Organic Diets for Pets

To continue my post from yesterday, where I was writing about pet diet and whether or not you should feed your dogs (or cats) raw meat (the answer is no!), here are my comments on using an organic diet.

Organic diets for pets? I'm all for it.

That said, I don't agree that all commercial pet foods are deficient in animal tissue. And I definitely don't agree that dogs are carnivores. Dogs are omnivores like bears and people. (ever notice in nature shows on TV how bears love berries?)

Cats are carnivores, and that's why you see animal tissue ingredients high on the list of even dry cat foods. They need much more protein in their diet than dogs.

What both dogs and cats do need are the amino acids in protein and in the case of dogs in particular, it does not matter whether those amino acids come from plants or animals. Cats need specific amino acids and fatty acids found only in animal tissue, but dogs could get along just fine on a vegetarian diet. It might not be the best thing for them but it would be a darn sight better than an all meat diet.

I'd love to eat only organic food myself because personally I'm not big on the use of pesticides and fertilizer. In fact we typically eat mostly organic food we buy at our local food co-op, here at home.

The truth of the matter is that organic food for dogs and cats can be very expensive. But if you can afford it and it's well balanced, go for it. One product that I find interesting is Pet Promise made by Natural Pet Nutrition out near Boulder somewhere. It's sold in natural food stores mainly. It's not organic, but it uses meat and chicken that is grown sustainably and humanely. In fact the meat, chicken and even bison used in Pet Promise comes from the same farms that provide the natural meat, chicken and bison for people - products sold on the natural food channel.

Check out Coleman meat and Petaluma Chicken. They know how to treat both the animals and the land with respect.

Comments

[StephanieInCA]

Great advice—I will definitely try some of this with my Westie, Mr. Henry.

One note of caution, though. Some foods that are perfectly safe for humans (like rasins and onions) are toxic to dogs. Read more here: http://urbzen.com/2008/11/11/five-surprising-foods-that-are-poisonous-to-dogs/

[Allison B.]

We have been using Promise in combination with an automatic pet feeders and are very happy with the results. We needed to get some weight off of our cat, Chester, and were able to do so without resorting to a prescription weight loss food or drugs. The links to the feeder we got is:

http://www.perfectpetfeeder.com

[GreenChick]

Have you seen the latest article in the NY Times that came out yesterday? It blows the lid off of China’s pet food manufacturing practices. Check this out:

http://thisgreenlife.wordpress.com/2007/05/01/breaking-news-the-ny-times-reports-chinas-shocking-secret/

This serves as evidence that we need to be even more aware of the source and ingredients of our pet foods. Most reputable pet food manufacturers are sharing this information on their web sites now. Many people are joining the local food movement (which I am a huge proponent of) and rediscovering the benefits of buying locally produced food. Should we follow the same rule when it comes to the diet of our pets?