Expert: Ali - 6/22/2009

Question
QUESTION: My elderly cat about 4 months ago started to experience bloating but it would
only last 24 hours before it went down. My cat has been diagnosed with crf 2
years prior, and recieves fluids twice a week. This past week his belly got
huge. Went to the vet and seats showed her tons of air in the cavity of his
abdominal area, she expressed free air but this cat hasn't been in any
tramua. The cats using the bathroom it took him a while to produce stool but
he has now, no fever, apitite  in place, eating good, the recent bloodwork has
showed his kidney values as close to just about normal. He's had some past
issues with diarreha for long periods of time, specialist has no answers for
this either any suggestions?
a

ANSWER: Cat Owner,

To start off with I'd like to let you know a bit about my experience in this area. In 2007 my then 8 year old cat MC developed severe acute renal failure as a direct result of eating melamine tainted food. MC's kidney failure was diagnosed by an emergency vet and the recommendation was made at that time to euthanize her because her kidney values were so high that there wasn't much chance she'd get better.

My vet is a holistic veterinarian, she treated MC with the conventional treatment of IV fluids and a low protein prescription diet as well as some homeopathic remedies designed to help with the kidney function and the effects of the kidney failure. Ultimately MC is probably one of the luckiest pets affected by the Menu Foods recall. Obviously I became very concerned about the likelihood that MC would get more tainted food as I watched the pet foods fly off of pet store shelves so I asked my vet for advice - she recommended checking out catinfo.org which is a website created by a veterinarian who wants to educate pet parents about the unique nutritional needs of their feline friends, this site includes a recipe for homemade food as well as an in depth discussion about feline nutrition.

I'm absolutely amazed to report that unlike so many other cats and dogs affected by the Menu Foods recall MC's kidney values eventually stabilized. In December 2008 MC was doing so well that our vet recommended trying to wean her off of her fluids so we started the difficult process while I held my breath with my heart in my throat. Eventually MC was down to getting fluids once a week in May 2009. At our regularly scheduled visit for blood work MC's kidneys remained normal. As of June 2, 2009 her kidney values continued to be in the normal range even though she hadn't had fluids since the middle of May.

I have a few questions about your situation which will hopefully provide me with the answers that I need in order to give you the best possible answer to this question. I have a few ideas that could potentially explain what's happening here, but I'd like to have some more information before I make any recommendations.

- How old is this kitty?

- Was his renal failure something that your vet suspectes may have happened as a result of the Menu Foods recall? If not has your vet identified a specific cause for the renal issues?

- What was this kitty eating before his crf was diagnosed? Canned or dry?

- What kind of diet is this kitty eating? Is the food canned or dry?

- Does this kitty get constipated frequently?

- Is there a chance that the bloating is related to some foreign body your cat has ingested or a large hairball he's not able to get out of his system on his own?

- Aside from the fluids does this kitty get any medications on a daily basis for his renal failure or any other issue?

- Is renal failure your kitty's only major health problem at this point?

- Has your vet recommended any specific treatment for this kitty's bloating?

- What explanation have you been given by your vet with regards to why this kitty's getting a bloated belly fairly frequently?

- How much fluid is this kitty receiving each time you give the sub-q fluids?

- Are you open to considering seeking the advice of an experienced holistic vet?

- Would you be willing to consider other dietary and therapeutic options for this kitty?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello,
Thank you for your email. I didn't have any way of contacting other than replying with a post here in the form.
My cat is 19 to 20 years old.  he was on all different types of food growing up here, even to the time he was diagnosed with CRF.  since he was diagnosed, we have tried the diet the hills diet K/D he wasn't very interested and the vet said give him what he will eat. we tried 9 lives, but he would have chronic diarrhea with that diet.  at this point, him being 9 pounds we wanted to give him anything he would eat.  so, he has been eating friskies, whiskas mainly because I have read that those foods were not on the recall list.   
I don't know how much fluids my cat gets but I do know that he is only able to tolerate the lactated ringers and not the new solution they offer.  He is only being treated with fluids, he is not on any medications, other than metronidizole and clavamox, or pepcid from time to time to treat infection or to take the acid down in the stomach from being sick, getting sick that is.  
I don't know if the bloating is caused by a hair ball, he is a short hair cat.  but from this point onward we are feeding him a diet of regular food, chicken, roast beef, stuff like that and actually supplementing his taurine through a vitamin.  

I think my cat suffers more from diarrhea than constipation, the only thing that we could have done to harm this process, thinking he has IBS is give him cheese, he begs for it, it isn't very much but I think its enough to upset his digestion track. so he can't have it anymore.

the vet and the specialist can't understand the air in the stomach, they don't have a clue, the x ray just shows hair, and distention.  He's been eating fine, and peeing fine, I won't take him off the fluids he is on.  
I am just at a loss for words, it seems the bloating is going down slowly right now, its feeling more soft than hard, so... that is a good thing.  he's acting tons better, Wednesday or Thursday i wasn't sure if he was going to live, this cat has been with me for most of my life.  so I am nothing but hopeful.  if you want to you can email me at  

Answer
Cat Owner,

I'm not clear on when this kitty's issues with crf became obvious, I was kind of hoping for an answer so that I'd have an idea whether or not his renal issues are related to eating tainted cat food or another possible cause. Although I didn't specifically see Friskies or Whiskas on the pet food recall lists they aren't foods that I would recommend since they make every effort to keep costs down which means that whatever foods are cheapest at a specific point in time will find their way into the food. There are far too many pet food manufacturers out there who place significant emphasis on their ability to make a profit than the long term well being of our pets.

