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Old December 29th, 2012, 11:20 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissPurryJess View Post
But why, the more I read and the more I research, do I start feeling like (most) vets really are completely clueless about nutrition and just believe the marketing shpiels that these pet food companies are pitching them?
I hear ya. The thing is, these pet food companies have absolutely enormous marketing budgets. They fund the nutrition programs in every veterinary school in North America. They provide "lecturers", write the "text books", give students free pet food (and pizza and back-packs and on and on). They back all the food-related "research" done at these schools (provided the studies are geared to say what they want) and then give vets incentives for selling their products once they start practicing. I'm not normally a conspiracy theorist, but when it comes to the pet food industry..... well lets just say I don't trust it as far as I can throw it. A really good book on this subject is written by 3 vets with plenty of inside info on the PFI (Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, a feline-only vet that once worked for Hill's, Dr. Marion Smart, a professor of small animal nutrition at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, and Dr. Michael Fox, the outspoken author and newspaper columnist regarding pet health): Not Fit for a Dog!: The Truth About Manufactured Cat and Dog Food.

Some other links on why vets just aren't a great source of nutrition info:
Veterinary Nutritionists Promote Pet Food Containing Corn, Wheat and Soy
Why Vets Recommend 'Designer' Chow
Pet Food & Nutrition: A Necessary Review For Veterinarians
Dry cat food -- a conflict of interest on the part of veterinarians

For my cats, I actually have 2 vets: one is feline-only and much more on the allopathic side of things. She's very up-to-date on the latest feline issues and what drugs should or shouldn't be used on them, etc. I don't listen to a thing she has to say about diet. The other vet is very holistic, trained in acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy, etc. She's great when it comes to talking diet: believes cats should eat raw. But I don't pay much attention to her when the topic is drugs....she's just not up-to-date enough in that department. Can be hard to find a balance like that and to know who to listen too. I completely understand your frustration.
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