It’s easy to be swayed on which food to buy for your cat based on the ads that you see on TV and in print, but those big name brands may not always be the best option. Cat owners are quickly finding out that the name brands that they are choosing are causing them to be taking their sick animal to their local Sunshine Coast veterinarian. If this seems hard to believe, then you need to take a look at a recent study out of Sydney University that showed that many popular brands were really not that safe for you cat.
Of the 20 cat food brands put to the test, 8 did not meet the standards required to be considered a healthy option for your pet. The biggest issue found in each of these 8 products was that they contained either too much or too little fat and protein, and that is a major problem for cat owners in the Sunshine Coast and beyond. The end result from feeding your cat any of these foods may be an emergency trip to your local Parklands, Image Flat, or North Arm vet, as the combination of ingredients in those foods can lead to such things as anaemia, obesity, diabetes, and even lameness.
The problem with the results of this study is that no one involved seems willing to actually name the products that fell into the bad category. This has caused an uproar among cat owners, as they feel it is their right to know which specific foods could be potentially unhealthy for their pets. The results of the study have now also hit the radar of the Pet Food Industry Association, and they claim to be more than a little surprised to hear about the alleged lack of nutrients in the food brands that were tested.
There are some people and groups who are on the side of the names being withheld for now, though. One of those groups is the Australian Veterinary Journal, and the reason why they are on the side of anonymity for the brands at the moment is because the study performed at Sydney University is best described as preliminary. The full results cannot be delivered without each of the bands in question undergoing a larger, more formal study that would truly get to the bottom of just how healthy, or not, their products are for cats.
As a pet owner, it is you who are solely responsible for making sure that you look after your animals in the best way possible. That very much includes choosing foods that are healthy and safe for your cat to eat. If you are unsure as to what those particular foods should be, you really need to take the time to talk to your vet. They can advise you at to what your best pet food options are, and you can end up saving a small fortune in vet fees in the future if you heed that advice.
