What to look for when buying cat and dog food

William Atkins
Wednesday, 04 April 2007 08:58

Science - Health

Dogs and cats should have a diet full of whole meat. Whole meats do not include fillers, organs, or chemicals. Look for familiar meats such as chicken, pork, salmon, fish, turkey, lamb, or other meats on the label of the foods. They are the best and safest sources of proteins. The first two or three ingredients on any pet food label should be one of these meats.

The first items on any label, whether it is for pets or humans, are the products that occur most within the food. And, the ones at the end of the list are the ones that occur the least within food.

It is also good for pets to have food that contains high vegetable protein levels. Besides being easy to digest, vegetable protein is high in energy levels to keep your pets active and healthy. Fruits and vegetables, both, are important components for nutritious pet food because they contain fiber and other plant materials.

The pet food that you buy should contain an expiration date, just like human food. If a company is proud of their product then their name should be listed on the food packaging along with a telephone number and/or Internet Web site.

Natural preservatives, not artificial chemical preservatives, should be contained in good quality pet food. Look for plenty of vitamins and minerals.

Corn is commonly put in dog food but dogs find it very difficult to digest corn. It is a cheap filler put in inexpensive dog foods.

By-products are meat by-products that can be literally anything from slaughtered animals. They may contain chemicals that are unhealthy for pets. By-products are not a safe source of protein.

Mill run is a term that means anything taken from the slaughterhouse floor of a food processing plant. It can include peanut hulls and wood bits. Don’t buy pet food with mill run in it.

Generic brands or store brands are probably made by giant mass pet food manufacturers and not at the upper ends of quality.

If the product label has items that are not recognizable, don’t buy it. Don’t buy pet food  if it contains BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), ethoxyquine, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), propylene glycol, and propolyneglycol.

Good quality pet foods will have "Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)" somewhere on the package. This organization writes the minimum standards for all pet foods sold in the United States. They are located on the Web at: http://www.aafco.org/.