Farm raised dog food..?

[jfkbengals]

(12-16-2017, 11:07 PM)WAwful Llama Wrote: God bless you, you brave bastard 

My apologies for derailing the thread, but on a pet-related note:  We recently adopted a cat.  She's two and in good health.  The wife took her to the vet to get her checked out and caught up on her shots. I was at home for the vet appointment when the phone rang.  It was the wife, at the vet's office.  She asked me to find the cats food and read the label.  When she got home she explained that the vet had cautioned her about cats getting too much protein in their diet, and the health ramifications (such as kidney failure).  I had never heard this before, but the vet swears that her profession knows, as do the pet food companies, but nothing is being done.  Has anyone else heard this?

Yes.  At age 17 my little buddy went for his annual checkup and the blood test revealed he was in the early stages of kidney failure.  We were told about the issues with protein and regular foods, and he was put on a prescription diet that was specifically geared toward promoting and prolonging the healthy kidney function. We were told to not give him anything else.  He really didn't like it, and so didn't eat as much.  We ultimately went against the vets advice by giving him Fancy Feast wet food and the occasional treat of diced up meat from our own dinner to supplement the prescription kibble and encourage him to eat and make him happy.  We confessed our actions to the vet, who blessed our actions from the standpoint that it was better for him to eat and be happy than not eat and emaciate and be unhappy.  He still was able to live a healthy, happy life until he passed this spring, shortly after his 20th birthday.  One of the issues from the kidney failure is he suffered substantial hearing loss as a result of it.  He was used to being left outside all day while we were at work, but after he turned 18 it got to the point that he could only go outside if we were home to be able to keep an eye out for dangers he couldn't hear, then eventually only outside if we were outside with him.  That, more than anything, was the hardest part as he LOVED being outdoors.