Cat Food Recall: Major Worries for Pet Owners?

The great cat food recall (and dog food recall) of 2007 was the start of a major loss of confidence in the pet food industry. It was unfortunately not the only pet food recall but it did receive the greatest adverse publicity.

I for one had no idea that most of the commercial cat food brands out there were made by just a few companies. It stands to reason then that likewise the raw ingredients they use come from just a few suppliers.

This cat food recall and the subsequent deaths of so many pets (including of course Siamese cats) would never have happened if cat food had only contained - meat!

The deaths were caused by melamine powder. Melamine is what your kitchen cupboards may be made of...

Cats are meat eaters and need a very high protein diet. Unfortunately, if they eat commercial cat foods, this 'protein' is not always totally meat-based. In most cases an extra ingredient - wheat gluten - is added to food to supply the 'protein' cats need for health. This wheat gluten is not good for cats but it does boost the protein content that you find on the cat food label. Some of this wheat gluten was adulterated with melamine in China and then supplied to pet food manufacturers.

Sadly, then, this was not an accident but a deliberate act to increase profits for some people willing to break the law in China. Melamine apparently looks like protein to testing instruments and suppliers get well paid for a high protein product.

What kind of protein do cats need?

The typical diet of a cat in the wild is - meat. And meat organs and crushed bone and fur or feathers. There is more and more evidence that cereals, plant carbohydrates and vegetables cause ill health for cats.

I too think that plant proteins have no place in cat food.

Cats are rather delicate when it comes to their metabolism. The majority of indoor plants can poison cats or at least make them unwell. Medicines, too, have to be chosen very carefully. Even natural oils and essences have to be used with huge care for cats because many act like poisons.

Many dog medicines WILL kill cats. BEWARE: dog flea treatments can kill your cat within hours! My local pharmacy once mistakenly gave me dog rather than cat flea topical drops and two of my cats ended up in intensive care and almost died.

Foods we eat normally can also be dangerous to cats. Chocolate, for example, acts as a poison to cats - and dogs too.

Clearly, cats need a healthy diet - one that is healthy for cats. If they don't get it, problems will occur.

The fallout from the cat food recalls have not gone away. People are now aware and suspicious that some strange ingredients go into cat food. The publicity around organic products and our own plentiful human food scares have brought renewed interest to food - what exactly goes into it, and what shouldn't.

What can we do about providing healthy food for our cats?

The best approach to cat nutrition is making your own homemade cat food. By preparing hygienically and using quality ingredients, you'll know exactly what you're feeding your cats.This removes the worry of being a victim to a new cat food recall

Even if we believe in homemade cat food and spend time preparing the perfect meals for our cats, we still run the risk of buying a poor batch of meat. But at least we won't be adding chemicals or other artificial, poor-quality or contaminated products to it.

Also you can't just give your cat a lump of meat - you do have to add vitamins and minerals or feed the whole carcass uncooked.

You could do more research on the contents of your cat foods, but you'd probably find most are really not much different from one another.

In some countries, like the United States, it is possible to find reputable companies that manufacture raw diet cat foods using human grade meat without any cereals or vegetables. These are more convenient than making your own, and a great alternative - if you can afford them or have access to them. If you can't, then spending a bit of extra time keeping your cats healthy may save you money and heartache down the line.

If you can't make homemade cat food, at least use good quality canned foods. Whatever you do, try to stay away from dry food: dry diets may be very convenient but they're - in my opinion - the feline equivalent of junk food. And we know what happens to us if we eat only junk food!

One good thing did come out of the cat food recall: hopefully more care is being taken with the quality of our cat foods.

People are starting to be educated in the most healthy way to feed cats.

Nor do we blindly trust the pet food conglomerates.

And more and more people are feeding their cats a better diet - by making their own cat food. Take control and be safe from a new cat food recall.

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