By Jean Hofve, DVM Commercial food is a great convenience to dog and cat guardians. Responsible consumers who want the best for their animal companions have a bewildering array of foods and claims to choose from. So, how do you know what’s best for your animals? The most reputable manufacturers of “superpremium” and “natural”...
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Nutrition
Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food
Carrageenan: a Controversial Pet Food Additive
Carrageenan is a seaweed derivative that is commonly used as a food additive in a wide variety of products. There has been a lot of controversy about this ingredient, so let’s take a look at it in more detail. Carragreenan is a edible red seaweed. Sounds good, right? Many seaweeds contain lots of trace...
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Choosing an Omega-3 Oil for Your Pet
You know how important Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is for dogs and cats. The anti-inflammatory effects of Omega-3s EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and DHA (docosahexanoic acid) have been thoroughly researched. Omega-3 supplementation has been abundantly proven to be beneficial for dogs and cats for a wide variety of conditions, including chronic kidney disease(1), arthritis(2), allergies(3),...
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10 Reasons Why Dry Food Is Bad for Cats & Dogs
As a holistic veterinarian and animal advocate with more than 20 years of experience and thousands of hours of research under my belt, I’ve concluded that dry food is not a fit diet for our cats and dogs–carnivores who need a meat-based diet. I constantly try to make the case against feeding dry food....
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Food Allergies in Cats
By Jean Hofve, DVM Cats often develop “food allergies” or “food intolerances” to ingredients found in commercial cat food. The top allergens are: chicken, fish and corn (very common cat food ingredients), beef (often referred to as “meat by-products” or “meat and bone meal” on pet food labels), wheat, and dairy products. However, an...
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Homemade vs. Commercial Food for Cats (and Dogs!)
By Jean Hofve, DVM Preparing a home-made diet for one’s pets is a bit of a challenge. However, it is no more difficult than feeding one’s children a balanced and nutritious diet. Most human beings seem to be able to do that, since we have survived as a species. As any parent knows, it...
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Feline Obesity
By Jean Hofve, DVM Obesity is a serious problem for our feline friends. Many serious health problems can result from obesity, such as arthritis, liver disease, heart failure, and renal disease. Prevention is key here: don’t allow your cat to become overweight in the first place. Pay attention to your kitten’s growth to make...
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Fiber Facts
By Dr. Jean Hofve Recently there has been renewed interest in fiber as a pet food ingredient. One pet food manufacturer published an article on the Internet condemning beet pulp in pet food as unhealthy if not downright dangerous, while others are touting the benefits of the latest fiber source, pecan shells. There is...
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Rice Bran – No Good for Cats!
You would think that cat food manufacturers would make sure that the ingredients they use are safe for cats. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Rice bran is what makes brown rice brown. It is the fibrous outer portion of the rice grain. Many cat foods incorporate brown rice and/or rice bran; these...
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Tell FDA: Label Genetically Modified Foods!
Did you know that 85% of corn and more than 90% of soy in the US is genetically modified? GM foods may cause serious damage to your body, but the FDA does not want to give you a choice whether to eat them or not. According to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, animal...
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No Milk Today
It’s true that cats love milk. Most cats will drink it if you let them. And who hasn’t shared a little milk with their feline friend now and then? So, what’s the problem? Cow’s milk is not a natural food for any cat. Even kittens, who naturally drink nothing but milk for the first...
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Vegetarian Cats?
By Jean Hofve, DVM There are several companies and websites that promote vegetarian (no meat or fish) or even vegan (no animal products at all) diets for cats. These products appeal to people who have chosen a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons, and want to apply the same principles to their cats....
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Healthy Weight Management for Dogs and Cats
By Jean Hofve, DVM Nutrition experts like to portray weight control as a simple matter of “calories in minus calories out.” But as anyone who’s ever been on a diet knows all too well, it isn’t quite that easy! There are many factors that affect weight, such as genetics, metabolic rate, weather, and even...
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Top 4 Pet Supplements
By Jean Hofve, DVM I was interviewed for About.com on pet supplements. I was asked to choose my top four, and explain why I recommend them. (Click here to read the article on About.com) 1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids You know I’m a big proponent of Omega 3 fatty acids for dogs and cats. These...
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Lifestages, Lifestyles, and Cat Food
The number and types of commercial cat food seems multiplying like rabbits. One online store carries 353 different dry foods, and 735 varieties of canned food! Here’s a sampling of the lifestages cat food is made for: Babycat (0 to 4 months) Kitten (0 or 4 to 12 months) Adult (1 to 7 years)...
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Omega-3 Update: more info, more choices
Virtually all cats and dogs are deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids. Choose the right supplement to help fight inflammation and the degenerative diseases it causes.
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Antioxidants
Antioxidants are natural compounds that are important in the neutralization or scavenging of “oxygen free radicals,” which are normal by-products of body metabolism. Controlled amounts of free radicals are normally made by the body as weapons against viruses and bacteria, and are used in hormone production and numerous cellular reactions. However, excess free radicals...
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Omega-3s are Essential for Your Cat!
By Jean Hofve, DVM No doubt you’ve heard of Omega-3 fatty acids, Omega-6 fatty acids, and essential fatty acids. But did you know that they are essential for pets, too? The term “essential” means that the animal cannot synthesize the nutrient within its body, but must obtain it in the diet. For example, humans...
