Mars Petcare Inc.: A Global Leader in Pet Food & Animal Care - Essay Sample

Introduction

Mars Petcare Inc. is an American corporation and global manufacturer of pet food, confectionery food, and many other types of food and animal care services (Mars Petcare Inc. 2020). Forbes has ranked the company's top 6 among the most popular brands of privately held companies in the United States. The company was founded by Frank Mars in 1911 and employs over 72,000 employees in over 70 countries across the globe (Mars Petcare Inc. 2020). In 2007, the company increased its market share in the US significantly by purchasing Doane Petcare Company.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Types of Pet Foods

Mars Petcare Inc. makes dozens of pet foods across the globe for various types of pets. An example of popular pet food is Mars Petcare Cesar. Cesar Canine Cuisine is mainly a gourmet wet dog food that also includes dog treats for all types of such pets (Cesar. 2020). The company demonstrates that with this pet food, the owner is able to demonstrate a lot of love. The food can exist in wet food, dry food, or treats. Another food that is made by the company is kitekat. Kitekat is a wholesome food for cats that has essential nutrients as well as vitamins that help the cats to stay healthy and active.

Two Dog and Two Cat Foods

Kitekat is one of the cat foods made by Mars Petcare, whose ingredients are meat and derivatives from animals, vegetable protein extracts, cereals, minerals, and different types of sugars. The food is caned and provides 78 kcal/ 100g (Mars. 2020). Cat Litter is another cat food by the company, which comes with special blends for the minerals. It has high absorbent and hygienic.

Chappie large is a dog food by the company, which is a blend of low fat and fiber. It has fish derivatives, cereals, animal derivatives, minerals, and herbs. It is canned food formula that is added to balance dogs' diets. The company also produces Pedigree Chicken Chunks that consists of meat and animal derivatives, minerals, cereals, oils, and vegetable proteins.

Appropriate Diet for 11-Year-Old Dog

When a dog enters its golden years, the nutritional requirements need support for some specific needs like brain functions and mobility. Therefore, a diet like Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken that is rich in L-carnitine and phytonutrients is recommended. The number of calories can be calculated by the formula:

[Weight2.2 x 30] + 70Therefore, this gives 822.2 x 30+70=1188.18 cal per day

Appropriate Diet for 4-Year-Old Cat

For an obese cat, the initial target is always higher than the ideal weight. Therefore, considering that the ideal weight is about 8 pounds, the initial target could be 10 or 9 pounds that can be re-evaluated once achieved. The diet for Max cat nutrition can be fed using the calculation below.

Ideal weight (lbs) Calories (kcal) required to meet 80% RER per day 8 180 10 210 12 230PART 2: BODY SYSTEMS

Cardiovascular Body System

The cardiovascular body system, also known as the circular system is the organ system that allows the circulation of blood in the body, enabling the transportation of nutrients, oxygen, hormones, and the blood cells to and from the body (Noble, 2010). The system involves numerous organs and tissues like the heart, blood vessels, and the blood itself. Several changes have been witnessed with age and nutrition. For example, the heart has a natural pacemaker system that controls the heartbeat. However, aging and some diets can lead to the development of fibrous tissue and fat deposits, which makes the natural pacemaker to lose some of the cells leading to a slower heart rate (Prisant, 2005). In some cases, people develop bigger heart sizes, particularly on the left ventricle, and the heart wall thickens, reducing the amount of blood that the heart chambers can accommodate. The blood vessels, which are the pathways through which blood in the body travels to and from various body organs, are also affected. With age, baroreceptors become less sensitive, thereby reducing blood pressure and blood flow (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004). The aorta, which is the main heart artery, becomes thicker and stiffer with a poor diet making blood pressure to be higher and necessitating the heart to work harder. Finally, it is evident that blood changes with age. Normal aging affects the total body water, which means that there is less fluid in the bloodstream leading to a reduction of blood volume. Age also reduces the rate of production of red blood cells in response to illness or stress, which creates a reduced response rate to blood loss and anemia.

Functions of Vitamin A

Vitamin A is essential for the body and the health as it supports the growth of cells, the immune system, fetal development, and vision (Preedy, 2012). One of the most significant functions of this vitamin is the role in vision. Retinal, which is the active form of the vitamin, tends to combine with the opsin protein, thereby forming rhodopsin, which is an important molecule for the color vision. Vitamin A also plays a role in protecting and maintaining cornea, which is the outermost part of the eye (Ball, 2008). Its protection of conjunctiva also plays a vital role in protecting the eye. It has also been demonstrated that vitamin A facilitates the maintenance of the surface tissues like the skin, bladder, inner ear, and intestines. Another critical function of the vitamin is supporting the immune functions through the support of the T-cells, regarding their growth and distribution.

