If the advertising for a pet food reminds me strongly of the shit I used to prop up my eating disorder, I am not touching it with a 10-foot pole. It’s manipulating owners with the same horrible underhanded scare tactics and misinterpreted facts and bad science. It’s preying on OWNERS’ insecurity about food and nutrition to drive business to their brand.
So yeah, I’m going to look at my options within some select name brands, not at the advertising that shows me a bobcat and a bunch of meat when I am feeding this fucking thing, whatever it is:
I’m going to look at what a freaky little beast like him needs, and at safety records over multiple creacher lifetimes.
And I will listen to my vet and my veterinary nutritionist because vets with a degree are far more likely to have accurate and thorough nutritional training than a pet store associate who has no veterinary training but has been trained to sell you on boutique foods. They may believe it themselves, fervently, but they aren’t vets.
To a vet, your pet is a client and the goal is their care, which encompasses nutrition but doesn’t end there. To a vet, your concern for your pet’s nutrition is responsible and welcome, and met with reasonable facts.
To a pet store, your concern over your pet’s nutrition is the lever they use to tip you over into outright fear for their safety, and their goal is to use that fear to turn you into a repeat customer for an expensive product.
Do not fall for it. Do research, don’t just believe what people tell you.
And don’t feed your pets vegan food.
