What we know to be true for humans, that organics are safer, now applies equally to dogs and cats.
Organic food for dogs and cats, much as has happened with human foods, have proven far safer than chemical-laden non-organic foods. By some estimates up to 4,000 dogs and cats throughout the U.S. died of kidney failure and another 10,000 pets fell ill as a result of pet food being contaminated by an industrial chemical during early 2007.
More than 100 brands of dog and cat food made by six companies were recalled when it was discovered that wheat gluten from China contained melamine, an industrial chemical that is combined with formaldehyde to produce a plastic resin used in fire retardants, fabrics, furniture, countertops, glues and floor tiles. How the melamine got into wheat gluten, a base filler ingredient for pet food, remains a nagging mystery.
What this pet food scandal produced, if there was any positive development at all from it, was a huge boost in the sales of organic pet brands, such as Newman's Own, a company founded by actor Paul Newman. Sales also increased for Nature's Variety, California Natural and Precise Plus, companies that make pet foods without synthetic chemicals or fillers or byproducts.
According to the Organic Trade Association, organic pet food sales had already jumped by 46 percent between 2004 and 2005, due largely to public concerns about food quality and the synthetic chemical additives in pet food. While organic pet food may be more expensive than the non-organic varieties, humans do not need to feed their pet companions as much of the natural food because there is no filler, so in the end the relative costs tend to balance out.
My Yorkie got sick on Memorial Day. He had kidney failure. I spent $1,000 trying to get him well. Yesterday on July 2, 2007, he was so bad I took him to the vet to be put to sleep. This is outrageous - I am the only one who lost. The pet food company made their money and the vet made theirs.
Posted by: Marlene Hurney | July 3, 2007 11:13 AM
My little Shih Tzu became ill after eating Bestro's chicken jerky. I had given her a daily treat for a month or so. Glands in her neck were swollen and sore, she had fluid and redness in her left ear and her urine smelled rotten. I stopped the treat and then found her pet food, Nutro Natural Choice, was on somebody's bad dog food list and stopped giving her that. I ordered Nature's Abundance on the
Internet. My dog won't eat a bite of it. So, I'm feeding her from my plate and made dog food for her.
It's been about two weeks since this began. Her ear and glands are back to normal. She is so much better. I plan to keep making her dog food because of the toxic meat meal and preservatives in commercial dog food.
I'm so disappointed in American pet food manufacturers. You'd think they would care enough to make pet food safe.
Posted by: Millicent Aynes | August 2, 2007 12:36 PM