What's for dinner?

Veterinary experts say junk food and bad diets affect pets as well as humans.

Read this article from the South African Web site Independent Online.

Allergies and obesity are reducing the life expectancy of Lassies and Mittens nourished worldwide on industrial foodstuffs, said Gerard Lippert, a Belgian acupuncturist for animals who has just completed a study on the diets of 600 dead dogs.

"Pets, like humans, are victims of junk food," he [said].

Rippert said we don't know where the protein comes from in processed dog and cat food, and there is a lot of cereal added.

Pet owners tend to favour processed foods because of the difficulty of preparing nutritionally balanced meals, which in an ideal world should contain some 50 nutrients as well as meat, vegetables, rice and pasta. An animal's age, weight and exercise routine also need to be taken into account.

Having Kate off of processed foods for as long as she has been, I would have to think twice about feeding my next dog anything but home cooking.

Wet vs. dry food for cats

I've been hearing that cats shouldn't be fed dry food, that they require meat not carbohydrates.

Until I read this article, it didn't really make sense.

Veterinarian Dr. Loren Nations wrote in the Winter Haven (Fla.) News Chief that a cat's nutritional needs are different from a dog's.

Dogs and cats have evolved different feeding strategies through eons of time. Cats are obligate carnivores or meat eaters; the cat cannot sustain its life unless it consumes animal protein. Dogs, however, are omnivores, meaning they can digest and utilize both plant and animal food sources. Dogs by nature are still primarily meat eaters and many dogs go undernourished by cheap grain-based dog foods. Grain-based cat foods are even worse.

This basic difference is why cats have a much higher protein requirement than dogs. Cats use protein for energy as well as growth, repair and maintenance. Many diets use grains and carbohydrates for a cheap energy source. This works OK for an omnivore, but it can lead to obesity and disease in carbohydrate-sensitive animals. This is one theory as to why cats fed small amounts of food can get so fat.

Nations said cats are like Atkin's Diet eaters needing less than 10 percent carbohydrate out of their menu. Many commercial foods and dry foods in particular are 40 to 60 percent carbohydrate.

Tracie Hotchner, who hosts "Cat Chat" on SiriusXM radio, jumps in on the wet vs. dry food debate here.

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Finally, I ran across this picture and it is at the same time the sadness and funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

I think the caption should be: "In the name of all things holy, get me out of here."