Will someone please tell me why Science Diet is such a bad dry food?
Vets make money selling Science Diet. Many have little or no training in cat nutrition and Hill's (Science Diet) does a tremendous job of getting them on board with free trips and incentives (read: kickbacks).Originally Posted by HosMan
WOW! I guess I don`t feel so bad about Alley not wanting anything to do with it then.Why do so many vets give this out to patients in the "new cat" kit? sheesh!
Thanks for the post!
WELL Done... RX wise I do say go with vets recommendation till you research and DISCUSS with your vet..Originally Posted by darlili
To be fair, IMO, Hills/Science Diet was, IIRC, one of the very first companies to actually do nutritional research in pet food, and is still one of the few companies that manufacture prescription pet food, geared to specific dietary treatments. I don't think a lot of companies actually do animal feeding tests or their own nutritional research, even today - a lot design their diets against protocols, which can be fine, but doesn't advance nutritional knowledge, in a scientific way.
Also, Hills does seem to have a good distribution infrastructure in the US, which can't be discounted when you're running a practice, I would think. I suspect the profit margins some people attribute to a practice's food or med sales is a bit over-inflated, though.
There are extremely few certified feline nutritionists out there - I believe I've seen an estimate of 50 in the US. It's an evolving field, and not all companies actually have the resources to do much research, as I mentioned above. And, sad to say, not a lot of support for government-sponsored research either, at least in the US.
My vets' practice seems pretty open to discussing food and have never pushed any particular food at me, although I've had discussions with them about it (my boy needed to lose weight at one point). They carry Waltham, Hills & RC in stock. That said, if my vet specifically recommended a prescription diet and gave me reasons, I'd be very loathe to discount their recommendation without discussing it with them. Even a young vet has seen many hundreds, if not thousands, of pets and obviously has a lot more training that most laymen.
I think it comes down to see what your pet thrives on, knowing and evaluating your sources for making a decision,and keeping an open line of communication with your vet in regard to any health-related decisions. I had my boy in to the ER vet for a possible UTI. He seems to be doing well, but I've already made an appointment for a follow-up with my regular vet for an exam and to discuss in detail some changes I've made in their diet, and what, if any, further changes I should make.