I suspect that the steady diet of lower quality food this kitty's been having is likely playing some role in his diarrea. There are two ways to help your cat stay as healthy as possible, the first important point would be to make sure that your kitty isn't eating a traditionally prepared cat food that's higher in terms of quality, the other issue would be to consider giving your kitty about 1 tablespoon of plain, unsweetened organic yogurt twice daily either mixed in with his food or given alone. The beneficial bacteria in yogurt helps to naturally boost the levels of healthy bacteria in the cat's digestive system which may help him become more comfortable and reduce his diarrea.

When it comes to pet foods that I would recommend I have to say things have changed significantly since before the Menu Foods pet food recalls, my oldest cat MC almost died as a direct result of eating tainted cat food, sadly this was a brand that I had heard vets recommend and I really thought that the food was a good quality food so I didn't worry too much about the safety of the premium, so called higher quality foods - it was worth paying a slightly higher price to know that my cats were getting a top quality food. Since the Menu Foods pet food recalls happened I really wanted some answers about what had gone so drastically wrong and why it wasn't caught by the company sooner, preferably before cats and dogs started dying. I've spent countless hours online researching the pet food industry and looking for answers as to why this situation was ever allowed to happen - unfortunately the only answer that I was left with is profit, greedy people who wanted to maxmize their profit while ignoring the potential damage the tainted food was doing to so many much loved pets in North America and beyond.

The more research that I did the more that I saw so many well known premium (some vet recommended)pet foods were just as awful - it was tough to see that the vast majority of these foods had been recalled at some point in their history, not necessarily related to the massive Menu Foods recall of 2007. The more I learned the more concerned I became for the health and safety of my cats' food, in fact I wanted to have my vet provide me with information about making their food at home so that I'd know exactly what was going on their plates and into their bellies. As far as I know the only two traditionally prepared cat food brands that I feel comfortable recommending Wellness and Spot's Stew by Halo. These foods are actually made from human grade ingredients, they've never been recalled for any reason to my knowledge and there isn't any reason that I'm aware of not to at least try these foods. If you're prepared to feed your kitty a species appropriate diet that's going to provide him with the stuff he needs to get healthier and enjoy life a bit more then I'd recommend feeding a food such as Feline Pride which is available at catnutrition.org.

To be honest while I didn't happen to specifically see Friskies or Whiskas on the Menu Foods pet food recall list they aren't foods that I would recommend at all since they really are questionable in terms of quality. This steady diet of lower quality food could be a part of what's happening with your cat's diarrea and related discomforts. When foods are sold purely with profit in mind the manufacturers are often more concerned with the money they'll make from selling their pet food, unfortunately since cost is low the ingredients used must be as low cost as possible, this means that these companies aren't known for keeping ingredient lists consistent, they use whatever ingredients are cheapest at the time in order to keep prices as low as possible. I've come to a point where I really don't trust the vast majority of pet foods on the marketIt might be worth your while to check out catinfo.org, it's a web site my veterinarian recommended that I check out when I first asked her about making my cats their own food in the safety of my kitchen so that I would know that what they were eating was safe and nutritious.

I have taken the liberty of including the Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat ingredient list for the dry food so that you can compare this product to others that you've been giving this kitty for some time now. The ingredient list of Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat is as follows: Turkey, Pea Protein, Whole Dried Eggs, Oats, Pearled Barley, Pea Flour, Turkey Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Folic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Ribflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite. At the end of this answer I've also included a rather eye opening article about the pet food industry that offers some insight into what terms on the labels actually mean in layman's terms.

Although the pet food industry claims that it’s tightly regulated I think that the 2007 recall clearly shows evidence that suggests a serious lack of accountability to consumers. After the massive recall of pet foods ranging from supposedly premium pet store generics like Authority, Performatrin,  and Blue Buffalo to well known brands available in pet supply stores throughout Canada and the US including so called premium brands of pet food such as Eukanuba, Evolve, Natural Balance, Nutro, Royal Canin prescription diets like Medi Cal, and certain formulas of Hill’s Science Diet as well as less expensive (and supposedly lower quality) pet foods available in grocery stores such as Iams, Lick Your Chops, Master Choice, Pounce, President’s Choice, Price Chopper, Sophisticat, Special Kitty, Triumph, Western Family, Winn Dixie and many more pet food brands in Canada and the US the reason for the recall became public - an ingredient imported from China had somehow become tainted with melamine.

In my experience most pet parents are amazed at how much change they see in their cats when they feed their cat a species appropriate diet. Cats fed higher quality diets have softer, silkier coats that are thick and glossy. When a cat is fed the appropriate diet they actually digest their food properly, take the nutrients they need and the rest is waste. A high quality diet results in less waste being produced by each cat and an added bonus that any cat lover will appreciate - litter box deposits not only decrease in volume, they also tend to smell far less offensive overall.I would recommend that you consider checking out this website, it's one my vet recommended to me after the Menu Foods recall - the address is catinfo.org. This web site was launched by a veterinarian who wants to educate pet parents about the nutritional requirements of cats and how best to meet your cat's needs, this vet also has information and recommendations on topics like basic cat care.