Functions of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a nutrient that is soluble in fat. The nutrient is an antioxidant, which implies that it helps protection of the body tissues from damage that is caused by the free radicals. It should be noted that free radicals tend to harm the cells, organs, and tissues (Niki, 2019). Additionally, vitamin E helps in maintaining a robust immune system against bacteria and viruses. With its help in the formation of red blood cells, the nutrient is essential in facilitating blood formation and also keeping the blood from clotting.

Functions of Calcium

Calcium is an essential mineral in the bodies of pets and, hence in their diet. Calcium helps in building strong teeth and bones, which enables the body to remain stable (Cheung, 2014). In this regard, it has been demonstrated that the primary role of calcium in the body, when it is combined with phosphorous, is aiding the formation of hard structures in the body. This implies that a diet that is low in calcium can lead to numerous skeletal problems. Calcium has also been noted to play an essential role in facilitating various intracellular and extracellular processes (McDonough, 2004). This involves blood clotting, muscle contraction, cellular signaling, and the transmission of the nerve pulses. This demonstrates the significance of calcium levels in the blood plasma to ensure homeostatic control.

Functions of Iron

Iron is another essential mineral in the body, which has a very complicated role. Iron in the body helps to form and oxygenate blood cells (Gozzelino & Arosio, 2015). Heme synthesis is a critical aspect of the body that is facilitated by the mineral. Considering that all body cells need oxygen to do their work, this demonstrates the importance of iron. Additionally, iron helps in converting food into energy as well as maintaining a healthy immune system.

Five Stages of Grief

Working in veterinary medicine exposes one to a lot of grief when dealing with clients. A lot of research has been done on the emotions of grief, especially the stages that people go through.

Denial

According to studies, the first stage of grief is denial. This stage entails the experiences of a person regarding the shocking reality that the brain wants to reject (Lewis, 2012). It has been demonstrated that the instinctive belief of an individual, entails the fact that it can be vehemently denied, although it can also be made to vanish. This sets precedence to the next stage of grief, which is anger.

Anger

It is the second stage of grief, which comes by once the death or the impending death of the pet is imminent. In most cases, it is natural to look for ways that they could be prevented, and people tend to be angry when they realize the fact that it was allowed to take place. In some instances, anger could be self-directed or even directed to others.

Bargaining

In most cases, this is not an outwardly expressed emotion by many people, as bargaining is mostly an attempt to buy the desired outcome through a more mundanely approach (Smith, 2020). Clients can pay whatever amount to a veterinary attendant if he promises to save the pet.

Depression

The fourth stage is depression, which is demonstrated when people finally come to terms with the loss, and they realize that they are powerless to change the future. This situation creates a feeling of helplessness as well as a significant loss as opposed to clinical depression. In most cases, such people can disconnect themselves from society and friends (Westberg, 2019). However, this is usually a painful but essential step towards the last stage of acceptance.

Acceptance

The last stage of acceptance is not necessarily happy, especially in a situation where the pet and the owner had a very close relationship. This is a stage of struggle to admit that it is over.

References

Aldwin, C. M., and Gilmer, D. F. 2004. Health, illness and optimal aging: Biological and psychosocial perspectives. London: SAGE.

Ball, G. F. M. 2008. Vitamins: Their Role in the Human Body. Hoboken: Wiley.

Cesar. 2020. Our products. https://www.cesar.com/

Cheung, W. Y. 2014. Calcium and Cell Function: Volume 2. Saint Louis: Elsevier Science.

Gozzelino, R., and Arosio, P. 2015. The Importance of Iron in Pathophysiologic Conditions. S.L: Frontiers Media SA.

Lewis, C. S. 2012. Grief Observed. Faber & Faber.

Mars Petcare Inc. 2020. A better world for pets. https://www.mars.com/made-by-mars/petcare

Mars. 2020. Kitekat. https://swe.mars.com/en/kitekatr

McDonough, S. L. 2004. Calcium channel pharmacology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Niki, E. 2019. Vitamin E: Chemistry and nutritional benefits. London: Royal Society of Chemistry.

Noble, A. 2010. The cardiovascular system. New York: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.

Preedy, V. R. 2012. Vitamin A and carotenoids: Chemistry, analysis, function and effects. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.

Prisant, M. L. 2005. Hypertension in the elderly. Totowa, N.J: Humana Press.

Smith, C. 2020. Anxiety: The missing stage of grief. S.l.: DA CAPO.

Westberg, G. E. 2019. Good Grief: A Companion for Every Loss. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press