Many pet owners feel comfortable feeding their pet a food that was recommended by their veterinarian. Is it safe to trust a veterinarian to recommend a particular brand of cat, or dog, food if they are selling it?

There are two things you, as a pet owner, need to remember. Firstly, veterinarians are not pet nutritionists, and secondly, all pet foods have to pass basic tests to qualify them as meeting certain standards, but all pet foods are constantly changing their formulas and ingredients.

Veterinarian Education

Veterinarians take many years of schooling prior to becoming a working professional. They do receive some education on nutrition. Talk to an older veterinarian, and they may tell you they had no classes on nutrition, or less than a few hours spent on nutrition. Ask them if they were instructed on what specific ingredients were and many were tell you they were not given any formal education on ingredients.

Ask a practicing veterinarian if they were instructed on specific pet food brands, and most were not – with the exception of a time when a representative from a specific pet food company came to talk to the class. Of course that representative would refer to their food as the best and not mention any potentially bad things associated with their food. They may even give the students promotional items to gain loyalty.

Texas A & M offers a four year veterinarian program with over 50 classes, only one of which is on nutrition. This class would cover important points in regards to nutritional requirements of various pets, such as Guinea Pigs needing Vitamin C, why rabbits eat some of their feces, how much protein a growing dog needs, and the results of deficiencies of some minerals and vitamins. Since all foods have to pass certain levels of nutritional requirements (in the United States and in many other countries) there is no reason this class would go further by getting into brands and such.

Pet Food Brands and Ingredients

All pet foods change their ingredients from time to time. Those that use “meatmeal” can even have a different meat source in every bag (beef one time, horse the next). Meatmeal is unspecified meat, it could be any animal that happened to be rendered that day.

Other brands often change their formulas, particular if bought out by a larger company, as happened when Proctor and Gamble bought Iams in 1999 and changed the formula (essentially dumbing it down with cheap filler). A lot of people are now concerned about their 2010 purchase of Natura pet products.

Iams is a better food than many pet foods on the market today, but certainly not one of the best, Proctor and Gamble also make Eukanuba which is even better than Iams, but still not a top food.

A Look at How Veterinarians are Used to Sell Pet Foods

Some pet food companies, such as Hills Science Diet (owned by Colgate Palmolive) know that many pet owners turn to their veterinarian for all their pet care needs. By created loyalty they often have veterinarians willing to promote, and sell, their pet foods. In most cases these veterinarians do not even know that better options exist.

Take a look at the ingredients on a bag of Hills Prescription CD for Cats, a diet for helping cats with urinary tract problems such as the formation of crystals. The top three ingredients are cheap filler: Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal. By that standard alone this food should be ¼ the price.

Brewers rice is a waste product, less nutritious than brown rice, and let us not forget that cats are true carnivores, anything other than meat as the first ingredient is a bad sign. But.. this food does not even contain meat! Chicken By-Product Meal is made of waste products of the chicken, beaks, feet, and can even contain cancerous tumors – but that isn't even the bad part. The most dangerous part of by-products is the fact they are preserved with a chemical pesticide: Ethoxyquin, which has been suspected in many other health problems. Corn Gluten Meal is also a cheap filler, a waste product that does not belong in any pet food (cat or dog). Further down the list we see the preservatives BHA, and BHT, both of which are linked to health problems.

One of the things people need to watch for most when selecting a food for a cat with urinary tract issues is the Magnesium content. This food is 0.08%, but some other cat foods (found at specialty pet supply stores) do just as well, and have better overall nutrition meaning the cat would not need to eat nearly as much food, and as such would not eat as much magnesium. * Cats with urinary tract problems should also be feed canned food mixed with water to increase their water intake.

Keep in mind that the above mentioned food is one sold, and promoted, by some veterinarians who clearly do not know better.

If your pet has a health issue and requires a certain diet, ask the veterinarian what the dietary needs for the pet are - rather than asking them to suggest a food.

Educate Yourself on Pet Food Ingredients and Brands

If you own a cat, or dog, you need to become a pet food expert rather than relying on your veterinarian. You need to know what each ingredient is, and which are bad. If your veterinarian tries to sell you a bag of pet food that contains “by-products” you need to be able to say “NO, I will not feed that to my pet, please suggest another food, or I will find one myself”.

Note: This in no way implies that veterinarian are intentionally trying to sell you a bad food – remember most were not educated on ingredients or brands. Your veterinarian is a very important guide for pet health concerns, but not all are qualified to suggest pet foods. Some veterinarians are educating themselves further in regards to pet food, and many have stopped selling certain foods as a result of their own education process, but you should not be afraid to question them on it.

Further Reading

Could a Dog Food made of Boots pass the AAFCO Pet Food Standards?