NEW 2024 Edition of Dr. Josie's Favorite Pet Foods

RECENTLY EDITED VERSION AS OF JULY 4, 2024 WITH IMPORTANT CHANGES

Photo by Samia Liamani on Unsplash

Yes, I realize, 2024 is halfway over and I am just updating my pet food list for the year. It has not been a good year for pets and petfood. Beginning in January, a Facebook group I moderate for began to be flooded with cases of dogs developing serious illness, coinciding with the opening of a new bag of food.

Within weeks reports from pet parents began pouring in telling of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, seizures and even deaths in both dogs and cats, without prior preexisting conditions, many of them young. It began with Purina products and soon involved many brands, both dog and cat.

Thankfully, all of the foods on my 2023 list were not affected. For the past 20 years I have been encouraging clients to switch from kibble to a fresh food diet. With this recent and ongoing problem, I can no longer conscientiously recommend any form of dry kibble. I have revised my food list and removed kibble.

This is a list of commercially available foods from small companies, who hold high standards and are transparent in terms of sourcing, formulating and manufacturing. In many cases, I have met them personally and, in all cases, I have fed their food to my own animals.

There are other options that may be more affordable such as DIY raw feeding programs. Be sure you take the time to learn, investigate and understand nutritional requirements and how to meet them when feeding whole foods. The diet needs variety and specific ingredients in order to be complete and balanced over time. Raw Feeding 101 and Perfectly Rawsome are two resources I trust for DIY raw feeding.

Choosing a pet food can be an overwhelming task. I put this list together to try to make it easier. I may have missed some foods, but these are my top choices. With the cost of veterinary care rising, spending extra money on good food is the best form of health insurance I can think of. I think all of us would rather spend money preventing disease and having healthy pets. And I guarantee, spending money on food is far less expensive than veterinary care at the present moment.