What pet owner's should know about canned pet foods
Should I be feeding Canned Food to my Dog or Cat?
By: Tippy & Alfred
How many of you purchase canned food for your pets? If so, go right now and
take a look at the label. Read where it says moisture content.
How many of you pet owners like to waste money? Ah....good! I see no one
raised their hand up.
Well some of you may be throwing quite a bit of your hard earned money away
and not even knowing it, let's take a look and see.
On a recent trip to our local grocery store, I took some time and checked
the labels on every brand they sold.
All of them had moisture contents of from 78 to 82%. So Mr. and Mrs.
Consumer, think about this for a minute:
Do you realize that for every single dollar you're spending on canned pet
foods, that means you're spending an average of 80 cents for your pet.......
to get a canned drink of water!
Those big pet food manufacturers are making a killing selling your pet
water!!!
Now, with 80% of the can going for water, that only leaves 20% for real
nutrition doesn't it. The canned food with the highest protein I could find on
the grocery shelf was 13% and the lowest protein content was 8%.
The protein requirements adult cats need is 3 grams of protein per pound of
body weight daily, kittens need 8.6 grams per pound.
18% protein is a minimum safe requirement for adult dogs, 22% for a puppy,
and working dogs require from 28 to 32% protein. The average sized dog needs
at least 2.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
With the average protein content of canned food at only 10%, there is just
no way your dog or cat can get enough protein from a canned food only diet and
meet their daily nutritional requirements.
But of course, I know the darn stuff tastes so good to Lassie and Tabby,
and I know how you love to spoil them too, and canned foods are high in fat
which gives the greater palatability, but consider this also......
My 14 year old son loves to eat chocolate and ice cream because it tastes
so good. Now, what do you think would happen if he got a steady diet of
chocolate and ice cream every day.....just because he liked it?
While he may think I'm being cruel, he's still got to eat a balanced diet
and his vegetables in order for his body to develop and have healthy
biological systems.
You know folks, if you want to go on feeding your pet canned food and spending
your money on water, that's your choice.
But if you think this is making sense and is prudent to switch over to a dry
food, then consider the following.
Change your pet's diet slowly. This will help prevent any digestive upsets.
Most generally when going from a low quality to a higher quality food, there
will be no or only minor problems. The real digestive problems occur when
going from a high quality to a lower quality food.
Dogs usually handle changes in diet fairly well, but some cats are simply
the boss. If they've been fed a long term diet of canned food, it will take a
lot of determination and patience on your part to get them to switch.
Start by putting 1 dry kibble a day in their food. If they pick that out,
try crushing it and mixing it in. Steadily increase the number of kibbles
until Tabby finally accepts it. This will work in all but the most stubborn
cases.
If you do have a stubborn cat, pretend like there's nothing new going on,
just place the dish down and do your normal routine. Try to pull a fast one
over on Miss Stubborn Tabby and she'll know in a minute that you're up to
something.
Some owners have found good success in presenting the dry kibbles or even
vitamins as "special treats" for the cat or dog.
Here's what I found:
| Pet Food |
Moisture |
Protein |
|
| Cats: |
| Alpo Salmon |
78% |
10%
|
| Friskies Chicken/Tuna |
82% |
9%
|
9 Lives
Gourmet Salmon |
78% |
11%
|
| Iams Chicken |
78% |
10%
|
| NutriPlan Premium Salmon |
78% |
13%
|
| Fancy Feast Ocean Fish |
78% |
11%
|
| Sheba Turkey |
82% |
8%
|
| Dogs: |
| Nutri Plan Beef and gravy |
82% |
8%
|
| Alpo Chicken |
82% |
8%
|
| Mighty Dog Beef |
78% |
10%
|
| Pedigree Beef |
78% |
8%
|
| Iams Lamb |
78% |
9% |
Tippy Says if your Furry Companion
is Hungry.....
The best thing you can do to help your Friend
live the Longest and Healthiest Life possible is provide them
with a Quality Premium food.
You'll feel great by providing your companion with the best....
They deserve it! Do your precious friend a big time favor
and check out:
Tippy's Favorite Canine Dining Experience Here
Alfred's Favorite Cuisine for Cats Here
See also:
Back to General Pet Care Tips
