Vet Community Against Wet Food

[duckpond]

I think it all depends on each vet. Some graduated a long time ago, some try to keep up with new research on foods, and everything else, some settle in for what they have always known. I think it comes down to talk to your vet, if you and the vet agree on things, or agree to disagree and you like everything else about them, that's great. If you dont, then try to find a new vet. Sometimes hard to do in small towns, yes.

I feel luck with my vets. They have cats of their own, and are always open to talk about foods, or anything else. They try to keep up, for their practice, and also for their own cats.

They like a combination feeding of mostly wet, supplemented as needed with dry. They do not feed raw but are not against it as long as you pay close attention to what you are doing, works great for those who are careful, but not for everyone. They have never tried to push any brand on me. They do sell science diet, and when i talked to them about it, vs my other foods i feed, they were open talking about it. They feel they know what the prescription diets will do in specific circumstances, so sometimes they do recommend it, be it short term until the cat is over the issue, or longer term if needed.

 

[Azazel]

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.

Completely agree that it’s not the patient’s job to educate the vet on nutrition. I just wish that vets who don’t have proper nutrition training would not act like they do. I received many lectures from vets about what I feed my cats as if they are experts. This irritates me.

 

[orange&white]

That would be irritating. If my vets tried lecturing me on cat food, when my cats and dog are very healthy on the diet I feed them, I would walk away and find another vet.

 

[Azazel]

That would be irritating. If my vets tried lecturing me on cat food, when my cats and dog are very healthy on the diet I feed them, I would walk away and find another vet.

Yep, that’s exactly what I did. And when I was looking for my current vet I screened receptionists on the phone by asking them what kinds of diets the vets are familiar with. Found my current vet when the receptionist told me that she could consult on raw and homemade diets. My cats and I feel very lucky to have her (and I stress out thinking she might retire one day).

 

[2BSH]

Also human doctors do not know much about proper nutrition either. I think there should be more of a focus in the medical community ( human or animal) on nutrition. It's so important for health in humans and animals alike

 

[Daisy6]

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.

The problem with this logic is Hill's also makes wet food for cats.

 

[orange&white]

It just seems like animal and human doctors are more in the cure business than in the prevention business. Adding more illness prevention classes to the curriculum sure would be an improvement.

 

[Azazel]

This is why I prefer doctors that take a holistic approach in medicine. And by holistic I don’t mean naturopaths. I mean doctors that take a holistic healthcare approach where it’s acknowledged that all aspects of life are connected and that the patient is an expert in aspects of their own health too because they live their own life.

 

[Kieka]

My vet is firmly for a wet diet. I think it varies depending on the vet and how informed they are about cats. You'll probably find that cat specialists are for wet while the more general practioners are against. It's one of the problems with cross species care and the history of cats being treated as small dogs.

 

[Daisy6]

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.

Some wet foods are also too high in carbohydrates. The idea probably comes from (wild guess here) the fact that prey animals are herbivores and need carbohydrates in their own diets. A study in Wisconsin proved this happens with birds that eat grain crops end up being killed by visiting feral cats.

The last time I shopped at Petco, I brought a list of preferred brands and asked one of the employees which one she recommends. She liked one on my list: Solid Gold. (Petco does not carry Nulo.) Her only other recommendation was Nutro. Told Daisy did not like Nature's Variety Instinct, she implied cats don't like it because it is high in protein. Huh? That makes no sense.

 

[Azazel]

My vet is firmly for a wet diet. I think it varies depending on the vet and how informed they are about cats. You'll probably find that cat specialists are for wet while the more general practioners are against. It's one of the problems with cross species care and the history of cats being treated as small dogs.

I know some vets who have personally told me that they don’t like cats and that a lot of vets they know don’t like them. They probably don’t even care enough to learn more about cats beyond what they were forced to learn in vet school. I had an experience once with a vet who clearly didn’t like cats. She was so scared of touching my poor sick boy and my boy also knew it. He hissed at her nonstop. She had to go to the back room and ask one of her technicians to administer medication and I could see her googling my cat’s symptoms. She had no idea what she was doing.

