Choosing a pet food can be a tricky business, and an often overlooked step in pet ownership. The food you give your pet will affect it for life. Feeding poor food to a kitten or puppy will have results that may not show up immediately, but may result in serious health problems later in life, and will affect development of the bones, joints, and brain. How can you tell if it’s good, they all say full nutrition on the bag, don’t they?

Here are some things to look for. The first ingredient should be a meat source, look for ‘meal’, NOT by-product (which could contain beaks, feet, and feathers). By-products are preserved with Ethoxyquin, which is a chemical pesticide banned from human consumption. ‘Chicken meal’ and ‘lamb meal’ are good sources of protein. Many lower priced foods list corn meal as the number one ingredient, while acceptable further down the ingredient list, it should not be first, particularly in cat food. Wheat, soy, and beef, should also be avoided as they are frequently linked to food allergies.

Healthy food should be naturally preserved with Vitamin E (Tocopherols) as opposed to BHA or BHT. Also food should have no color additives, which is noticeable when you see several different colored pieces of kibble in the mix.

Most of the best quality foods do not have a lot of commercial advertisements, as they put the money into the quality of the food rather than into advertising. They market their products through word of mouth at sell through pet supply stores rather than at super markets where the staff isn’t specifically knowledgeable about pet nutrition.

Why feed a good quality food? A healthier pet for one, and although the cost of quality is higher, you actually feed less. Feeding less means less mess for you to clean up. Good quality foods contain quality meat, not animals that were dead long before they reached the rendering plants. It means you are feeding your pet food that, if you had to, you could eat yourself.