What do you feed your pets?

[Kyla Kym]

What are your pets feeding habits?
Do they eat off the table?
And what brands do they eat?
Do they get treats as well?

[suziebee20]

We feed our dogs this Solid Gold all natural crap since my mom bought this book about how they put euthenized animals and stuff in some pet foods. Not sure if it's true or not... but our cats eat Purina One. Our dogs get just about everything we do, my mom even made me open the bag of marshamellows I got for cooking class to give my dog one :rolleyes:. All our cat eats is Pounce BasteMs'.

[laughsalot]

I feed Hannah Dinner Rounds by OlRoy. I have tried her on several things but that is the only thing she will eat. She will beg for whatever I am eating. Sometimes I give in and give her a piece of my sandwhich or whatever. BUT I DO NOT give her canned foood. It has a disatrous affect on her!!

[Quaker_Parrots]

Kaytee fortidiet, all the veggies they can stand, and an occassional peanut or cracker for a snack. and yes they do get table food, depending on what we are having, and it isn't harmful to them.


But take in consideration, I have an African Grey, and 4 quakers......lol

[NINK]

i must give my dog people food or she will die, i have a 1-2 pound chihuahuah and she must have thinsg like fruit and dairy products because lots of itty bitty dogs like that need something that dog food can not provide, she'll go into shock with out it and it's not pleasant. so she gets any fruit we are having or baby food fruit, yogurt, and some meat. she also gets the little champion packets of food because she seams to do really well on those with only needing a few extra people foods here and there, before i got her on those i had to make sure i fed her people food once or twice a day or she'd go into shock, ever since she started on those i can just give her things here and there when i have it out. i also give her dry dog food just so she has something to chew on for her teeth as she does not like bones or toys or treats. i buy name brand dry food but not always the same one, we've had ekenuba,pedigree,purina. it doesn't have to be the same each time because it takes her almost a year to go thru the smallest bag of food you can buy so it's not like she is having a constant change.

[NINK]

oh, just to let you know they do put dead animals in pet food. i use to work for a rabbit butcher and all the dead rabbits, the guts,unborn babies, stomaches,ect. all went in a trash can that was sold to dog food companies. so when they say made out of meat on them they may mean this.

[YankeeMary]

Well we give our dogs dry dog food...whatever DH picks up...also all the table scraps we have...I also give them whatever I am eating..I have to I can't stand the look in their eyes...lol...also I give them chocolate...So far none has died from this and my miniature cockerspaniel got into a whole 5 pound bag of hersey kisses and ate everyone...she didn't even get sick...also I have an african grey whom eats anything he wants...he eats what we eat as well his regular bird food....get this his favorite people food is CHICKEN...lol..and a close second...eggs...lol...as well as anything hot..btw we keep the feeders full for the dogs at all times..when they are hungry they eat...we go through 40-50 pounds of dog food every 2 weeks give or take.

[gemini26]

We have 10 hunting dogs and feed them Pedigree. This seems to work the best and they always look good and don't come back from hunting looking really bad taking them days to get back to normal like used to happen with other dog food. Their stools are much better as well. We go through a 44lb bag every 3 days. Our house dog gets the pedigree as well as meat table scraps when we have them.

[MamaFairal]

Sassy & Sammy are now indoor cats and i feed them Purina Indoor Cat food..Has all the extra stuff they would get if they still played outside i guess it says....No people food except they love the occaisonal green olive i dont know why....lol
And when we have Salmon i usually give them a little piece.They have a water dish also but Sassy prefers for you to turn on the bathroom faucet to drink and Sammy loves the toilet water(yuk)

They also get one little spoonful of 9-Lives wet food everyday and if you are not up to give it to them by 6am they definetely will run around meowing to let you know they want it.....lol

I dont like animals that sit and watch you eat or beg for bits so my cats know better and leave you alone during a meal.
My cats are awesome!

** i know lots of animals who have died eating chocolate...your lucky!

[Mrs.Magoo]

Our dogs gets some brand of dry dog food from the feed store. We go through about 50 pounds every two days or so. Plus they get table scraps. The repitles all eat crickets and pinkies. The ferret eats purina cat chow and cheerios. The cats eat purina cat chow. And one of my birds eats people food and the other does not he is stricly seed.

