Why BLUEBERRIES should be in your cat food

If you read the labels of the higher priced brands of pet food(as I encourage you to do) , you will see ingredients like blueberries or cranberries or flax seed and other recognizable people food.  At first glance, that just makes no sense.  Cats eat meat in the wild.  They are carnivores. And maybe you pass these food by thinking my cat shouldn't eat a food with fruit or seeds added.

But wait!  Lets take a step back, and talk about functional foods for a bit.  Functional foods are beneficial nutritional ingredients that have a positive effect on the body at a cellular level and may help to prevent, manage, or even reverse a variety of chronic diseases. -or in simple terms "foods with a function".   Many of these functional foods contain phytonutrients.  Carotenoids, which include alpha-carotene and beta-carotine, are probably the most widely known class of phytonutrients. Blueberries are high in phytochemicals called flavinoids which are anitoxidants.  Antioxidants are important in helping the body handle environmental toxins, help protect against heart disease and cancer.  The fiber in fresh fruits and vegetables also helps promote optimal GI functioning and weight loss. 

There is a new scientific field called nutrigenomics, which is the science of how the foods that we eat  affect the body at cellular level (at our epigenome) which in turn alters our genetic predisposition toward health or disease.   To me, this almost sounds like science fiction!    I just finished reading a book called Canine Nutrigenomics, The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health by Dr. W Jean Dodds, DVM.,     If you are a science nerd like I am, you will enjoy this book.  She discusses functional foods for pets with specific medical conditions like arthritis and obesity.  A good read!

A functional food that I add to my pets diet is fish oil.  Omega-3 fatty acids are heat sensitive and so should be added just before feeding time.  A fish oil fatty acid supplement has so many benefits for health so if there is one functional food supplement that you give to your pet regularly, let it be this one!

  A list of functional foods, besides blueberries and fish oil includes:  coconut oil, tumeric, milk thistle, pomegranates, probiotics and spirulina.

My takeaway point is this.  You don't have to be satisfied with the nutrition in the can or bag -you can add functional foods in small amounts to IMPROVE the nutrition for your cat.  Our cats are counting on us -lets make their food tasty AND healthy!    I encourage you to bring the bag and cans of any food you are feeding with you at your cat's next wellness visit.  We will incorporate nutritional advice with your wellness appointment, and take the time to answer any nutritional questions that you have.

 

Purina vs Blue -who is telling the TRUTH?

This week a client brought to my attention a law suit between Purina and Blue disputing the claims made by one company about the ingredients used by the other company.  Basically a"he said- she said" scenario.  OK I admit, this piqued my interest, so I googled for more information. 

As I followed the lawsuit story deeper, I came upon a webpage called Truth About Petfood.  It discussed  the need for TRANSPARENCY  by petfood companies (gee, what a great idea!).

 To date, the only assurance to actual quality/grade of ingredients pet food consumers have is the Pledge to Quality and Origin – a pet food transparency effort from their consumer group Association for Truth in Pet Food.  Pet food manufacturers can argue all they want through the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, but the real truth in pet food lies in actual grade/quality of ingredients.  Are they pet grade or are they certified human grade?

 TRUTH is a word not usually  associated with pet food ingredients, so I needed to find out more.     The Pledge provides company name, address and website.  All ingredients in your pet foods/treats will be listed on the Pledge.  This includes all meats, organ meats, by-products, by-product meals, meat meals, fish, fish meals, oils, fats, grains, vegetables, fruits, flavorings, supplements, vitamins and minerals.  The quality information and origin information in provided in respective columns.  And the stated information will be signed by a CEO or President of the company as their Pledge.

 Here is the interesting part -there are currently only  22 companies that have signed the PLEDGE, and not one of them is a big name.  Not Science Diet.  Not Iams. Not Royal Canin.  Not Purina.  Not Nutro.  Not Blue.
Check it out for yourself:
http://associationfortruthinpetfood.com/the-pledge/

I commend these 22 companies, and am going to look closer at their products and encourage you to do the same.  We as consumers need to make a stand about the importance of SAFETY, QUALITY and transparency in the petfoods on the market.  I want HEALTHY choices for my patients as well as my own pets, not just marketing hooey with nothing to back it up. 


