Pet Health

By hearts'Animals! on Mar 24, 2009 | Reply

If you have a dog I suggest Pedigree…
If you have a cat I suggest Fancy Feast, Meow Mix, and Friskies…

These are the foods that I feed my dog and cat!!!

By Gene L on Mar 26, 2009 | Reply

Here are some recipe’s for hommade pet foods:

By ~*Jeff Hardy AND MELINA Fan*~ on Mar 27, 2009 | Reply

Well besides that I heard IAMS is on the pet recall list, I give my dog purina, I’m not really sure about if they test them on animals or not and honestly I don’t want to know…So yeah I give Toby purina dog chow(large breed).

By Cass M on Mar 30, 2009 | Reply

Try the website They have TONS of info about feeding your animal nutritious, healthy foods. I’m already starting the switch to feed my cat raw meat and veggies. Especially with all the pet food recalls! It’s scary!

By paintedrain2 on Mar 31, 2009 | Reply

Blue Buffalo is a wonderful company with high quality food (no corn, soy, or wheat!)

By Nature Organics is also pretty good quality.

By truelori on Apr 3, 2009 | Reply

Newman’s Own Organics is a good brand that also gives their profits to charity. Some of the brands even have vegan options, although I think for many animals a vegan diet is not the healthiest or the most natural diet.

You can also go on the web site below and get a list of companies that do not test on animals. I’ll post it here. There is a UK version of the list on the web site below, too.

Active Life Pet Products
1-877-291-2913

Amoré Pet Services, Inc.
1-866-572-6673

Animal Food Services
1-800-743-0322

Artemis Pet Food—NEW
1-800-282-5876

Azmira Holistic Animal Care
1-800-497-5665

Burns Pet Health, Inc.
1-877-983-9651

Canusa International
519-624-5697

CountryPet Pet Food
1-800-454-7387

Dr. Harvey’s
1-866-362-4123

Dry Fork Milling Co.
1-800-346-1360

Dynamite Marketing, Inc.
208-887-9410

Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Co., Inc.
1-800-288-6796

Evolution Diet, Inc. (entirely vegan)
1-800-659-0104

Good Dog Foods, Inc.
732-842-4555

GreenTripe.Com
831-726-3255

Halo, Purely for Pets
1-800-426-4256

Happy Dog Food
1-800-359-9576

Harbingers of a New Age (entirely vegan)
406-295-4944

Holistic Blend
1-800-954-1117

The Honest Kitchen
858-483-5995

Know Better Dog Food
1-866-922-6463

KosherPets, Inc.
954-938-6270

Kumpi Pet Foods
303-699-8562

Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. (has vegan options)
1-800-829-4493

Natural Life Pet Products, Inc. (has vegan options)
1-800-367-2391

Nature’s Variety
1-888-519-7387

Newman’s Own Organics—NEW

PetGuard (has vegan options)
1-800-874-3221
904-264-8500

Pied Piper Pet Wildlife
1-800-338-4610

PoshNosh Inc.
613-747-1542
1-866-893-4006 (Outside Ottawa-Outaouais)

Raw Advantage, Inc.
360-387-5158

Rocky Mountain Natural Products
1-877-768-6788 (Eastern U.S.)
1-800-665-5521 (Western U.S.)

Sauder Feeds, Inc.
260-627-2196

Stella Chewy’s LLC—NEW
718-522-9673

Timberwolf Organics, Inc.
407-877-8779

V-dogfood LLC (entirely vegan)—NEW
1-888-280-8364

Veterinary Nutritional Formula
1-800-811-0530

Wow-Bow Distributors Ltd. (has vegan options)
1-800-326-0230

Wysong Professional Diets (has vegan options)
1-800-748-0188

By david on Apr 6, 2009 | Reply

As you have probably heard – there is a major pet food recall taking place. Many leading pet foods have been affected and several pets have died as featured in this recent news article

Find your pets food and treats and see if wheat, corn, or by-products are listed in the ingredients. If so, discard the products immediately.

Dog foods currently being recalled:
America’s Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol’Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President’s Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

Did you know that the FDA does not regulate the pet food industry?
Did you also know that most commercial pet foods are made from less than human quality ingredients.
Did you know that most pet foods bought in the store have been sitting around for as long as 18 months before you buy it?
Did you know that dogs and cats have the genetic potential to live 20 - 25 years but we are robbing those years from their lives with cheap pet foods.
Here are just a few of the procedures that we follow to provide your pet with a safe and nutritious product.

I have found a great alternative to all the brands carried in all the local stores. I have recently switched my dog over to this food and have seen a great improvement the last month or so. The food is Life’s Abundance.

