Rejecting Hills pet foods politely

zoes

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Yeah.....my vet once told me, "Ingredients don't matter, it's just the nutrients." when I asked her to explain how something that is mostly corn, rice, and wheat is good for Cats. I raised an eyebrow and said, "How healthy do you think you would be if you ate nothing but white bread with nutritional suppliments?" She did not have a response, and doesn't try to push that garbage on me anymore.
Yep exactly! They must have all gone to the same seminar.

Then she asked me if I even knew what was an apple as if a) the apple were the epitome of a healthy diet and b) its mysteries were inscrutable.
 

Purr-fect

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I’m just going to to tell her I don’t feel comfortable feeding it. If I have to I will say “well... I read this book by Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins and this article by Dr Lisa Pierson and both these sources say this food will ruin my cats health and I experienced it with my previous cat.” I will bring the book with me if I hav4e to and I will tell her I’m just afraid to feed this food. That’s polite. That’s not argumentative. And she certainly can’t dispute my feelings. I’ll go with that.
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I suggest before you do that, find another vet who is willing to take you, just in case things go badly with your current vet. I read that some vets wont take new patients due to covid.

My experience with hills science c/d is that it also is not a high quailty food. I learnt this when a previous cat developed diabetes and I started researching cat foods.
 

zoes

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I suggest before you do that, find another vet who is willing to take you, just in case things go badly with your current vet. I read that some vets wont take new patients due to covid.
Yeah, and honestly I probably wouldn't bring or mention the sources. I could see a vet rolling their eyes at that as though it's some kind of hippy boutique nonsense, and/or give her something to argue. I prefer just deferring, and asking the vet back up their claim / provide additional information. That's part of their job, and they likely will not be able to do it with independent sources and based on their own knowledge which is generally limited to what they learned at the pet food company seminar (unless they have done their own independent research.) When I asked my vet what was the active ingredient in the Royal Canin urinary/satiety food, she told me didn't know and it took the wind out of her sails a bit. When I asked for alternative suggestions, she had to give them to me, even though she downplayed their efficacy.

Another approach would be to say that you want to feed an "ingredient-first pet food"rather than a "nutrient-first pet food" (the latter being when they process corn and other grains for protein, rather than providing appropriately-sourced protein for a cat) and then ask the vet how to achieve the health goals you want while sticking to an ingredient-first diet, i.e.:

"What is the medical ingredient in X food? Can I get it as a supplement to mix into my cat's current diet?"
"I'm really satisfied with the diet she's on now, what are some alternative treatments, or do you have any recommendations for a similar diet that achieves these goals?"
"I've read really good things about using raw meat and bones to keep a cat's teeth cleaner, maybe supplementing with tooth brushing, will that work?"

She will likely mention why it won't work as well or the overblown risks of raw. Ask her why. Play dumb.
"Hmm, that's concerning. Is that something you see a lot of here, cats ill from eating raw meat and bones? My understanding was that the risks are really low as long as you take an informed approach. Do you have any advice for how to safely feed raw?"
"Really, what I read seemed so credible and logical. Do you know of any studies that compare the efficacy of X Y and Z?"
"I am hearing everything you're saying, but I'm just so uncomfortable with the idea of feeding my cat corn and can't bring myself to do it, I'd really like to find another solution."

Sorry for the word salad here - I think about this stuff a lot in preparation for my next in-person vet visit. I figure if I keep a smile on my face and stay open to their advice, they'll eventually give up or we'll reach a diet plan that they can't disagree with.
 

daftcat75

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You don't have to switch vets if you like this vet otherwise. Just say, "no thank you. What I've read about this food concerns me. If you're interested, I can share those articles with you." Be prepared to email or print out the articles for her. Also be prepared to hear that she's not interested or doesn't have time. That's okay too. As long you can leave the conversation with mutual respect still intact, there's no need to agree on this matter. At the end of the day, they are your cats under your charge. You can feed them whatever you want.
 
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