It's not unusual for cats eating many commercially produced pet foods to have difficulty with vomiting/diarrhea - in some cases it's because the manufacturer has changed the ingredients without notice so that they can use the cheapest possible ingredients and increase the profits that they and everyone else in the chain of people involved from manufacturer to retailer receive. In some cats their vomiting and/or diarrhea indicates a sensitivity to a chemical, preservative or ingredient in the food. I don't recommend feeding lower quality foods because I don't believe they're properly formulated to meet a cat's complex nutritional needs and beyond that I'm just not convinced that most of these foods are safe to feed our pets since the laws really haven't changed much since the Menu Foods recall.

Lower quality diets can increase a cat's chances of becoming obese or overweight because some cats will continue to eat in spite of being full because they feel like something's missing - and often times the cat's right. Manufacturers are using low quality ingredients and they're also trying to use grains/starches as fillers - this isn't appropriate for cats, they're true carnivores which means that in order to be healthy they must eat a meat based diet, not food made mostly from soy or grain. Many cat foods labelled 'All natural', 'Premium', 'Vet recommended', etc actually aren‘t, there‘s a serious lack of regulations surrounding labelling in the pet food industry. If you want to feed commercially available foods it‘s best to take your time and really do the research, find out important things like whether or not a food has ever been recalled and why. An inappropriate diet can lead to obesity or other serious health problems that can result in fatal complications. Obesity can lead to serious medical problems in cats including heart disease, diabetes, and an increased risk of developing obstructions in their urinary tract (usually more common in male cats because they have a small urinary tract).

All cats, regardless of size or breed are obligate or true carnivores, this means that all cats must eat a high quality meat based diet in order to be healthy. Long before we domesticated cats they had successfully evolved over thousands of years by hunting, killing and eating prey animals. Cats do get small amounts of grains, nuts, vegetable matter and seeds by eating the partially digested stomach contents of their prey, that provides them with vitamins, minerals and fibre to help them stay healthy. Many pet parents believe that commercially available cat foods are the only option when it comes to providing a cat with the best nutrition, the reality: this just isn't true. Some people associated with the pet food industry say that pets are living longer, healthier lives and they attribute that statistic to the foods that line the shelves of pet supply stores.

I really do think that you're going to need to get a second opinion, maybe a holistic veterinarian will be able to provide your kitty with some relief from his occasional bloating, I suspect that one of a couple of things - your kitty isn't getting a species appropriate diet so he's actually not digesting things well, he's got a massive hairball that might require surgery or some other more aggressive treatment than temporarily relieving his bloating and pain or waiting for the problem to go away on its own. Obviously I wouldn't recommend making any changes in your kitty's fluid treatments without this being done under close supervision by a good vet. With MC we were initially given a poor prognosis for her survival, she received a combination of conventional medicine and treatments as well as homeopathic remedies that helped the conventional treatments be substantially better than choosing to only address one part of the larger picture.

I do wonder what issues might be happening with this guy besides the obvious stuff. Unfortunately the reality is that a good, experienced holistic veterinarian can be tough to find. I would suggest that you consider outlining your situation to Dr. Christine Chambreau on the Ask A Vet portion of this website, she's a holistic vet and she offers consultations, I believe you can speak with her by phone. there's a good chance that with the right vet, an appropriate diet and time your cat's kidneys will heal to the point of being functional without the sub-q fluids and she was receiving significant amounts of fluids every day.

If the pet food industry is completely right when they talk about why our pets are living longer than they have ever done before now then I have to ask why it is that vets are seeing increased incidences of renal failure, diabetes, obesity, cancers and other serious problems more often than ever before in mixed and pure bred cats/kittens. My theories about why pets are living longer, healthier lives have nothing to do with commercially produced pet foods. Our pets are being treated more like members of our families than mousers living in barns or guard dogs living outside, the change in our perception of our pets means that we take better care of them in terms of providing medical care and taking measures to keep our pets from roaming around freely which means they're not as likely to die because they've eaten something poisonous or they've been hit by a car. I'm fairly sure that if we as a society begin paying closer attention to the diet we feed our pets they'll start living even longer, healthier lives.

The pet food industry has few standards or guidelines to follow in terms of what is and isn't acceptable to put in pet food - this means that companies have been and for the most part still aren't taking responsibility for the quality of ingredients they include in pet food. In my opinion allowing pet food manufacturers to decide what's acceptable without stringent standards dictating the type and quality of ingredients end up in pet food which is somewhat like a cat guarding a bird's nest - bad things can happen quickly. I learned a heartbreaking lesson the day that my baby girl almost died - just because the label says the food is high quality, premium or vet recommended doesn't mean it's nutritious, species appropriate or even safe. I've been left with a healthy distrust for the safety of foods manufactured by a poorly regulated pet food industry or anyone else who stands to profit from my fur kids get sick.

Within the pet food industry there's been a substantial change in the way that pet food companies advertise. During the last 20-30 years the pet food industry has run many campaigns that appeal to pet lovers because they make it sound as though they understand that pets are family members and the only way to treat family members is to provide them with the best quality foods available. If only the pet food industry was really forced to live up to their clever advertising campaigns. Over the last two years I've learned that the pet food manufacturers are more concerned with making a profit than they are with the long term health and safety of our pets. Consider this; many pet food manufacturers don't actually make pet food as their primary product, many companies make things like soap, shampoo, anti-perspirant, cleaning products and feminine hygiene products. Many folks believe that pet food manufacturers must follow stringent guidelines that ensure the safety and quality of their products, however experience has shown that's just not the case.

