One of the most difficult weekends...

[NY Chief]

Sub Q EVERYDAY? Ohh, that's tough man. His kidneys must be really shot. Sorry man. My cat was diagnosed CRF a few years ago but thankfully his BUN and Creatine aren't off the charts (yet ) so he's only getting fluids once a month or so when he seems to be dehydrated and starts eating less. The good or bad thing about CRF is they are not in pain just feel like shit as the toxins build up. I read on one website it being described as feeling like a bad hangover. I can relate to that....

Interesting thing I found out. Most of the pet food out there, even the food the vet prescribes, is SHIT for your pet. I got to wondering if my guys gastric problems were food related. Especially after that Chinese pet food melomine scare. Man the bad news I found out about pet food made me sick. Most of it is meal, soy, grain, "BY products" and not real meat. Dogs and cats are carnivores why do we feed them grain???? I switched my guy over to Wellness brand and alomost immediately his poop was more firm, he wasn't throwing up as much and he stopped "ooofing" (you that little belch/burp you get sometimes?). I'm telling you if you love your pet check out what you're feeding him. You may be suprised.

[OnTheFritz]

Chief, I thought the *exact* same thing last year after my dog had really started going downhill.
Reading the ingredients had me thinking WTF? Corn meal?

Dogs need to be on the Atkins diet.

[spaceace76]

+1 Chief, my brother works at a pet store, and is shocked at what passes as acceptable for dog food. He looked into the ingredients in the food a while ago and told me how terrible 9/10 brands of food are for pets. They also negatively affect the coat.

He mentioned that Wellness is mostly hype though, he recommends Blue Buffalo or Natural Balance

[Structo]

Thanks for the info.
I remember when everybody recommended Science Diet.
Then a few years ago their first ingredient changed from chicken to corn meal!

Currently we feed all four dogs Nutro.

The little guy with the CRF is on K/D which is a Science Diet product for CRF.

Not sure how good it is for him.
We had him on some kind of powder you added to his food which was supposed to help him get rid of excess phosphorus but we found out it was nauseating him and killed his appetite.

We had some blood work done last week and though it is pretty bad his BUN and Creatine were not as bad as they had been.

I was wondering if he might have gotten into something like anti-freeze but really, there isn't much chance of that.
And, I don't think we had any food that had the Melamine in it.
I was really pissed off when I read those stories about that crap.
Why is the number one grain growing country importing that Chinese crap?!

Then you find out that crap is in just about everything!

[fillmore nyc]

I was reading what was said here about the dog foods to my wife... she is really an expert on dog nutrition. She's studied it extensively and has worked in this field for over 12 years.

She agrees with everything written here, and added that Natures Recipe is also a real good food. Its a very simple food, with meat protein as its first ingredient, with no byproducts or fillers.

She says its important that the first ingredient is some sort of meat protein, and that its not a meat byproduct (meaning its not the guts, feathers or some other non-edible part of the animal).

She feels that one of the bigger hypes is with Eukanuba food, because Eukanuba contains ethoxyquin as a preservative, and is known to cause cancer in animals.

She also feels that Wellness is one of the better foods, because it contains meat as its first ingredient, and has probiotics, prebiotics (for the animals intestinal health, and to help retain the vitamins and protein from the food), and also fruits and vegetables, which contain fiber, which is good for the animals stool. It a holistic food, and Wellness also markets foods with fish, venison or duck as the first ingredient and fiber foods such as sweet potato for dogs that have allergies to other foods.

PS-She says Science Diet is one of THE worst foods out there. Its loaded with byproducts, fillers, BHA and BHT which are both artificial preservatives. These are also known to cause cancer in animals.

(You can probably tell that Im writing what SHE is saying, cause I know jackshit about this subject).

If any of you guys have questions about animal nutrition, feel free to PM me... Ill pass it along to her, and try to get you an answer. She really does know her shit when it comes to animals nutrition, general health, skin conditions, etc.

[Structo]

Thanks for the info!

[spaceace76]

the reasoning behind Wellness being mostly hype is that they are allowed to change 20% of the food's ingredients without obligation to change the label. So every few months some changes are made to the ingredients but the package stays exactly the same. The downside, of course, is that it is sometimes changed to meat byproducts instead of the advertised meat.

[NY Chief]

the reasoning behind Wellness being mostly hype is that they are allowed to change 20% of the food's ingredients without obligation to change the label. So every few months some changes are made to the ingredients but the package stays exactly the same. The downside, of course, is that it is sometimes changed to meat byproducts instead of the advertised meat.