Maureen Flatley, DVM
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Keeping your ca'ts food FRESH is essential

A patient I saw recently, a cute little 3 year old orange and white tabby, was brought in for her annual wellness exam.  I was shocked to see that she had lost 2 1/2 lb since I had seen her last  (20% of her weight!!). 

After inquiring about her eating habits and diet, I discovered some dangerous facts:  She was being fed from a food dispenser.  Her large bag of dry food was being stored for months at room temperature.  One can of food was being fed a tablespoon at a time over a 2 week period.  This poor little girl was starving for fresh food, but unknowingly the owner was allowing the food to become rancid...

Here are the rules of thumb that I gave to the owner:

-Never -ever-ever (ever) use a free choice "fill-er-up" food dispenser.  Feed the cat fresh food DAILY, and throw away any of yesterdays leftovers.   This keeps the food fresh AND allows you to monitor your cats food intake.

-Only buy one month's supply of dry cat food at a time.  The food, once it is opened, will not stay fresh beyond 30 days at room temperature.  Store dry food in a sealed rubbermaid always.  Scrub the rubbermaid out completely between EACH fresh bag of food.  Oils go rancid quickly, especially in "natural" brands of food.  A cat's sensitive nose will detect this off-smell LONG BEFORE WE WILL, and they will stop eating!

-Canned cat food is meat.  Meat does not keep refrigerated beyond 5 days before going bad.  It is best to only store opened canned cat food for 1-2 days, as most cats are not fond of "old leftovers". 

The bottom line is that every cat needs and deserves FRESH food daily.  Along with lots of loving, play time, head scratches, brushing, belly rubs, a super clean litterbox, a fresh cool bowl of water, and any and all additional forms of feline appreciation!!

I firmly believe that health starts with good nutrition! 

Hug the cat,

Dr. Maureen Flatley, Fox Valley Cat Clinic
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The Scary World of Pet Food Recalls

We live in a global ecomony. What that means for pet food is that ALL pet food manufacturers are buying some  ingredients from inexpensive overseas suppliers.  And, just about EVERY CAT FOOD manufacturer has had at least ONE recall in the last 5 years.  That is a scary fact when you think about it.  They have left out  essential vitamins, they have  added  mineral at 10 times the recommended level, they have used ingredients that were laced with  toxic ingredients.  The most recent recall involved Salmonella contaminated meat. 

How can we protect our pets?  What can we feed that is safe?  I am now recommending to my clients to chose at least 3 or more reputable pet food companies (that are not owned by the same parent company) and rotating foods.  Specifically feed a different canned food every day if possible.  Rotate from one SMALL bag of dry food to another brand.  Consider rotating in a home made diet, or balanced raw diet.   Just rotating flavors from the same company is not enough.  Most of the recalls have included a large percentage of foods from the same company.  For example, the last wellness cat food recall, ALL their canned  cat food was lacking essential B vitamins except their 2 flavors of Wellness Core.

What does rotation do?  It reduces the likelihood that you will be feeding an unsafe food over an extended period of time.  The key is ROTATION and VARIETY.

More on home made diets and raw alternative diets next time.

If you enjoy my blog, please consider joining my email list!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY

This is the first of several short blogs on what every cat owner needs to be concerned about...
How healthy is  the CAT FOOD we feed.
Today I will expound on DRY CAT FOOD.  (Hang in there, this is exciting stuff!)

First the GOOD news:
 -Dry food is convenient.  It will stay fresh in the bowl for days. 
-Cats like dry food. All dry food is surface sprayed with a very 'tasty" coating.
-Dry food  is nutritionally complete.  Dry food contains all the needed nutrients that your cat needs to live.
-Dry food  is inexpensive when compared to canned food, homemade diets, raw diets.