[Lora_1994]

My dog gets the blue barn dog food from the feed store and she loves it. the outside cats get the cheapie feed store cat food and my inside kitty gets that plus I usually buy her the better cat food, meow mix or something like that. She also gets canned cat food, 9 lives and kitty treats(when I remember them) and every now and then I buy her her own can of salmon and split it up over the course of a few days for her.

[ntgsmommy]

I feed my yorkie, the canned food from the vet, Science diet i/d, it's supossed to be for when they are sick, the vet gives it to the animals becasue it is bland. But, she eats it. We had the hardest time trying to find something she would eat. Alot of food I had bought for her ended up going to the local pound because I didn't want to throw it out. She also eats a handful (whatever she will eat) of purina dog chow small kibble at night she has to be handfed this though. I thought she was going to starve herself to death at first becasue she just woldn't eat. She only weighed 3 lbs at the time and her ribs were showing and everything. Finally though, we found the i/d....so, that works for her...

[mamalamas]

My kitty eats dry cat food ... and the occasional Pounce treat. She was adopted by us from PetSmart and I didn't know exactly what bad habits she had when I got her ... she never gets into the garbage, our food, the table or on the counter tops. I have no tolerance for an animal that begs ... it drives me insane! She is a great kitty!

[tigerskiss1963]

i feed my cats purina indoor and alpo cat food
and sometimes as a treat i give them a dunkin doughnut

[NINK]

Chocolate Poisoning

To most of us, chocolate is a delicious brown substance, with no more problems than an expanding waistline or rotting teeth. To dogs, chocolate is also delicious, but potentially lethal. The humble cocoa bean, from which chocolate is produced, contains a drug called theobromine. This is closely related to caffeine, which chocolate also contains. The toxicity of chocolate for dogs is due to its theobromine content.

Chocolate poisoning is very serious. It contains a long lasting, very potent toxin that can cause death. This toxicity is largely unfamiliar to most people, who may not worry too much if their dog is a bit sick after eating a quantity of chocolate. "Serves him right, being sick after eating all that chocolate," I've heard people say. This is not funny. Many dogs die every year from this toxin. It is one of the most common poisonings that occur in dogs in the UK.

Effects of Chocolate Poisoning

If a dog consumes enough theobromine, (see How Much is Enough? below), the symptoms of poisoning will occur. Initially, the dog will develop abdominal pain and vomiting which may contain blood. The vomit in most cases will contain substantial amounts of chocolate, giving it a very characteristic smell. The dog may be restless, drooling saliva and could have difficulty standing or walking. Increased thirst is also common.

As the syndrome progresses, in the more severely affected dogs, there is an increased rate of breathing, muscle tremors, or rigidity. Urine may contain blood and the colour of the gums may take on a bluish hue, (this is known as "cyanosis"). Eventually, the dog may develop convulsions and die.

In the majority of cases, the symptoms occur within a few hours, but it has been known to be delayed for as long as 24 hours. It can take as long as three days for the dog to recover completely.

As well as the symptoms described above, your vet may be able to detect an increase in heart rate, and an abnormal rhythm.

Types of Chocolate

The different forms of chocolate and its by-products contain different amounts of theobromine. The following list is in decreasing order of quantities of theobromine:

Cocoa Beans
Cocoa Powder
Plain (Dark) Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
Drinking Chocolate (Powder)
White Chocolate
Practically, this means that white chocolate has the lowest risk of toxicity, and dark chocolate the highest. The majority of cases of serious poisoning incidences (in the UK) involve the continental European types of chocolate, because these contain more cocoa and less milk. There have also been many reports of deaths occurring in dogs that have eaten a whole tub of cocoa powder.

How Much is Enough?

The quantity of chocolate that must be eaten before toxic symptoms appear is different for each dog. What could be lethal for one dog, may be no problem for another. The LD50 of theobromine for dogs is around 300mg/kg. (mg/kg = milligrams of theobromine per kilogram of dog. 1 kilogram = 2.2lb). This means that 300mg/kg will kill 50% of the dogs that it is administered to. Therefore, some dogs will die well before this point is reached, and according to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service, 130mg/kg was fatal to a dog.

So, if we take this as a base, and imagine a 20kg dog (about the size of most Border Collies), it may only require 130x20 = 2600mg of theobromine to be a fatal dose.

