Yums! - Giving our pets what they really want

Dogs are generally easy to please when it comes to food. Cats on the other hand are known for turning up their noses at anything new. But are our furries refusing the food cuz it gone bad or is it something deeper? Is giving them what they want really what we think it is?

Watch this quick and light hearted 5 min video on how a food is made and the process of enticement before reading our article further down.

Pet foods have flavored coatings and sometimes even colored coatings to entice our pets to take them. Kibble after processing is generally tasteless and has little scent regardless of the meat in it. Makers of food look at first meeting the nutritional requirements as affordably as possible and turn to Flavored coatings for improved palatability and craving. These coatings and are known as "palatants" ( for more in-depth information we strongly encourage reading https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-03/chemistry-kibble/ )

These palatants have little purpose other than to entice and continually captivate our pet to crave the food day in, day out for a good part of their lives. This is the reason why big brands spend billions on creating the illusion that their food is tasty . Recently with advancement in technology and more acceptance of raw diets, some brands have started to by pass this coating process and choose to have a natural coating of raw on their kibble instead of purely powdered chemicals.

But the packaging states clearly Natural Flavor does that mean that my selection is free from these palatants? Sadly the answer is no. ( More information on Natural Flavors can be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/well/eat/are-natural-flavors-really-natural.html ) Palatants can be 'natural' that doesn't make it any safer or better for your pet.

Palatants are found in kibble, treats, toys and in wet food. We have seen it being used in constantly . These flavors are staring us right in our faces and we miss it entirely. Chocolate, peanut butter , cheese, caramel , liver , etc. (https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/13789-understanding-the-science-behind-pet-food-palatability ) This constant introduction of flavors is possibly the biggest reason why your cat or dog won't touch a fresh piece of real meat, premium complete balanced food or your home made, no matter how hard you try. They no longer recognize what food is.

To put it in a human perspective, try eating super enhanced flavored processed food on a daily basis, after that try tasting a world's freshest prized Michelin Star cuisine. You wouldn't be able appreciate the freshness and wholesome flavor. Nothing can compare to super enhanced flavor formulated in a lab to keep you hooked.

Compounding matter, when our pets stop eating their regular meals, pawrents get worried and turn to foods with even stonger flavors and the vicious cycle spirals. We are so relieved when we see our pets eat again that we fail to ask ourselves why they went off their usual food in the first place, is a visit to the vet necessary or perhaps does my pet requires fasting?

Companies spend billions to ensure that switching away from their food is not easy , for a pet to stop its usual diet is generally not usual. It is exceedingly difficult to eradicate their taste memory.

But as pawrents we do have to ask ourselves , if we want to change, where can we start the process? Is our worry of our pets starving unfounded? Do they really need that bag of treats? Should we continue to enable their unhealthy addiction and possibly do them more harm than good?

If you are motivated into action after reading this, the secret to success is to slowly wean your pet off their addiction and work towards their better health. Start small, cut away unnecessary treats. Use single ingredient dried products as treats instead. Switch from processed purees to natural broths for hydration.

Slowly change their taste memory , start by mixing in 5% of a non extruded kibble to their usual kibble, its ok that they don't eat it, Let them associate the new smell to food and very slowly increase the amount when they start taking to it by 5% every month, this is especially crucial for pets that have been on a particular brand for a long time.

Slowly but surely your perseverance will pay off, the journey is worth it. Before you know it, you will start seeing improvement in their mental and physical well being. Stay tuned to our next article on the cute factor.. until then...

XOXO

Furry

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