Does it matter what kind of food animal owners feed their pets? It should. Pet food is an important decision, one that affects both the pet's health and the owner's pocketbook. Some people feed their pets any old kibble, and the animals do just fine. Others take a holistic approach, giving their pets natural or raw foods. Pet owners can make the best decision by consulting with a veterinarian, who can offer suggestions for healthy pet diets.
No matter what type of food you choose, whether it may be organic or standard, it is better that you know and understand the product ingredients to make an informed choice. As an owner you should be aware of the different types of ingredients listed and the definition of what they actually mean.
Understanding the different ingredients can make a large difference in the amount of nutrition that the food will provide to your animal. Here is an alphabetical listing of some of the most common ingredients in pet food.
1. Animal Fat. Animal fat is usually listed somewhere in the package ingredients. Animal fat lacks consistency, and its source is usually not identified. This ingredient generally indicates the cheapest pet food ingredients available.
2. Lamb Versus Lamb Meal. Many pet foods contain lamb or lamb meal as ingredients. Lamb is measured with its full weight content, which is about 80 percent water. Lamb meal is dehydrated before weighing, so much more lamb--up to seven times more--is used in the product.
3. Meat And Bone. Often listed as an ingredient on the packaging for pet food is Meat and Bone. Companies often do this to hide the fact that the ingredient is mostly bone, with very little meat. If the package says something like, "meat is not identified and could change at any time," this usually indicates cheap meat with a lot of bone.
4. Poultry Meal Versus Poultry By-Products Meal. Poultry meal offers more product, up to five times more, than poultry alone. Pure poultry meal is of a better quality than poultry by products meal. By-products are leftovers that are not fit for human consumption. These include beaks, heads, necks, feet, bones, innards, and feathers--not much in the way of nutrition for pets, either.
5. Poultry Tallow. Tallow from poultry is fat that is more digestible fat and is said to be more palatable. Tallow is a more expensive product to use in the manufacture of pet food, but it does provide a better taste and quality.
6. Soybeans. Soybeans are a good source of protein for humans, but pets cannot easily digest it. Soybeans are also a very common source of gas.
So we have listed most of the typical ingredients found in pet food today, but this does not include fillers or bulking agents, found typically in lower cost food. These fillers include grains, such as corn and wheat. Generally speaking, lower-priced pet foods contain lower-priced ingredients. They are not good for the pocketbook, either, since pets require larger quantities of these foods.
Some food companies that list their food as natural also add supplements like vitamin C and E to their pet foods. Food with supplements give animals additional nutrition. However, most pet foods contain chemical preservatives, like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin. Unlike a human diet, your pet will most likely have the same food on a regular basis. Large quantities of chemical ingredients can have cumulative, negative effect on their diet.