That's very interesting, when I changed to Wellness my guy was really chowing down. Then all of sudden he wasn't too interested so I switched up flavors and he seemed to be better. Then not interested again. I wonder if that could have something to do with it????

Unfortunately my guy is in the "hospital" as I type . He was crying out, not eating much, loose stool and seemed to have a lot of gastric distress. Took him for Sub Q on Thurs but didn't seem to help. Took him back yesterday and promptly gretted the doc with a nasty squirt of diarrhea... Doc said he seemed dehyrdated and his heart beep was irregular (first time I hear this..) so they are keeping him for fluids and other meds. Worst part is they are closed today (medical crew only in the back) and there is no way for me to get a status on the little guy until tomorrow. It's gonna be a lonnng day and I really don't feel like playing my guitar or working on an amp....


Oh yeah, and the SHIT food most vets recommend, prescribe and SELL are sold to them at deep discounts with lots of marketing hype. Most vets don't even know much about nutrition. That includes the prescription Science Diet for CRF as well, structo. Be careful.

fill, your girl is right on! Check this out.... http://catinfo.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and specifics on commercial canned food...http://catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I wish I knew this sooner. I feel like I slowly poisned my little buddy....

[amp boy]

Sorry everyone for your losses.
I'm hoping someday to find the right way in life, and that includes getting a dog.
I just don't live in place i would feel a dog would be alive and spirited in......if you know what i mean.

A friend of mine has a younger sis who has always been into animals, and she is studying to become a vet.
Reading your comments about food and the recommendations that are given by vets, my thought is perhaps for you all to see if you can talk to some students......those kind of people that are still passionate about things......you know, before it becomes a part of business.
it's just a thought i had. Might get some different views and insight to these type of things.

a bit off topic, but for a thought if you will.
My uncle told me once, and i have heard a few of these types of stories, when my grandparents brought them over from communist overthrown Poland when they first came to see "supermarkets". My grandfather thought the most ridiculas thing about them was the dog food isle. The idea that food was made specifically for dogs.....that was just an extreme that i hope to never know the feeling of.

i think this ties in with natural foods, and how things have changed.........i believe negatively.
i forget the term with grocery store shopping.....end of isle...i don't recall, but the premise follows how stores are laid out to pull you into things. The idea is look at everything not within the isles.....not where the pre packaged and canned foods are etc.
i thought that was quite interesting the one day a friend of mine, that older brother of the vet in training, pointed that out to me as we walked through a grocery mart.

I have looked after cats and dogs........and yes two goldfish for friends when they go away on vacations every year. I 've caught myself a few times putting the feed into the bowls and wondering what is this stuff, and what am i eating, and i kinda think back to my memories of my grandparents and how they did things.

So someday when i can, and find the right dog for a friend. I have wondered what would i do for him on this matter of health and diet.
Hell.....same should go for me !!!!

[fillmore nyc]

Sorry everyone for your losses.
I'm hoping someday to find the right way in life, and that includes getting a dog.
I just don't live in place i would feel a dog would be alive and spirited in......if you know what i mean.

So someday when i can, and find the right dog for a friend. I have wondered what would i do for him on this matter of health and diet.
Hell.....same should go for me !!!!

Thanks, Amp boy, and again to everyone else for their sentiments... my wife and I really appreciate it.

Its been 2 weeks now, and the initial shock has diminished, but there is still a member missing from the house.

Amp boy, its good that you recognize that now probably might not be the right time, or environment for you to get a dog. They DO need a positive environment, with room to run around and get plenty of exercise. When Im around the city with my dogs, I always make it a point to bring them to the "dog runs" in various parks around the city so they get their exercise, and socialize with other dogs and people.
They tend to get filthy there, but I never see them look happier than after a few hours of running around chasing whichever dog got that gross-ass tennis ball that they all seem to love!!

A friend of mine has a younger sis who has always been into animals, and she is studying to become a vet.
Reading your comments about food and the recommendations that are given by vets, my thought is perhaps for you all to see if you can talk to some students......those kind of people that are still passionate about things......you know, before it becomes a part of business.
it's just a thought i had. Might get some different views and insight to these type of things.

My wife does do these type of things. She tutors others at her shop about nutrition, grooming, general health, etc.
She even takes our French Bulldog (Tahji) to Senior Citizen homes as a therapy dog. That particular dog is SO friendly and loving, that he is perfect to bring up the spirits of people that are feeling down.
Its funny, cause he sorta looks like a miniature Pit Bull, so initially he can put people off, but within a few seconds, he wins 'em right over with that personality.
Its a great thing for all concerned when my wife brings him to do that sort of thing.