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Fluoride in Pet Food — A New Danger?
By Jean Hofve, DVM According to a report by the Environmental Working Group, excessive amounts of fluoride were found in 8 major national brands of dog and puppy food. The foods contained fluoride at levels between 1.6 and 2.5 times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum legal dose in drinking water. These...
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Homemade Diets for Cats and Dogs
By Jean Hofve, DVM Homemade diets are great for our cats and dogs. By making your pet’s food at home, you control the quality of the ingredients, and commercial food additives such as colorings and preservatives can be avoided. Once you get the hang of it, homemade food is both time and cost-efficient. It’s...
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Humane Pet Food?
By Jean Hofve, DVM The headline reads: “The HSUS Launches New Line of Natural, Organic Pet Food” “Selecting a high-quality pet food is one of the most important decisions a pet parent can make. To celebrate pets, The Humane Society of the United States announces the nationwide launch of a cruelty-free, all natural and...
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Pet Food Marketing Hype
By Jean Hofve, DVM A trip down the pet food aisle these days will boggle the mind with all the wonderful claims made by manufacturers for their particular products. But what’s the truth behind all this marvelous hype? You might be very surprised…let’s take a look. 1. Niche claims. Today, if you have an...
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Pet Food Regulation
By Jean Hofve, DVM A note from Dr. Jean: I wrote this for The Whole Dog Journal around 2001. I put it online after the 2007 pet food recall scandal, so you can understand how such a thing could happen, and who’s in charge of fixing it. It’s updated as of 2012. WHO’S IN...
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Pet Food, People, and the FDA
By Jean Hofve, DVM Pet food labels are plenty obscure, but labels on human food are just as bad. As you get better at assessing pet food, you’ll also want to check out a few labels at the grocery store, too. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, in Food Labels May Be Inaccurate Despite FDA...
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Probiotics: A Dietary Powerhouse for Your Cat
By Jean Hofve, DVM There are many cats (and dogs) who need extra help with digestive and other health issues. Probiotics have helped solve these problems for many pets. The term “probiotics” (which means “promoting life”) covers a variety of “friendly” bacteria that are beneficial for the digestive tract. These include Lactobacillus acidophilus and...
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Switching Foods
By Jean Hofve, DVM The spice of life is variety, or so they say. If that’s true for people, what about our dogs and cats? I love the commercial where the lady puts down a bowl of new dog food, and the dog shoves it under the rug. The voice-over intones, “(Our food), every...
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The “Dangers” of a Raw Diet
By Jean Hofve, DVM Many proponents tout the benefits of feeding meat raw to our our carnivorous feline and canine companions. But most veterinarians and self-styled “experts” claim that raw diets are highly dangerous to everyone in the household. So who’s right? The bacteria Salmonella is frequently implicated as a major danger from feeding...
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The Right Weight Loss Program for Cats!
By Jean Hofve, DVM A reader recently emailed us to ask how she could help her cat lose weight. Indeed, obesity is a serious problem for our feline friends. Many serious health problems can result from obesity, such as arthritis, diabetes, liver disease, heart failure, and kidney disease. In most feline cases, obesity occurs...
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Water Water Everywhere, but What’s a Cat to Drink?
By Jean Hofve, DVM Everyone is familiar with the 3 basic nutrient categories: protein, fat and carbohydrate. But there is a 4th nutrient that’s just as important (or more!), yet it is usually overlooked by most guardians and even veterinarians—water! Our bodies (our cats’ too!) are 2/3 water, but You may know that two-thirds...
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Why Cats Need Canned Food
By Jean Hofve, DVM Cats are true carnivores, requiring a meat-based diet for optimal health. Their natural diet is prey such as rodents, rabbits, lizards, insects, and birds. These prey consist primarily of water, protein and fat, with less than 10% carbohydrate (starch, sugar and fiber) content. Cats are exquisitely adapted to utilize protein...
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Why Fish is Dangerous for Cats
By Jean Hofve, DVM A lot of cats love fish, but it’s really not a good idea to feed it to your cat! Why not? Because it is simply no longer safe to feed to cats (and humans should be very careful about eating it themselves and feeding it to children!). * The fish used...
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Does Dry Food Clean the Teeth?
By Jean Hofve, DVM Let’s get this one straight once and for all: dry food does not clean your cat’s teeth! In fact, dry food really has no benefits for the cat. It is merely a convenience for the guardian. If you haven’t already read Why Cats Need Canned Food and 10 Reasons Why Dry...
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BioSuperfood Case Reports
Here are a few of the cases where BioSuperfood has helped animals get healthy! For more information, see the BioSuperfood main page, or go right to the information on choosing the right product. Cassandra, 10 year old female Dachsund This dog developed a malignant tumor in her sinus cavity. Started on BSF2 in September,...
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BioSuperfood: Choosing the Right Product
BioSuperfood and BioPreparation formulas are powerful detoxifiers. Unless there is an immediate health crisis that requires a high dose, start with a very small amount (as much as fits on the flat end of a toothpick), and gradually work up to 1-2 capsules per day for most animals. Too much can cause diarrhea, vomiting,...
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BioSuperfood for Super Health
By Dr. Jean Hofve There are a zillion products out there that make marvelous claims about how they will improve your animal companion’s health. Many of these claims are exaggerated, and sometimes so fantastic that they seem too good to be true–and usually, they are! However, several years ago we discovered a product that...
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