Gazette Archives

June 20, 2024

Cats need to eat a high-moisture diet

Today’s house cat is a descendant of a small desert wild cat. With little available water and a “dipstick” tongue ill-adapted to efficient drinking, they primarily obtained moisture from their juicy prey and went long periods without drinking.

Our modern-day feline companions still have a low thirst drive. Until recently, they spent most of their time outdoors, catching mice and other small prey. The rapid transition to indoor life has left them without opportunities to “eat their water.” Cats who are fed a dry diet only exist in a constant state of mild dehydration. Although cats may visit their water dish regularly, to keep them in optimal health, we need to feed them a diet high in moisture.

Benefits of adding more moisture to your cat’s diet:

• Better breath
• Smaller stool
• Less shedding
• Better weight control
• Healthier urinary tract and kidneys
• Friendlier temperament

The average 8-pound cat needs one cup of water per day (16 tablespoons)

• Kibble provides 1 tablespoon per day
• Raw or canned food provides 1/2 to 7/8 cup per day

Add more moisture to your cat’s diet by:

• Adding a little wet food to your cat’s diet
• Switching your cat to canned or raw food
• Offering moist treats

Stop in any store to ask an All The Best pet care specialist for more tips and suggestions!

February 15, 2022

Dental Health for Dogs and Cats

National Pet Dental Health month is a good opportunity to take stock of your pet’s dental health. The American Veterinary Medical Association has found that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have some kind of oral disease by the age of three. This common problem can lead to foul breath, infected gums, and eventual loss of teeth. Left unchecked, oral infections can even travel to other regions of the body causing serious ailments such as lung, heart, and kidney disease. Fortunately, there are many easy steps you can take to keep your pet’s teeth healthy all year. As with many health issues, prevention is always the best medicine!

Consider a raw diet

Pets who are fed diets containing carbohydrates in the form of cooked starches are at higher risk of forming dental plaque, the sticky biofilm made up of harmful bacteria that break down tooth enamel and attack gum tissue. Oral bacteria like to feed on the starchy residue kibble leaves behind. In contrast, raw food and high meat diets make a less hospitable environment in the mouth for bacteria to grow, creating a more acidic pH in the mouth and producing very few sugars or starches.

Offer dental chews regularly

Choose from a variety of specially formulated dental chews for dogs that contain plaque-inhibitors as well as breath-freshening ingredients such as sea kelp, seaweed, and chlorophyll. They’re an easy, affordable way to keep your dog happily chewing while supporting dental health.

Raw bones are nature’s toothbrush

We are strong proponents of offering your pet raw meaty bones. Raw bones help to produce acidic saliva, which prevents plaque from forming while bathing the oral cavity with anti-bacterial enzymes. The action of scraping their teeth against the actual bone helps with teeth cleaning, and the act of pulling bits of meat, gristle, and cartilage off of the bone offers even more natural teeth cleaning. Raw bones are softer than cooked bones so they’re gentler on a dog’s teeth.

All The Best’s own ROAR raw meaty bones come in a variety of sizes and types. We’ll be happy to help you to select the ideal bone for your pet. ROAR raw meaty bones are sold frozen and can be given to dogs straight from the freezer.

Keep your dog on a large towel or blanket to contain any mess. If your dog is new to raw meaty bones, supervise their chewing until you feel comfortable that they are chewing it appropriately. We recommend offering raw meaty bones daily as a partial meal replacement, but giving raw bones even just twice a week can make a positive difference in their oral health.

Chewing is for cats, too!

Some cats enjoy poultry necks and receive the same dental benefits and satisfaction of chewing.

More ways to keep teeth healthy

Natural dental products that can be added to food or water or applied directly to teeth are an easy way to improve dental health. Minerals in sea kelp and seaweed have been found to inhibit the growth of oral bacteria and disrupt plaque’s ability to adhere to teeth.

Brushing your pet’s teeth along with regular use of specially formulated oral sprays or gels can help to kill harmful bacteria that combine with minerals in the saliva and turn into plaque and tartar.

Anesthesia-free teeth cleaning

Anesthesia-free dentals may be a good option for animals in need of routine cleanings to remove tartar, but who do not have serious dental issues such as infected gums or teeth needing extraction.

The team from Canine Dental Service provides monthly anesthesia-free cleanings at all All The Best Pet Care stores. Cleanings are thorough and gentle and take about 15 minutes. Beforehand, a licensed veterinarian does a brief wellness exam to determine if more extensive oral care is needed. If the pet is not a good candidate, the service will not be performed and the patient will be referred to their own vet for treatment. Visit our dental cleaning page for more information or for appointment dates.

Keeping on top of your pet’s dental health has lasting, positive effects on your pet’s life!

September 17, 2020

Switch up meals for healthy benefits

It’s healthy to vary your dog or cat’s diet to provide more nutrition and offer a wider variety of nutrients. In addition to keeping meals interesting and even more exciting for your pet, rotating the foods that your dogs and cats eat offers a number of health benefits:

Varying the proteins and brands of food you offer provides a wider spectrum of vital nutrients to keep your pets at their healthiest.
Pets develop a stronger digestive system by being exposed to many different kinds of foods, so rotation is a great way to minimize gastric issues.
Feeding a varied diet also helps prevent allergies from developing. Feeding the same food for an extended period of time may cause dogs and cats to develop sensitivities to one or more of the ingredients in their food. Rotating their diet prevents the body from being overexposed to any one ingredient.

