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I agree that independent research on the subject is needed. The problem is, since such a study would in all probability be harmful to the pet food industry (and maybe veterinarians), there wouldn't be anyone willing to fund it. So, unfortunately, it will never be done.
You are 100% right! Who would fund such research? The ASPCA? North Shore Animal League? Bill Gates? (Just kidding )
The cost would be enormous. But do you remember when the truth came out about what the feed companies were adding to cat and dog food, including euthanized diseased pets, diseased livestock and zoo animals, ground dirty poultry feathers... little changed! They did not sue the people who exposed them. They simply claimed they no longer use euthanized pets, farm and zoo animals. Is anyone checking? We're talking about the feed companies losing thousands of tons of very cheap meat by rejecting euthanized pets alone. Yes, MEAT... that's what they considered these once loved pets. They didn't care that the drugs used to kill them was in the food made of their corpses. Lab tests proved these drugs and others were in the pet foods they produced. With canned food... do we really know what goes into those cans? Is anyone with no connection to the feed companies checking? I could find no information online.
Worse yet, no one is doing any research to see what these ingredients may be doing to the cats and dogs who eat this food day in and day out. Where dry kibble is concerned, there isn't only the issues with the meat products used, but now we're also looking at waste grains, veggies and fruit they're using as fillers. What effect are they having?
I've been researching making my own cat food from meat from the grocery but 2 issues came up... one is my fear I wont make them a balanced diet and the other is storage space. Our fridge's freezer isn't large and with 4 cats we're talking about making a lot of food at one time and freezing it. They go through about a pound of food a day. The freezer in our RV is even smaller. So storage space is another issue.
Only about 10 to 15% of their daily fare is raw meat right now. I buy whatever I can find as far as organ meats go. They're a rare find where I live. The butcher in one store told me there was little call for organ meats. We lucked out on 2 packages of kidneys last month.... when I lived in NYC I could find everything from brains to sweetbreads to lungs for my dogs. Not so here in TN.
I agree that independent research on the subject is needed. The problem is, since such a study would in all probability be harmful to the pet food industry (and maybe veterinarians), there wouldn't be anyone willing to fund it. So, unfortunately, it will never be done.
If you are interested, one veterinarian explains the hows & whys here:
Can google "pets Ring Dings"; Harvard paper comes up as the top hits. Excruciatingly thorough, if you're in the mood to really read.
Cats are carnivores, strict ones, and there is NO "research" on Earth or anywhere else to dispute that.
The PFI, however, have profits to think about. Also consider that there are not landfills huge enough to put all the waste. Where else would it go, if not for pet food?
Can google "pets Ring Dings"; Harvard paper comes up as the top hits. Excruciatingly thorough, if you're in the mood to really read.
Cats are carnivores, strict ones, and there is NO "research" on Earth or anywhere else to dispute that.
The PFI, however, have profits to think about. Also consider that there are not landfills huge enough to put all the waste. Where else would it go, if not for pet food?
The vet in question claims cats may be obligate carnivores but they can make use of carbohydrates... and he claims some researcher proved it. Of course he doesn't mention the feed company connection and this researcher in his posts. But Googling the name of the researcher he posted proved it. He removed the post pointing this out to him (with proof) on the forum. He refuses to answer any questions. Anyone can see his posts on RV in the Pet forum there. Will more veterinarians manipulate themselves into positions of power to silence everyone, one forum at a time?
The feed companies have already responded to the TRUTH about grains being exposed all over the internet by making grain-free kibble. But geeze... they just replaced the grain with equally cheap useless fillers = fruit and vegetables. Of course the vets will claim cats get vegetables when they eat whole prey but prey only contain about 12% predigested carbs. Kibble has way more than 12% carb filler.
I feed five of my kitties a mix of dry (probably 75%) and wet (25%). The other two have zero interest in wet food (they completely ignore it -- if I bring them to it, they sniff it and walk away) so they eat 100% dry.
My cats seem to drink a lot of water, especially since I now have it in the upstairs 2 bathrooms as well. I am constantly refilling their bowls (four big bowls, 2 downstairs and now 2 up).
None of these 7 kitties have ever had a UTI. Maybe I have just been lucky!
I feed five of my kitties a mix of dry (probably 75%) and wet (25%). The other two have zero interest in wet food (they completely ignore it -- if I bring them to it, they sniff it and walk away) so they eat 100% dry.
