Author Archives: skeptvet

Raw, Cooked, and Dry Cat Diets–A New Study Examined

The debate about raw diets for pets is an ongoing “hot button” topic in veterinary circles. There is also a less heated but still vigorous debate about cat nutrition in particular and what form and composition constitutes the optimal diet … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 18 Comments

Nzymes.com: Same Snake Oil, Different Day

Knowing that I have an interest in investigating the evidence behind claims for veterinary healthcare products, clients and colleagues sometimes pass along materials concerning veterinary supplements, herbal remedies, and other similar products and ask my opinion. Since there are hundreds, … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 255 Comments

Buyer Beware: How to Evaluate Pet Healthcare Products

This is a great time to be a pet owner. Advances in nutrition and veterinary medicine in the last few decades have led to tremendous improvement in the length and quality of our pets’ lives. We have more and better … Continue reading

Posted in General | 5 Comments

Homemade Diets for Cats and Dogs with Kidney Disease–Most Recipes are Wrong

A new study has been published adding to the evidence, which I have discussed before(see articles listed below), that homemade diets are frequently nutritionally inappropriate and less consistent or reliable than commercial diets. Larsen, JA. Parks, EM. Heinze, CR. Fascetti, … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 31 Comments

Herbal Remedies Can Interfere with HIV Treatment

The popularity of herbal remedies rests, in large part, on the perceptions of these substances as “natural,” a vague, nearly meaningless term often mistakenly understood to mean “safe.” The idea that eating parts of plants, singly or in combination, can … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 1 Comment

Veterinary Stem Cells and Snake Oil

I have written several articles previously about veterinary stem cell therapies, which I view as a promising but as yet unproven treatment for a number of medical problems. (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)  Though not “alternative” in origin, the … Continue reading

Posted in General | 8 Comments

Garlic for Pets- What’s it Good for?

One of the most popular plant products touted for medicinal use in pets is garlic Allium sativum. A recent newsletter by Dr. Deva Khalsa, a popular alternative veterinarian, makes some typical claims: Garlic is a miracle herb! Garlic (Allium sativum) … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 20 Comments

Funny for Some of You

(From Veterinarians Behaving Badly. Hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’ve been taken to task, and others I know have been banned for expressing their critical thinking)

Posted in Humor | 10 Comments

Misleading Advertising for Raw Pet Food (again)

H.G. Wells is credited with saying, “Advertising is legalized lying,” though I cannot imagine he is the first person to have thought so. Of course, the difficulty with identifying actual lying in advertising is that it is impossible to know … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 11 Comments

EBVMA Symposium 2012– Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine: It’s Happening Now!

This is the only event, and the only organization, dedicated entirely to promoting evidence-based veterinary medicine, and I encourage anyone interested to join us in New Orleans! When: Wednesday May 30, 2012, 9am-5pm (One day before the start of the … Continue reading

Posted in General | 2 Comments