The quantity of theobromine varies, even within the same broad groups mentioned above, but plain, or dark chocolate can contain as much as 16mg of theobromine per gram of chocolate. So, dividing our 2600mg lethal dose by 16mg leaves us with a figure of 162.5g of dark chocolate as being potentially lethal to a 20kg dog. That's about six ounces. Not a lot is it, if you consider that most "boxes of chocolates" weigh about one pound. Most cases of chocolate poisoning involve dogs that have "stolen" a whole box of chocolates from under a Christmas tree, and deaths in these, often quite large dogs are not in any way uncommon. Cocoa powder is even more dangerous. It can contain as much as 50% more theobromine than plain chocolate, so as little as four ounces could be fatal.

If your dog eats any quantity of cocoa powder, or plain chocolate go immediately to the vet. DO NOT WAIT FOR SYMPTOMS TO BEGIN.

These figures relate to the minimum fatal doses for dogs. Most dogs won't die if they eat six ounces of dark chocolate. However, some will, and most will be very, very ill at the very least.

Treatment

Theobromine has no specific antidote. Chocolate poisoning is in every sense of the word an emergency, and your vet may not be able to take time to fully discuss treatment options in the first instance. Convulsing dogs require immediate attention, and general anaesthesia is often required to stop the seizures. (See Epilepsy). If the dog is not fitting, then more treatment options are available and the outlook is better. What follows is general treatment advice for the treatment of chocolate poisoning. Every dog is different, and in each case, the exact treatment protocol may have to be adjusted according to the quantity of chocolate thought to have been consumed, and the symptoms that the dog is displaying.

In dogs that have only recently consumed the chocolate, if they have not vomited, then vomiting is usually induced. This can be by the administration of drugs such as apomorphine (which very reliably causes vomiting in dogs), or by giving a washing soda crystal orally. Once the vomiting has stopped, an intestinal adsorbent can be given, such as activated charcoal, or BCK Granules® (a proprietary mixture of bismuth, charcoal and kaolin). Intestinal adsorbents slow, or prevent the absorption of toxic substances from the intestines.

If the dog is vomiting already, then anti-vomiting drugs need to be given first, especially if the chocolate was consumed many hours previously. The most commonly used drugs of this type are called metoclopramide (Emequell®), and acepromazine. Once the vomiting has been controlled, then intestinal adsorbents may safely be given. This is important because theobromine, once it has been deactivated by the liver, and excreted into the intestines can become reactivated, and reabsorbed again.

In almost all cases, the circulation needs to be supported by giving fluids intravenously. Some dogs that have abnormal heart rhythms will need drugs to combat this.

Chocolate is digested very much more slowly by dogs than people. Because of this, symptoms may not appear for many hours after the chocolate is eaten. Do not be fooled by this into thinking that everything is OK. The earlier this is treated the more likely you are to save the dog's life. In addition to this, the very slow deactivation of theobromine by dogs means that the effects of chocolate poisoning can be very prolonged - up to three days, so your vet may need to hospitalise him for all this time.

Outlook for Affected Dogs.

The outlook very much depends on how much chocolate or cocoa powder that the dog has eaten, and how long prior to being seen by the vet that the dog ate it. Unfortunately, most people are completely oblivious to the risks that chocolate poses, and delay until severe, persistent vomiting has developed before going to the vet. Once this stage has been reached, experience shows that up to 50% will die. If seizures have developed, then an even higher proportion of dogs will die. Treated early enough, except for dogs that have consumed very large quantities of chocolate or cocoa powder, the outlook is generally quite good.

Recovered dogs show no long term ill effects from the poisoning.

©SuperVet 2000, all rights reserved.

[Syrinx]

My kitties get the Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula and whatever other dry food is on sale, they aren't very picky. I don't buy canned food, my one cat won't touch it at all and the other eats two bites and ignores the rest so it's not worth it. I get them a couple different brands of the crunchy tartar control treats, they get a couple of those every day and the occasional "people food" treat. If I open a can of tuna for lunch, I don't have a choice, I have to share- they practically climb my legs trying to get to it!