My cats seem to drink a lot of water, especially since I now have it in the upstairs 2 bathrooms as well. I am constantly refilling their bowls (four big bowls, 2 downstairs and now 2 up).
None of these 7 kitties have ever had a UTI. Maybe I have just been lucky!
If you're cats are not fat, and all are healthy, it's probably a good idea to just keep doing what you're doing. Some cats just can't be switched from what I understand. My Zebulon is thin because he only eats enough canned and raw food to maintain himself. He doesn't care for it at all. He waits for the midnight kibble snack. If I left kibble down all the time I know he would weigh more. I plan on talking to the vet about this when he goes for his rabies booster. It's been 3 years.
The vet I worked for in NY recommended people mix the kibble (of those days - mid 1970s) 50/50 with canned food. That's what I was feeding my cats back then, a 50/50 mix and my neutered male blocked. He was on medication to make his urine acid until my husband got rid of him. He was a vicious mean tempered cat. Fortunately he would gobble his food with the pill in it. It got to where my son couldn't bring his friends in the house. I don't know what happened to him after that. That was the only serious health problem any of my cats ever had.
Dr. Doug shouldn't be a moderator of ANY forum. He deletes any posts that provide informative links, proof, and/or FACTS... any info that isn't in line with his PFI induced coma. If he can't understand cats are obligate carnivores or read an ingredients label... lets just hope he isn't a practicing vet.
That he does (deletes said posts) and he's been getting away with it for years. He acts like that forum is his private website. He reminds me of a dictator on a soapbox. Some forums have trouble getting people to act as moderators, so will tolerate those less than truly suitable. Would complaints have any effect... probably not.
His excuse for removing such posts is that they are DANGEROUS to the pet and their owners. His disparaging remarks toward other online vets who are exposing the pet food industry and honestly trying to help people have healthier cats is infuriating. I noticed he removed some of his own posts.... I wonder why?!?!?!
Research costs money. You know who has the money to pay for that kind of research? The gigantic conglomerates who own the pet food companies. You think they are going to pay for something that is going to show how detrimental something is that brings them huge profits? Not a chance.
Kibble is a huge money maker. Huge. Not only does it line the pockets of the company who owns it, it keeps the vets busier than ever before. And, let's not forget the pharmaceutical companies, who are also benefiting from the epidemic of obese, diabetic, FLUTD, kidney failure cats.
There is one fact that cannot be denied. Cats are obligate carnivores. A cat was never meant to eat hard dry grain filled pebbles.
This fact alone makes so much sense, it boggles my mind that people and vets continue to ignore it.
I feed five of my kitties a mix of dry (probably 75%) and wet (25%). The other two have zero interest in wet food (they completely ignore it -- if I bring them to it, they sniff it and walk away) so they eat 100% dry.
My cats seem to drink a lot of water, especially since I now have it in the upstairs 2 bathrooms as well. I am constantly refilling their bowls (four big bowls, 2 downstairs and now 2 up).
None of these 7 kitties have ever had a UTI. Maybe I have just been lucky!
Lucky yes. Not you, but your cats could be considered "lucky". So far.
But it is not normal for cats to drink that much water. Cats do not have a high thirst drive. So what does that tell you about a dry diet.
I'm not getting on your case, just pointing it out. In my opinion any cat can be transitioned to a wet diet. It may take time and a lot of work. But even if it took all the cat's life, I would not stop trying. But I do realize not everyone has the same priorities as I do. And I don't mean that as snarky as it sounds. Everyone has her or his own way of living. For me, getting my cats on a wet diet would be the most important thing in my life, until it was accomplished. To others, it isn't as important as it would be to me.
But it is not normal for cats to drink that much water. Cats do not have a high thirst drive. So what does that tell you about a dry diet.
Feed them wet food for the water = good. Them actually drinking water out of a bowl somehow = bad?
Every time I give my 5 kitties who LIKE it wet food, I offer it to the two others. They have NEVER been interested and they are now almost 8 years old (I got them as kittens). So no, getting those two on a wet diet is not "the most important thing in [my] life."
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But Googling the name of the researcher he posted proved it. 
I noticed he removed some of his own posts.... I wonder why?!?!?! 
