Looking past the recent vegan drama, have you ever wondered why your pet might not like particular foods? Have you ever actually tasted the food yourself?
I have, and some taste more like a chemistry lab than actual nutrition.
I’ve tasted a couple of cookies/treats. Milkbones, stuff from 3 dog bakery and what not. Milkbones have no flavor that I can discern. The boutique dog cookie was fine, I can see how a dog would get down on it.
Wet food tho. Nah. I’m good fam.
Yep, tasted pretty much every type of kibble and some snacks my dog gets. But it’s all plant based so I am not worried about meat getting bad or the like.
Some of the snacks are ok but I noticed that they always smell way more intensive than they taste. Kind of the opposite of human food.
My 13 years older sister gave me a chocolate piece when I was a kid, and asked afterwards if I liked it. I did. She gave me more, and didn’t tell me they were dog “chocolates”.
Tried one a few years ago - not as good as I remembered, and wouldn’t ask for another.
Dog chocolates are so waxy it’s crazy
Probably because it’s not chocolate. Chocolate is toxic to cats and dogs
Fair, but it still tastes like a candle.
I always taste test my pet’s food to make sure it’s not poisoned.
I ate a dog treat that I’m 90% sure was just a bone shaped nilla wafer.
I don’t doubt you a bit, I tasted one of those when I was a kid. Totally edible. A bit bland to me, but edible.
But that was a different brand apparently. I’m not sure what brand the recent dog biscuit treats was, as they were donated in a Ziploc bag by a friend, but those tasted like chemical hell.
Our friend didn’t mean anything wrong, he was just trying to help, but those particular treats ended up tossed in the trash. Honestly I don’t think the ants would even eat those things.
Edit: The old ones that actually tasted edible were all tan in color, but these new chemical infused ones were all colored red or green. Something just wasn’t right with those.
I got some “human grade” dog treats that are little sliced sausages and they smell delicious. Like actual edible salami. Haven’t tried them yet but I’m tempted to.
My brother ate a Snausage for the low low price of one US dollar. There was a whole negotiation process beforehand (Snausage, milk bone, kennel ration biscuit and dog chow were all on the table). He had regrets. I’ll admit that I drove a hard bargain, but he was old enough to know better.
For myself? No. Some of my cats’ shredded chicken in “gravy” looks and smells OK. Still no.
The veterinary sales rep I used to work with said, “their taste buds are very different from ours.” I’ll trust him
I’ve eaten cat biscuits. They don’t taste offensive, but there’s nothing in them for me to enjoy. Even so, they’re the one thing all my cats agree is worth eating.
I haven’t eaten their kibble, but I certainly know it can’t taste as good as the food I cook for them myself (which is basically a shepherd’s pie and I have eaten a bowl of it when I had nothing else to eat for myself). I might have tried cat kibble as a kid but I don’t remember what it tasted like.
I’ve also tried jerky made for dogs and it wasn’t half bad. Not quite a slim Jim but it wasn’t disgusting.
I’ve tried FreshPet or whatever the hell it’s called; that refrigerated chub of “fresh” dog food some places sell. It’s like an inferior version of the stew I make for them.
My mom used to own a grooming shop, and sold jerky for dogs. Two of the groomers there preferred it over jerky for humans, and would routinely be found snacking on it. I’ve tried it, it’s basically just jerky without the pepper. I like the pepper, so I prefer regular jerky. Lol.
We also make our own dog food, though, and it’s basically rice veggies and turkey (sometimes chicken livers). Which is, honestly, something I would totally go to town on, if it were just seasoned a little better
We also make our own dog food, though, and it’s basically rice veggies and turkey (sometimes chicken livers). Which is, honestly, something I would totally go to town on, if it were just seasoned a little better
Exactly what I make for mine, though instead of livers I’ll give them some salmon like once a month.
I feed my pet things that I eat, too! Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, various squashes, fresh blueberries, etc.
Except for his bugs. I don’t like cockroaches or worms very much. But he seems to like them! So he gets those, too.
Generally I feed my dog either Gravy Train Chicken Flavor, or kitty kibble (he’s a small dog, only like 19 pounds).
He prefers the soft food, but will eat the hard food if he gets hungry enough.
He also likes chasing fiddler crabs, but he’s smart enough to not bite them LOL!
But dog biscuit treats around here taste like nothing but chemicals, and he won’t touch them.
I used to put my cat’s kibble in a bit of water so it’d get soft (and it’d trick him into staying hydrated, too). It’s great for picky eaters and elderly pets!
Nah, I’m not vegan so I probably wouldn’t like my cat’s food
No, but I watched Penguinz0 taste pet food before for a tier list and some of it sounds to be pretty decent.
Interesting. I’ve watched quite a few of his videos, but never caught that one.
I’ve just returned to Lemmy after a while so I’m OOTL. Can anyone give me a gist of what happened with the recent vegan drama on here? Or maybe link to a post I can read?
The company Wild Life claims to have created a nutritionally complete vegan cat food, even though it’s common knowledge that cats need meat proteins and nutrients in their regular diet.
https://lemmy.ca/post/27549478
I am no expert in the field, maybe they’re onto something, maybe not. 🤷♂️
Edit: Guess they dropped the link ☹️
Proteins are just amino acids. You can find the same proteins in plant foods as meat. There are other details about what different types of basic foods contain, of course, but it’s theoretically possible to create something that contains all the same nutrients as meat out of plants.
When I briefly skimmed over the original article, they made a point to mention their food contains taurine. You know, like one of the things they put in Monster Energy drinks…
I’m no animal nutrition expert, so I don’t know how that does or doesn’t help with kitty nutrition, but I’d just as soon feed my kitty actual chicken or tuna and call it a day.
Well, check it out: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/taurine-in-cats
Taurine is an amino acid that’s an esssential nutrient for cats.
A friend of mine back in middle school did a science project on what cat food tastes the best. He used his cat as the main experiment, but when he presented his project he also had samples for everyone to try and vote on their favorite. The cat liked Science Diet. The consensus among our classmates was Meow Mix.
His real science project: How many classmates can he get to eat cat food.
The result: more than you’d expect.
Interesting. At the end of the day though, what matters is what’s healthy for your pet and what they like best.
I never suggested that humans and pets have the same taste buds and appetites, but when your dog refuses to eat a dog treat, and you taste it yourself and it also tastes like chemical garbage, then it only stands to reason that those particular dog treats are trash.
I didn’t realize you were trying to present some sort of argument here, I was just sharing a fun story that answered the post title.
All food tastes like chemicals. Taste is a function of chemical receptors on your tongue. Btw you are made entirely of chemicals, but many people have already told you this today.
I don’t know the exact brand of dog treats, but they tasted like they were soaked in diesel fuel and dried out. That’s what I mean when I say they tasted like chemicals.
Whatever brand they were, they were colored red and green. I don’t even think ants would eat those things.
This is funny, I asked my wife this morning “have you ever thought of tasting the cat’s canned wet food?”
We’ve never done a taste test, sad to say.
Understandable. I’m not suggesting everyone just go out and eat their pet’s food, but if my pet refuses to eat a particular food, I find myself curious why?
If my dog or cat refuses to eat it, and I can’t even swallow a small bite myself, there’s gotta be something seriously wrong with it.
