Thanks for breaking the government organizations down for us and what little they do regarding pet food regulations. It's frightening! That's why we're still homecookin'. But hopefully with your help things will change. We're here cheering you on!
- K, Mee & Dee xo

Thanks for the support, Kristin! Mee and Dee are lucky to have such a thoughtful human in their family.

I read recently that "meat meal" is the new term for pet food makers to use when the meat is of human grade quality, but ground up, rather than chunked. You seem to disagree. I look forward to hearing what "meat meal" really is. My keeper feeds Loki, my buddy, and me a mixture of cooked free range anti-biotic and hormone free turkey, organic white basmati rice, carrots, brocolli, garlic and blueberries. We also get pro-biotics and fish oil and sometimes scrambled eggs. No wheat or corn. We get kibble made by company that uses human grade ingredients and not very many of them. Sometimes we get big 'ole bones from the butcher. Whaddaya think?
Thanks for your great work. We appreciate it.

So what are your dog food recommendations for those of us who don't cook (even for ourselves)? I have been buying Dick Van Patton's canine vegetarian formula for my Jake, Joey and Juniper (I don't eat animals myself so I don't like to support the industry in any way if I don't have to). Van Patton seems to market good human grade ingredients....but really I don't know for sure. ??

I second Susan's request for recommendations for pet food for those of us who hardly even cook for ourselves--only I need recommendations for cat food. I'm assuming the responsible manufacturers do a good job w/ both their dog and cat food,but who knows what your investigations will turn up? In the meantime (since it sounds like your investigations are going to be thorough and therefore time consuming)--for those of us who would like to be doing the right thing by our pets sooner rather than later--how about those recommendations??? Thanks.

we all (3 dogs & a cat) eat wellness at our house. mommy would love to have us on a complete home cooked diet but is still lacking some info...ie. how much of a home cooked diet do we need to eat per meal per day. we are all at a very healthy weight...i am a 4 yr old border collie x & we 72lbs, my brother hudson is a 5 yr old cattle dog x who weighs 64lbs & our brother meeko is a 2 yr old boston terrier who weighs 18lbs. skitty (cat) is approx 8 yrs old & a little on the chunky side weighing 10lbs. i eat under 2 cups a day of super5mix chicken, hudson eats under 2 cups a day of super5mix white fish & sweet potato & meeko eats under 1 cup a day of the simple solutions duck & rice formula. we eat 2 x's a day & mommy always mixes in different fresh organic fruits & veggies along with nupro (supplement) as well as other things like organic baby food, organic plain yogurt, organic oats, cottage cheese, flaxseed, omega 3 eggs, safflower oil, canned pumkin, cheese....mommy tries to keep things interesting & healthy. what do you think of our diet???
p.s. skitty eats the healthy weight formula but will be switching over to the indoor health formula as that is to help with hairballs. she also loves organic baby food!!

Just as the rest of you feel, my dogs are my children. They have had nothing but filtered water and, hopefully, healthy food for the last 10 years. I tried homemade dogfood recipes but it didn't really work out for me to do. Kobee was "slightly" plump and when he had routine blood work done for a"geriatric check-up". His tryglycerides were 1406!!! I was afraid all that "healthy" food had done him in over 10 years. Well, he went on a diet of prescription food from the vet, with ingredients I didn't like too much but he did lose a couple lbs. and his tryglycerides are normal now. Now I feed him Nutro brand's Ultra weight management holistic food. No by-products, no glutens. Any feedback on this food? Can Eddie name certain foods for us to check out? or to avoid?

Eddie, you are a fabulous retriever of information! Thank you! xoxoxo

Kudos to you for publicizing the fact that there are no regulations! Our human mom works as a "pet food educator" for Blue Buffalo pet food, and spends her days teaching other pet parents about what's really in the food they are feeding. So many people don't know, and just assume that what their vet/friend/etc recommends is right, but don't take the time to actually look at the packaging themselves! 90% of Mom's worktime is spent doing side-by-side comparisons on the different premium brands, helping people choose what's best for their animals, regardless of if it's the brand she represents or not.

Standards for pet food are definitely needed. I believe there must be oversight not only about products used, but also where tey are sourced. The nasty pet food from last year was because of sourcing product components from China - which has very little in the way of oversight or rules.
Keep up the good work Eddie.

I have 3 cats, Oliver, Hampton and Zac. Oliver was placed on Presciption Science Diet CD as he had a crystal form in his bladder once several years ago. All 3 cats had to go on this diet as it is impossible for me to free feed them dry unless they all eat the same thing. I also give them can CD several times a day. I have always wanted a more natural, organic way to feed them, but I have always been afraid Oliver's crystals would return. I hope that with your efforts we will all be able to easily find healthy products to feed our pets, even special needs pets such as Oliver. Thank you!

