Cesar Millan is an internationally renowned dog trainer who caught the attention of pet lovers across the globe through the television programme Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.
When this Mexican American decided to launch pet care products in Latin American countries, he turned to the U.S.-based Mukund Partharsarathy, who had already established a name as an expert in the petcare industry. Before becoming an independent consultant, he had worked for Purina, the world’s leading name in pet healthcare.
Besides many global patents, Mr. Parthasarathy, son of Tamil writer Indira Parthasarathy, has many country-specific patents and trade secrets on dog and cat foods.
He says the petcare industry worldwide has touched the $73-billion mark. While China and Thailand are major exporters, India’s contribution to the pet food business is minimal. “Cats in the U.S. and the U.K. seem to have similar tastes, and a cat in Eastern Europe may not prefer a food prepared for its cousin in Latin America. Though there is vegetarian food for dogs, they need animal proteins. Cats are pure carnivores, and meat is the best choice for a healthy cat food,” says Mr. Parthasarathy.
A cat, he explains, would prefer chicken, especially liver, while the favourite of dogs is beef liver. “Though cat is excited by the smell of fish, only chicken can make it drool. Protein, fat and amino acids are very essential for the health of dogs and cats.”
As for feeding dogs and animals with raw foods, Mr. Parthasarathy says the foods should be processed in such a manner that they are free from bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. “A complete and balanced diet is very vital for the health of pets.”
Mr. Parthasarathy says the pet foods are being made from by products and waste from the human food industry, and the trend is shifting to preparing them from foods meant for human consumption with high quality protein sources.
Normally, food manufacturing companies keep Beagles as test animals of choice because the breed is easy to maintain.
He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s standards for pet food are quite high, and any complaint by a pet owner and a legal battle could spell a disaster for the company. A Canadian pet food manufacturing company went bankrupt after its products killed many dogs and cats.
“Poor people in the U.S. tend to consume canned pet foods when they cannot afford human foods. The poor who do not have health insurance sometimes tend to use pet medications for their own health issues since they are similar and cheaper,” he says.
