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As I was flying home from my vacation this week, I thought
I’d browse through the magazine they always provide you in the seat pocket—you
know the one, it has a little bit of airline information, a few interesting
articles about exotic places or celebrities or where to eat if you find
yourself in Timbuktu…and, like every other magazine ever printed, lots of
ads.
One of those ads jumped out at me.
It was an ad by Morris Animal Foundation that stated one in four dogs die of
cancer. According to Pethealth101.com, after ten years of age, your dog has a 1 in 2 chance of dying from cancer.
As many as 33% of cats and younger dogs will die of cancer.
In the wild, cancer strikes about 10% of the animal population.
Some cancers are virus-induced, but most of the cancer problems in the wild are
caused by carcinogens in the environment such as those found in polluted waterways.
That begs the question—why are pets more at risk when they live in human homes and are presumably fed
clean water, get their shots on a regular basis, and gobble up their Kibbles ‘n
Bits or Purina chow, which as we’re plainly told are “bits of love and joy” and
are healthy, healthy, healthy?
In the end, chronic illness always come down to food. Suppose that food you’re feeding your canine (or feline)
family member isn't as healthy as you think it is?
This isn't the first time I've called into question the ingredients in pet food. Last year I posted on the cat food I was feeding my sweet little kitty with stomach problems. She still has trouble, by the way, though her food is one of the mostly healthier varieties. But the dear thing won't eat fresh fish or liver or anything most cats would die for-- she eats only hard dry processed cat food. At the ripe old age of twelve, I suppose I shouldn't expect her to change her ways now.
Commercial dog and cat food has only been around the last hundred years or so. It is highly processed and full of questionable, if not downright scary, ingredients. I've provided some links below of articles describing, better than I can, the makeup of what we put into our beloved animals every day. After reading through them, I'm surprised that the cancer rate isn't higher than it is.
Unfortunately, feeding animals can get expensive. And let's face it, it's easier to believe that pet food manufacturers wouldn't deliberately put unhealthy ingredients into their products and then market them as wholesome and healthy... who would do that?! Who wants to consider the possibility that ethics are dead in today's world? Organic pet food? That's just silly.
There's a growing industry dealing with animal cancer, with all the same treatments they have for humans...chemotherapy, radiation. But what if the solution is as simple as the food we feed them?
It's certainly worth considering.
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