This is some of the information I can provide for the food. You can read and hear more about it at

All the products are manufactured in a USDA facility.
All of the ingredients are individually inspected for human quality and carry the APHIS certification (a European standard for human quality ingredients)
Every vendor must supply an ‘assurance statement’ with each shipment. This statement must provide nutritional quality of ingredient provided AND must state it is free from any mold, bacteria, and so forth.
Dr. Jane has the ingredients tested AGAIN before manufacturing to make sure the quality is as stated AND it meets her standards
The product is tested 3 times during the manufacturing process - to again assure everything is ‘as it should be’.
The product is tested again after manufacturing and again when it arrives at the warehouse.
One bag of food is kept at the warehouse - from each batch - to test in case a Customer has a problem or concern with the product. Each ‘one bag’ from each batch is kept for 1 full year.
The products are shipped directly from HealthyPetNet’s warehouse to the Customer - no middleman warehousing (concerns of proper storage and pest control).

By welonheadmoo on Apr 7, 2009 | Reply

I’ve heard that Timberland Organics and Chicken Soup are pretty high quality. Do some quick research on dog/cat nutrition. I am not sure about cats, but the lower-quality dog foods usually have fillers such as corn. That should not be - the main ingredients should be a specified meat. Better quality might mean more money for each bag, but remember that you feed less because you’re feeding more real food in each cup.

By maxhorsegirl on Apr 9, 2009 | Reply

pedigree for dogs because it has many vegetables which your dog needs for a healthy diet also they give a portion of their profits to animal shelters around the world they are also doing many things to help shelter dogs get better homes

and fancy feast dry food for cats it has vegetables and minerals in it

Purina is also on the recall list I’m not sure what kinds

By Sherrie on Apr 12, 2009 | Reply

NATURAL BALANCE

You can find it at Petco as well as mom and pop stores.

I found it 2 years ago for my two Poms when I was searching independent sites for dog food comparisons. It almost always came in number 1.

Made in California , the only dog food made under FDA regulations instead of pet food. Check it out !. My dogs love this stuff and they have dry food and a roll food that my dogs think are treats, I slice it off and they sit up and beg for it.

By Kat on Apr 13, 2009 | Reply

Thank you Giggles for switching foods! Bless you for being responsable and taking a stand against animal creulty!

It’s time for pet owners to wake up and take responsibility for what they feed their animals and quit trusting what those great big money hungry companies tell you. Research for yourself, learn, read the ingredients and make an informed decision for the health and safety of your beloved pet.

With the recall, wheat gluten is the big suspect in cat food that everyone is trying to avoid, and it SHOULD be avoided. It should have been avoided all along. It’s nothing more than a cheap protein source used as a binding agent by pet food companies.

Corn should always be avoided as well. It’s a huge filler worth NOTHING. Corn as an ingredient in pet food is a joke. Ever seen a starving cat or dog chewing on a corn cob in a field? No, you haven’t.

As you search for your new pet food, be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods:

-Grocery store foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, grocery store foods normally do not provide your pet with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.

-Premium foods – (Iams/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of grocery store food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and filler ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than grocery store foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t!

-Healthy foods – (Wellness, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster and Smith) The newest addition to the pet food market - provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class - contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers.

With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”! Who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.

The ingredients also should NOT include any by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them into pet food instead. EW!!!!

Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every pet treat on the market.
So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that bag and move on to the next.

Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you on a per bag basis much more. Just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. Which in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their Geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your pet needs. Overall healthy foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are safer.

What are some good foods I recommend? I feed my cats Drs. Foster and Smith Holistic Adult Lite Dry cat food along with a mix of Wellness Dry. I also feed Merrick Canned.

I purchase Drs. Foster and Smith online and have it automatically delivered to my door so I never run out and never have to go get it. It’s one of the best foods on the market and has no “fillers” in it. It is also very reasonably priced compared to other holistic foods. And when you’re feeding as many cats as I am, price is as important as ingredients. If you can’t afford it, you can’t feed it. So buy the highest quality you can and feel good that you are doing the absolute best you can for your pet.

If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed stores. Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Brand is a great holistic food I feed. As is Eagle Pack Dry Cat food. Merrick canned is also a great source of nutrition and they will be coming out with a dry line this summer.

I highly recommend people take the time to research for themselves, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new food for your cats!

********IMPORTANT******* Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.

Side note… Please don’t feed Iams / Eukanuba. It’s ALL fillers, byproducts, animal digest and CRAP. Read the ingredients! There is nothing good for your cat in that food. Not to mention they conduct the most appalling animal testing you have ever seen. to see the terror they create.

