By Kathleen Doheny for WebVet
As you scan the choices in your market's pet food aisle, you've no doubt noticed the labels promoting "natural" foods for dogs and cats. Natural pet foods are popular, according to a survey of 1,090 respondents conducted by Hill's Pet Nutrition, which makes Hill's Nature's Best, a natural product. But the pollsters also found confusion about what the term means. To complicate your shopping and feeding tasks, veterinarians don't all agree that pets need "natural" formulas.
First, the survey findings:
- A third of respondents say they feed their pet a natural food, the majority for health reasons, and about half choose the natural food based on ingredients.
- More than half of respondents believe natural pet food is the best option for their pet's health.
- More than half say they read the label before buying a pet food, but understanding the label or all of it is difficult for most who do.
The survey answers trigger several other important questions, such as what constitutes a "natural" pet food and whether it beats out other types.
What is a natural pet food?
Guidelines for natural pet foods are made by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), says Kurt Gallagher, a spokesperson for the Pet Food Institute in Washington, D.C. Among other requirements, the use of the term natural in reference to the food product as a whole is acceptable only when all of the ingredients meet the d...
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