 

[Kieka]

I know some vets who have personally told me that they don’t like cats and that a lot of vets they know don’t like them. They probably don’t even care enough to learn more about cats beyond what they were forced to learn in vet school. I had an experience once with a vet who clearly didn’t like cats. She was so scared of touching my poor sick boy and my boy also knew it. He hissed at her nonstop. She had to go to the back room and ask one of her technicians to administer medication and I could see her googling my cat’s symptoms. She had no idea what she was doing.

This is why I only do cat friendly or cat specialist. I had an eye opening experience when a receptionist told me I was their only cat client of the day in a practice with over 6 vets working per day. Made me ask my vet that day how comfortable he was with cats and he told me they were like small dogs so fairly comfortable since he sees a lot of dogs. Yeah, last time I saw a vet without confirming they at least like cats and we're comfortable with them. Unless we are talking emergencies, then any vet is better than not vet.... Usually. My current vet only sees cats and the whole practice is cat only. My vet is a specialist in cat spinal injuries, goes to cat specific conferences at least twice a year and stays current with cat health research.

 

[Azazel]

This is why I only do cat friendly or cat specialist. I had an eye opening experience when a receptionist told me I was their only cat client of the day in a practice with over 6 vets working per day. Made me ask my vet that day how comfortable he was with cats and he told me they were like small dogs so fairly comfortable since he sees a lot of dogs. Yeah, last time I saw a vet without confirming they at least like cats and we're comfortable with them. Unless we are talking emergencies, then any vet is better than not vet.... Usually. My current vet only sees cats and the whole practice is cat only. My vet is a specialist in cat spinal injuries, goes to cat specific conferences at least twice a year and stays current with cat health research.

I have to say that the mentality that cats are like small dogs really bothers me.

My vet isn’t a cat specialist but you can tell that she loves and is fascinated by all animals. She has several cats and dogs of her own and she will take her time just observing my cats’ behaviors in the examining room. Sometimes she also takes pictures and videos of them. She’s an integrative vet so she’s really interested in understanding animals holistically.

 

[Kieka]

I have to say that the mentality that cats are like small dogs really bothers me.

My vet isn’t a cat specialist but you can tell that she loves and is fascinated by all animals. She has several cats and dogs of her own and she will take her time just observing my cats’ behaviors in the examining room. Sometimes she also takes pictures and videos of them. She’s an integrative vet so she’s really interested in understanding animals holistically.

Even if she isn't certified as cat friendly, it sounds like your vet is cat friendly. It's good to find a vet who actually cares about the animals and it isn't just a job for them.

 

[Daisy6]

That would be irritating. If my vets tried lecturing me on cat food, when my cats and dog are very healthy on the diet I feed them, I would walk away and find another vet.

My vet took the "If it's not broke, don't fix it," line. Because Daisy has no problems he thinks there is no reason to change her diet. I understand that but he also said it does not have to be grain-free "because cats can digest grains." This comes from a vet who sells Purina and Hill's but does not push me to buy a low quality brand.

 

[Daisy6]

I know some vets who have personally told me that they don’t like cats and that a lot of vets they know don’t like them. They probably don’t even care enough to learn more about cats beyond what they were forced to learn in vet school. I had an experience once with a vet who clearly didn’t like cats. She was so scared of touching my poor sick boy and my boy also knew it. He hissed at her nonstop. She had to go to the back room and ask one of her technicians to administer medication and I could see her googling my cat’s symptoms. She had no idea what she was doing.

She should have her veterinary license revoked.

 

[Azazel]

She should have her veterinary license revoked.

I didn’t even tell you that the medication she gave him was a shot of convenia... which she only gave because she deemed him too aggressive to take daily oral antibiotics, but I had given him antibiotics easily multiple times before (he was actually very cooperative at home). She never told me the reason why she gave him convenia until after... he died a month later.

This was back when I was naive enough to trust all vets and dumb enough to not question them.

 

[Daisy6]

I would sue her for negligence.

What happened to my "veterinarians and your cats" thread in the health section?

 

[laura mae]

Any vet who would argue that wet food is filled with empty calories and fillers hasn't bothered to read an ingredient list on a can of wet food---or they have read the ingredient list on a can of science diet that they sell...

My vets offer prescription food but they advocate very strongly for wet food for cats.

 

[Daisy6]

I don't blame them for not reading the can labels. All pet food manufacturers use an unreadable font size. But everyone with Internet access can read the ingredient list.