Pet food supply shortages in USA late 2021

ABC News tells me that there is a pet food supply shortage in Ohio as at December 2021. They report that the Pause & Whiskers cat shelter in Toledo, Ohio has seen a drop of 75% in cat food donations. Sara Baker, the shelter manager, said that there is a global supply chain and production issue and stores such as Pet Supplies Plus are affected. That company anticipates shortages into 2023. I decided to check it out to see whether there are other sources providing us with the same news.

Pet food supply shortages in USA late 2021. Photo in public domain.

The website Green Matters states that officially there are no food shortages as at October 15, 2021 in the USA. That news comes from the USDA. However, a business strategy expert, Xavier Naville, said that there are disruptions in the supply chain. In an interview on October 14, he said that the shortages result from a combination of increased demand (an increase of 13% according to the USDA compared to last year) and a tightening in the supply.

So this is a supply and demand issue. Demand is up and supply is down. This means that some items are hard to find. Human food is also affected.

Why is supply down? There appears to be two factors. The yield in many crops is down due to climate change. Another website tells me that dry cat food supplies are down because corn supplies are down. In addition, there have been structural changes at food processing factories and slaughterhouses many of which are following social distancing guidelines. This slows production.

An uncomfortable reality is that there's too much waste in the developed countries generally of food in general including pet food and human food. As per Feeding America 108 billion pounds or 40% of all food is wasted in America every year. That takes a bit of digesting 😉.

The Green Matters website states that pet food is in short supply. There are empty shelves across the US and food shortage fears. They say that the pet food supply chain is facing issues as at October this year. 

Reuters reported that both dog and cat food prices have increased by up to 20% between the beginning of the Covid pandemic and July 2021. The reason? Higher labour and transportation costs and rising prices of corn, meet and soybeans. In addition, there has been an increase in pet adoptions so there are more mouths to feed.

The UK has matched the USA in this regard. There has been a surge in pet adoptions beginning in the early days of the Covid pandemic and continuing throughout 2020 and this year. Some of these adoptions have been irresponsible.

Supply chain issues are affecting other goods as well. President Biden has commented on it in a speech delivered on Wednesday, October 13.

Tip: arguably this is a good time to consider home-made raw cat food. I'm sure the ingredients for that can be obtained readily. So the only issue is whether you can be precise and careful enough to make it to a high standard and also store it to a high standard. There might be a silver lining. You might see the health of your cat or dog improve. You might stay off commercially prepared cat food indefinitely. But please be careful. Veterinarians think that cat owners are not able to make their own home-made raw cat food to a sufficient standard. There are some pitfalls. You simply have to ensure that the required nutrients are included. Please do your research thoroughly. Your efforts may be rewarded. But don't take risks.

Cat health Tip: give this supplement to your old, senile cat

Due partly to improved nutrition, domestic cats are living longer. Some people argue that humans live too long! I am one of those people but this is about cats and as they live longer there is a greater possibility that they will become senile. Feline senility appears to be increasingly common. In many cases this is just a manifestation of old age and not the result of an illness of some sort such as a brain tumour.

Pops an elderly rescue cat. Photo: in public domain. Pops is also partially-sighted.

Incidence of senility

A study found that more than 25% of cats in the age bracket 11-14 had signs of true senility. In cats older than 15, senility affected around half. It's caused by reduced blood flow to the brain and damage caused by free radicals. Arteriosclerosis and other health conditions causing high blood pressure, blood clotting, anaemia or reduced blood flow can contribute to senility.

Aktivait

Aktivait for cats.

A health tip from the esteemed veterinarian and author Dr. Bruce Fogle is to provide your elderly cat with a supplement called Aktivait. He is enthusiastic about it. He said that when it was given to older dogs for two months it resulted in a "significant improvement in signs of disorientation, social interaction and house soiling".

It contains omega-3 fish oils, vitamin E, vitamin C, L-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q, phosphotidylserine, and selenium. You can buy Altivait for cats although at the time that he wrote his book Complete Cat Care there were no similar studies on the product for cats. He recommends it nonetheless and he warns cat owners to not give canine Aktivait to your cat as alpha lipoic acid is toxic to cats.

It gets a five star rating from 32 reviews on petdrugsonline.com. I am not being paid to promote this supplement. The information is provided to try and improve the lives of elderly cats.

Signs of senility

Signs of senility can be subtle but when combined they are pretty clear. You might see a combination of the following: a blank expression, repetitive or stereotyped pacing continuously, poor grooming, disorientation, a delay in recognising people they know or places objects they know, becoming lost in familiar surroundings, "going to the wrong side of a closed door when asked to go through" (Bruce Fogle), increased sleeping during the day, decreased night-time sleeping, disturbed sleep, decreased enthusiasm when greeting you, slow responses when you request they come to you for example, decreased interest in playing, increased irritability and incomplete social interactions.

Please tell me in a comment if you are giving your cat Aktivait. I'd be interested in hearing from you.

My elderly cat has dementia and I feel that he is better since taking these. - Lesley Harston Wednesday, 1 September 2021

Seraquin for cat arthritis

Seraquin is a cat treat containing glucosamine and some potent anti-oxidants called curcuminoids which have proved successful to a very credible associate of mine, Ruth aka Kattaddorra, in treating one of her cats, Walter. You can buy them online and there are no side effects as far as I am aware.



Ruth's Walter loves 'em. And the positive effect has been very noticeable. This is a cross-post so I won't go on about this joint supplement but refer you to the page on the main website: What medicine is good for cats with arthritis. Try Seraquin.