I have been curious about pet foods since the China problems were exposed but never had a good source of information. Now I have found you. Thank you so much. Everyone knows how much we revere our pets and want to provide the best we can for them, but we have no authority to ensure the purity of their foods and treats. We buy what the stores/manufacturers tell us is good for them knowing there is no governing body to provide oversight. We are helpless!! This is an outrage: another product of an administration which has no regard for the US citizens providing patronage jobs instead of hiring people who can actually do the work----- "Great Job, Brownie" jobs. Thank you again for your groundbreaking research and let us know how we can help.

Thanks for your insight and research - I'll be following this and looking forward to your "safe food" and/or recipe recommendations.

Meanwhile, we have to know it's up to us, not the government.

Since the FDA won't protect humans from life-threatening pharmaceuticals and plastics that leach deadly chemicals into food and water, I don't think we can look forward to any help with the pet food industry.

Thanks for all your comments!

I don't blame you for wanting pet food recommendations. I'm still doing research, so I can't make any specific recommendations right now, but I can tell you this:

Choose pet food without the chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin, vary cats’ diets to limit their exposure to mercury in seafood, and choose organic or free-range ingredients rather than “by-products.”

I'll get into lots more detail on all that stuff in the weeks to come. Stay tuned!

Wags,
Eddie

Our mom has been feeding us since we were both 6 months old on Meow Mix and then Kit & Kaboodle, also canned cat food 2x a day, either 9 Lives or Friskies and we have not been sick. We know that one of her other kitties lived to be about 20 years old when she passed away and she ate basically the same thing, but Purina Cat Chow.

By the way, we also like when she cooks turkey and chicken and even once in a while some salad, sour cream and a little taste of butter, oh and also scrambled eggs occassionally.

Our mom had canine kids a long time ago and she is thinking of getting a baby canine but we are too old for that and don't want anyone else to take attention away from us!!!

insidepetfood.blogspot.com

want to be a sister site?

Thank you for providing concerned pet-lovers with a resource that has been needed for a long time. Since there is not enough time to read and research all we should in today's world, I'm counting on you to do the 'leg work' and provide the easy to read facts we need to know to keep our pets safe and healthy. Again, thank you for what you're doing to save the animals we love to love. ♥

I have been feeding my pets premium foods for as long as they have been on the market. I wish they were all organic!
I am very happy that people are becoming more aware of what goes into those supermarket foods.
Now if they would just research what goes into what they are eating! It's just as bad as the pet foods! Supermarket people foods may not contain by-products and meat meal, but it does contain tons of chemicals and sweeteners! ALL BAD STUFF - from meat to produce to snacks.
We're not only hurting ourselves, we are killing our planet.
Let's start looking into all the food in homes!

A lot of commercial pet foods also test on animals!! I buy holistic food for my cat - Burns, and it has no byproducts.
Have you got a list of pet food brands that have no nasty by products as I can't see a list on this site??

it would be better for us to be informed consumers and know exactly what products to avoid when looking for food for our pets. food additives, food colorings, even though they are food grade, can be carcinogens. can you provide a listing of the types of additives that we should avoid? i stopped feeding "wet food" because of the actual ingredients that were used. if the first ingredient on the list is not protein or protein based, i don't buy it. too much ash causes kidney problems in male cats. is this true? thank you.

help i need to find a dog food that can be order over the internet
a holistic or organic brand
bsaicily im looking for the healthiest dog food i can find any lists i can refer to
thank you so much

We have been feeding our cat Blue Buffalo for almost a year now. According to the packaging and online site, they use human grade ingredients. She seems to be doing well on it. She refuses to eat canned and most pouch food, and when we tried cooking our own, she absolutely refused it, so we try to do the research and get the best dry food that we can afford.

As I have said before - Burns is a holistic brand with no by products, only real ingredients!
DO NOT buy Iams either, they are an evil company who do despicable testing on animals:
http://iamscruelty.com/

Here is a list of good brands to go for:
http://iamscruelty.com/notTested.asp

Here is the website for Burns:
www.burnspethealth.com

So Eddie... I hear EWG test on animals, I don't think people would be too happy with that do you?! ;)

Lorraine, I don't know where you heard that, but you heard wrong! EWG definitely doesn't test on animals. All their tests are done in labs with fancy equipment.

Thank you so much for taking on this needed research. I have already bookmarked your site!
I hope you include Orijen brand dog food in your research. This is a grain-free food. I have 2 old babies, both 13 years old. They have been on the adult formula for a couple of years now. This is the only brand I've found that they tolerate well and actually like to eat. After I got them off the junk sold in the grocery stores I noticed improvements in their health (digestion, coat, energy) but I would still be very interested to know how this brand stacks up to others. They also get a meal of fresh cooked meat w/ the broth and veggies or 1/4 teaspoon of super greens every day and an egg every now and then.
I'm not affiliated with Orijen in anyway. I have actually tried in vain to find a cheaper healthy product but only end up giving the others away because my spoiled "children" just sniff it and walk away.
Thanks again.

