A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try switching Kitty to a homemade diet. I made the mistake of not weaning her onto the diet properly, and I’m sure you can guess the result—she got sick. :o(
It was not the vomiting type of sickness though. This time it was bloody poop. I know that sounds gross, but unfortunately that’s what she went through.
My mother ended up taking her to the doctor for me since I had to work a ten-hour day that day and couldn’t call in. The previous time Kitty got sick, I had switched to a different clinic within the Banfield network (the clinics located inside Petsmart). When I called my mother later from work, she told me that the vet had done a fecal test on Kitty’s stool, and that no worms or parasites had been found. So, she had been given some medicine that was like a pepto-bismol for dogs. She had also been given some pills that were for the acid in her stomach. The medicine was prepared into single dose syringes, and we were to administer one a day to alleviate the diarrhea. My mother managed to get in half a dose that evening—Kitty squirms so much it is nearly impossible to put in (or take out) anything from her mouth. The next morning I was able to administer a complete dose of the medication. Then my mother and I noticed that Kitty no longer had bloody stool. As a matter of fact, she had no stool at all. For two days! My mother and I both assumed that the medication had done too well of a job and had now caused constipation. Her appetite was fine, and she had been eating the normal amount except nothing had come out in two days… so, we were a bit worried.
The next day I got up early enough to take Kitty back in to the clinic before I had to go in to work. I decided to take her to a closer Banfield than the time before—this now being the THIRD Banfield clinic we’ve tried. Since I was a walk-in, I had to wait about an hour and a half to be seen. When the Vet Nurse came in and I showed him the unused medication and explained that she had just been prescribed that two days before, he asked why I had discontinued the use of the medicine. I responded that we were told that the medication was for her bloody diarrhea, but that since Kitty no longer had that symptom, I thought she no longer needed to take the medication. He then told me that that particular medicine was not for diarrhea, and it could not have made her constipated. He stated that the medication was for parasites. I then said that Kitty did not have parasites, so why had she been given a medication for something that she did not have. He told met that it was standard procedure to prescribe medication for worms or parasites as a service to the community, just as a precaution. Hmmm… I’m not sure I agree with that. I felt like I was just being charged for something my dog did not even need.
When the doctor came in, she was very abrupt in reiterating what the vet nurse had told me. She told me that prescribing the medication for parasites was standard policy in cases such as this. She also told me that Kitty could not be constipated because whenever a dog is constipated, they would have so much poop in them that you would be able to smell it as soon as you walk in the room.
I explained to the doctor that, because of all the issues Kitty has had with her sensitive stomach, that I was in the process of trying to switch her to a homemade diet. She immediately stated that the general objection to homemade diets is that they tend not to be “well-balanced” and they lack “micronutrients”.
Now, of all the reading I’ve been doing, I am so confused on what type of diet should be best. I guess I’ve always known that dog food is made from by-products, but until I started researching information online a few weeks ago, I never knew exactly what those by-products consisted of. One main thing that I have learned is about the 4 D’s in dog food. After all the parts which are suitable for human consumption have been salvaged, the remains are placed into dog food. However, in addition to the byproducts that are left over from the animals that PEOPLE actually eat, there are also the animals that are NOT suitable for human consumption, such as the Dead, Decayed, Diseased, and Dying. That is the main thing that stood out when doing all the reading that I did. It really bothers me that our dogs could be eating an animal or parts of an animal that were diseased or decayed. When I brought this up to one of the vets at Banfield, her rebuttal was that that’s what dogs would be eating anyway if they were out in the wild. And of course, there are lots of people who have the same argument and/or who also believe that dogs should be fed a RAW diet.
My naïve response is 1) Haven’t dogs been domesticated? I mean, seriously… have you ever seen a WILD Yorkie??? 2) Yes, maybe if Yorkies were animals living out in the wild, maybe they WOULD eat diseased and decayed animals, but that doesn’t mean it would be good for them. Heck, if left to her own devices, my dog would eat tissue paper and hairballs! Yes, she will sometimes try to jump in the bathtub to eat the hair off the shower drain. But that doesn’t mean that it’s good for her. I believe that it is MY responsibility to create a healthy diet for her.
Now I know that people have been feeding their dogs dog food for years, but what did they feed their dogs before that? The answer is HOMEMADE FOOD. Dog food did not come about until around the 1930s or 40s. Before that dogs were fed a homemade diet of whatever people had leftover in their pantries. And from what I’ve read, the dogs got along just fine. But the argument goes back and forth. I know that it’s easier just to pop open a can of dog food or open a bag of kibble. And people will argue that “veterinary” diet dog foods have essential nutrients vital to the health of your dog. But how can anybody argue that natural or organic vegetables, grains, and meats are less beneficial to your dog than whatever is in the dog food? Even if dog food DOES contain “micronutrients”, I’ve read that with all the processing that it goes through, a lot of those are stripped away.
I’m not trying to insult anybody’s beliefs or say that we are all horrible people for feeding dogs dog food. I just can’t help but wonder why some veterinarians can’t be a little supportive of someone who is trying to do what’s best for their dog? Why can’t they just admit that either diet might be beneficial, and either diet has its drawbacks?
I am still trying to figure all of this out. And I would have liked to be more detailed in summarizing what I’ve read about dog food. But there is soooo much to read. Maybe in another post, I can write a more informative summary.
When the doctor visit was over, I was given two replacement dosages of medication so that Kitty could finish taking the medication. Plus, the vet said she was going to prescribe another version of Royal Canin dog food. The previous vet had prescribed Royal Canin for intestinal health. This vet prescribed Royal Canin (Venison or Duck mixes). The only thing I’ve noticed with this version of Royal Canin is that Kitty has not been going poo very well. It almost seems strained. Plus, she is a bit itchy. Not as much as she was with the “intestinal health” mix of Royal Canin, but itchier than she was without it.
This vet also told me that I was feeding Kitty too much. Whereas, the vet at the other Banfield clinic had told me that the vet nurse (mentioned in a previous post) who told me that I was feeding Kitty too much was out of line for telling me that. The vet at the last two visits agreed that because of Kitty’s size, I SHOULD be feeding her small meals throughout the day. I explained to this new vet that I had been given conflicting information on that subject. When I told her that feeding Kitty frequently worked for HER, the vet just repeated that I still should not be feeding her more than three times a day, and that if I was concerned with hypoglycemia then that would just be a whole other issue altogether, and we would have to run bloodwork for that.
Also, when I tried to pursue the topic of a homemade diet with this particular vet, she made it seem like it was just not something do-able. She kept insisting that we should try the duck and/or venison mixes of Royal Canin or another type of the Prescription Diet dog food. When I told her that I was still interested in a homemade diet, and who would I need to contact, she said that the “person” who had determined all of this was some unreachable head of the American Veterinary Association. It was almost like she was trying to discourage me or make me believe that a homemade diet is absolutely impossible. I asked her if that was the only person qualified to assist me or from whom I could get information. I asked her HOW or WHERE I could find these people. I guess she wasn’t expecting me to ask so many questions… because she finally just said that I could do an online search for a nutritionist, but that it would HAVE to be APPROVED by the American Veterinary Association, that it could not be a PET nutritionist; it would have to be a REAL nutritionist.
Needless to say, this vet did not have much bedside manor, and I was told by the vet tech (after the vet left), that she gets cranky when she doesn’t eat. That’s nice, huh?
Well, my search for the right kind of diet for Kitty continues… If anybody has an advice or input, I would be happy to hear it…
