Last post on cholesterol product for humans made me wonder — what about pets and cholesterol?

From the beginning in this blog, I've tried to make it clear that I am NOT a veterinarian and/or any sort of trained pet/animal health care provider. My son does date a veterinarian, but I rarely have a chance to talk with her to get her professional expertise. This post is no different. What I'm saying here or anywhere else related to pet health care is just what I've 1) read, 2) heard about from other pet lovers, 3) or sometimes found on the Internet.

Do not rely on my "expertise" to keep your pet safe or health -- I have no expertise on that.

Having said that, I feel free to kick around various things related to pet care, mostly to get your reaction and share your expertise if you have had experience with pets and/or happen to BE a veterinarian or other pet/animal health expert.

So -- are cholesterol levels or types an issue for pet health?

I don't have a lot of information about this, but my last post about the useful website for the all-natural cholesterol supplement for people made me think about this.

From what little I've found, and not having had a chance to ask "Doc" (my son's girlfriend), it appears high cholesterol levels really aren't a problem in dogs, and probably not in cats. From what I read about the issue, cats and dogs are by physiology more "carnivore" than humans, i.e., their body systems, blood chemistry, and all those digestive enzymes and other processes handle fat processing better than in humans. Indeed, cats and dogs by nature appear to require a higher animal fat content in their diets than we people.

So why do overfed dogs and cats get fat? Mostly, they don't -- if they're eating dog and cat foods, not "human" foods. Lay off the sweets and goodies for old Fido and Fluffy. They deserve a good, healthy diet that will lead them to long, healthy, happy lives.
[tags]pet cholesterol, cat diets, dog diets, human diets, pet snacks, for pets and pet lovers[/tips]