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Old September 14th, 2010, 12:05 AM
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cassiek cassiek is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: High River, AB, Canada
Posts: 622
Quote:
Originally Posted by driver8 View Post
I doubt most shelters have that much option though, which is part of my point.

a) That I don't think it's fair to slam on people for what they feed their cat if there is no cruelty involved - it just turns them OFF to everything this site might have to say, honestly. The first few replies to a post wondering why IAMS was not on the shelves were basically "good, that stuff is crap anyway". Do you think most people read further after that? The OP might have just wanted a reply to his question and if he'd gotten it might have read more onto the site.

I really don't think the allegations of abuse were put fairly. If someone had wanted to say "In the past they were found to have done this and so I don't support them any more and choose to buy other products" that would be different. But that's not what was said.

b) The shelter I volunteer at has investigated IAMS and feeds IAMS, and they have decided to acknowledge the past transgressions and accept evidence of change as acceptable. If there was evidence of something new going on, I know they would love to hear it. But I doubt they have the resources to spend on other foods right now based on old info that isn't currently going on.
Eep... this thread has the makings of becoming closed.

driver8, I am not trying to be rude, but since you seem very concerned with recent, legitimate, valid proof, what actual proof do you have that IAMS is not currently using any of their old practices? I would be interested to see any links, documents, etc. you have that proves that they have improved and changed their ways. What evidence of change have they provided, that is actual valid recent proof?

My .. I would not be comfortable feeding a product to my pets from a company that has ever used anything than less than ethical practices, regardless of what their current practices are now. Can I guarantee that the company I purchase the products I feed my pets now has never used unethical practices? No. But I make the decision to the best of my knowledge, and would not hesitate to look for an alternative at the drop of a hat should anything come to light that suggested otherwise.

That being said, shelters are usually supported through generous donations and do not have much say in what products are donated to them. They need to use whatever is donated to them, and sometimes this can mean using products that may not be the best quality, but they have to work with what they get. They make do with the best they have to provide the best they can for the animals in their care.

I hear it all the time "I can't afford to feed my cat/dog any better than ___". You can make a lot of arguments about this statement and debate it, but at the end of the day we should try to feed our fur friends the best we can afford. That being said, I think it's so important to do your research on canine/feline nutrition, as quite often it is not that much more expensive (it may even be cheaper) to feed our pets a high-quality diet. I have worked out the difference down to the penny of feeding my dogs a high-quality raw food diet, a high-quality kibble diet, a mixture of the two, and a cheaper end kibble diet. What I found out was this: besides the $$ I will save on vet trips, extra poop bags etc. the difference was a mere dollars a month. So for an extra few bucks a month, I opt to feed my dogs the very best diet I can and I believe it pays me back ten-fold.

Many of us are very passionate on here, driver8. Perhaps that comes across as rude sometimes. But I like to think that most members on Pets do a wonderful job of educating individuals who come here seeking information. I think our emotions and the words we use over the internet are sometimes miscommunicated. I don't find Pets to be high pressure... but I do think that sometimes individuals come on here looking for an easy fix or a certain answer, and when we don't give them the answer they want to hear, they become angry and leave. I also find that individuals join the forum with the sole intent of lighting a fire, and it brings out the worst in all of us. Just to clarify, I am not directing this at you, these are just my general observations.

I agree that the best tactic is to provide information to people and let them do their own research and make up their own minds. But certainly there is nothing wrong with healthy and polite debate. In the process hopefully we can educate each other and do the best for our furry friends. IMO (and maybe this would be considered leacturing and preachy), we all need to be a little less reactive and think twice about the words we write. I find that a lot of feelings become unnecessarily hurt.

Cheers.

Cassie
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Last edited by cassiek; September 14th, 2010 at 12:22 AM.
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