Pumpkin For Dogs Health

Our dogs think that they are just short, furry little people, @Ruby Begonia . Even though we always have dog food out in their dish, and doggie treats for them; they also think that when I make food, it is designed with them in mind. Bobby doesn't feed them, although he does save some scraps for the dogs; but they sit right there in front of me when I eat anything , just waiting to be hand-fed.
So, it really does not matter what we are having, if I am eating it, then they usually do as well. Chipper knows that if he does not eat his bite, then Tootsie will gobble it up; so they actually encourage each other to eat things they might not try otherwise.
They can't see why we like watermelon, though......

 

You are right in that dogs should eat mostly meat. However, dogs are actually omnivores, not carnivores, which means that they can live healthy lives while eating a variety of foods, including vegetables and grains, as well as meat. Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores. While cats can certainly eat vegetables and grains, they cannot live a healthy life without meat or taurine supplements, which adds the taurine that is otherwise found only in meat.

To be healthy, a cat must eat mostly meat. A cat’s digestive tract is shorter than that of a dog or a human being, which is an evolutionary process that processes high calorie meat proteins with hardly any vegetation. This resulted in a shorter feline intestine that is unable to process fibrous foods requiring a longer digestive time. High fiber foods place an unnatural burden on the cat’s digestive system that results in weight gain and nutrient deficiencies.

Foods made of grain are a problem for cats, which is why you should avoid feeding your cat cheap grocery store brands that consist mostly of corn, soy, wheat or rice, although brown rice is better for them than corn, soy or wheat. However, a cat needs a high protein diet with no more than 20% carbohydrates, to avoid problems like obesity, diabetes or digestive or urinary difficulties. This is because cats have evolved to eat only a very small amount of carbohydrates, largely the undigested grains or plant matter that might remain in the stomachs of rodents or birds that they ate.

Cats are not vegetarians. They also require taurine, which their bodies can only get from meat, unlike people, dogs or other animals, which are able to manufacture it themselves. Theoretically, a dog could live a healthy life on a vegetarian diet, but it is not recommended, and dogs will be happier and healthier if their diet, as well, consists mostly of meat. However, the only way that a cat could live a vegetarian life is if the cat were otherwise provided with the taurine that is necessary for its survival.

Wet foods should have at least 0.5% taurine, although more is better, and kibble should have at least .16% taurine.

Contrary to what some will tell you, commercial pet foods are not necessary for the health of your pet. Much of this was perpetuated by the commercial pet food industries in the early 1970s. While commercial pet foods are certainly easier, and your dog or cat can live a healthy life when provided with premium commercial foods, there are other alternatives.

Seventy years ago, dogs and cats ate farm-fresh meats, fertile raw eggs, dairy, and produce, most of which was free of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Both people and their pets ate much of the same foods, plus most cats lived much of their lives outdoors, so they were able to supplement their diets by doing what they were made to do - hunt.

The chief problem with feeding people food to your dog or cat is that our food often tends to include unhealthy levels of salt and other flavorings. Many of use use far too much salt to be healthy for our own bodies, but that is exaggerated many times when it is introduced into the much smaller system of a cat or dog.

People food may also include other ingredients that are not good for your cat or dog, so it take a lot more work to develop a diet for your pet. Foods to avoid include those made from refined wheat flour, white rice, or any grain byproducts. Acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus, can be a problem. My cats seem to recognize this, as they won't even let me pet them until I wash my hands after eating citrus. Tomatoes are high in lycopenes, which are a beneficial nutrient, but their acidity can upset the gastrointestinal tract. Genetically modified foods are not good for anyone, and this is doubly true for your dog or cat. Chocolate is also a bad idea, according to most experts. I have come across some who disagree, but why would it be necessary to feed chocolate to your dog or cat anyhow?

I have not heard of pumpkin being a recommended food, but it doesn't show up in any of the no-no lists that I have come across, so I don't see any reason not to.

Early commercial foods were very bad, resulting in cancers, kidney and liver disease, allergies, arthritis, and no end to other problems, largely because it consisted almost wholly of the wastes from the human food chain, as well as byproducts that included animals that were dead, dying, diseased, or disabled, and considered not fit for human consumption.

While many of these same low-grade foods are available yet today in our grocery stores, premium foods are beginning to change the commercial pet food industry. Even companies that were known for the worst pet foods, like Purina, are now offering healthier fare because an educated buying market is demanding it.

I apologize. I don't mean to preach, but I used to do this for a living.

 

Could it be that this wasn't all you fed her? Premium pet foods and a better awareness of what is or is not good for our pets has greatly increased the average lifespan of our dogs and cats. I had a discussion with a representative from Science Diet once, while I was working for Blue Buffalo. Science Diet was giving away one of those things that are supposed to tell you how old a dog or a cat would be in dog years or in cat years, as compared to human years, except that it didn't go beyond fifteen years. I suggested that Science Diet didn't expect animals eating their food to live longer than fifteen years, while I had cats that were much older than that (including two who will be 26 next month). I noticed just the other day that Science Diet has greatly improved the ingredients in its foods, although it's still on the low end of premium foods, as far as quality goes, although it is more expensive than many much better foods.

PetMD does include an article on the health benefits of pumpkin.

I would be skeptical about buying foods that originate in China regardless of what the ingredients say. In fact, given the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan a couple of years ago, I have greatly reduced the amount of seafood that I give my cats, although they love it.

I don't abandon a pet food company just because they have a recall, because most companies will have a recall at one point or another. I am particularly less concerned when the recall was a voluntary one, as this implies that the company found a problem and chose to do the right thing. Blue Buffalo had a recall a few years ago, when they found that a supplier had not followed the specifications that they had specified and, more recently, they recalled some of their cat treats when, in response to a single complaint, they tested the batch and found low levels of propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is used as a preservative in some dog foods, but not by Blue Buffalo, which believes that it provides no nutritional value and that it has been associated with possible side effects.

I really do believe that a homemade diet would be the safest, but it's not an easy thing to do. It requires a great deal of planning and preparation that many of us don't have the time, the resources, or the inclination to do, and I place myself in that category. It's not enough to simply prepare food that doesn't contain things that may be harmful to the pet; it also requires the planning necessary to prepare foods that do include the things that are necessary for the health of the pet.