Feeding cats a properly balanced raw homemade diet made from high quality organic ingredients, is healthier for them than many of the traditionally prepared commercially available diets, in fact it’s probably as close to the food they'd be eating if they were given their choice. There really isn't much of a down side when it comes to giving our cats the best possible nutrition as often as possible throughout their lifetimes. Depending on your local area there's a chance that it may be expensive to purchase high quality ingredients and the equipment needed to properly prepare the food. I recommend that pet parents who are interested in feeding their cats homemade raw diets do extensive research before diving in. If preparing a homemade diet for your cat isn’t something you can manage a good alternative to seriously consider trying is a commercially available raw cat food like Feline Pride to see how your cats respond. Some cats will need some time to get used to the idea and the switch over will have to happen gradually.

A few simple tricks can make things easier for your cats - for instance when you're attempting to make the switch over from dry food to canned then you switch them over to a completely raw diet is going to make things easier. My first experience with feeding raw food was somewhat impulsive - I was preparing boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts for supper and I had an extra one, so I cut it into small pieces and placed some onto the plate - two out of three didn’t get the concept, my youngest cat dove in wholeheartedly without question, in fact she still begs for raw meat when I prepare meals. My other two cats took some time and tested the bounds of my patience, but they now enjoy small frequent meals made up of a balanced, raw diet I make myself - I recommend the recipe at catinfo.org. In addition to using the recipe on that website I’ve found it best to freeze the prepared diet in portion sized pieces - ice cube trays work wonderfully, once the meal is frozen you can store the cubes in a ziploc bag to defrost on an as needed basis.


I found the article below on a pet care website - bear in mind this article hasn’t been checked for accuracy, it sums up a general view of many pet foods claiming to be “nutritionally complete” or “whole food that your pets need” that market their product in grocery stores with minimal cost. Another revealing fact is that many pet food manufacturers don’t manufacture pet food as their primary product - for instance Procter and Gamble makes Eukanuba and Iams pet foods - they also make soap, shampoo, household cleaners, personal hygiene products like anti-perspirant….Given that their primary focus isn’t on manufacturing a whole pet food with ingredients designed to promote optimum health I have concerns about their food and the potential for other products to end up inside a bag of pet food just as they did during the recent Menu Foods recall of most pet food brands as a result of pets becoming seriously ill and dying because there were ingredients like melamine found in a substandard ingredient from China.

“Whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains and all the wholesome nutrition your dog or cat will ever need.”

These are the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and advertising. This is what the $10 billion per year U.S. pet food industry wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products.

This report explores the differences between what consumers think they are buying compared to what they are actually getting. This document focuses in very general terms on the most visible name brands - the pet food labels that are mass distributed to supermarkets and grocery stores - but there are many smaller, more highly respected brands that may be guilty of the same offenses.

What most consumers are unaware of is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food industry, also known as the agriculture industry. Pet food provides a place for slaughterhouse waste and grains considered "unfit for human consumption" to be turned into profit. This waste includes cow tongues, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous meat. The "whole grains" used have had the starch removed and the oil extracted -- usually by chemical processing -- for vegetable oil, or they are the hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Some of the truly whole grains used may have been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, or poor storage practices.

Four of the five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational food production companies: Colgate-Palmolive (Hills Science Diet Pet Food), Heinz (9 Lives, Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles n Bits, Recipe, Vets), Nestle (Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog) and Mars (Kal Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba). From a business standpoint, multinational food companies owning pet food manufacturing companies is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have a captive market in which to capitalize on their waste products, and the pet food manufacturers have a reliable source from which to purchase their bulk materials.

There are hundreds of different pet foods available in this country. And while many of the foods on the market are virtually the same, not all of the pet food manufacturing companies use poor quality and potentially dangerous ingredients.

Ingredients

Although the purchase price of pet food does not always determine whether a pet food is good or bad, the price is often a good indicator of quality. It would be impossible for a company that sells a generic brand of dog food at $9.95 for a 40-lb. bag to use quality protein and grain in its food. The cost of purchasing quality ingredients would be much higher than the selling price.

The protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or any number of other animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts such as lean muscle tissue are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. Whatever remains of the carcass -- bones, blood, pus, intestines, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans -- is used in pet food. These "other parts" are known as "by-products" or other names on pet food labels. The ambiguous labels list the ingredients, but do not provide a definition for the products listed. (See the API Pet Food Shopping Guide for a more detailed list of ingredient definitions.)

The Pet Food Institute -- the trade association of pet food manufacturers -- acknowledges the use of by-products in pet foods as additional income for processors and farmers: "The purchase and use of these ingredients by the pet food industry not only provides nutritional needs for pets at reasonable costs, but provides an important source of income to American farmers and processors of meat, poultry and seafood products for human consumption.

Many of these remnants are indigestible and provide a questionable source of nutrition for our animals. The amount of nutrition provided by meat by-products, meals, and digests can vary from vat to vat. James Morris and Quinton Rogers, two professors with the Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of California at Davis Veterinary School of Medicine, assert that, "There is virtually no information on the bioavailability of nutrients for companion animals in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. These ingredients are generally by-products of the meat, poultry and fishing industries, with the potential for a wide variation in nutrient composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the current Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient allowances ('profiles') do not give assurances of nutritional
adequacy and will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values are incorporated.

