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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Supplements: What are proanthocyanidins?

Common antioxidants currently used are vitamin C and vitamin E; however, studies show that proanthocyanidins antioxidant capabilities are 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50 times more potent than vitamin E.
We recently learned about proanthocyanidins (PACs) through a donation from our sponsor The Water Dish, of Cranimals supplements for pets.

Click here to see entire range of Cranimals products
Free gift! So we did some testing and research to see how it fared in terms of benefits and taste, and also did some price comparisons so we can share them with you. Is this supplement worth buying?

The primary antioxidant we give to the foster cats is Vitamin C. But after finding out about PACs through Cranimals, we dug deeper and found that PACs are more efficacious antioxidants than Vitamin C. PACs are found in cranberry extracts like Cranimals.

What are antioxidants for? We use it primarily for healing of sicknesses, as antioxidants promote cell repair. It is also good for immunity for the same reason. Vitamin C is also effective in acidifying urine which promotes healing in urinary tract infections.

We tried Cranimals on our Feline Founder, Slinky, who has a recurring gingivitis problem that causes bleeding and pain in gums. This means she can spend an entire day not eating if she feels pain. After feeding her canned food mixed with Cranimals, we realise her pain level goes down! So we highly recommend antioxidants for inflammatory sickies in your cat. It really helps.

Cranberries! Not only do they sound yummy, they are already used widely in proprietary cat food formulas. Examples: Orijen dry food, Addiction turkey with cranberries and apples canned. So we put it to the taste test when it comes in form of cranberry extract powder like Cranimals. Mixing in with canned food, do cats like it? Or shun it? If they shun supplements in food, it has no benefit to them because they won't eat it!

We found out that they like it with certain types of canned food, but not in others! Okay maybe our foster cats are a little spoilt. After trying it with various formulas of canned food, our findings: The cats don't like it with food that already has cranberry, like the abovementioned Addiction Turkey with Cranberries. They tend to prefer it with less flavourful canned foods. This means that if you are feeding raw or homecooked food, say pure chicken or lamb protein, they are likely to enjoy Cranimals added to their food. They also tend to not like cranberry mixed with fish protein based canned foods. Their favourite foods mixed with Cranimals so far are Addiction Brushtail, Nutripe's non-fish-based formulas e.g venison, and Bistro Chicken from supermarkets.

In general we don't purchase pet food companies' ranges of supplements because they tend to cost more than human ones, which we buy from iherb.com. Considering the foster home's consumption of supplements is very high, and us wanting to create more mileage for our donors' contributions, ordering online and waiting for the shipment is worth the savings. So, how does Cranimals compare to cranberry extracts for humans from iherb.com?

Let's compare it to this one, NOW foods Cranberry Concentrate from iHerb.

Comes in capsules
Quick comparison guide:
  • Cranimals - 12ogm. NOW - 70gm. 
  • Assuming you purchase only one unit: 
  • Cranimals costs S$42.90 with delivery charge. NOW - roughly S$28.02 with delivery charge.
  • Based on cost by weight, the price is about the same.
So in this case, a pet food manufacturer's supplement actually costs similar to human ones. This is actually rare. This changes of course if you buy other items together and get discounts, delivery charge waivers, membership perks and such. Actually many pet owners buy supplements from pet stores that can cost at least twice as much as human ones which can be just as if not more effective for their pets. So when looking at a pet supplement, look at the human ones available and see if it works out better in price and quality!

In summary, cranberry extract is a superior antioxidant, good for ailing pets or weak immune systems. It is also good for preventing and treating urinary tract infections. Cranimals is a value-for-money pet supplement (when comparing it to human supplement prices). If you are feeding raw, homecooked, or canned foods such as Addiction Brushtail like us, cats will dig it!

Hope this product review benefits you. Happy owners, happy cats!


Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7   
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme    
Give food and litter at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

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