Pet Lovers

[Icegoddess]

I currently have 2 cats, Queso, who requred a urinary formula food, and Houdini, who needs weight control food.  Since the Royal Canin urinary formula, I had been feeding both cats using the same urinary SO weight control food.  

Recently, Queso has now been put on an uber-expensive diet for GI issues and I thought I might save a little by putting Houdini on an OTC weight control diet.  I'm not even sure Queso's Hydrolyzed Protein Urinary formula comes in a weight control diet. 

When I mentioned doing that, the Vet said for me to avoid grain-free diets since they have been linked to a form of Cardio Myopathy.  I had never heard of that so I looked it up.  This mostly applies to dogs, but cats have also been affected.  One site I looked at mentioned that the data suggested the culprit might be peas rather than grain-free diets.  I had already bought a bag of Merrick weight control formula and turns out, of course, it's grain-free. 

So, I go on the hunt for another weight control formula.  I ended up with Iams only because it was the ONLY decent brand that had a weight control formula that was not grain free and also didn't include peas although just finding a weight control formula even with the peas is near impossible.  Of course, Royal Canin has a weight control formula which is not grain-free, but it's also almost as expensive as buying the prescription stuff, and it has peas.  

Another veterinary clinic site had an article about the issue and listed 3 manufacturers, along with their sub-brands, that they considered quality foods.  Merrick was one of those brands, but Merrick's weight control formula is grain-free.  Luckily for me, the Iams brand was also mentioned, so I'll be transitioning Houdini over to that brand as I finish up the Merrick brand he's currently eating.

I'll still give him the Merrick canned food since that is not an issue.  The fact that I was already feeding him Merrick was one reason I chose that brand for the dry food since I figured the flavor profile would be the same, although Houdini has never been particularly picky about his food.  

[Jk9]

Upstate Vet in Greenville, SC (the go to in our area for advanced care for pets) has signs posted that they do not recommend one term use of grain free diets.  Our vet there added a warning in her discharge instructions about long term use for dogs.  So, I take that warning seriously.

[Carmie]

I am fond of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  I have had several over the years.

This breed is prone to cardiac problems.  First, I was told by a vet cardiologist to feed a grain free dog food.  I did, even though the food was super expensive  ( Origen). I had a difficult time finding it and it was often out of stock.

Now, I am told to feed grains and that grain free can lead to cardiac problems.  This is so confusing and upsetting.  I am lost.

I now buy grain free food and food with grains and mix them together.

I wish I could just find a diet plan that uses real food....from the grocery store that I could serve instead of manufactured pet food.

I know there are some diet plans out there, but where would I find kidneys, and other offals on a regular basis?

I guess we can all do the best we can even though it might not be perfect.  It's difficult to even know what the right thing is.

[CamilleP]

At this point in time, the FDA is investigating the research that was reported to them regarding grain-free diets causing cardiomyopathy.  It appears that the studies that were reported used "cherry-picked" cases in order to increase the role of grain-free diets, thus skewing the results.  Until this situation is resolved, I would not panic about grain-free as much as I would any other condition that one might be looking for a special diet for.  IF (and I emphasize "if") it is proven that the studies were intentionally skewed, the veterinary community is going to have to do a bunch of back-tracking with their clients.  I am never going to be a fan of any food which is, by weight, more corn meal than meat meal, but a little oats and barley is fine by me.  NOT soybean meal or any other "pulse", dogs are carnivores and plant proteins as the majority protein are no better than corn meal, health-wise.  Everything in moderation.......

[KittySoftPaws]

@Icegoddess  Over the years I have fed my cats grain free food food as grains are not a normal part of any felines natural diet, they can cause skin and digestive issues. They always liked it in the dry food but not the wet foods, so I always go to the fancy feast as they pretty much always like anything in that line of wet food and alot of them are grain free. I keep a small bowl of kidney vet diet food out for my olnly cat now, and give her wet food several times a day. Wet food is best for cats as they are prone to kidney disease in older age and with that, they need as much moisture in their diet as possible. Ive learned so much over the years with having many cats, things I wish I knew then that I know now, things I would have done different, but two things come to mind as important. Get yearly senior panels done so that you can get ahead of and treat any potential problems or diseases, and keep their teeth clean however you can. Don't get cleanings unless necessary becaus eof anesthesia, and if possible, wipe their teeth with some gauze with a little flavored pet toothpaste on it and this helps. My Vet told me this. I don't ever get unneccesary vaccines for them or boosters, learned my lesson there. Also, if they ever need an antibiotic, do it without means of the shot. It can be risky for some cats and I lost one that developed stomatitis and passed the next day after the antibiotic and anti inflammitory shots. We can never be 100% sure of course, but we can learn and do the best we can for them.

[Josmad]

I'm not sure about cats. But the problem with the grain free dog food is it lacks taurine which is an essential element in a dog's diet.