Another source of meat you won't find mentioned on pet food labels are dogs and cats. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were being used in pet food. Although pet food manufacturers vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association confirmed the Chronicle's story.  Many pets are euthanized with sodium pentobarbital and then rendered.  This poison does not break down and goes into commercial pet food and feed for cows, pigs and horses.  I must admit that this point has been made many times over many years - if it’s true that has to be one of the scariest things to consider in the case for making high quality food for pets and livestock from ingredients that we would actually consider eating. When you think about this it makes you question the safety of many common foods found in the average human diet - after all, if these ingredients are making into food used to feed livestock are they ultimately making it into the human food chain?For the detailed report by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine on popular commercial pet foods containing pentobarbital, click here.  When you read the report, please know that AD (animal digest) is animal waste (to be polite)!

Protein is protein once it is rendered. What is rendering? Rendering, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is "to process as for industrial use: to render livestock carcasses and to extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by melting."

What can the feeding of such ingredients do to your companion animal? Some veterinarians claim that feeding slaughterhouse wastes to animals increases their risk of getting cancer and other degenerative diseases. One factor is that the cooking methods used by pet food manufacturers and rendering plants do not destroy many of the hormones used to fatten livestock, or medications such as those used to euthanize dogs and cats.  

Animal and Poultry Fat

You may have noticed a unique, pungent odor when you open a new bag of pet food -- the smell of restaurant grease from a hundred fast food restaurants. What is the source of that delightful smell? It is refined animal fat, kitchen grease, and other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans.

Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed grade animal fat over the last fifteen years. This grease, often held in fifty-gallon drums, is usually kept outside for weeks, exposed to extreme temperatures with no regard for its future use. The next few times you dine out, be sure to look out back behind the restaurant for a container with a rendering company's name on it. It is almost guaranteed that you will find one. "Fat blenders" or rendering companies then pick up this rancid grease and mix the different types of fat together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to retard further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies.

These fats are sprayed directly onto dried kibble or extruded pellets to make an otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. The fat also acts as a binding agent to which manufacturers add other flavor enhancers as well. Pet food scientists have discovered that animals love the taste of these sprayed fats. Manufacturers are masters at getting a dog or a cat to eat something she would normally turn up her nose at.

Wheat, Soy, Corn, Peanut Hulls, and Other Vegetable Protein

The amount of grain products used in pet food has risen over the last decade. Once considered filler by the pet food industry, grain products now make up a considerable portion of pet food. The availability of nutrients in grain products is dependent upon the digestibility of the grain. The amount and type of carbohydrate in pet food determines the amount of nutrient value the animal actually gets. Dogs and cats can almost completely absorb carbohydrates from some grains, such as white
rice. Up to 20% of other grains can escape digestion. The availability of nutrients for wheat, beans, and oats is poor. The nutrients in potatoes and corn are far less available than those in rice. Carbohydrate that escapes digestion is of little nutritional value due to bacteria in the colon that ferment carbohydrates. Some ingredients, such as peanut hulls, are used strictly for "filler" and have no nutritional value at all!


Two of the top three ingredients in pet food are almost always some form of grain products. Pedigree Performance Food for Dogs lists Ground Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, and Corn Gluten Meal as its top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals for cats lists Ground Yellow corn, Corn Gluten Meal, and Poultry By-Product Meal as its first three ingredients.  

Since cats are true carnivores -- they must eat meat to fulfill certain physiological needs -- one may wonder why we are feeding a corn-based product to them. The answer is that corn is much cheaper than meat.

Of the top four ingredients of Purina O.N.E. Dog Formula -- Chicken, Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Wheat, and Corn Gluten Meal -- two are corn-based products ... the same product. This industry practice is known as splitting. When components of the same whole ingredients are listed separately -- such as Ground Yellow Corn and Corn Gluten Meal -- it appears there is less corn than chicken, even though the combined weight of the corn ingredients outweigh the chicken.

In 1995 Nature's Recipe pulled thousands of tons of dog food off the shelf after consumers complained that their dogs were vomiting and losing their appetite. Nature's Recipe's loss amounted to $20 million. The problem was a fungus that produced vomitoxin, an aflatoxin, which is a subset of mycotoxin, a poison given off by mold contaminated the wheat.

Although it caused many dogs to vomit, stop eating and have diarrhea, vomitoxin is a milder toxin than most. The more virulent strains of mycotoxins can cause weight loss, liver damage, lameness, and even death. The Nature's Recipe incident prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to intervene. Dina Butcher, Agriculture Policy Advisor for North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer, concluded that the discovery of vomitoxin in Nature's Recipe wasn't much of a threat to the human
population because "the grain that would go into pet food is not a high quality grain. Which means that the grain used in pet food is not fit for human consumption and therefore not a threat to the human population.

Soy is another common ingredient that is sometimes used as filler in pet food. Manufacturers use it to add bulk so that when an animal eats a product containing soy he will feel more sated. While soy has been linked to gas in some dogs, other dogs do quite well with it. Vegetarian dog foods use soy as a protein source.

Industry critics note that many of the ingredients used as humectants -- ingredients such as corn syrup and corn gluten meal which bind water to prevent oxidation -- also bind the water in such a way that the food actually sticks to the colon and may cause blockage. The blockage of the colon may cause an increased risk of cancer of the colon or rectum.

