"The Basics" for Cats and Dogs
In the wake of the pet food recall the New York Times interviewed nutritionist Marion Nestle about regulation and labeling of pet food. (The Basics; For Cats and Dogs, Life Is a Bowl Of, March 25, 2007, available through Times Select only.) As it turns out, the pet food industry is very secretive and not that well regulated. An interesting interview overall, but I especially loved her response to the last question:
Q. Should owners prepare their own food for pets or feed them table scraps?
A. There's evidence that dogs can be fed table scraps and do quite well, provided they're healthy table scraps -- meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit. The problem is a lot of humans don't eat that way.
This whole incident reminds me yet again how strange it is to have pets, especially in this particular cultural context. I adore my two cats and do everything I can to keep them happy and healthy, but whenever I go to a place like Pet Smart it's too weird to see all those brands of food on the shelves. Think about all the money spent on research and marketing, the result of which is food for every condition you can think of: young cats, aging cats, chubby cats, hairball control, and then there are the prescription foods that are good for cats with diabetes or kidney problems. And as it turns out--or so that NYT interview implies--a lot of it really is niche marketing because the content of all those different foods is pretty much the same. See? Pets are treated just like people.
And so they are when it comes to medical care as well. The cat who was with me through graduate school and a couple of years beyond became diabetic in his last years, and at one point developed fluid on his lungs as well. Those conditions resulted in referrals to veterinary specialists (not to mention astronomical vet bills. The obstinate beastie had many medical emergencies while I was a grad student, but as soon as I got my first real job it was all pretty much under control.) Even as I was fretting over the poor little guy, I enjoyed watching those specialists in action as they puzzled over a diagnosis for a patient who couldn't talk, and in all honesty was a very bad patient. I must admit I did get a kick out of watching my cat in various modes of resistance while at the vet--fight the power! Anyway, I was blown away by the smarts and dedication of the veterinarians--the cardiologist, the internist and the GP who referred my cat to them. And I was grateful that I could take care of my cat's medical needs.
I do feel a lot of ambivalence, though, about the fact that my cats have access to better medical care than a lot of people. Or least that's how I thought for a long time. Then I read Mike Davis' Planet of Slums. The book is about a lot of things that I won't get into here--I'll just say that it's an excellent book and everyone should read it. In any case, one thing I realized after reading this book is that my cats--and other people's pets--are better off than a good portion of the Earth's population because they have access to a litterbox and clean water.