There are three main ways to rotate meals:

1. You can rotate proteins in the food you’re currently feeding, or you can try a similar food from a different brand.

2. You can vary the kind of food you offer, switching between or adding in dry, canned, frozen raw, and freeze-dried raw.

3. You can add a variety of whole food supplements such as Wisely raw goat milk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, Wisely fish oil, and Great Greens.

You can also add variety by adding in toppers

If your pup has a favorite food that you want to stick with, you can also treat them to variety with meal mix-ins and toppers.


Freeze-dried raw such as K9 Natural is the easiest meal add-in. Just pour from the bag for a high-protein, whole food boost your pup will love.	Adding lightly cooked meals like Stella and Chewy’s Marie’s Kitchen or dehydrated foods such as Bravo provides a less-processed, high-nutrient addition to your dog’s meal.	ROAR raw poultry necks are sometimes called “nature’s best toothbrush” because the cartilage helps clean teeth as dogs chew them. They are a satisfying treat that will extend mealtime happiness. For an even healthier meal, give Fido a phytonutrient boost by adding a whole veggie supplement such as Wisely Great Greens.	To feed them as nature intended, you can add a boost of raw to your kibble. Small Batch raw chubs are available in multiple proteins and are an excellent value.

By incorporating a variety of foods into your pet’s diet, you are helping to make sure that they are getting the most nutritious and well-rounded diet possible for a longer, happier life! Talk to a pet care specialist about personalized suggestions for your dog or cat, and ask for some samples of new foods to try.

May 25, 2020

All The Best brings the world’s best foods to you!

Choosing the right food for your dog or cat can seem complicated, but we strive to make it easier by thoroughly vetting every pet food and every formula before it hits our shelves, doing a deep dive into the details so you don’t have to. Our search has taken us to many shores, and in addition to those made in America, we carry foods from Canada, Italy, and New Zealand – countries with the most stringent standards for food production.

Our standards:

Brand reputation: We only support trusted brands committed to the same biologically appropriate model of nutrition that we regard as true. All foods must be minimally processed, containing only wholesome ingredients fit for human consumption and be free of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
Sourcing and sustainability: We carefully consider a pet food maker’s commitment to sustainability in sourcing, packaging, and business practices. In addition to caring about healthy pets we care about the health of the planet we share.
We test it on our own cats and dogs first: Together, our Besties have scores of dogs and cats that span a wide spectrum of nutritional needs. We have the dogs who gulp down anything set before them, and those that have very discriminating tastes. We have pets with medical issues that need to be mitigated by feeding very specific ingredients, and those who can eat a variety of foods. Picky cats? We have those for sure, and they’re very helpful in palatability tests! We review every team member’s feedback carefully to decide if a food makes the cut, and how it can be useful. If we wouldn’t feed it to our own fur-kids, we wouldn’t want to sell it to you!
We stand behind everything we sell: All of our foods have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If your pet doesn’t like it, bring it back with your receipt or Healthy Rewards information for a refund or exchange. Returned foods are donated to our local rescues, to help nourish dogs and cats in need.

January 23, 2020

Raw cat food helped Bucky get a soft coat and maintain his ideal weight

By Nick W., All The Best Lake City store manager

BuckyMcBuckingham, or Bucky for short, started the first five years of his life exclusively eating kibble purchased from a big box store. While he has always been a beautiful cat, he was consistently overweight and had a dry coat. Growing up, our cats only ate kibble, so I was under the impression that dry food was all a cat needed. After getting my first job at a pet supply store in California and learning the importance of high-quality protein and wet food for cats, I started to understand that cats can survive on kibble, but need wet food in their diet to thrive and be properly hydrated. Initially, I was unsure about feeding Bucky raw food because it was totally new to me and I was concerned about cost. However, I did start to give Bucky canned food every day along with higher quality, high-protein kibble. I could tell that Bucky was doing much better with getting canned food in his diet. His coat was getting softer and he had more energy.

Then, Bucky and I moved to Seattle and I started working at All The Best Pet Care, where I learned more about the benefits of raw food for pets. I decided to try raw food with Bucky. The first time I tried to give Bucky raw food did not go very well. He looked at it, smelled it, then walked away, waiting to eat until I gave him canned food. However, I was not discouraged, as I knew that trying new things with cats can take time. So over a two-week period, I tried different kinds of meats and brands of raw food. When Bucky tried the Quest Pork raw cat food, he fell in love with it.

Then, I did the math and found out that if I moved Bucky to a completely raw diet, I would save money compared to feeding canned food. Bucky has now been on a completely raw diet for just over a year. He has slimmed down to a very healthy weight and is the softest cat in the world! Because I understand the importance of variety and rotation in the diet, I currently offer him a variety of raw foods, including Quest Pork raw cat food. Bucky and I are convinced that feeding a raw diet can be raw-volutionary to a pet’s health.

May 28, 2019

Kick Start Their Kibble with Variety and Rotation

Kick start their meals!

Rotating the foods that your pets eat is one of the best things that you can do for their health.

Why switch?

By varying proteins and brands, you are providing a wider spectrum of vital nutrients to keep your pets at their healthiest.

Pets develop a stronger digestive system by being exposed to many different kinds of foods, so rotation is a great way of preventing stomach upsets.

Feeding a varied diet also helps prevent allergies from developing. Cats and dogs that eat the same food for an extended period of time often develop sensitivities to one or more of the ingredients in their food, but rotating their diet prevents the body from being overexposed to potential allergens.

There are three main ways to add variety: