Ethical cat food

Re: Ethical cat food

ginny — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:43:26 GMT

I mean they kill only about 3 out of every 10 they hunt.

Re: Ethical cat food

ginny — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:42:13 GMT

If its any consolation i read somewhere that they only actually get 3/10 of anything when hunting!

Re: Ethical cat food

jan — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:47:11 GMT

Please don't lets your cats feed themselves on garden kill!!!!

At a time when many of our garden & song birds are in SERIOUS decline as well as our small mammals such a voles & many species of mouse you should be seriously discouraging your cat from doing that. Dont let them out a dusk or dawn etc etc

Even if you don't care much for voles their decline has a knock on effect on the well being of prey species such a barn owls, weasels and the like

Re: Ethical cat food

vanessa — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:26:26 GMT

sorry, www.ardengrage.com. it is also british so less food miles than others!

Re: Ethical cat food

vanessa — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:25:04 GMT

Arden Grange food uses all natural ingredients and is not tested on animals - I have researched this food recently as practice thinking of stocking it. www.ardengrange.co.uk

Re: Ethical cat food

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:00:20 GMT

[quote user="Louisesadieandshads"]

Hey, fantastic. Tell her to get on this site soon and starting chatting to us. Would be good to have some debates up and running.

[/quote]

lol get that spoon out of that pot!! btw i have some photos for you. will upload them later ;)

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:12:44 GMT

Hey, fantastic. Tell her to get on this site soon and starting chatting to us. Would be good to have some debates up and running.

Re: Ethical cat food

Erica Huggins — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:52:15 GMT

You lot have been brilliant. Now I will let you know the client is infact our new student nurse and her boyfriend is the activist. She is over the moon with all the advice and supporrt you have given. Thank -you very much. I am armed with all this info and she will let me know her choices and where she goes from now.

Thanks again.

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:33:43 GMT

Wicked heinous pussy cats

Ps.....

My chickens say.... "Cluck off ye of fowl sense of humour"

Re: Ethical cat food

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:30:35 GMT

no but my ocicat stalks my chickens on her lead and my bengal tries to attack the Famous Grouse on the telly!!!

p.s. mooooo MEEEEEEEEEOOOW *pounce* MeOWWWWOWOWOW moooOW

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:28:45 GMT

Hi StephB - have you ever seen a cat set up a factory farm to rear/process/slaughter chickens???

Re: Ethical cat food

Heather Christie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:11:33 GMT

At the risk of sounding insensitive, how about letting the cat run wild in the garden and catch mice/birds etc. That's how nature intended cats to work, no testing required. Killer instinct can only take a cat so far though and If the cat hasn't been taught how to kill by it's mother then this may not be feasible.

Re: Ethical cat food

Muddypaws — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:05:45 GMT

I'm with the client on this one. And well done you for trying to help and give a balanced arguement.

Re: Ethical cat food

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:35:16 GMT

i know you love your chickens but have you even imagined a cat taking down a cow? lol

Re: Ethical cat food

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:37:27 GMT

Applaws and Orijen would be my top recommendations

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:26:21 GMT

Ps. If the owner wants to chat to me I would be happy to oblige!

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:25:21 GMT

http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov.uk/animal-research/publications-and-reference/publications/code-of-practice/housing-of-animals-breeding/cats.pdf?view=Binary

http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov.uk/animal-research/publications-and-reference/publications/code-of-practice/code-of-practice-housing-care/004tables-based-upon-rsufaw?view=Binary

www.apc.gov.uk/reference/apc_aide_memoir_animals_housing_and_care_nov06.pdf+cat+space+allowance+home+office&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:11:50 GMT

Hi Erica,

I personally think that your client deserves a pat on the back for being concerned about the welfare of the lab cats that will have been tested on in the production of many petfoods. I think what it is important to realise is that the welfare of many lab animals used for testing - drugs, food, whatever - is appalling. It is getting better- some of the information that animal rights companies use is out of date - but obviously some companies are more progressive, use less invasive tests and house the animals in environments that are more suited to longterm testing than other companies. It does not seem an unreasonable question for your client to have asked and I, personally, would enjoy engaging with this client.

The companies above all claim not to test on animals. There are probably others but many probably do not wish to link their name with PETA. If you want to engage further with your client further in terms of ethical food it is worth pointing out to her that most catfoods are inherently unethical if we admit farm animals to the moral circle of concern. For economic reasons, most of the petfoods that we purchase - whether premium or budget buy - will contain factory-farmed animals. If the owner wants to purchase a petfood that is more ethical, besides buying a food that has not been tested on animals it would also be worth advising her to:

a) buy a catfood that contains beef (as opposed to fish/poultry) as the welfare standards for farmed cattle (in the UK at least - the USA is another matter entirely!) are higher than for the latter. However, buying a catfood that doesn't contain fish/poultry is often easy said than done as most products displaying meat and meat derivatives probably contain these.

b) buy a catfood which is certified organic. This way, if the food contains chicken, the welfare of the chickens up to the point of slaughter is likely to have been much better than that of the factory-farmed broilers (meat birds) or spent layers that will probably comprise the non-organic version.

c) consideration of turning the cat vegan! I am not going to discuss this here as a serious consideration as the evidence is limited (but not totally negative - despite what our vet nurse training may have taught us!).

