You are what you eat
As the saying goes "You are what you eat", and over the last few years I have been eating a lot healthier then in the past. I eat more fresh vegetables, less meat and have moderated my alcohol consumption somewhat. Combined with more physical activity this has resulted in me probably being fitter now than I was 10 years ago.In recent days we have changed the food that we feed to our cats. Last year we stopped feeding them tinned cat food and only fed them dry cat food. This was basically because our tomcat was becoming a lardass, and we found that on the dry food he started to lose a bit of weight. We feed them fresh meat as well when we were having some for our meals. Then a few weeks ago we found out from two separate sources that well known brand cat foods (both wet and dry) are loaded with sugars, which can make cats fat and give them diabetes in later life. So we have now switched to a dry brand that does not have these added sugars, but of course it is a lot more expensive.
The food industry over the years has been adding increasing levels of sugars to the food we consume, so doing to little kitty should come as no surprise. I try not to eat processed foods myself, so it’s only reasonable that we treat our cats the same, plus as an added benefit, without the sugar kick perhaps our tomcat won’t be quite so mental and will stop taking chunks out of our girl cat (shown above).
Technorati Tags: Cats, Health, Marburg
posted by Haddock at 6:49 PM
15 Comments:
I'm a cat lover and think it's great that you're treating them like you treat yourselves.
Even though I don't have any pets, I think it would be a great service to the cat owners of the blogging world if you named the products you're now feeding yours.
It's so important to feed your animals decent food. Have you heard of what's happened here in the US and Canada with the pet food? Over 100 brands recalled because they were tainted with rat poison! I was so lucky that I have always read labels and insisted that a little more money spent on their foods were worth it.
try foods such as Innova, it is sold by Nutra. http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab
It is more expensive, but it is worth it as far as I am concerned.
it was not part of the recall, it is the most healthy food out there for your cat.
Pet food should be sugar free.
I can't say for pets (cause we don't have any) but moving to Germany definitely got us healthy. We used to eat a lot of convience package foods from the store. Now we just make things fresh. Much healthier!
I was going to leave a comment about the cat and dog food recalls here in Canada, but I see maribeth has already mentioned it (see comment above). Luckily my "grandkitties" only eat dry cat food. Lots of pets in USA and Canada have died and many more are suffering from kidney failure due to the canned food being contaminated with rat poison. And now there's a big enquiry to find how the poison got into the food. Sabotage? Revenge? Accident? Who knows?
You're right, the industry keeps adding cheap filler ingredients (often sugars and fats) to our food, so it only follows that it would be happening in pet food products as well. There was a time not so long ago when we didn't have to worry about stuff like this.
J - The dry food we are feeding our cats now is called Select Gold premium Health Formula made by the German firm Multi Tiernahrungs.
Maribeth - I read about the pet food recall in North America. I hope they find out how it became tainted by rat poison.
Dawn - Thanks for the link. I agree, paying more for quality is worth it in the long run.
Andrea - Fresh food, espcially organic is always best. Fast processed food seems ok at the time, but I believe it causes a lot of health problems later in life.
Ex-Shammickite - If the rat poison got into the pet food (whether accidental or not), I wonder how easy it could enter into the human food chain?
Jay - Life did seem simplier years ago! The food industry seems to be getting worse. I read the other day that several leading brands of crisps (chips) have been increasing the ammount of a chemical that increases the shelf life of the crisps. Unfortunately this chemical has been linked to cancer in some studies.
Plus, sugar makes people (and cats?) want more! Have you noticed a change in how much he eats, or not?
"Select Gold Premium Health Formula"? Couldn't they have come up with something a little more positive-sounding? Or is it just that you can't afford the Ultra Platinum Mega Vitality Grade?
On the subject of sugar, I lost my sweet tooth when I was in Germany and now fing that even Bran Flakes in the UK taste too sweet (the list of ingredients doesn't tell you how much sugar's in there, just that it is).
Definitely a great post. I pushed to do the same for my little buddy. I'm not the owner but he's eating better thanks to me..
and yes that the pet food scare here in Canada and US is scary.. So many pets are effected and getting kidney failure! So sad!!!
By the way, I started my first swim meet at age 9. I wouldn't push it either. Do it if she loves it. :)
L.L.Barkat - I haven't noticed any change in the eating habits as yet, but I will keep an eye on it :)
InActualFact - I think your title for the cat food sounds much better....rolls of the tongue a lot easier! :)
ET - Sound advice - Thanks! The trouble with the Juniorette is that she justs loves swimming and wants to race (She was watching the World Championship on TV this morning). She was only supposed to train for an hour last night but ended up doing 2 hours instead. Her trainer didn't mind though :)
I had no idea, but there is a huge pet food scare here in the States. My parents are so freaked out about what to buy these days.
My cat's a lard-ass, too, and she's eaten dry cat food all her life. We recently started feeding her a small portion in the morning and in the evening in hopes that she'd shed some weight, but I really don't see much difference. I may have to do some research on the whole added sugars thing. Why in the hell would they add sugar to cat food? I hate the food industry anymore.
Wow, you sound alot like me with my eating habits and demanding the same for my pets.
I was wondering if you have tried Sweetleaf Stevia Clear for a sugar substitute? I, being from the south, love my sweet tea. However, I don't want all the sugar and certainly don't want Splenda or aspartame in my system. I found Stevia about 6 years ago when I was changing my diet. It's from a South American plant and comes in powder or liquid form. I love it b/c there is no diety aftertaste, no carbs, no effect on your blood sugar, and actually has health benefits. The Sweetleaf Clear is the best I have found.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Perhaps I will do a little shout out to stevia!
Claire - Yep poison in the pet food is not a good thing!
Melissa - I guess they add the sugar to get the cats addicted to the stuff so they eat more?
Chana - Hey thanks for the info about Sweetleaf Stevia. Unfortunately as I have found out its not available in Europe. When and if it is available I will be switching to it for sure :)
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