# Just a bit annoyed about food and diet.



## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

No, this is not for me. Lol. I'm a perfectly healthy human being. XD

I'm more annoyed about a diet that was reccommended by a vet. I currently own one rat (my oldest rat passed away just this morning), and a recently found kitten. This morning I took my boyfriend and I's kitten to the vet for the first time. We've had him for about a little over a month now, and we were not sure if we would be keeping him so that was why there was a month delay in getting him checked. He checked out really well, but the only thing that was abnormal in his papers was his shots (he's getting them over the next few weeks) and his diet. Right now he's been getting a mix of different foods canned and kibble, including Earthborn canned food, Blue Buffalo canned food, and Natural Balance Wild Pursuit kibble. I am going to be switching him over to the U-Stew. I originally wanted to switch him to In the Raw, but my Mom's allergic to a lot of things, and I'm not sure if it would be good for her to be around raw pet food. Our dog is also going to be switching her diet to the U-Stew for dogs. 

This is where the rant kind of begins. Since this little kitten was found I have been researching pet foods up and down, and I've been consulting my parents and what their vet used to recommend because we had two other cats in the past. The vet I went to recommended the Science Diet. I didn't say anything because I've already done my research, but it did annoy me a little how he stated that raw and homemade diets are a current trend and a phase and listed his diet as abnormal. 

To my defense the past two cats my parents owned were actually fed a raw or homecooked diet (with the added powder similar to what U-Stew and In the Raw is). When pet food started becoming popular my parents switched the first cat at the time over to Friskies wet food and dry food. It pretty much killed the cat. Our cat began to have huge kidney issues and he was eventually put down because it was so bad. On to the second cat. My parents actually switched him to the Science Diet because it was recommended by our vet at the time (different vet from the one I went to), and he began having kidney problems. They switched him back over. He did die from cancer a few years later, but it was not food related. 

My parent's dog is currently also on the Royal Canin Urinary dog food, and she pees probably three times as much as the average dog. I'm still switching them both over to the U-Stew diet, but my point is is that this food is not a recent trend. I'm originally from Germany, and most of my uncles and aunts still feed their dogs raw foods bone and everything. Their cats hunt mice. They get annual checkups and tests at the vet, and they are fine. I wonder if vet recommended foods such as Royal Canin and Science Diet are just a food recommended over here or if it is also recommended in other countries?


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## smoteymote (May 28, 2016)

I can't say for other countries but every cat/animal is going to be different too! Animals that start on a certain type of diet usually have a difficult time switching to something new (like Raw to Dry Pet food) 

My friend's cat gets sick on literally everything BUT Friskies which is one of the lower quality foods. She just turned 13 which is incredible (considering average domestic cat lifespan is 15) She's still going strong too!

My cat has a lot of tummy issues and I've tried a number of different diets. I finally tried science diet and.... lo and behold, his stomach issues began to fade and now he's very healthy, fit, and hasn't had a single problem since he went on it.


I get very frustrated too with vets who only recommend specific things in the same way I get mad at doctors who only hock certain drugs. They're advertising basically and that's not how health should work. But I also sigh when people are really really adamant that their diet for their pet is the Only Diet For This Animal because that's just not true. You have to find what works. I am glad that people are becoming more aware of fillers and the health of their pets! But also just following the pack blindly about the latest fad (whether it's actually good or not) is still not good IMO.

Do what's good for your pet. Do research and crack down on vets who only recommend one type of food regardless of who their patient is. We should be a proactive, aware community!


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

Just as doctors get free samples from drug companies, vets get samples from dog food companies. Science Diet is one that has been recommended by vets, shelters, and perhaps other places for years, but it may be due to the company spending millions on giving samples and their advertising as much as from any actual thought on the vet's part. Often doctors and vets get a lot of their info from company reps rather than personal research. You come from a different place than your vet in many ways, so you do what you determine to be best for your animals.


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