Certainly, wanting to minimise the impact that cat-ownership has on the suffering of other animals is to be applauded in my book

I have posted below some links to approved sites which might be of interest to Vet Nurses wanting to know more about the welfare of lab cats. Collectively they refer they space allowances that the current UK guidelines suggest as suitable for the housing (longterm - can be several years for some nutrition studies) of group & individually housed cats. All I can say is - get the tape measure out and compare the dimensions suggested to that of the average shoreline kennel. then, look at the level of enrichment necessary, any methods suggested (guidelines, not law - could house in smaller pens if the study required it) to reduce stress in cats and then look at the litter tray and shelf space allowance (i.e. space per cat on the shelf, not separate shelves) and compare that to what we would recommend to clients) and then ask whether we, in all honesty, could condone that as good welfare for a cat. Finally, it is worth pointing out that the UK guidelines are considered good in relation to many other countries! Of course, these are minimum standards and some exceed this greatly but if a company is not open about the welfare of its lab animals than the chances are there is room for improvement!

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:44:41 GMT

http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/non_tested_companion_animal_food.asp

Ami 02392 45 33 55 www.aminews.co.uk (vegetarian/vegan food, available in the UK from www.veggiepets.com)	Applaws Natural Cat & Dog Food 08707 508606 www.applaws.co.uk
Barker & Barker 01253 811887 www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk (includes vegetarian dog treats)	Benevo 02392 45 33 55 www.benevo.com (vegetarian/vegan food, available in the UK from www.veggiepets.com)
Burns Pet Nutrition Ltd 01554 890482 www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk	Cambrian Pet Foods Ltd 01559 384216 www.gelert-petnutrition.co.uk
CLINIVET ® Nutrition 028 9447 3840 www.clinivet.com	The Co-operative Food www.co-operative.co.uk
CSJ Specialist Canine Feeds 01745 710470 www.csjk9.com	Europa Pet Foods 0845 658 0987 www.europa-pet-food.co.uk
Feelwell's 0870 977 0044 www.feelwells.co.uk	Forthglade Ltd 01837 83322 www.forthglade.co.uk
Fromm and Eagle Pack 01531 633985 www.postalpetsproducts.co.uk	Haith's 0800 298 7054 www.haiths.com (Bird Food)
Harlequin Nutrition Ltd. 08700 421 014 www.natures-harvest.org www.bertiescomplete.co.uk	Healthy Paws 0151 931 3336 www.healthypaws.co.uk
Land of Holistic Pets Ltd. 0845 373 4120 www.landofholisticpets.co.uk	Laughing Dog 01788 810283 www.bakersmill.co.uk
Lily's Kitchen 0845 680 5459 www.lilyskitchen.co.uk	Mark and Chappell 01582 583888 www.markandchappell.com
My Pet Foods 01227 723816 www.mypetfoods.co.uk (rabbit food)	Nature Diet 08700 132960 www.naturediet.co.uk
Organipets 0845 3880935 www.organipets.co.uk	Pero Pet Foods 0800 917 9697 www.pero-petfood.co.uk
Pooch & Mutt 020 8133 7667 www.poochandmutt.com	Roger Skinner Limited 01379 384 247 www.skinnerspetfoods.co.uk
Solid Gold Health Products (available in the UK from www.zooplus.co.uk)	Supreme Petfoods Limited 01473 823296 www.supremepetfoods.com (rabbit and small animal)
Trophy Pet Foods 01367 240333 www.trophypetfoods.co.uk	Vitalin Pet Foods 01765 605156 www.vitalinpetfood.co.uk
Yarrah www.yarrah.com (Netherlands-based Yarrah produce vegetarian/vegan dog food which can be ordered in the UK from their website.)

Re: Ethical cat food

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:39:17 GMT

[quote user="Caro Laithwaite"]

Perhaps they would be better NOT having an animal. What exactly do they intend to do when it gets ill bearing in mind that drugs are tested on animals.

[/quote]

Well said, was thinking along those lines myself-re drugs if ill.

Re: Ethical cat food

Caro Laithwaite VN — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:16:54 GMT

Perhaps they would be better NOT having an animal. What exactly do they intend to do when it gets ill bearing in mind that drugs are tested on animals.

Re: Ethical cat food

Louise B — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:04:37 GMT

Hi,

Iams have a very dubious reputation in relation to animal-testing. Your client is quite right in her assertions. Certainly they have, in the past, been more invasive than Walthams in terms of how they obtain their data. I seem to recall the debate came about several years ago because Iams were experimentally inducing clinical disease (i.e. surgery to damage the kidneys) inorder to study the efficacy of renal diets. It has been several years since debate raged so I may have my facts slightly wrong! However, I understand that they have cleaned up their act in recent years as a consequence of the adverse publicity. No further comment!

James Wellbeloved made (or did) a statement about not testing on animals. I think there is also a website which lists the ethical - non tested on animals - brands of cat / dog food. However, I think it is worth pointing out they have only avoided this by making use of data from companies that have tested. To the best of my knowledge, Walthams are very noninvasive in their testing and I would be happy to feed this to my dogs as an ethical shopper (from a testing, not a meat perspective!).

if I can remember the ethical link I will post it.

Re: Ethical cat food

Erica Huggins — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:57:58 GMT

p.s

please do not suggest Burns as I have herd variations of it's degree of goodness and actual sorcing of meat from insiders and sometimes it's brill and other times what ever they can get! So although I know it's a good food am not convienced this is right for this very demanding - will read every artical client, I need something bullet prof!