Vet Community Against Wet Food

[weebeasties]

Bit of a rant. Within the last month or so I have been with various cats for various reasons to two different vet offices. At each visit I have been lectured about wet food being "junk food". Once by a vet tech, twice by veterinarians. It is really getting on my nerves.
I usually just give a non committal "hmmm" when I hear things from them like "Cats don't need wet food", "Wet food just makes them fat," or the most annoying "wet food is nothing but fillers and empty calories". What the heck do they think is in dry food?!
I guess it is because I have heard it so much lately, I am starting to get really angry. Why are they pushing dry food so hard? I actually had a bit of an argument with a vet because I want to feed my diabetic cat mostly wet.
I do try to keep my mouth shut about it. I don't want to be labeled as a "problem parent", but they act like I am doing a terrible thing by feeding wet.
Is there a well known, peer reviewed study that I can refer them to? I just don't want to continually be lectured about feeding more dry when I personally don't agree with it. It would be great if I could give them a little homework on the subject and maybe they would reconsider their stance on wet vs. dry.

 

[Furballsmom]

you could look at Dr. Lisa Piersons website catinfo.org, she's a veterinarian, I'm not sure about studies.

 

[KarenKat]

Littlebigcat.com is another great resource, Dr. Hofve has a doctorate and Jackson Galaxy is also involved. She’s big on feline nutrition. Not sure if there are studies on there.

 

[foxxycat]

Totally understand the frustration. Those vets probably push to sell their science diet empty nutrition crap that my tractor supply food has better ingredients than that stuff.

 

[weebeasties]

Totally understand the frustration. Those vets probably push to sell their science diet empty nutrition crap that my tractor supply food has better ingredients than that stuff.

Exactly. The prescription wet Science Diet they sell is fine with them. They just are opposed to commercially available wet food.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Exactly. The prescription wet Science Diet they sell is fine with them. They just are opposed to commercially available wet food.

weebeasties - Personal opinion: I'd begin interviewing new veterinarians with great haste, making certain beforehand that they did not believe that they were ion the retail cat food business. When I found one that I liked and with whom I felt comfortable, I'd have my cats' records transferred to the new veterinarian's office.
.

 

[MRG2018]

Bit of a rant. Within the last month or so I have been with various cats for various reasons to two different vet offices. At each visit I have been lectured about wet food being "junk food". Once by a vet tech, twice by veterinarians. It is really getting on my nerves.
I usually just give a non committal "hmmm" when I hear things from them like "Cats don't need wet food", "Wet food just makes them fat," or the most annoying "wet food is nothing but fillers and empty calories". What the heck do they think is in dry food?!
I guess it is because I have heard it so much lately, I am starting to get really angry. Why are they pushing dry food so hard? I actually had a bit of an argument with a vet because I want to feed my diabetic cat mostly wet.
I do try to keep my mouth shut about it. I don't want to be labeled as a "problem parent", but they act like I am doing a terrible thing by feeding wet.
Is there a well known, peer reviewed study that I can refer them to? I just don't want to continually be lectured about feeding more dry when I personally don't agree with it. It would be great if I could give them a little homework on the subject and maybe they would reconsider their stance on wet vs. dry.

They probably wont read your homework.

So its two vets against wet food, not the vet community.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I agree with foxxycat ...
Everything I read says "the worst quality wet food is better than the best quality dry food " . Wet food is mostly water ; poultry/meat byproduct ; flavoring and vitamin/ mineral supplements. Most dry food is partly dehydrated meat/poultry ; corn and soy . Cats need the water for their little kidneys .
P.S. I am not a fan of veterinarians. I have had more negative experience than positive . Be careful who you trust !

 

[Royalty]

you could look at Dr. Lisa Piersons website catinfo.org, she's a veterinarian, I'm not sure about studies.

I found everything she had written very interesting but sadly my two cats just don't take to raw food. Sadly as that is the way I really wanted to feed them.so they are on high quality wet food they are doing very well on the rotations that I use. So as long as they are happy and contented we are happy

 

[Royalty]

weebeasties - Personal opinion: I'd begin interviewing new veterinarians with great haste, making certain beforehand that they did not believe that they were ion the retail cat food business. When I found one that I liked and with whom I felt comfortable, I'd have my cats' records transferred to the new veterinarian's office.
.

Good idea

 

[Royalty]

Littlebigcat.com is another great resource, Dr. Hofve has a doctorate and Jackson Galaxy is also involved. She’s big on feline nutrition. Not sure if there are studies on there.

Thanks for posting that info I will read

 

[weebeasties]

They probably wont read your homework.

So its two vets against wet food, not the vet community.

Sorry, perhaps I should have worded it better. "The vets in my small rural community are against wet food" may have been more accurate (though cumbersome).
It may be that I'm the only person that has experienced this. I hope that is the case.

