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Best Friends Betrayed
http://www.iamskills.com/the_horrors.shtml

Iams/Eukanuba has been using dogs and cats in highly invasive experiments that subjected them to major surgeries and implanted them with tubes and other apparatus throughout their bodies. All of the experiments described below have been published in recent journals of veterinary research, most within the past three years.

One cruel experiment to study the effect of extreme weight fluctuations on the liver forced 24 cats to become obese by feeding them a high-calorie diet immediately after being spayed. Once obese, these cats were then starved for 7 to 8 weeks on a diet containing only 25% of the calories needed for maintenance, in order to induce drastic weight loss. The rapid, extreme weight loss forced 3 of the cats to develop hepatic lipidosis, a devastating disease that is difficult to treat and often fatal. No mention is made about the ultimate fate of the surviving cats. (1)

In another study to look at diet and allergies, 14 newborn puppies were manipulated with injections to develop allergens to various food ingredients. When the dogs were later placed on diets containing the allergen, they lost weight, developed moderate to severe diarrhea, hair loss and itching. Twice during the experiment, the dogs had solutions of the allergy- causing ingredient injected into the lining of the stomach while under anesthesia. These dogs will remain allergic for the rest of their lives. (2)

One cruel experiment to study the effect of extreme weight fluctuations on the liver forced cats to become obese by feeding them a high-calorie diet immediately after being spayed. Upon becoming obese, the same cats were then starved for 7 to 8 weeks on a diet containing only 25% of the required calories in order to induce drastic weight loss. The extreme weight fluctuations forced the cats to undergo hepatic lipidosis, a devastating disease that is not easily cured. No mention is made about the ultimate fate of these cats. (3)

A 1998 experiment sponsored by Iams killed 18 young Great Danes to study the effect of diet on bone density. The dogs had been placed on diets with varying amounts of calcium and phosphorus and were later killed so that their bones could be removed and analyzed. (4)

To study fiber in the diet, cats were subjected to surgeries that opened their abdominal cavities and flushed out the contents of the intestines. At the end of the experiment, all 28 cats used in the study had the entire large intestine removed. The study does not state the final fate of these cats. (5)

In fact, most of these experiments do not address what happens to the animals after the experiments. Animals with complex medical problems, missing large sections of their intestines, or forced to develop chronic allergies, are all manipulated to endure a life of disability and suffering.


References

[1] Ibriham, WH, Szabo, J, Sunvold, GD, et al, Effect of dietary protein quality and fatty acid composition on plasma lipoprotein concentrations and hepatic triglyceride fatty acid synthesis in obese cats undergoing rapid weight loss, Amer J Vet Res 2000; 6(5):556-572.

[2] Hayek, M.G., Hypersensitivity reactions to dietary antigens in atopic dogs. Proceedings of 2000 Iams Nutrition Symposium

[3] Ibriham, Szabo, Sunvold, Kelleher, Bruckner, "Effect of dietary protein quality and fatty acid composition on plasma lipoprotein concentrations and hepatic triglyceride fatty acid synthesis in obese cats undergoing rapid weight loss," AJVR, Vol. 61, Iams)5:556-572 (2000)

[4] Crenshaw, Budde, Lauten, Lepine, Nutritional Effects on Bone Strength in the Growing Canine, 1998 Iams Nutrition Symposium.

[5] Bueno, Cappel, Sunvold, Reinhart, Clemen, "Feline Colonic Morphology and Mucosal Tissue Energetics as Influenced via Sources of Dietary Fiber," Nutrition Research, Vol. 20, 7:985-993 (2000).

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Iams doesn't claim not to test and admit to doing blood and tissue testing, testing urine and feces, and keeping animals caged in labs for testing their foods and the ingredients used in them. Iams is owned by Proctor & Gamble, one of the most unrepentant testers in the world -- they're responsible for torturing millions of creatures to test their household products -- so it's no wonder that Iams considers testing on animals to be their right. We hope you don't agree that life in a cage enduring needles and surgical procedures to be any kind of life for a dog or cat. Please consider boycotting all Iams and Eukanuba products -- it's important that we let these companies know that any alleged "benefits" to people or companion animals is not justified by the suffering endured by the animals in their labs. It's a new mind-set for many people, to realize that animals are not here for our use, no matter how lofty one's motives for using the animals might be.

As for hepatic lipodosis (fatty liver disease), my cat Max had that happen to him because he stopped eating a brand name pet food (thankfully my cats hate Iams, so I don't buy it). He was very overweight (26 lbs) and when he started losing weight we were at first happy because we had tried for years to get it under control. Little did we know that there was such a thing as fatty liver disease until one day he was really lethargic and was actually developing jaundice. It was a pure struggle to get him back to health and he's never been 100% healthy from that ordeal. To know that Iams puts animals through that sort of torture and hell just for the sake of finding out that obese cats can develop that disease by not eating is just terrible (duh, you don't eat and all sorts of things can happen, but do we really want to find out on purpose???). I feel for these animals, as well as all the others that are tested without mercy for the sake of human kind. Animals are not put on this earth for human pleasure or labor or worse. They are presents from God and should be treated as such.