My Buddy, an approximately 5 y.o. male kitty, was also put on the Rx C/D food. He HATED the wet stuff, but tolerated the dry okay. Being that I run a holistic pet supply store, I was not happy when I saw the ingredients on the food that our vet wanted Buddy to eat. But because he had been blocked and had to stay at the pet hospital for 3 days, we did the Rx diet. Meanwhile, I searched for an appropriate food to treat urinary issues in cats that wasn't junk food (ALL Hill's brand foods are junk food - check out this article I came across - http://www.ourdogsonline.com/content/sciencedietscam.html). I found Wysong Uretic, which although it has poultry fat (rather than a specific fat), it's leaps above the Hill's junk.

Here are some basic things to AVOID:
by-products of any kind
chemical preservatives
"animal" anything (you want specific stuff, not vague - good foods have NO reason to not list things specifically)
"meat" anything
"digest" - barf!
gluten
soy
corn
brewers rice (cheapest, least nutriticious rice)

There's a lot of great info on www.dogfoodproject.com.

I would also advise to avoid Nutro products. They contain some iffy ingredients and are owned by the Mars Company who utilizes animal testing to make their candy products.

Looking forward to any suggestions and recommendations you make once you've concluded your research, Eddie! This is a topic that sorely needs investigation.

I've spent countless hours reading labels, websites, trying to track down what those elusive "ingredients" mean in an effort to keep my cats healthy & thriving while supporting humane policies. It's all so confusing and I always feel as though I'm settling for the lesser of known evils. I can't make home-made pet food, but that doesn't mean I don't want my animals to eat healthily.

Thanks for providing this service for us countless confused consumers out there!

My daughter, now 24,. wrote a "persuasive" paper (english class assignment) when she was a senior in high school. Her findings were exactly what you have mentioned so far about quality, regulation (lack of) etc in pet food and being a dog lover, she was appalled ! Her teacher, a dog trainer, was shocked to see the documentation since she didn't really feel there would be much worthwhile info on the subject...almost didn't allow her to use that subject for her paper. It was called something like.."WHAT are you feeding your dogs?". I know she did get some good information from the Whole Dog Journal, among other publications.

There is a food called Blue Buffalo that is sold solely at Petsmart at this time.
It is a human grade holistic food. It contains no corn, wheat, soy or gluten, no animal by-products, no artificial colors or flavors and a new way of cooking the food that allows the added nutrients to get through to the dog with out being cooked out due to the high heat. Neither the chicken, lamb and beef have been given antibiotics.

It was designed for a dog who had cancer. The whole point was to build the dog's immune system and put him in the strongest position to battle the cancer. There is also Cat food. The same principles apply.

It is priced in line with other premium pet foods. The website is Bluebuf.com

My dog is crazy for the canned salmon!!! Yum.

My 14-yr Calico feline was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She went from being 12-lbs to 5.6-lbs in 1 year! The vet prescribed meds to be given twice daily. Since she cannot tolerate liquid form, I opted for the cat treats - she loves them! I need to pump up her weight reasonably quickly and am looking for advice. She currently eats IAMS All Natural Chicken dry food & Fancy Feast solid wet food (no gravy or weird greens type). I know some posters argue against IAMS; however, it is the 1st food she has eaten that does not make her throw up. Thoughts?

I began to research pet food ingredients after my cat was diagnosed with Feline Diabetes. He was overweight and the vet recommended Science diet, (which is no surprise because vets make money off this food). I began to read the ingredients and decided there was no way I was feeding all that crap to my cats.
There are many good websites out there on cat food- with recommendations for high quality GRAIN FREE (cats are carnivores!) foods.

catnutrition.org is a great one as well as
catinfo.org

I now feed my cats Innovo EVO which is a high protein grain free food.
Or Wellness Core. And there are some good frozen Raw diets out there.
Look for food that don't list corn, rice, wheat, or any grain near the top of this list.
And for cats preferable none at all. Especially CORN. How many of you have cats that
go out and eat corn in the wild?
I also disagree (slightly) on the by-products argument, if you are buying crappy food then by-products are bad, but in a high quality human grade food, there is nothing wrong with brains. (ever watch you cat eat a mouse? Mine eats the whole head 1st) The problem with by-products is that the industry is unregulated and you don't know what the by-products are and can't be sure they aren't cats and dogs, so it's a good idea to stay away from them! Again, high quality raw diets contain bones and offal.

