One Pet Owners Fight in Australia

We pet owners, all over the world, need to work together and support each other to fight the corrupt veterinary industry and their bedfellows the pet food industry and other corrupt associations.

I hope there are vets who are not members of the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland so Maria can find a knowledgeable vet to treat her pets if she should choose to get another. I guess “for the benefit of animal welfare” only applies to those they treat properly and the animals they choose to treat. My condolences to Maria.

This brazen attitude/punitive reaction/confidence about wearing their power on their sleeve with no fear of backlash – business as usual demeanour is being manifested in all realms in Australia where the status quo Big Pharma and Food Industry Giants are operating (in other words, everywhere). Medicos, Journalists and TV reporters are likewise not only prompted by their Associations / TV Stations to tow the status quo line, it is usually clear they are expressing deeply personal opinions when they rubbish those individuals who are choosing healthier, better informed, and alternative health/nutrition models. This is the Dark Ages indeed in Australia. The population base in Australia is small, and the individuals who speak out are often drawn into incredibly expensive legal battles, when they have left themselves open in any way to being savaged legally. The money behind the status quo organizations is in a different league to what small organizations/individuals can muster. Website advertising of “alternative” choices/information attracts the attention of, for example, so called Friends of Science adherents, who are all in bed with government appointed officials on Advisory boards where they get away with not expressing conflict of interest as to their bias, etc etc etc. Nefarious business practice as usual. Incredibly depressing. Thank you Susan, and thank you Maria for being individuals who refuse to be cowed.

Sincere condolences for Maria and her cat’s difficulties. Especially for struggling 2 years to provide the best care possible. The experience had such a sad conclusion.

From this lesson, it would seem to be that if a raw diet had been prescribed from the onset diagnosis of her cat’s VERY serious illnesses, then it would’ve been better off. Since a raw food diet was never offered as an alternative seemed to demonstrate (or prove) to Maria the Veterinarian’s preference (and obligation) for promoting Hills’ products! Using this rationale also assumes (or accuses) the Vet of negligently harming the cat in deference to profit making. In the end, it seems Maria was unfairly punished in terms of being the victim of retribution!

I do think this assumption is a bit harsh however.

Twenty-two Vets concurred with the original Vet. And rather than being in “collusion” it would seem a consistent evaluation of the cat’s very serious (and perhaps complicated) medical condition. And that there were not a lot of traditional treatment options available. We certainly disagree, but Traditional Vets are not in the business of correcting an illness by diet. RX food can only support or manage a pet through an illness (so that the pet’s regular food won’t do further damage). RX food has well identified chemical values, that can be easily accounted for when doing patient testing and tracking. The pet’s conventional food could vary by batch or change by brand.

An owner can seek out a Vet trained in both Western Medicine and Holistic Treatment. I did find one, who used complimentary, compatible options. Yet I found that (in the end) this particular (and very expensive) Vet was more likely managing my dog’s life than improving it. While the dog’s Western Vet probably would’ve brought me to a conclusion much sooner.

In the process of being treated, pets are affected by all kinds of circumstances. Including heredity, innate deficiencies and breed lifespan, as well as other predispositions. Some cats (but certainly not all) eat a starchy, dry diet and develop diabetes, obesity and renal problems. Genetics, activity, the quality or toxicity of PF, water intake, are all variables.

Right now we’re reading this story at the end of a situation, rather than at the beginning of how it should’ve started. Meaning a Vet is most useful when counseling a new owner during a puppy/kitten wellness check. By being honest and conscientious enough to admit not knowing about nutritional options. But recommending that both of them would be wise for doing outside research!

At the same time, Traditional Vets are stuck to a certain degree. Not in their defense, but as a matter of reality. The Vets I know can only treat my pet based on research (statistics) and published studies. They don’t have the luxury, capacity or resources for truly independent “creative” (or unique) treatment, that hasn’t at least been started or reported on by another institution, even if it was only experimental at that point in time. Vets doing so on their own, would become too inconsistent among personal clients. With the long term reliability of results being devalued for other clients.

While (we as Followers) don’t agree with poor quality commercial PF, certainly not a lifetime or solitary diet on it. There are people who simply can’t deliver fresh whole food, or raw diets, to their pets. Especially when they are ill! Granted, that out of Maria’s 23 Vet visits one of them should’ve pointed out another option. But the other issue is that IF a Traditional Vet suggests an alternative approach, and something goes wrong, he could be (or the Practice be) held responsible. A deceased pet, under ANY circumstances, does not produce an understanding or forgiving owner!

Hills Prescription Diets represent a standardized feeding program that’s clinically proven to be compatible with (BUT IS NOT A CURE) for a pet’s illnesses. That’s the main misunderstanding about Prescription Diets. Because a Traditional Vet isn’t holistically trained (or even informed) he simply can’t recommend raw feeding in a professional setting (where a problem could become a liability). Raw feeding (for us) is a no-brainer. But uninformed people need to be educated.

Hills Prescription M/D (wet/dry) has about a 50-20-20 ratio, per protein, fat, and carbs. That’s a very high protein, low carb, low fat meal for a clinically manufactured product. Prescription food uses a highly digestible form of protein. And (I’ve been told) is of human grade quality. It also insures the correct balance of vitamins and minerals, and for the corresponding health conditions of the pet. But expecting that an 11 year diet of any old commercial PF (especially dry) would be counter-balanced by a newly established “prescription” PF plan is just unrealistic. The other Vets concurred, speaking more to the cat’s fundamental condition (perhaps with cancer or liver disease as a complicating factor) than their (necessarily) incompetent, intentional or insensitive behavior.

At any rate, there should’ve been at least a “draw” between Maria and the Australian Veterinary Association. Agreeing to disagree and chalking up the experience as a lesson learned on both sides. However I’d say she took the brunt of a bad experience. But perhaps the Vets were fearful of being held liable for future disagreements in treatment procedures. I don’t defend that kind of thinking; just pointing out both sides of a discussion.