[Trishntx]

I feed my two finicky dogs BIL-JAC dog food. I got a sample off the freebie forum here one time and they went crazy for it. It is all they will eat, and trust me, we went through them all to find one they like.
My two kitties eat Friskies dry, and Friskies wet (once a day). And of course Pounce cat treats.
It looks to me like we all have a bunch of spoiled pets lol!!!!
Oh..and about table scraps. Of course we are all guilty about handing over a scrap of chicken or beef, but if we let them have too much, that seems to be all they want to eat.

[Bohemut]

My boys all get Pet Gold dry, weight maintanence (except Reinmut who is still growing). I mix in a little canned food, again Pet Gold weight maintanence, with the dry for dinner. Occassionally I microwave a couple eggs to mix in (two eggs for four dogs). They also get a special oil and vitamin supplement mixed into their food every night--it helps keep them from going bald. We use Science Diet t/d for treats when they poo outside (dachshunds are notorious for forgetting they're housebroken--especially when it's raining). They get 1/4 to 1/2 a small milkbone when they go to bed. Otherwise they get chewies--rawhide chips or sticks. They also frequently get carrots, celery, lettuce, or any other fresh veggie I'm fixing.

Buck will steal chocolate if he can get it--and he's very inventive. A couple of Christmases ago he got into a 1 lb box of dark chocolate truffles. There were no vets open and I thought I was going to lose him. I spent the whole night up with him. He was shaking and panting, and having a hard time breathing. He started foaming at the mouth a couple of times. He did vomit several times (at least 5) and I think that's what saved him. That and I almost forced him to drink lots of water. He made it through the night, obviously :D , but it did take several days for him to be okay again. He still goes to great lengths to get chocolate, so we have to be very careful. If he gets into chocolate like that again (so much of it) he may not be lucky enough to stay alive. I won't take that chance ever again with any of my boys.

[justme23]

My bird eats off the table indeed. She gets her own plate even. She gets mad if we eat and don't share. Every once in a great moon she gets a tiny tiny piece of chicken. She doesn't really like ground beef, but she's allowed to have it every great moon or so too... other than that, she eats whatever fruit and vegetable we might be having that night. She loves apple and orange juice way too much. She also gets her pelets and when she's good she gets 2 pumpkin seeds but no more than that.

[usascs]

My duke gets 6 cups purina pro plan mixed with 3 cups water and aprox. half lb fried burger

[twinkiesmom]

Originally posted by laughsalot
BUT I DO NOT give her canned foood. It has a disatrous affect on her!!
LOL. OMG. ITA!

I feed my dog dry dogfood. Nothing fancy. She likes to watch the floor in the kitchen, and whatever falls, she's there. I'm a pig when it comes to eating popcorn. She'll get like a milkbone dog bisquit from time to time for going outside.

[Vertigo]

My Poo is spoiled, I was nice and giving her expensive duck and potato wet, then giving her her baby chow, but she prefers duck. Guess I'm stuck spending $$ on the pricier food.

[wubbywa]

Bil-Jac here. We also did the little test with the freebie and they went nuts. We buy that and mix a cheaper brand with it.

[schsa]

My dogs eat Purina 1 and they get Meaty Bones for treats. They also get the beef flavored leather chews.

The cat, on the other hand, feels he is entitled to eat those little expensive cans of Fancy Feast and preferably the Fish and Shrimp variety. He also gets Friskies Ocean Fish Flavor hard food and his current favorite treat is the Caribean Crunch (or something like that) cat treats. Yes he really is spoiled but if you were to ask him, he would tell you he's deprived. Cats are never thankful for what they get.

[zitra]

my dogs eat kibbles n bits, a variety of dog treats, and somtimes they snack on popocorn..they have also been known to steal food out of the kids hands if they hold it down too low.

[Dolly<3]

I feed my cat a BARF (bones & raw food) diet. It's the closest I can give him to what he's evolved to have other than bringing in live prey for him to catch and eat. lol

I buy ground turkey, chicken, veal and used to get rabbit but it's gross and I can't bring myself to do it anymore. I feed some feral rabbits in my yard and just about die whenever I see an outdoor cat come around. So I don't get it anymore b/c he is fine with the other meats.

Then I blend raw chicken liver to mix with the ground meat and add purified bone meal, dried egg yolk, gelatin, kelp, psyllium husk powder, taurine, vitamin e, complex b vitamin, organic adrenal glands, organic kidney support, an enzymes & probiotic blend, pacific salmon oil, and lots of water.