Thanks for this series. I look forward to more and can't wait to see this industry better regulated.

does anyone feed their pets verus foods? http://www.veruspetfoods.com/

my dog has recently had issues with the spring pollen & allergies. i red that it might be from pressure on his immune system from his vaccines and the like.
he eats a diet of half verus food and half human food ( organic-healthy and delicious!). we share :)

concerned about Bisphenol-A, the plastic contaminent recently removed from baby bottles (after 50 years? Thanks a lot, bottle manufacturers!), I called the pet food companies we use to ask if the white plastic liners in their cans contained the toxin Bisphenol-A.

Answer: Triumph liners DO contain BPA; Wellness says theirs doesn't. I notice those white plastic liners in the cans of tomatoes and other human food I use, as well.

I guess we should all be calling. Though the usual response will be, "Don't worry, we're sure it's harmless." That's what all the face cream and shampoo manufactureres say when I call about parabens.

For info on this awful substance poisoning our babies, pets, and ocean fish, see:

http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm.

My brother gets his dog treated with pills that make his fur toxic to fleas. What must this do to the dog? A better remedy I urge all to try is nutritional yeast -- flake, or brewer's yeast tablets. We gave our cat three Brewer's yeast tabs a day and she lived to be 21 with never a flea. The vet was skeptical, but had to acknowledge that the cat never showed any evidence of having a flea. I learned this trick in the Peace Corps. I've been drinking OJ with nutritional yeast for 30 years now and am in great health...plus, when I'm outside with others, I get almost no mosquito bites when others in my family are being eaten alive.

Our new kittens love it.

ES

I think that it's great that more and more, pet owners are paying attention to what they feed their pets. I make my dog's food, I bake her puppy muffins which have meat, eggs, apple, blueberries or raspberries, an orange veggie and a green veggie. I add this to a mix I buy. People say I do too much for my dog but I think why put my dog's health in the hands of big corporations when I can do it myself? I buy a mix which contains organic grains and it's made locally so I trust it more than I would a company who aims for huge profits from dead and euthanized animals. Plus, think of the chemicals contained in pet food, not only the preservatives used but also the drugs used to euthanize the animals. One of my former co-workers told me that she feeds her dogs Iams and if you look closely at the kibble, you can see the fur. Yet she still feeds her dogs this crap. Yeah they're dogs but would you feed your children kibble? (mind you, I know families who feed their children processed foods from a box all the time). Kibble was created for us humans who live in a fast world and need a quick way of feeding their pets. Dog's teeth are not meant to crush kibble and contrary to popular belief, it will not clean your dog's teeth. It will clean the tips but push the debris up into the gums.

On the other side of the coin, we have to be careful with those foods which purport to be 'holistic' and 'organic' - there is a difference. And there is no regulation on what is considered holistic or organic. We also have to consider, do dogs really need all these extras? I give my dog Omega 3 and vitamin E but these are useless in kibble as they are destroyed during the cooking process (companies usually cook their kibble by extruding which destroys the digestive enzymes). I'm not saying there isn't any value to these foods. I think it's important to look for a food, if you choose kibble, that is made my a small, independent company that makes their food (the operational phrase being, 'Make their OWN food'. In my experience, there is a difference between kibble and homemade. My dog's tear stains have disappeared and her poop is smaller, firmer and less smelly. And I don't have to beg her to eat!

All in all, I think nutrition is the basis for your dog's quality of life. It is possible that feeding your dog a healthy diet will reduce the vet visits and thus, money spent. That goes for humans as well...

Having been both rescue and breeder for more than 30 years, I have had quite a bit of experience in feeding for a variety of cats with various problems.

To the person with the cat with hyperthyroidism, please don't feed her processed dry foods! She needs fresh, or at least a good highly digestible canned food. Try giving her a softboiled egg once in awhile to supplement the needed lecithin, I usually threw the white away. I had a 19 yo cat who lived to be 21 with this. I made sure she got homemade, healthy broth as well.

I recommend homemade pet food and it really is not that difficult to do. I care for many, but still make vats of it once a week . Add fresh ingredients to your animal's food daily or on the side. I add 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cod liver oil and one teaspoon or less flaxseed meal to their daily kibble. Or once in awhile add finely grated carrot, a t. shredded white cheese, a teaspoon of plain yogurt, etc.

Great comments everyone!

Elizabeth, you're right that we should be calling on pet food companies to get rid of BPA in the linings of their canned food products. EWG's pet body burden test found BPA in my and other pets' bodies.

And if Wellness tells you their cans aren't lined with BPA, I'd bet dollars to dog bones they're not being honest.

My human friends at EWG had to call and call and call again to finally get some companies to admit that there's BPA in the lining of their human canned foods. Right now the cost to manufacturers of cans that aren't lined with BPA is pretty high. In human food, only ONE brand uses BPA-free cans, and even they only use it for SOME of their products. Meanwhile, confused or mislead customer service people at certain companies continue to tell people their cans are BPA-free, even though it's blatantly not true. Bad humans!