Additives and Preservatives

Many additives are added to commercial pet foods to improve the stability or appearance of the food. Additives provide no nutritional value. Additives include emulsifiers to prevent water and fat from separating. Antioxidants prevent fat from turning rancid and antimicrobials reduce spoilage. Added color and flavor make the product more attractive to consumers and their companion animals.

How prevalent are synthetic additives in pet food? Two-thirds of the pet food manufactured in the United States contains preservatives added by the manufacturer. Of the remaining third, 90% includes ingredients already stabilized by synthetic preservatives. Premixed vitamin additives used to supplement pet food can also contain preservatives. This means that your companion animal may eat food with several types of preservatives that have been added at the rendering plant, the
manufacturing plant and in the supplemental vitamins.

Additives in Processed Pet Foods

Anti-caking agents
Lubricants
Antimicrobial agents
Non-nutritive sweeteners
Antioxidants
Nutritive sweeteners
Coloring agents
Oxidizing and reducing agents
Curing agents
pH control agents
Drying agents
Processing aids
Emulsifiers
Sequestrants
Firming agents
Solvents, vehicles
Flavor enhancers
Stabilizers, thickeners
Flavoring agents
Surface active agents
Flour treating agents
Surface finishing agents
Formulation aids
Synergists
Humectants
Texturizers
Leavening agents

Adding chemicals to food originated thousands of years ago with spices, natural preservatives and ripening agents. In the last 40 years, however, the number of food additives has greatly increased. Of the more than 8,600 recognized food additives today, no toxicity information is available for 46% of them. Cancer-causing agents are sometimes permitted if they are used at low enough levels. The risk of continued use at these cancer-causing agents has not been studied and the build up of these agents may be harmful. Ethoxyquin (EQ), for example, was found in dogs' livers and tissues months after it had been removed from their diet, and as of July 31, 1997, the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine requested that manufacturers reduce the maximum level for EQ be cut in half, to 75 parts per million.

While the law requires studies of direct toxicity of these additives and preservatives, most of these additives have not been tested for their effect on each other once ingested. Three commonly used preservatives, BHA, BHT, and EQ, have a proven synergistic effect that may lead to the development of certain types of cancer.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxtoluene (BHT) are the most commonly used antioxidants in processed food for human consumption. For these antioxidants, there is little information documenting their toxicity or the safety of long-term use in pet food.

In animal feeds, the most commonly used antioxidant preservative is ethoxyquin. While some pet food critics and veterinarians claim ethoxyquin is a major cause of disease, skin problems, and infertility in dogs, others claim it is the safest, most stable preservative available for pet food. Ethoxyquin is not approved for use as a preservative in human food, however.

Nitrate is the exception to the rule when it comes to safety. Nitrate is used in meat for human consumption. When nitrate combines with bacteria, the chemical can change to another form with carcinogenic properties called nitrosamines. Very small amounts of this chemical can cause acute and chronic liver damage.

"Natural preservatives" and antioxidants are known as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and mixed tocopherols. While the avoidance of using pet food laced with chemical preservatives is something to consider, some critics think that natural preservatives are somewhat less effective than chemical preservatives.

The Manufacturing Process - How Pet Food Is Made  
Although feed trials are no longer required for a food to meet nutritional standards and profiles, most manufacturers do require a palatability study when developing a new pet food. Animals are fed side by side, one animal fed a new food while the other is fed a similar formula. The total volume eaten is used as a gauge for the palatability of the food. Most pet food companies keep their own animals for taste testing.

Dry food is made with a machine called an expander. First, raw materials are blended, sometimes by hand, other times by computer, in accordance with a recipe developed by nutritionists. The mixture is fed into an expander and steam or hot water is added into the mixture. The mixture is subjected to steam, pressure, and heat until the temperature reaches 305 degrees F. The mixture is then extruded through dies that determine the shape of the final product. Then it is cooked at a high temperatures and high pressure. Then the food is allowed to dry for another 30-45 minutes. Once the food is dried it is usually sprayed with fat to make it more palatable. Although the cooking process may kill bacteria in pet food, the final product can lose its sterility, during the subsequent drying, fat coating, and packaging process.

Ingredients are the same for wet and dry foods. The main difference between the two types of food is the water content. Wet or canned food begins with ground ingredients mixed with additives. If chunks are required, a special extruder forms them. Then the mixture is cooked and canned. The sealed cans are then put into containers resembling pressure cookers and commercial sterilization takes place. Some manufacturers cook the food right in the can.

There are three primary types of wet food. The "all meat" product is defined by AAFCO as "When an ingredient or a combination of ingredients derived from animals, poultry, or fish constitute 95% or more of the total weight of all ingredients of a pet food, the name or names of such ingredient(s) may form part of the product name of the pet food; provided that where more than one ingredient is part of such product name, then all such ingredient names shall be in the same size, style, and color print. For the purpose of this provision, water sufficient for processing shall be excluded when calculating the percentage of the named ingredient(s). However, such named ingredient(s) shall constitute at least 70% of the total product.