I got the recipe from a holistic vet, who worked with other vets and cat owners.

[stresseater]

We feed all of the dogs and cats walmart's olroy brand plus all the table scraps they can eat. :D :D We have yet to find anything that Elmo won't eat.(He is our horse of a dog :) )

[aneisu]

My cats get purina one and any treats i can find. They have never had table scraps - they just aren't healthy for them. They don't get wet food or realy any variety b/c i have one who gets horrible gas with cheap food and the other pukes if i even change the flavor. both have really sensitive tummies!

[fatesfaery]

Originally posted by laughsalot
I feed Hannah Dinner Rounds by OlRoy.

Same here, Taffy refuses to eat anything else.I think
she likes them because she can hide them all over the
house and go back and eat them later. She also gets bites
of whatever we're eating.
The cats aren't that picky, they usually eat Whiskas. They
also beg for and get whatever we eat.

Treats are usually Pounce for the cats and all natural breath
treats for Taffy...I can't remember the band name right now.

[CHERNL]

My cats won't eat cat treats, but Seamus likes peanut butter and Sh!theade likes tofu--they prefer Whiskas dry food, and get one can of wet food per day for both of them, usually Special Kitty or 9 Lives. They will also steal people food if we leave it unattended.

[JKATHERINE]

My kittens get Purina Kitten Chow and the occasional can of tuna to split. Our rabbits get Bunny16 from the pet food store as well as green peppers, strawberries, lettuce and alfalfa. We never feed our animals any table scraps.

[Tippytail]

My shihtzy mostly eats table food. His favorites are rice and meat but he's not terribly picky about anything, though eggs are off limits because they're mean to him. He also finishes off the Meow Mix every night. Every three days or so, I divide a flat can of 9-Lives 3 ways...one for him and one for each of my young cats.

My two youngest cats eat Meow Mix and 9-Lives as described above, anymore than that and the paint starts peeling off the walls. They both also like chicken so they get little tidbits of that when we have it for dinner.

I have two 16 year old cats that will eat nothing other than Friskies Dry and an occasional piece of ham.

I also have two 11 year olds, that prefer Special Kitty but I can't feed them that junk with a good conscience so they eat whatever is in the bowl in front of them.

[JWWB2000]

My cat get Pro Plan dry chicken and rice formula and my two pugs get Pro Plan dry lamb and rice formula. Blu, our cat, doesn't really like cat treats but he will get rice, veggies, stuffing, and poultry when it is baked. As far as treats for the pugs, they get Pro Plan dog biscuits and Greenies (which are like crack for dogs). I almost forgot, they also LOVE peanut butter spread on the biscuits, on your finger, or just anywhere. They will get the occasional gravy mixed in with their food to give them a little treat. Other than that, my animals only get pet food.

[AngelGrim]

Diamond red dog food, I buy it by the 50 lb bags, for about 16.00 and it has beef and chiken flavors, small enough for any size dog, our dogs are all healthy and not thin, the cats love it too. We buy it at our local feed store. They also get all the scraps from the fridge or supper.

[Kyla Kym]

Originally posted by ntgsmommy
I feed my yorkie, the canned food from the vet, Science diet i/d, it's supossed to be for when they are sick, the vet gives it to the animals becasue it is bland. But, she eats it. We had the hardest time trying to find something she would eat. Alot of food I had bought for her ended up going to the local pound because I didn't want to throw it out. She also eats a handful (whatever she will eat) of purina dog chow small kibble at night she has to be handfed this though. I thought she was going to starve herself to death at first becasue she just woldn't eat. She only weighed 3 lbs at the time and her ribs were showing and everything. Finally though, we found the i/d....so, that works for her...
I have the same problem with mine. She is just so finicky, I will have to try the Science diet. I can get her to eat Mighty dog some times. Have you tried that already? Also she wants to eat the cat food which I'm sure isn't good for her since I have to feed my cat stuff for Senior cats to help maintain a healthy urinary tract. My outside dogs get kibbles & bits at the moment because it's only $5 a bag at Big Lots. I buy all their treats at Big Lots too. :)

I tried to get the BillJac everyone is talking about, but they said it's not available in my area. Sounds like a wonderful dog food.