Here's the BAD news:
-Dry food  is processed under very high heat.  This kills bacteria, viruses, molds etc, but also destroys and degrades the nutritional quality of the ingredients.
-Dry food is very refined.  Look at the ingredients and you will see "meat meals".  This is like meat flour. All dry foods use a meal form of meat in their formulas
-Dry food contains plant proteins.  Cats are carnivores -meat eaters.  Their systems are NOT built to process and utilize plant proteins.  But, plant proteins are a much cheaper ingredient. 
-Dry food contains a large amount of carbohydrates -even "grain free" diets.  Carbohydrates are what makes dry food crunchy.  Hi carb diets are also responsible in part for  feline obesity , diabetes and possibly thyroid disease.
-Dry food contains ALMOST NO moisture, which can lead to dehydration, urinary tract disease, and more.  Because of this, dry food should not be fed as a solo diet to any cat over 14 years of age.

The UGLY:
Many less expensive dry foods are LOADED with artificial flavors, colorants and preservatives, and are very high in carbohydrates.  That is why they are cheap!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOSING A DRY FOOD:  The first 2 ingredients should be meat based proteins.  Avoid foods that include corn gluten, wheat gluten, as these are plant proteins.  Try to chose foods that use complex carbohydrates.  Chose brown rice over white rice.  Chose sweet potatoes over white potatoes.  Stay away from corn -it is very undigestible (which means it ends up in the litterbox!).  The most important thing is to READ THE LABEL and know what you are feeding.

Coming up ...canned foods and more.
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Get Grandma out of the basement.

I saw a 19 year old cat yesterday for a variety of issues, as you can imagine. Thru my history taking, I found out that the only litterbox was in their basement. They were, essentially, making grandma travel all the way down into the basement every time she had to urinate.  Since she was in kidney failure, this was 6+ times a day.
 Now this guy loved his cat, don't get me wrong.  He thought it was giving her needed exercise.  Makes sense. What makes MORE sense is to give an old cat the option of a litterbox on EACH floor of the house.
 It also makes sense to add more water bowls in conveniently located spots, as dehydration is a frequent and serious problem in older cats.
 Feeding only soft food to any cat over 14 is a recommendation that I make to all my clients.  Why? -it increases their water intake as most soft food is at least 75% water, it is easier to chew and digest, and it usually contains higher quality, less processed ingredients. 
 As your cat ages, making some simple changes to their home environment will not only make their life easier, it may actually help them live longer!

Maxie is peeing on the rug.

Today Maxie peed on the rug by the back door.  She had done this once before, last week.  This time the owner called me for advice.
Cats pee out of the box for MANY different reasons.  But EACH cat has one very specific reason for starting this behavior.  The challenge is detecting the reason, and finding a solution.
I ALWAYS BEGIN with a physical exam and urinalysis to rule out a medical problem.  Medical problems do not go away, cause pain and can lead to a life threatening  urinary blockage.
If the urinalysis does not indicate crystals or blood or high protein or bacteria, and the physical exam is normal, then we are dealing with a behavior problem.  Maxie had completely normal urine and a very comfortable belly.
So, I put my detective hat on and asked the owner 20 questions. It turns out that Maxie's owner purchased a new dehumidifier last week, and set it up at the base of the basement stairs.  The litterboxes are in the basement, so Maxie, who is a nervous cat,  had to walk past the noisy, "scary new thing" to go to the bathroom.  Hmmmm!
I believe, in Maxie's case, adding a litterbox to the first floor, and putting the dehumidifier in an area far from the basement litterboxes will solve this particular mystery.  Now, Maxine can go back to being a perfect angel, and the owner can safely walk around his house in stocking feet without any suprises!

 Here is a fantastic link for anyone with this type of behavior problem.

The litterbox from Your Cat's Point of View

Next time:  What should I feed my cat?