Pet foods are plants or animal materials intended for the consumption by pets. Pet foods vary not just from the types of animals, but the breed as well. Typically sold in supermarkets and pet stores, pet foods also come in different types – kibble and can.

What’s really in Pet Food?

Pet foods typically consist of plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the wholesome nutrition essential to your cats or dogs. Pet foods also include waste products like intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts. According to Ann Martin, author of “Food Pets Die For” and “Protect Your Pet”, meat meal can be comprised of dead animals that have died in disease, roadkill, zoo animals, of material from slaughterhouse facilities found unfit for human consumption. Pet foods can also be comprised of parts from companion animals, such as dogs and cats. Although the basic ingredients for making pet foods are generally similar that manufacturers grind in their factory, the formula between dog and cat foods are different as they have their own nutritional requirements. This is the reason why it is not advisable to let your cats eat dog food and the other way around. Cats, for instance, need more fats and protein in their diet than dogs.

Although there are several pet food manufacturers that include dead animals in their pet foods, basic ingredients incorporated in making pet foods include corn kernels, cereals, fats and flavoring. These basic ingredients are what makes up a dry pet food, called kibble.

Diseases in Pet Food

Excessive feeding of pet foods to your cats or dogs may lead to cancer. Because of the ingredients incorporated in making a pet food (specifically the leftovers from the food industry, rendered animals, animal by-products and rancid restaurant grease), tendencies are they will have health problems, especially if you are feeding them with pet foods everyday. Some cats and dogs may also have chronic digestive problems, such as chronic vomiting, diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease when they take too much commercial pet foods.

Dry commercial pet foods, on the other hand, is often contaminated with bacteria and may or may not cause problems. Simply storing the pet food improperly can already result in the multiplication of the bacteria, as well as improper feeding practices like adding milk or water to moisten pet food then leaving it at room temperature. Another fatal illnesses commercial pet foods bring are heart diseases, blindness, urinary tract disease, bone and joint diseases, and kidney failure due to pet foods with high phosphorus levels.

What should you NOT feed your pets

Dr. Marty Goldstein, a prominent holistic veterinarian in the United States, shared in Martha some foods you should never feed your pets (dogs, specifically):

1. Chocolates – this is probably one of the worse food owners can feed their pets. Humans may love eating chocolates but feeding this to animals (especially dogs) can cause them to die in less than 10 hours. However, if you suspect any chocolate intake, take your pet to the veterinary as soon as possible.
2. Garlic and Onions – the onion family actually contains toxic ingredients that can damage your pet’s red blood cells and may lead to vomiting and diarrhea, which may progress to anemia, weakness and labored breathing, if feeding them these continues.
3. Coffee beans – Just like chocolates, caffeine contains methylated xanthine, which stimulates the central nervous and cardiac systems. If your pet eats a coffee bean, tendencies are it will lead to heart palpitations, tremors, seizures, and worse, death.
4. Macadamia Nuts – Macadamia nuts causes mobility problems to pets as it contains toxins that can seriously affect a pet’s digestive tract, nervous system, and skeletal muscles, resulting in vomiting, depression, difficulty in walking, and muscle tremors.
5. Grapes – Raisins and grapes can lead to gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea to life-threatening illnesses like kidney failure.
6. Chicken bones – raw chicken bones may be alright to feed them, but never the cooked chicken bones. Chicken bones, when cooked, can become brittle. And when a dog ate cooked chicken bones, there is a risk of it getting a splinter of bone stuck in their mouth, throat or intestine. This can pierce intestines or form a hard blockage that can be life threatening to your pets.

What should you feed your pets?

Foods differ by the types of pets. An occasional byproduct-based food may be okay, but these foods are not advisable as a steady diet. Dogs, for example, may be fed with leftovers and scraps from their human owners, as well as selected commercial dog foods – whether it be kibble or can.

Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores, although most commercial cat foods can contain both animal and plant material supplemented with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Other pets like fish can be fed with flake, pellet and tablet, which contains macro nutrients, trace elements, and vitamins. Meanwhile, not all birds eat seeds; which is why it is advisable to feed them bird foods according to their breed. Insect-eating birds, like nuthatches and woodpeckers, must be fed with Suet (beef or mutton fat), whereas nectar is perfect for hummingbirds.