Well Meaning Moron

You are one of the most difficult kind of pet owners. You really do mean well. You care a lot about your pets and you want the best for them... but for some reason you tend to think that your groomer, your neighbour, and the spotty teenager at the local pet store all know more about pet health care than a veterinarian.

Since your veterinarian is the one with the medical degree, who has actually paid a lot of money to go to school to learn about pet nutrition, health care, and behaviour, maybe you should actually start listening more to what he/she has to say. That expensive "all natural" diet that you buy at the pet store (or cook at home) is probably going to give your pet all kinds of health problems. Just because it says "all natural" or "real meat!" on the bag does NOT mean that it is actually proven to makes pets healthy. There is no governing body that regulates those foods. They can SAY whatever they like. Only veterinary diets actually have to prove their claims. If that pet store food is so fantastic... why haven't they ever presented evidence of that to the veterinary community? Why don't veterinarians sell it? Believe it or not, that bag of food you buy from the pet store probably has a 100% or higher mark-up. Meanwhile, wets buy a bag of expensive veterinary food for 13 dollars... and would sell it to you for 17, because they want their patients to be happy and healthy, and they KNOW this food is good.

I've also seen a lot of pets whose medical problems were actually caused by their well meaning, but sadly moronic owners. Urinary tract infections from a food that was all natural... and not acidic enough. Flea allergy dermatitis, in a patient whose owner thought garlic would work fine. Diseases that could have been prevented by a simple vaccine, a good diet, an annual check-up and bloodwork...

You could start by getting rid of that raw food diet (which is a great way to give them bacterial infections and parasites) and start buying your pet a veterinary formulated diet. Those ALSO have real meat in them... but will prevent medical problems, instead of causing them. Trust me, they will save you money in the long run.

At the very least, take your pet in to your vet at least once a year, if you aren't already doing so. TWICE a year once he becomes a senior. Get bloodwork done, which can catch a disease while it is still preventable, and ask your vet if the food that you are feeding is okay. Vets have found that some pet store brands are ok... and others make them say "I've seen five blocked cats that were all eating that diet..."

If you are suspicious of your vet, find a young woman. The 60 year old veterinarian may be out of touch, but a young vet, fresh out of vet school can be full of interesting ideas about alternative therapies. Just please, whatever you do - talk to your vet, and not the pet store owner!