Why is there added vitamin c to dog and cat supplements when their own bodies are capable of making their own?
Posted by admin | Under Pet Supplements Friday Feb 19, 2010I’ve just been thinking about the vitamin c in my pets supplements and how "useles" it is to their biological needs.
Thanks.
Humans don’t store it either… It’s a water soluble vitamin.
I wasn’t aware that they stopped producing it when they weren’t healthy, thank you.
Oh, and vitamin D is produced by the sun.
Vitamin C exists in food as an antioxidant reaction to protect the plants from the sun.
Vitamin C is used in response to environmental toxins and to stress. Animals probably make enough to deal with what a natural life in a natural environment might be, except that that no longer exists for them! Car exhaust, household chemicals, chemical products used on the pets themselves (flea stuff, etc.), water pollution, air pollution… probably endless! Not to mention the chronic low level stress of living as a pet and not as an animal… confined, lack of simulation, etc.
The water soluble nutrients tend to not be harmful in excess… such things just make for expensive urine. I supplement dogs with Vitamin C because I think it may be useful, and I think it poses no risk.
Why do you take vitamin c tablets? Same reason.
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They can’t store it like we do, so it’s not in their system as long as we hold it in ours. You can get some from sunshine, but if your dog or cat is indoors, they won’t be exposed to direct, unfiltered sunlight. Sun through window glass filters out too much.
Cats who are ill or have their immune system very low can benefit from significantly more vitamin C in their diet.
Healthy dogs manufacture vitamin C in their livers, healthy cats do it in their intestines. However those that aren’t healthy could not be able to do it.
Do some google searches and look for info on VET SITES, not people’s home pages or the standard pet info sites. It’s the vet sites that would have accurate information.
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for the benefits of the humans who buy it? We think vitamin C is necessary, as it is for our diets, so we expect to see it in our pets supplements too.
Also vitamin C is often used as a natural preservative in many foods and supplements as well.
References :
Vitamin C is used in response to environmental toxins and to stress. Animals probably make enough to deal with what a natural life in a natural environment might be, except that that no longer exists for them! Car exhaust, household chemicals, chemical products used on the pets themselves (flea stuff, etc.), water pollution, air pollution… probably endless! Not to mention the chronic low level stress of living as a pet and not as an animal… confined, lack of simulation, etc.
The water soluble nutrients tend to not be harmful in excess… such things just make for expensive urine. I supplement dogs with Vitamin C because I think it may be useful, and I think it poses no risk.
References :