The "dinner" product is defined as "When an ingredient or a combination of ingredients constitutes at least 25% but less than 95% of the total weight of all ingredients of a dog or cat food mixture, the name or names of such ingredient or ingredients may form a part of the product name of the pet food if each of the ingredients constitute at least 3% of the product weight excluding water used for processing and only if the product name also includes a primary descriptive term such as 'dinner',
'platter', or similar designation so that the product name describes the contents of the product in accordance with an established law, custom or usage or so that the product name is not misleading. If the names of more than one ingredient are shown, they shall appear in the order of their respective predominance by weight in the product. All such ingredient names and the primary descriptive term shall be in the same size, style and color print. For the purpose of this provision,
water sufficient for processing shall be excluded when calculating the percentage of the named ingredient(s). However, such named ingredient(s) shall constitute at least 10% of the total product.

The "flavor" product is formulated to have a specific flavor, and it is defined as "No flavor designation shall be used on a pet food label unless the flavor is detected by a recognized test method, or is one the presence of which provides a characterisitic distinguishable by the pet. Any flavor designation on a pet food label must either conform to the name of its source as shown in the ingredient statement or the ingredient statement shall show the source of the flavor. The word flavor
shall be printed in the same size type and with an equal degree of conspicuousness as the ingredient term(s) from which the flavor designation is derived. Distributors of pet food employing such flavor designation or claims on the labels of the product distributed by them shall, upon request, supply verification of the designated or claimed flavor to the appropriate control official.

What Happened to the Nutrients?

R. L. Wysong, veterinarian and long time critic of the pet food industry, has said, "Processing is the wild card in nutritional value that is, by and large, simply ignored. Heating, freezing, dehydrating, canning, extruding, pelleting, baking, and so forth, are so commonplace that they are simply thought of as synonymous with food itself. The processing practices for grain and meat used in pet food severely diminishes its nutritional value.

To make pet food nutritious, pet food manufacturers must "fortify" it with vitamins and minerals. Why? Because the ingredients they are using are not wholesome, and the harsh manufacturing practices destroy what little nutritional value the food had to begin with.

Contaminants

Commercially manufactured or rendered meat meals are highly contaminated with bacteria because their source is not always slaughtered animals. Animals that have died because of disease, injury, or natural causes are a source of meat for meat meal. The dead animal may not be rendered or cooked until days after its death. Therefore the carcass is often contaminated with bacteria -- Salmonella bacteria contaminate 25-50% of meat meals. While the cooking process may kill bacteria, it does not eliminate the endotoxins that result from the bacteria. These toxins can cause disease. Pet food manufacturers do not test their products for endotoxins.

Escherichia coli (E Coli) is another bacteria that can be found in contaminated pet foods. E Coli bacteria, like Salmonella, can be destroyed by cooking at high temperatures, however, the endotoxin produced by the bacteria will remain. This endotoxin can cause disease as well.

Aflatoxin -- This is a toxin that comes from mold or fungi, as in the case of Nature's Recipe. The improper drying and storage of crops is the cause of mold growth, which can result in Aflatoxin contamination. Ingredients that are most likely to be contaminated with this toxin are cottonseed meal, peanut meal, and fish meal.

Labeling

The National Research Council (NRC) of the Academy of Sciences set the nutritional standards for pet food until 1974, when the pet food industry created a group called the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). At that time AAFCO chose to adopt the NRC standards rather than develop its own. The NRC standards required feeding trials for pet foods that claimed to be "complete" and "balanced." The pet food industry found the feeding trials to be too restrictive, so AAFCO designed an alternate procedure for claiming the nutritional adequacy of pet food. Instead of feeding trials, chemical analysis would be done to determine if a food met or exceeded the NRC standards.

The problem with chemical analysis is that it does not address the palatability, digestibility and biological availability of nutrients in pet food. Thus it is unreliable for determining whether a food will provide an animal with sufficient nutrients.

To compensate for the limitations of chemical analysis, AAFCO added a "safety factor," which was to exceed the minimum amount of nutrients required to meet the complete and balanced requirements. By establishing its own standards and disregarding the NRC standards, AAFCO established itself as the governing body for pet food. In essence the pet food industry developed their own standards for nutritional adequacy.


The 100% Myth -- Problems Caused by Inadequate Nutrition

The idea of one pet food providing all the nutrition a companion animal will ever need for its entire life is a myth... Cereals are the primary ingredients in most commercial pet foods. Most people select one pet food and feed it to their dogs and cats for a prolonged period of time. Therefore companion dogs and cats eat a primarily carbohydrate diet with little variety. Today, the diets of cats and dogs are a far cry from the primarily protein diets with a lot of variety that their ancestors ate. The problems associated with a commercial diet are seen every day at veterinary establishments. Chronic digestive problems, such as chronic diarrhea, are among the most frequent illnesses treated.

Allergy or hypersensitivity to foods is a common problem usually seen as diarrhea or vomiting. Food allergies have become an everyday ailment. The market for "limited antigen" also known as "hypoallergenic" diets is now a multi-million dollar business. These diets were formulated to address the increasing intolerance to foods that animals have developed.

Many commercial pet foods are made with ingredients that have poor protein digestibility. Diets containing protein with less than 70% digestibility cause diarrhea in dogs. Some fillers used in these foods can also cause colitis, which is the inflammation of the colon. Most pet food companies do not publish digestibility statistics and they are never seen on pet food labels.

Acute vomiting and diarrhea is often a symptom of bacteria contamination and the toxins bacteria produce. Dry commercial pet food is often contaminated with bacteris, which may or may not cause problems. Improper food storage and some feeding practices may result in the multiplication of this bacteria. For example, adding water to moisten pet food and then leaving it at room temperature causes bacteria to multiply. Yet this practice is suggested on the back of some kitten and puppy foods.

