Science Diet Kitten Food Yuck!

[35 year catdad]

I was shopping for kitten food and wondered what was in the food that vets sell. Oh my gawd!
sawdust, (powdered cellulose) paint color (titanium dioxide) look on your white paint can for that. Soy (to wreck the thyroid) glutens from wheat and starch from corn. (to fatten and cause diabetes, tooth decay, on and on)
If I was a vet I would never sell this food.

I was joking with my cousin, (her son is a vet) that they sell bad food to make sick kitties then rake in the money from the sickness bad food causes.
Sure hope I'm wrong.
in one of the kitten wet foods...
I see liver as first ingredient in lots of cat food but whos liver? dont we deserve to know?
pork? cow? chicken?
"Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Water, Liver, Pork By-Products, Egg Product, Chicken, Soybean Meal, Chicken Fat, Corn Starch, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Beet Pulp, Pork Protein Isolate, Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Fish Meal, Fish Oil, L-Lysine, Brewers Dried Yeast, Guar Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Carrageenan, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Tryptophan, Magnesium Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Ascorbic Acid (Source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Beta-Carotene, Niacin Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite."

 

[Neo_23]

Yep, you're right. Foods sold at the vets office is usually just crap. And most veterinarians don't have any nutritional expertise unless they took the initiative to further their education after vet school. Most of these vets would be integrative or holistic vets.

Actually, most of the courses that vets take in school for nutrition are taught by people from Hills or Royal Canin. These companies basically just present studies that they ran that showed that their foods were successful and then vets just cite these studies in practice. Or, these companies actually sponsor some vet practices and so the vets will only recommend their foods.

 

[Kieka]

Don't forget that the studies maybe on formulas 5+ years old that the company doesn't even make anymore.

The commercial pet food industry in general is corrupt and morally bankrupt, in my personal opinion. Which isn't to say you don't find good foods out there or that good companies don't exist. I know it is more like 75% of the industry. But many market biologically inappropriate diets and add unneeded fillers with potentially harmful side effects (carrageenan, cranberries, grains in general, etc).

The sad truth is that until recently cats were thought of as smaller versions of dogs. When really their dietary needs and how their bodies process food is drastically different.

 

[Neo_23]

Don't forget that the studies maybe on formulas 5+ years old that the company doesn't even make anymore.

Good point. And most likely these companies are unethical in designing/reporting of their studies - likely never designing or reporting ones that wouldn't show results in support of their products.

 

[Lalka]

At my last visit to the vet with Bee, i asked what should be her ideal weight and also talked about her chicken allergy. She recommended a Science Diet with Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver (first ingredient was brewers rice...) and she gave me the name of a nutritionist that visit the clinic once a week to answer my question about weight. I was surprised that she couldnt answer that herself.

 

[Kieka]

At lot of vets simply aren't taught nutrition in vet schools. It is a very common problem especially when you are talking to a non cat specialist vet. Even when that are taught nutrition, it is common for commercial good companies to be the presenter which leads to skewed information.

 

[Lalka]

I just dont get why vets are not interested about learning more about nutrition (after school) and dont go get the information themselves outside seminars (they could Google it ;p). Bad nutrition can cause diseases and with a little research they could work on prevention. So there is maybe a bit of truth about what "35 year catdad" said...selling us bad food is more money for them later.
Sorry for venting :x

 

[jade14]

I will admit I did feed Science Diet canned kitten food to my cat for his entire kitten hood and he did just fine on it. I feed him a higher quality food now. I do think their prescription diets can be helpful depending on what it is for, but I wish they would try and use higher quality ingredients. I have been to Hill's conferences and they are VERY good at making people believe their food is truly the best.

 

[Summercats]

I agree with Jade the pet food companies are very good at marketing. Better if they spent less on marketing and more on better ingredients and less fillers.