In Defense Of Premium Dog And Cat Food

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

- My cat was very sick. The doctor scolded me for improper feeding and recommended this food.

- A dog of my friends died because of poor quality food. Now they feed their second dog with this food, and they advise everyone. (The most frequent answers to the question: "How did you know about the super premium class" D "food?"

Fifteen years ago, few people knew about the existence of concentrated (dry) food for dogs and cats. Then a shower of new products poured into the Russian market. For the most part, these were imported, low-quality, cheap feed (take, sorry, that we do not like it!), And they were fed with them as we liked - nowhere was there information about the correct feeding with concentrates. As a result, the spike in food allergies and kidney problems has been enormous. A large number of both animal owners and veterinarians since then treat dry food, as such, with a categorical rejection. Representatives of high-quality feed manufacturers at seminars and conferences were horrified by the aggression emanating from our practicing doctors.

As time went. In reference books and magazines about animals, information appeared on the features and rules of feeding dry food. Many nurseries were hooked on feed and were satisfied. Doctors have appreciated the benefits of medicated feed. However, this all has to do only with premium and super premium feed. When feeding the rest of the feed, problems remained. Why then? Let's compare the famous super premium food with the most popular of the economy class food.

The screaming ad for food "A" promises your cat all the benefits of the world, in particular the variety of tastes, the safety of the urinary system and the cheapness without compromising the quality. "We do not make you pay for superfood packaging and exotic supplements. Everything is simple and useful for us!" We open the bag of food - the smell of fish hits the nose, although it says "Meat platter with vegetables." We read the composition: vegetable offal, meat (what?) And animal products, vegetables, fish and fish products, fats and oil, vegetable protein concentrate, minerals and vitamins (what? How much?). Let's take "Meat platter": vegetable offal, meat and animal products … in short, word for word. "With beef" is the same story. "With lamb", "With turkey", "With salmon", four more types - the same text !!!"Variety" of tastes does not provide for the most important thing - a variety of feed according to the physiological state of the animal. That is, the kitten, and the nursing mother, and the lazy fat castrate, and the venerable old man - it is recommended to feed everyone equally! Are you going to suck baby formula from a bottle or feed your grandma with a spicy, fatty kebab with adjika ?!

And here is the super premium class "B" food. Diversity is provided by the division of food by age and physiological state: kittens (two tastes), adults (four tastes for thin, two for plump, plus certain types of food for those who sit at home without a walk, for those suffering from dental plaque, for removing woolen lumps, and so on) and older cats (two flavors for thin, one for plump, one for removing wool lumps). The tuna-flavored pack clearly states: "Minimum tuna content - 9%", chicken-flavored - "Chicken content - minimum 53%", lists specific ingredients: chicken and turkey meat (not just animal products), ground corn, oat fiber, soy flour (and not vegetable by-products), the percentage of all necessary substances is indicated - fats, proteins,vitamins (by name, not vitamins in general!) and so on. Feel the difference!

Let's compare the packaging. Economy class "C" food: packed in transparent bags made of ordinary polyethylene, in which, in fact, you cannot store food - and fat settles on the walls of the bag, and light adversely affects the food.

Or super premium class "D" food - either multilayer paper bags with a special inner coating, or plastic ones, foil inside. To prevent oxidation of the feed, air is evacuated from the bags, and an inert gas is even added to the small packs for better preservation.

The "E" Economy Class food vows to prevent your pet from developing kidney stones. It is sold in any stall, by ordinary sellers, very far from veterinary medicine, under the guise of feed "for castrates." But in fact, the "protection" of the urinary system is provided by the addition of an acidifier (why would a kitten, an elderly cat or a Persian? - their urine is almost never alkaline).

You cannot buy super-premium class "F" medical food on the street - only at a veterinary pharmacy or clinic, where a doctor will pick it up for your pet, depending on the diagnosis. This is a medicinal food! Using it incorrectly can lead to even worse trouble, but a well-prescribed diet is a sure way to recovery. If your pet is healthy, then there is daily food from the same company for him. Buying food based on the weight and age of the animal, observing the dosage and ensuring a constant admission to water, we prevent most diseases without any acidifiers and the like.

"But economy class is cheap!" some of you will exclaim. We will see. A kilogram of any economy class food is really much cheaper than a kilogram of any super premium food. However, this cheapness is very relative: for example, for a cat the dose of economy-class food is 70-100 g per day, that is, almost 3 kg per month. A cat needs 1.5-2 kg of super premium food for a month! In addition, add the cost of visits to the doctor and medications, try to express in monetary terms ruined health, frayed nerves, wasted time, because poor-quality feeding is a sure way to all diseases !!!

Almost the same claims can be made to any economy class food, both cat and dog - screaming, obtrusive advertising, self-praise, denigrating competitors and … poor product quality. In feeding super premium food, you just need to strictly follow a number of simple rules. It is necessary to feed with food that is suitable for the animal in terms of age and physiological state, strictly observe the dosage, ensure constant access to clean water, adhere to uniformity in feeding. Unfortunately, manufacturers of super premium food do not want to adhere to the policy of all-pervading advertising, reasonably believing that a competent veterinarian will prescribe only high-quality food to the patient. Alas, a Russian person himself does not go to doctors regularly, and no one will drag a cat every six months for a routine examination. And we like to consult with anyone - with a neighbor, with friends, with advertising agents - just not with a doctor … Let's change!

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