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Nicotine in Cat Food?!



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 5th 03, 04:38 AM
H.R.
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Default Nicotine in Cat Food?!

That wouldn't surprise me.


"bewtifulfreak" wrote in message
...
I just spoke to our local pet shop guy today who's ever so nice, and we

were
talking about the contents of cat foods, and he was saying when he was
looking to start his business about five years back and was taking a

course,
he visited a cat food cannery (not one of the big names), and they told

him
there is nicotine in nearly all canned cat food; that if you ask, they

will
say it has some benefit to the cat, but it's really to just get them

hooked
on their brand. Apparently, they all have different amounts, that is why
they sometimes balk when you change brands, it's not just the taste. He
says that was five years ago, so they may have stopped, but he can't see
them doing so. Is that *crazy*, or what??? I know they put sugar and
alcohol and a bunch of other stuff in cigarettes to make them even more
addictive, but it never dawned on me that they were doing it to pets, too!

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak







  #2  
Old August 5th 03, 05:38 AM
Sylvia M.
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Default


I would have thought that they would use catnip.
At least that wouldn't hurt the cats. (?)

Sylvia

"bewtifulfreak" wrote in message
...
I just spoke to our local pet shop guy today who's ever so nice, and we

were
talking about the contents of cat foods, and he was saying when he was
looking to start his business about five years back and was taking a

course,
he visited a cat food cannery (not one of the big names), and they told

him
there is nicotine in nearly all canned cat food; that if you ask, they

will
say it has some benefit to the cat, but it's really to just get them

hooked
on their brand. Apparently, they all have different amounts, that is why
they sometimes balk when you change brands, it's not just the taste. He
says that was five years ago, so they may have stopped, but he can't see
them doing so. Is that *crazy*, or what??? I know they put sugar and
alcohol and a bunch of other stuff in cigarettes to make them even more
addictive, but it never dawned on me that they were doing it to pets, too!

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak







  #3  
Old August 5th 03, 05:41 AM
bewtifulfreak
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Sylvia M." wrote in message
...

I would have thought that they would use catnip.
At least that wouldn't hurt the cats. (?)


You would think, wouldn't you....but then, I don't know if catnip is truly
addictive, whereas nicotine surely is. Of course, they claim the nicotine
actually has a health benefit to the cat, but I find that hard to
believe....

Ann


  #4  
Old August 5th 03, 03:24 PM
LeeAnne
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Default

Heh, tell that to my cat Max who sits beside the cabinet door where the 'nip
is and tries to open it, lol.

LeeAnne

"bewtifulfreak" wrote in message
news:eBGXa.6

I don't know if catnip is truly addictive, (snippage)
Ann




  #5  
Old August 5th 03, 07:10 PM
E. R.
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Posts: n/a
Default

bewtifulfreak wrote:

I just spoke to our local pet shop guy today who's ever so nice, and we were
talking about the contents of cat foods, and he was saying when he was
looking to start his business about five years back and was taking a course,
he visited a cat food cannery (not one of the big names), and they told him
there is nicotine in nearly all canned cat food; that if you ask, they will
say it has some benefit to the cat, but it's really to just get them hooked
on their brand. Apparently, they all have different amounts, that is why
they sometimes balk when you change brands, it's not just the taste. He
says that was five years ago, so they may have stopped, but he can't see
them doing so. Is that *crazy*, or what??? I know they put sugar and
alcohol and a bunch of other stuff in cigarettes to make them even more
addictive, but it never dawned on me that they were doing it to pets, too!

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak


Which makes you wonder if nicotine is intentionally placed in the foods that we
eat and this alone is leading to the problem of obesity. Who knows? It
wouldn't surprise me, either. Look at all of the boxed and processed foods for
sale in the supermarkets and how they compete for shelf space. Then there are
the junk food outlets like McDonald's, Burger King, etc.. Sometimes when eating
these foods or packaged, pre-made cookies, I can taste something strange and ash
like. What about the grains and feed fed to cows, pigs, and chickens? More
possibility of nicotine here.

Is "Ash" a typical ingredient in some cat foods, in fact, nicotine? Hill's
Science Diet dry food for kittens has 7% Ash. I checked some cans of Friskies
and no Ash was found in the listing of ingredients. Can somebody explain the
presence of Ash in one brand of cat food, but not in another?


  #6  
Old August 5th 03, 09:25 PM
Orchid
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On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 14:10:25 -0400, "E. R."
wrote:


Which makes you wonder if nicotine is intentionally placed in the foods that we
eat and this alone is leading to the problem of obesity. Who knows? It
wouldn't surprise me, either. Look at all of the boxed and processed foods for
sale in the supermarkets and how they compete for shelf space. Then there are
the junk food outlets like McDonald's, Burger King, etc.. Sometimes when eating
these foods or packaged, pre-made cookies, I can taste something strange and ash
like.


Ye gods. Any other conspiracy theories you'd like to espouse?
The Secret Service offing JFK? Aliens?
It has been very well-documented that we form our eating
habits before the age of two. It is, in essence, when we are taught
what is food and good and what isn't. Raise a kid on processed crap,
and they will crave processed crap. It's the whole idea of comfort
food.
As for the 'strange, ash-like' taste, processed crap is loaded
with preservatives, which can contribute to off flavours in the food
itself.
Finally, I'd want to see a lot more confirmation of the
supposed nicotine in cat food than simply the anecdotal evidence of a
pet shop employee. Had anyone bothered to get an ingredient list from
any of the accused companies? A guaranteed analysis? Anything?

