Are you loyal to a brand of kibble because you believe it is best for your cat’s or dog’s health?

But do you really know the actual ingredients and extreme manufacturing processes used in making kibble for cats and dogs? And its impact on our pets’ health?

Regardless of the type of kibble, the quality of ingredients used, the price point, the marketing efforts, and even the recommendations from pet professionals…

ALL forms of kibble (for both, dogs and cats) suffer from the following shortcomings!

1. High Amounts of Starch (Sugar)

Cats and dogs are biologically meat-eaters. Their natural diet needs to be high in protein and moisture, not carbohydrates.

On the contrary, dry kibble for cats and dogs is loaded with starchy vegetables or grains which are very cheap.

These carbs-rich filler foods cause excess carbohydrates in the body, which leads to health issues like obesity, high blood sugar, pancreatic stress, urinary crystals, plaque, and tartar… And the list goes on!

And these are just a few implications of The Carbohydrate Problem in pet foods here.

2. How it’s Made: Extrusion

About 95 per cent of dry pet diets are manufactured using the extrusion process. And it is a process that has been used by the pet food industry for over 50 years.

In the process of extrusion, the food is subjected to very high temperatures (nearly 400° F) for a short time (approximately 5 minutes). This results in changes in the physical and chemical components of the food, including

• Loss in enzymes, minerals, and vitamins
• toxic reactions including Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) and Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs)
• Starch gelatinisation
• Inactivation of nutritionally active factors
• Protein denaturation

As a result, your pet’s body doesn’t recognise the abnormal shape or chemical components of their proteins and their antibodies try to fight back. The result can be inflammation, vomiting, diarrhoea, allergies, and even asthma in your pet.

3. Oxidised Fats (Rancid Fats)

Whenever a bag of food is opened, the food is exposed to oxygen. When the reaction starts occurring, food starts to go rancid.

To slow down this process of oxidation, pet food companies add antioxidants to their products.

But when a food bag is opened and exposed to oxygen for long periods, the antioxidants are used up (oxidised) and the fats start turning rancid. For the same reason, pet nutritionists advise against using a bag of kibble (for cats and dogs) for more than 2 weeks.

Moreover, if the bag of cat or dog kibble is stored in warm, humid temperatures, which are very common in UAE, the process of oxidation is accelerated. This risks more fats turning rancid.

And studies show that frequent consumption of oxidised fats (rancid fats) may cause cancer and contribute to many chronic health problems.

4. Degradation of All Micronutrients

After being manufactured, cat and dog kibble is stored in warehouses and retail stores for long-term storage, which depletes micronutrient content.

This problem is only worsened if you buy kibble for your dog or cat in big bulky bags and food is exposed to oxygen and/or heat for a longer duration after being opened.

5. Moulds and Mycotoxins – yuck!

More than our cats’ and dogs’ kibble just oxidising, storing open bags of kibble (for up to a month or more) in warm, humid environments also promotes the growth of moulds.

This applies to most kitchen areas and is worse if you store the bag in plastic food containers.

Why? What happens?

The long-term consumption of mycotoxins (waste products of mould) is said to be a potential cause of cancer and other health problems in both, humans and animals! And dogs are especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of these toxins.

6. Dehydration in Our Pets’ Bodies

Kibble for cats and dogs is dry and not part of your pet’s natural diet. This dry food forces your pet’s body to extract moisture from vital organs to digest food.

And dogs, especially cats that eat dry kibble diets are dehydrated, which can be the cause of many serious health issues like urinary crystals and stones, bladder infections, FLUTD, constipation, and kidney diseases.

What makes a kibble diet worse for cats and dogs?

In countries like UAE, where the weather is mostly hot and humid; just like us humans, our pets need to constantly rehydrate themselves. On the contrary, when our cats and dogs eat kibble (be it of any sort) in such adverse weather conditions, their bodies are further dehydrated!

To which, here’s a natural alternative, their Ancestral Diet, for your cats’ or dogs’ kibble diets.

7. Poor Oral Health

Also, the idea that kibble cleans teeth is absolutely false! In fact, cats and dogs eating dry crunchy kibble promotes tartar, builds up plaque, and decays teeth.

When all the ingredients of kibble diets are put into the extruder, they need to bind together…

And in order to bind these ingredients together and form a pellet-like shape, it requires a large amount of starch (carbohydrates and/or grains).

As humans, we can digest carbs and grains. However, our pets do not produce the same digestive enzymes as us for breaking down starch in their mouths. As a result, tartar accumulates, plaque builds up, and other potential oral, health problems arise over time.

Dry, heavily processed pet food is far from Real Fresh Food.

As the adage goes - “You’re what you eat”, proper nutrition is vital to good health!

In nature, living foods truly nourish both, humans and animals.

So if your pets are to thrive, they need the live enzymes, phytochemicals, and antioxidants from fresh foods. Also, the unadulterated amino acids, balanced fats, vitamins, and minerals that only fresh food can provide!

Proper moisture levels, variety, and appropriate storage techniques - these are all important to ensure your cats and dogs are consuming food that’s going to nourish their health.

And the diets best suited for our pets are - Fresh, balanced, species-appropriate foods!

Fresh Raw Pet Food for an Optimal Life

With the above said, our Meals for Dogs and Cats are fresh, raw, unprocessed, balanced with fats, and nutrient-rich so that pet parents can have the peace of mind knowing that they’re feeding their furchildren the best!

Eliminating all the concerns mentioned above for cat and dog kibble diets, Furchild provides your pet with a holistic balanced diet that is as close to nature as possible.

Actually, food that our pets have been eating for centuries, and food they’re supposed to eat!

And one last question - While your cat or dog may eat kibble and live a long life, why not start an optimally healthy life for your pet with our Raw Starter Kit?

Feed to thrive, not survive!