Wellness Pet Food

Pet food that is made from natural, organic ingredients is considered a wellness pet food. The addition of certain enzymes, vitamins, nutrients and herbs also contribute to promoting wellness in pets.

Unfortunately, most pet food available on the market today does not contain ingredients that support optimum nutrition and health. In fact, some of these ingredients may even undermine the general health and wellness of a pet.

Specific concerns about commercially prepared pet food include:

• Kibble may contain up to 50% grain, which dogs have difficulty digesting because they don’t produce amylase, the enzyme necessary to break down the excess carbohydrates. So, instead, the carbohydrates are converted into sugars. This cycle can lead to many problems, including obesity, diabetes and certain cancers.
• Cats are also negatively affected by a high grain content, which contributes to producing a more alkaline urine and promotes the formation of struvite crystals typical of FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease).
• Ethoxyquin, made by the same company that gave us Agent Orange, is a common preservative in spite of the fact that it has been linked to cancers, liver and kidney disease and birth defects or stillborn litters. The FDA considers this agent to be toxic for human consumption at only 0.5ppm (parts per million), but its use in pet food is approved at 150ppm.
• Commercial pet food may contain the remnants of euthanized animals that are first denatured or rendered in a chemical bath that typically consists of kerosene and carbolic acid. This may sound far-fetched but, in spite of many pet food manufacturers denying the inclusion of deceased cats and dogs in their formulas, the US Federal Drug Administration and the American Veterinary Association has confirmed the presence of pentobarbital, the standard euthanasia drug. While other tests proved negative for canine or feline DNA, one can only speculate how it’s possible pentobarbital can enter the mix. At any rate, pet food manufacturers are permitted to use animals that fall under one of the ‘4D’ categories—dead, dying, diseased or disabled.

How Can I Make Sure I’m Feeding My Pet a Wellness Pet Food?

The ingredients list of a wellness pet food is going to look quite different from the above sampling of questionable additives. In fact, it should be short reading as well.

The first thing to look for on the label is the first few ingredients listed. If any of the following are listed before the first mentioned source of fat, then it is not a wellness pet food:

• Ground yellow corn meal
• Corn gluten meal
• Chicken byproduct meal (or other meat byproduct)
• Soybean meal

What’s wrong with these ingredients? First, corn and soy are not well tolerated by cats and dogs due to being highly indigestible for them. They are in the pet food simply as fillers, yet their order in the list of ingredients indicates their concentration on the formula based on weight.

Chicken or any meat byproduct is an inferior source of protein obtained from slaughterhouse scraps and is not nutritionally valuable. It may also contain decomposed or diseased animal tissue.

What Ingredients Should I Look for in a Wellness Pet Food?

A wellness pet food will contain ingredients that are easily understood and won’t necessitate a dictionary to decipher. The first ingredient should cite a whole protein meat source, such as chicken, turkey, lamb, venison, salmon, etc., without the ‘byproduct’ extension.

Other common ingredients in wellness pet food includes:

• Whole ground brown rice
• Whole ground barley
• Vegetables (carrot, spinach, watercress, sweet potato)
• Fruits (cranberry, apple, fig, blueberry, etc.)
• Herbs (chicory root, anise seed, fennel seed, rosemary extract, etc.)
• Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus lactis, Bacillus bifidum, etc.)

Can My Cat and Dog Share the Same Wellness Pet Food?

Generally, it’s not a good idea to feed your cat and dog the same pet food, even if it is a wellness pet food formula. That’s because cats and dogs have different nutritional needs. Dogs, for instance, are omnivores, meaning that while they primarily eat meat they will also naturally consume small amounts of vegetables, starches, grains and fruit. Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores and eat little aside from meat. So, a cat’s brand of wellness pet food might contain two or more sources of meat protein, followed by just a few plant materials or grains before herbs, vitamins and probiotics appear on the list.