 

[weebeasties]

weebeasties - Personal opinion: I'd begin interviewing new veterinarians with great haste, making certain beforehand that they did not believe that they were ion the retail cat food business. When I found one that I liked and with whom I felt comfortable, I'd have my cats' records transferred to the new veterinarian's office.
.

One of the vets was a new one that I was trying out. They were really pushing me to purchase only royal canin dry (that they conveniently sell) for our new kitten. Feed him only that. I have not been back.
As for the other vet, I have used him for over 10 years. He is very good about most things, just not this issue. At least he isn't necessarily trying to sell me his food. He just thinks dry food is better.
There is a cat only vet that has opened up shop that I have been considering. It would be great to not have our cats stressed out by barking dogs in the waiting room. I may try her out when the next wellness exam rolls around.

 

[2BSH]

I always wondered why that is. Common sense tells me wet food is better. Just look at what they would eat in the wild. Why would it make sense to feed an obligate carnivore corn,wheat and carbohydrates that are highly processed? Not to mention the whole moisture content problem. It’s the equivalent of a human living off of cereal fortified with vitamins. My vet is not anti wet food. He is just pro dry food too. Next time I go I’ll bring up the notion of the high carb content and see what he says.
At my local petco there is a “ nutrition “ rep that is forever pushing dry food. When I talked to her for the first time she was horrified at the notion that I feed my cats all wet food. When she said that wet food is very low in protein ( I don’t think she grasped the idea of wet vs dry matter) I was done listening to her.

 

[Azazel]

Veterinarians are the only medical profession that recommend processed food over fresh food.

 

[orange&white]

It's frustrating how little most vets know about feline nutrition. That's not what they go to school for though. They treat sick animals and do wellness checks on healthy animals. That's what they're good at.

People who unwittingly ask what they should feed their cat will get the sales pitch on the foods/brands sold at the vet's clinic. It is good for their revenue. I would fire a veterinary practice which felt more like a cat food sales pitch than a medical treatment and evaluation clinic.

I wouldn't bother trying to hand a vet nutrition research to read. They're busy with back-to-back appointments and phone calls to pet owners to discuss the exam/treatment.

My vet clinic is really great (father and son practice). They are opposed to raw feeding. I feed raw. We don't talk about nutrition.

 

[Azazel]

It's frustrating how little most vets know about feline nutrition. That's not what they go to school for though. They treat sick animals and do wellness checks on healthy animals. That's what they're good at.

People who unwittingly ask what they should feed their cat will get the sales pitch on the foods/brands sold at the vet's clinic. It is good for their revenue. I would fire a veterinary practice which felt more like a cat food sales pitch than a medical treatment and evaluation clinic.

I wouldn't bother trying to hand a vet nutrition research to read. They're busy with back-to-back appointments and phone calls to pet owners to discuss the exam/treatment.

My vet clinic is really great (father and son practice). They are opposed to raw feeding. I feed raw. We don't talk about nutrition.

I partly agree with what you’re saying, but I would still expect a vet to have some general knowledge of nutrition since it’s so important for cat health. I wouldn’t want to compartmentalize my cat’s nutrition and other health issues; these things are all related. If I had a vet that didn’t understand nutrition though I would probably never bring it up with them just like you don’t. But, what happens when your cat has a urinary problem and all of a sudden you’re being handed prescription dry food? I think it’s quite important for vets to understand nutrition.

 

[tinydestroyer]

My vet (luckily,) seems to be of the opinion that food should be nutritionally and calorically balanced as any cat owner can afford, and filled with foods your cat will actually eat. I go to the Banfield vets, though, and have to shop around for a location which isn't pushing the Royal Canin / science diet stuff.

 

[orange&white]

I partly agree with what you’re saying, but I would still expect a vet to have some general knowledge of nutrition since it’s so important for cat health.

It would be nice if they took more than one nutrition course in college...and if they do only take one, it shouldn't be taught by someone on the Science Diet or Royal Canin payroll (like it has been for decades).

However, no matter how awful I believe Science Diet and Royal Canin brands are, they don't kill cats (immediately). The dry brands which are specific to urinary health have high levels of dl-methionine to break down urinary crystals. Even if the "facts of kibble" being hard on the cat's urinary system, the negative may not outweigh the positive effects of the dl-methionine...at least in the short run. Is that ideal? No, of course not.

I just don't see a lot of point in trying to re-educate a group of professionals who are being taught by the pet feed industry "experts". Better to educate pet owners. Then if dry kibble "urinary health" food is recommended, the customer can say "My cat won't eat dry food. Let's go with the canned urinary food instead." (Or, "No thanks. I'll look for a urinary health formula on my own.)

What's that old saying? "Buyer beware." Education is up to us.

 

[KarenKat]

Definitely depends on the vet too. We saw an internal medicine specialist for Trin’s IBD and we are trying a novel protein. Came away with some wet and dry samples of Royal Canin. When I mentioned trying a different brand that had less peas, I felt it was a total non-issue.