade, not leftovers.” Again, straight from the board-certified veterinary nutritionists at one of the top vet schools in the country: “Also beware of companies using the term “human grade” to describe their ingredients, as to use this term, all of the ingredients, as well as the final product, must be “stored, handled, processed, and transported” in ways that meet federal regulations for human foods. If the entire food isn’t human edible, then companies should not be claiming that individual ingredients are. Once an ingredient is destined for inclusion in pet food, then it is no longer fit for human consumption by definition, unless it never leaves the human food chain and the pet food is made in a human food plant. More importantly, ingredients sourced from the human food chain are not necessarily any more nutritious, wholesome, or safe than ingredients initially destined for pet food. Therefore, manufacturer’s claims of “human grade” ingredients should be taken with a grain of salt at best (as a side note, pet foods containing “human grade” ingredients that may sound more appealing to us, such as “fresh angus beef”, can increase the number of animals that need to be raised to feed humans and pets and have a negative impact on the planet in terms of sustainability).”
“Now you want to know why vets and animal nutritionists would reccomend foods that large companies produce even though they contain gross amounts of species inappropriate ingredients? They are PAID to do so. Hills, Purina, all of them have contracted to vets offices to give them a cut of the sales.” Umm, literally no?? Just like LITERALLY every other thing we sell in the clinic, we purchase the product from the company and sell it on a markup. If what you’re saying is true, we also get “a cut of the sales” from drug manufacturers, candle companies… heck, even syringe and needle manufacturers! Do you see yet how silly this sounds? Are we… not… supposed to make money from selling things?
“Additionally, they are contracted to universities for the student research and provide almost all textbooks and articles for their programs so no one can contradict them with any reputation.” Umm, what? Where were these dollars that would have paid for $200 per textbook per class for me? Where were these programs that would have paid for my lung cancer research projects? Get this: not a single one of my textbooks or articles were provided by Hill’s or any other company. Hill’s does offer a free nutrition textbook, but it is not written by them - it is written by the Mark Morris Institute. In vet school we got free lunch once a semester where we could learn about new products, but we also get free lunch once a semester from literally every company that wants to offer this. I went to lunch-and-learns from Rayne, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Zoetis, Pfizer, Boehringer-Ingelheim… usually these are spent studying for your exam next period or Facebooking, not paying attention or being brainwashed. This comment is where you reveal that you have literally no veterinary training whatsoever, lol.
“Additionally, and I’m guessing here, but I bet the reason they want to denounce and discredit all the other brands is because they would loose sales if people found out how poor their food actually is. Like, do they even test the comparison between only fresh kills and their food? Or just their food against more of their food?” You’re right, what a WAG. You do realize that it has NEVER been any of these big companies trashing other companies? It has literally been Blue Bufflo and co. saying “OTHER brands use byproducts, we would NEVER!” (byproducts are completely harmless and an excellent source of nutrients, btw) “OTHER brands use grains, we would NEVER!” (grains are completely harmless and an excellent source of nutrients, btw) It has always been the smaller companies using marketing to make themselves seem better than the companies that actually employ board-certified veterinary nutritionists and the ones that do lifetime feeding trials. I have been to the testing facilities of Hill’s and they do not do comparisons to other companies’ foods. They only test their own foods, which is literally all that is necessary. The animals get extensive bloodwork, radiographs, and ultrasounds every 6 months and are individually examined for problems daily by staff members. Pets with ailments such as sensitive stomachs, kidney failure, heart failure, etc are randomly placed into groups of “regular diet” (such as a standard senior diet) vs “prescription diet” and the differences in their labwork results is compared to ensure that the prescription diet is doing its job. This is how they measure that their foods and it is extremely thorough. Why measure their diets against an incomplete diet (fresh kills or other pet foods) when they can just continually test that their own foods are still complete and are able to maintain a healthy dog or cat? That’s like saying that a company making an anti-cancer drug should also test another company’s anti-cancer drug for them. No… you don’t need that. You just need to know that your own drug cures 75% more cancer over the placebo and if the other company does their own studies you can know that their drug only cures 25% more cancer than the placebo… it’s just in this case that the other companies are too money-hungry to perform studies for their own foods.
“Who would’ve thought that feeding an obligate carnivore vegetables and grains would mess up their digestive system? It should be obvious.” It doesn’t, and it’s not. Why don’t you leave the ranting about nutrition to someone who has a modicum of veterinary training?