Is "Ash" a typical ingredient in some cat foods, in fact, nicotine? Hill's
Science Diet dry food for kittens has 7% Ash. I checked some cans of Friskies
and no Ash was found in the listing of ingredients. Can somebody explain the
presence of Ash in one brand of cat food, but not in another?


Ash = minerals. The amount of 'ash' is determined by burning
a sample of the food and measuring the amount of noncombusted
material. Ash is neither good nor bad for cats. In the 80's it was
briefly thought that the amount of ash might have something to do with
UTIs or CRF, but that has been rather soundly disproven in the
scientific arena. Unfortunately, the consumer arena is nearly as
quick to catch up or nearly as educated, and so people get ideas into
their heads and refuse to let them go. This is why cat food labels
still include the essentially meaningless amount of 'ash'.
A better thing to look at and worry about is the calcium -
phosphorus ratio. It should be somwhere in the neighborhood of 1.5:1,
IIRC.



Orchid

Orchid's Kitties: http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Orchid's Guide: http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid
  #7  
Old August 6th 03, 12:54 AM
bewtifulfreak
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Posts: n/a
Default

"Orchid" wrote in message
om...
On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 14:10:25 -0400, "E. R."
wrote:


Which makes you wonder if nicotine is intentionally placed in the foods

that we
eat and this alone is leading to the problem of obesity. Who knows? It
wouldn't surprise me, either. Look at all of the boxed and processed

foods for
sale in the supermarkets and how they compete for shelf space. Then

there are
the junk food outlets like McDonald's, Burger King, etc.. Sometimes when

eating
these foods or packaged, pre-made cookies, I can taste something strange

and ash
like.


Ye gods. Any other conspiracy theories you'd like to espouse?
The Secret Service offing JFK? Aliens?
It has been very well-documented that we form our eating
habits before the age of two. It is, in essence, when we are taught
what is food and good and what isn't. Raise a kid on processed crap,
and they will crave processed crap. It's the whole idea of comfort
food.


Absolutely. But I did hear (but again, I can't remember the source, so
can't confirm it) that - since, the more empty calories we eat, the more the
body eats looking for nutrients (e.g. why potato chips/crisps are so
moreish) - supposedly-healthy breakfast bars were leaving nutrients out of
their product so people would want to eat more than one. This kind of thing
is common; I know for a *fact* (you can look this one up) that there is
sugar and alcohol in cigarettes to make them even more addictive. This guy
had no reason to lie to me, he's ever so nice (has given us many free
samples in the past, etc); as he said, they may not be doing it now, but
they were at the time. But I'm not for suing McDonald's because your kid
got fat on it, or blaming anyone else for your (or *my*) obesity; I don't
think we can blame anything the food companies do 'alone' for the problem of
obesity, though they certainly do their damndest to contribute. I'm just
for being educated about what you put in your body. I mean, a lot of people
aren't even aware that many foods packaged as 'low fat' are also extremely
high in sugar, which clearly isn't good for you, either. I wasn't trying to
start or encourage a conspiracy theory, I just thought it was something to
think about. I'm sure it would be very easy to verify whether it was true
or not, with a bit of research; he seemed to feel the pet food companies
would be open about it, though they claim there is a nutritional reason for
it.

Ann


  #8  
Old August 6th 03, 02:21 AM
Fred Williams
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Default

Orchid wrote:

On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 14:10:25 -0400, "E. R."
wrote:


Which makes you wonder if nicotine is intentionally placed in the
foods that we
eat and this alone is leading to the problem of obesity. Who
knows? It
wouldn't surprise me, either. Look at all of the boxed and
processed foods for
sale in the supermarkets and how they compete for shelf space. Then
there are
the junk food outlets like McDonald's, Burger King, etc.. Sometimes
when eating these foods or packaged, pre-made cookies, I can taste
something strange and ash like.


Ye gods. Any other conspiracy theories you'd like to espouse?
The Secret Service offing JFK?


There's nothing theoretical about that.

Aliens?


Immegration keeps sending them back to Cuba. (:-))

SNIP
Ash = minerals. The amount of 'ash' is determined by burning
a sample of the food and measuring the amount of noncombusted
material. Ash is neither good nor bad for cats.


Ah, then everything I've been hearing for years now is wrong?
Everybody's been telling me that ash is bad for a cat's urinary
tract. They've been telling me to keep away from the fish and
seafood types of catfood.

In the 80's it was
briefly thought that the amount of ash might have something to do
with UTIs or CRF, but that has been rather soundly disproven in the
scientific arena. Unfortunately, the consumer arena is nearly as
quick to catch up or nearly as educated, and so people get ideas
into
their heads and refuse to let them go. This is why cat food labels
still include the essentially meaningless amount of 'ash'.
A better thing to look at and worry about is the calcium -
phosphorus ratio. It should be somwhere in the neighborhood of
1.5:1, IIRC.


Sounds more like the pet food industry has been funding their own
research and getting the results they want. Perhaps it's true, but
given the level of deception with big business these days, it will
take a lot more investigation to determine who's being truthful and
if I were a betting person. I wouldn't put my money on the cat food
corporations, and independant researchers would have to do a lot of
convincing to get me to believe they were truly indeependant.
It's not that people refuse to let go of their ideas, (well OK we
do), but we do because we've been lied to before and we reach a point
where we loose trust.
Like Dr. Johnny Fever said, "When everybody's out to get you,
paranoia just makes good sense." (:-))

--
Regards
Fred and Jetadiah

Remove FFFf to reply, please
  #9  
Old August 5th 03, 09:35 PM
JSmith4973
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Can somebody explain the
presence of Ash in one brand of cat food, but not in another?


-------------
Don't know, but watch the ash. Too much is bad for the kidneys and plumbing in
general.

Jeanne
 




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