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THANKS! I knew there were other "ingredient" names, Animal Digest is just the one that always sticks in my mind. *arf*
"Bone Meal" sounds like it should be a wonderful ingredient, doesn't it? Sneaky pet food industry...
It DOES sound like it should be a good thing .
I'm happy to say neither of those terms is listed in the ingredients for Wellness, but it upsets me that this sort of thing goes on at all, whether it affects my cats or not. And how do we REALLY know what else is going into the cans we buy if these manufacturers are allowed to leave out certain ingredients from the list, (I can't remember which thread I read that on, or who posted about it)...there is no way to know for sure unless we could physically go there, be invisible, and watch the whole process from start to finish .
It still does go on. My husband was at one of those places before... only on the outside... before he wouldn't tell me what went on there.... only that there were maggots everywhere, outside, one inch deep! He now told me that they just dumped dead decaying stinking animal carcasses (all kinds) everywhere before they take it inside to grind it up. They were all covered with bugs, maggots and flies. Rotting.....there were dead dogs and other "pets". This was last year in PA. If people saw this, I doubt they would want to feed the final product to their pets.
And by the way... I did volunteer at an SPCA in Maryland and that is exactly what happened, the rendering company, Valley Proteins, came by several times a week to clear out the freezers filled with dead animals. They would dump them into their truck and take them away.
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
And by the way... I did volunteer at an SPCA in Maryland and that is exactly what happened, the rendering company, Valley Proteins, came by several times a week to clear out the freezers filled with dead animals. They would dump them into their truck and take them away.
I volunteered at the MD SPCA too and never saw such a thing. The SPCA on Falls Rd right? I had no idea!
But the premium pet foods don't have ingredients like "animal digest" and "bone meal" so am I correct in thinking they are ok? They must buy their meat from a completely different rendering plant?
I volunteered at the MD SPCA too and never saw such a thing. The SPCA on Falls Rd right? I had no idea!
But the premium pet foods don't have ingredients like "animal digest" and "bone meal" so am I correct in thinking they are ok? They must buy their meat from a completely different rendering plant?
No this was the Annapolis one....the employees told me that this is what happens with the dead animals. I did see the truck pull up, but never watched. I couldn't even stand thinking about it.
I wish I knew about the "Premium" foods. I would think that they do not contain the remains of dogs, cats etc. but I also suspect that they only contain the parts that humans would find undesirable and possibly unsafe for human consumption? Very scary. If we are feeding our pets garbage, no wonder they get so many illnesses. My mother never fed canned dog food, always fresh, which she cooked, but at least it was meat she would she bought at a butcher shop. Her dog lived to 17 - no health problems and never needed his teeth cleaned either. When I first started having my own animals, dry was what vets pushed then... Science Diet etc. Our first dog got that type of food and died at age 11 of kidney failure . Been feeding Wellness canned to my kitties... but leaning towards raw now, if only I could get over my aversion of handling meat!!!!
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
I believe it was Lola who asked me if this video convinced me to go completely raw. And the answer is YES and a million times over YES. I don't care if the cat food I had been buying was "supposedly" quality, I do not trust the pet food industry as far as I can throw them. The remaining cans I have are destined for the compost pile in my back yard.
Yes, it is more work on my end to make more raw. But at least I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt what exactly my cats are eating. I also disagree with some raw food diets recipes, especially the one which says to put lite salt in as a source of iodine. I have one cat who has heart problems and NO EXTRA salt is going into my raw food. None! There is enough sodium within the blood of the meat I grind. I use instead equal measures of kelp and dulce.
Within only three days of putting my foot down and insisting all my cats eat raw, I am seeing a difference already. Already mind you! Between the supplements I add to the raw, and the L-Lysine which I am giving to them every other day for stress.........aftermath of Molly's critical illness.......they are calmer, they are more content, they are more at ease with one another, and I thought that all their coats looked wonderful when I had been feeding canned. They GLOW now, so shiny I am stunned! And this after only 3 days?
Not only does this mean I make more raw food, but there are 3, sometimes 4 cats I must feed by hand twice daily because they still prefer the texture of the canned. I am willing to do this for however long it takes, until they catch on (and they are not stupid by a long shot!) that Mom is not bending on this, and give in by going back to the cans. After what I saw? I don't think so.
A very grateful thank you to HOF for opening my eyes and pushing me to do something I have been wanting to do for a long time. Every blessing to you!!!!
I may be the only person interested in this BUT, I thought I'd post it just in case. I googled Renafood, which is a supplement mentioned in the original article and found this:
The part I found interesting was not the article itself but the comment from Tom Cameron, a vet, below the article. I gathered that he now works for the company that makes renafood so his commet is obviously biased. But I thought he still had good things to say reguarding nutrition and health.
Oh this is turning into a "circus" with my cats at feeding times. Some of my cats who have been eating the raw food all along, upon watching me feeding those who are in transition between canned and raw, now want me to feed them too! Hysterical! What these guys won't do to get a little more attention from me! LOL Not only do I have Tigger who I must give a "placebo" to (an oral syringe with only water in it) when I dose some of my cats with homeopathy, but now, I have those who normally eat the raw food who wish me to feed them.
I also have noted that my cats are already eating less. The canned, no matter the quality, just wasn't satisfying them. I know that now. I didn't a few days ago. Most of my cats now eat 2 "mousies", what I call the raw food, a portion being about one good sized mouse. Tigger, for example, again, he was going through about one and a half 5.5 oz cans per day, PLUS the fish snackies I feed my cats at night, approximately one teaspoon each. I know without a doubt that my raw food is getting nutrients in all my cats that they absolutely require, some who were not getting them before.
I am stunned right now at the difference in the quantity of food being eaten. Even those cats who used to eat canned who ate the raw on a regular basis, they are eating less as well. How cool!
And my bonus!!! Since Cookie finally decided to eat my raw food, eating only canned food and being very finicky at that, she is deciding to stay in when she has the opportunity on a nice day to go outside. She is discovering that a plush, pampered life in the indoors, doesn't even compare to outside. You have no idea how relieved I am. I was starting to have nightmares over letting her out for long periods of time, like she used to. Now, when she does go out, it is to sit on the back stairs, or go out in the backyard for a few minutes only and then right back in she wants.
Been feeding Wellness canned to my kitties... but leaning towards raw now, if only I could get over my aversion of handling meat!!!!
You can buy cheap packages of plastic gloves to handle it. Then just peel them off inside out and toss in the trash. Getting a balanced diet into them when feeding raw is my biggest concern. Feeding them whole mice, rats and small birds isn't practical. Adding supplements as the zoos do may be the answer.
I may be the only person interested in this BUT, I thought I'd post it just in case. I googled Renafood, which is a supplement mentioned in the original article and found this:
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I volunteered at the MD SPCA too and never saw such a thing. The SPCA on Falls Rd right? I had no idea! 
Getting a balanced diet into them when feeding raw is my biggest concern. Feeding them whole mice, rats and small birds isn't practical. Adding supplements as the zoos do may be the answer.