Foods I recommend based on personal experience -

Dry - Drs. FS Food Link -

Dry - Wellness Food Link -

Dry - Eagle Pack Holistic Select -

Merrick Foods:

You can find more great foods, and do more research at

By sunshine on Apr 16, 2009 | Reply

Cheak your can food and dry food lables.Will tell whats added in this for your dog to eat. since this all took place they are going be more careful what they put out to sale now.

By Katwil on Apr 16, 2009 | Reply

NutroMax. Iams should be put out of business. I’ve seen the PETA videos of the abuse, it is sickening.

By j. on Apr 17, 2009 | Reply

natural choice - no by products

By Boxer_gal25 on Apr 19, 2009 | Reply

I had been concerned with the nutrition level of dry dog food prior to the recall and after much research I have begun feeding my dog a raw diet. I feed a 2:1 ratio of raw meat to veggies and add crushed egg shell (correct ratio of clacium to phosphorus) and a mix of equal parts ground flax seed, sunflower seed and pumpkin seed (provides essential fatty acids). They will also need a supplement to provide the essential amino acids that their body doesn’t produce:
Arginine
Histidine
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
methionine
phenylanine
threonine
tryptophan
valine

They can only metabolize one type of protein at a time so NEVER mix your meats. I also give at least 3 types of veggie per meal (blended for easy digestion) and rotate them since different veggies have different nutritional components. Do not feed Pork, squirrel, onions, chives, eggplant, rhubarb or peppers. Some examples of meat I feed are: chicken, lamb, beef, turkey, moose, venison, bison and eggs can be substituted for the meat occasionally. Veggie options include: asparagus, beets (in small amounts), brocoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, corn, dandelion leaves, kale, kohlrabi, okra, parsnips, peas, pumpkin, rutebega, sprouts, squash, sweet potatos, turnips and zucchini.

I would definately still advise that you do some research on your own as well as consulting your vet. If this sounds like too much work for you, I would suggest Wellness brand dry or canned food. They use human grade meats and veggies. I also like that they don’t ude byproducts.

By Deb on Apr 22, 2009 | Reply

I would never feed any of my animal any food that I would be able to find in a grocery store like Purina or the such. The food is cheap. Secondly I have found that a lot of the really good foods cannot be found in the well know pet stores like pets mart (think the majority of the foods that have been recalled can be found in these to places. Obviously these foods are not very good. Especially since they are linked so closely together think of what other foods they probably share also.) Otherwise I would either go with a raw diet type of food. You can either buy food that is already made up or else you can actually cook for yourself. (I use kibble and then add other food to my dogs food along with feeding them the raw diet that is already made up.) If you do go with making your own food it sometimes helps if you steam the veggies before you feed it to your animal because it is easier to digest. Also something to keep in mind is that apricots, beer, cherries, garlic, grapes, mustard leaf, mustard seed, onion, persimmons, plum, raisins, macadamia nuts and scallions are toxic to animals. Otherwise I personally feed Solid Gold to my dogs. I have five dogs and four of them are either allergic or sensitive to chicken while the other one is allergic to rice, lamb, duck, yeast and corn. This is the only food we have been able to find that doesn’t have any of those things in it. I used to feed my dog that has the five allergies Innova Evo but that gave him really bad gas. I thought maybe it was just him but everyone that has fed there dog this food reported the same thing. Since feeding him the Solid Gold his allergies have gone down (he is actually allergic to twenty-two known items) and his coat has gotten better. Personally I would look at the foods that are more natural with less fillers. You just need to watch though because some foods claim to be natural and are not I would try a smaller store that only carry certain foods (probably many you have never heard of) because it seems like those are the ones that are the best foods. The well known foods seemed to be linked together which I didn’t know was as bad until the recent recall. None of the foods I listed were involved in the recall either.

By naturalcommander on Apr 23, 2009 | Reply

Friskies is best and makes food for dogs and cats. My animals are very picky and this is the only food they will eat.

By Katrina81 on Apr 26, 2009 | Reply

Yeah, protest iams and all other foods by the same company.

Friskies, Meow Mix and Deli Selections are basically like junk food for cats.

You want to look at the ingredients label and make sure the first ingredient isn’t corn or another grain. A lot of cats have trouble processing grains and some are even allergic. I generally alternate a little store bought food with some pieces of chicken ****** or lean ground beef for my cats.

What you feed is basically going to be based on your budget. The below link has the best dry and wet cat foods, and then the best less expensive cat food.

for more information on both dogs and cats,