Pet food formulas and the practice of feeding that manufacturers recommend have increased other digestive problems. Feeding only one meal per day can cause the irritation of the esophagus by stomach acid. Feeding two smaller meals is better.

Urinary tract disease is directly related to diet in both cats and dogs. Plugs, crystals, and stones in cat bladders are caused by commercial pet food formulas. One type of stone found in cats is less common now, but another more dangerous type has become more common. Manipulation of manufactured cat food formulas to affect acidity in urine and the amount of some minerals has directly affected these diseases. Dogs also form stones as a result of their diet.

History has shown that commercial pet food products can cause disease. An often-fatal heart disease in cats and some dogs was shown to be caused by a deficiency of an amino acid called taurine. Blindness is another symptom of taurine deficiency. This deficiency occurred because of inadequate amounts of taurine in cat food formulas. Cat foods are now supplemented with taurine.

Rapid growth in large breed puppies has been shown to contribute to bone and joint disease. Excess calories in manufactured puppy food formulas promote rapid growth. There are now special puppy foods for large breed dogs. But this recent change will not help the countless dogs who lived and died with hip and elbow disease.

There is also evidence that hyperthyroidism in cats results from commercial pet food diets. This is a new disease that first surfaced in the 1970s, when canned food products appeared on the market. The exact cause and effect are not yet known. This is a serious and sometimes terminal disease and treatment is expensive.

Many nutritional problems appeared with the popularity of cereal-based commercial pet foods. Some occur because the diet is incomplete. Some are a result of additives. Others are a result of contamination with bacteria, toxins and other organisms. In some diseases the role of commercial pet food is understood, in others, it is not. The bottom line is that diets composed primarily of low quality cereals and rendered meat meals are not as nutritious or safe as you should expect for your cat or dog.

Despite the appealing blandishments of pet food advertisements with their claims of providing "complete and balanced nutrition," if you're not exceedingly circumspect, you may end up feeding your pet chicken heads, road kills, spoiled or moldy grains, cancerous material cut from slaughterhouse animals, tissue high in hormone or pesticide residues, and even shredded Styrofoam packaging, metal ID tags and minced flea collars.  
A growing number of veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbles and canned food) is the main cause of illness and premature death in the modern dog and cat. In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food supresses the immune system and leads to liver, kidney, heart and other diseases. Dr. Kollath, of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, headed a study done on animals. When young animals were fed cooked and processed foods they initially appeared to be healthy. However, as the animals reached adulthood, they began to age more quickly than normal and also developed chronic degenerative disease symptoms. A control group of animals raised on raw foods aged less quickly and were free of degenerative disease.  

The pet nutrition industry is a multi-billion dollar industry full of hype and false claims. Consumers are being duped into believing that they are feeding their pets healthy foods, when in actuality they are feeding nothing more than inferior meat meals, cheap grains (including corn and soy), fillers, by-products, pesticides, preservatives and toxins.  Never before has the pet-food industry been rocked by widespread contamination and rampant recalls. In all, more than 5,600 products by dozens of pet food makers have been recalled, from chain supermarket brands to prescription-only foods. This is a staggering number of products, and is unprecedented in this business. Thousands of deaths are due to the contamination, and many thousands more have suffered illnesses. We shudder to think of the long-term impacts of the compromised liver and kidney function and how this will affect thousands of companion animals in America. Leading experts believe that the severe reactions experienced by some cats and dogs were the result of an interaction of chemicals, between the melamine and a list of other culprits, including cyuranic acid.  Read the latest about the pet food recall. Thousands of Cats and dogs suffered kidney failure, and many died after eating the affected pet food.  

Dr. Don E. Lundholm, D.V.M. - "We are seeing disease conditions in animals that we did not see years ago. Many of these may be traced to nutrition as the source..."

The primary ingredient in many dry commercial pet foods is not protein but cereal. Corn and wheat are the most common grains used but, as with the meat sources, the nutritious parts of the grain are generally present only in trace amounts. The corn gluten meal or wheat middlings added to pet foods are the leftovers after the grain has been processed for human use, containing little nutritional value. Or they may be grain that is too moldy for humans to eat, so it's incorporated into pet food.

Mycotoxins, potentially deadly fungal toxins that multiply in moldy grains, have been found in pet foods in recent years. In 1995, Nature's Recipe recalled tons of their dog food after dogs became ill from eating it. The food was found to contain vomitoxin, a mycotoxin. Harmful chemicals and preservatives are added to both wet and dry food. For example, sodium nitrite, a coloring agent and preservative and potential carcinogen, is a common additive. Other preservatives include ethoxyquin (an insecticide that has been linked to liver cancer) and BHA and BHT, chemicals also suspected of causing cancer. The average dog can consume as much as 26 pounds of preservatives every year from eating commercial dog foods.

I really wish that there was something more concrete that I could offer you, but as I'm sure you're aware I'm not a veterinarian, I don't have the education to provide you with a diagnosis, treatment plan or prognosis. I've simply made an attempt to provide you with some possibilities to address with your own vets or a decent holistic veterinarian. I really hope that your little guy is doing better at this point and if you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify something in this answer I'd be more than happy to help you to the best of my ability.