Bone appetit: healthy foods for happy pets - natural food products for dogs and cats

"Is there a healthy commercial food I can feed my pet?"

I've been asked this question almost daily since the publication of my first book, Food Pets Die For. But it's a question that far too few pet owners think to ask.

It wasn't until early 1990--when my two dogs became ill after eating a well-known commercial pet food--that I began to question what I was feeding my pets. When I was a child, we always fed our pets table scraps. And it wasn't until I owned pets of my own that I began using commercial pet foods. After all, many veterinarians--and, of course, the pet food industry--advise that these foods are "complete and balanced" and provide all the nutrition pets need.

Before my dogs became ill, I assumed, as do most pet owners, that the pet food industry is well regulated. I couldn't have been more wrong. There are, of course, agencies that oversee the industry. The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) monitors statements regarding health claims and drugs used in pet foods and will investigate if a food causes illness or death in pets. This agency requests either medical documentation or laboratory testing to undertake such an investigation. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), a group of state officials that sets standards for animal feeds, including pet foods, maintains a list of ingredients that can be used in pet foods.

In 1996, I acquired a copy of the AAFCO's list of ingredients allowed for use in pet foods. You might be surprised to find out what's "allowed." The grains used in pet foods, for instance, aren't usually the whole grains we would eat. Rather, they're classified as "shorts" or "mill ends," which provide very little nutrition. And these grains, particularly corn, can become contaminated with mycotoxins, extremely toxic molds that can be deadly when ingested.

By 1995, the CVM had already recalled dry dog and cat foods produced by Nature's Recipe, and in 1998--when 25 dogs died from ingesting foods produced by Doane Products Company--the agency issued a recall of more than 50 different brands of food related to the Doane company. In both cases, the foods in question contained mycotoxins.

Sources of protein are another prime ingredient in dog and cat foods, and what I learned through investigation and research was shocking. When we read "meat meal" on pet food labels we might assume that it's similar to ingredients found in bologna, hot dogs or sausage. To some extent this is true, but the meats used in many pet foods are ones that have been deemed unfit for human consumption. According to the United Nations Environment Program's Assessment in Meat Processing, released in August 2001, this includes "inedible by-products such as bone, fat, heads, hair and condemned offal."

Other sources of protein, listed as meat meal, include roadkill, zoo animals, meat that's no longer fresh, outdated baked goods and rotten fruits and vegetables. Cattle classified as dead, dying, diseased and disabled (4-D) and euthanized companion animals may also be included in the mix. Many of these animals are treated with myriad drugs prior to their demise. One drug in particular, sodium pentobarbital--a barbiturate used to euthanize animals--is of prime concern.

According to a study released by the University of Minnesota in the August 1995 issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research, sodium pentobarbital "survived the rendering without undergoing degradation." Rendering is a process where meat by-products and other materials are mixed together, cooked and then centrifuged. Meat meal and tallow are the end products.

In the 1990s, the CVM began to receive reports from veterinarians that pentobarbital seemed to be losing its effectiveness in dogs. A plausible theory was that the dogs had been exposed to the drug through their food, so in 1998, the CVM began testing for sodium pentobarbital in dry dog foods. The agency tested 75 different foods and released the results in February 2002.

Approximately half of the foods tested--including or Roy, Richfood, Heinz, Dad's, Pet Gold, Weis, Super G, America's Choice, Kibble Select, Ken-L-Ration, Reward and Proplan--contained levels of sodium pentobarbital. The CVM's report states, however, "that it is highly unlikely a dog consuming dry dog food will experience any adverse effects from exposures to low levels of pentobarbital." Veterinarians have stated that they do not know the long-term effects that the ingestion of this drug could have on dogs. As yet, no studies have been undertaken to ascertain levels of sodium pentobarbital in dry commercial cat foods.

organic pet food options

Fortunately, there are healthy choices for pet owners seeking quality pet foods. Many companies now claim to use all-natural, human-grade meats and grains. While I have fed only a few of the following brands to my dog and cats, I have researched all of the companies mentioned below and, in many cases, discussed ingredients directly with the manufacturers.