Homemade cat food means that you have control over what your cat eats, rather than a cat food manufacturer, who only has interest in the bottom line - his profit. He has no interest in the health of your cat.
If you take control of what your cat eats, then you have control over your cat’s health.
Health is inextricably linked to diet.
Garbage in, garbage out.
If you feed your cat the garbage that passes for cat food, then you can expect your cat to get many ailments. Expect your cat to cost you thousands in veterinary fees.
Some people think that homemade cat food is expensive.
But it isn’t on two counts.
One is that the amount you feed your cat is much less quality food than the large amount of processed food.
The reason is that quality food is nutrient dense. Processed food is nutrient poor.
So while you might be paying more for the food, you’re giving less of it.
The second reason is the health care. A cat fed quality homemade food is likely to be healthy right up to the end. Imagine the veterinarian bills you’re not spending.
And learning what to give and how to feed your cat is not difficult. The most important points to remember is that cats evolved on a raw food diet, so that’s the one they do best on.
The other important thing to remember is that their most important needs are meat and bones, so both should form the bulk of their diet. Make sure the bones are always raw, never cooked, as these can splinter and cause problems.
Homemade cat food, made with quality ingredients and personal dedication will make for a happy and healthy cat.
What do you feel contributes to the best cat health imaginable? In my opinion, there is only one, top important contributor to the absolute best cat health there can be. And that's diet! Sure, other factors are important, too. But nothing comes close to nutrition for the best cat health you can get, as it's consumed daily. Then, using homeopathy as the main health care therapy, and you have a winning combination!
Showing posts with label cat food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cat food. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Home Made Cat Food is the Best - Six Good Reasons Why
Home made cat food has the potential of providing all your cat’s nutritional needs, unlike processed food, which provides few.
You want the best for your cat, so are likely to buy superior food. Actually, it would be impossible not to, as the low grade food that goes into making processed cat food is not available on the market. No consumer would buy it.
Only pet food manufacturers buy it as they have a greater interest in their bottom line than in the health of your cat.
So lets look at the different options available to you, which go to make up why you should provide home made cat food, as opposed to processed food.
And don’t feel that raw, human grade food is expensive. It is more expensive to buy pound for pound (or kilo for kilo), but as they need far less in quantity, because the quality is so much better, it actually works out about the same or a bit cheaper.
Not only will your cat be healthier on a diet made with care and dedication, it will be cheaper too. No more expensive trips to the veterinarian. That alone can save you thousands, as well as heart break.
Home made cat food, when made with their evolutionary history in mind, will ensure a healthy and happy cat.
You want the best for your cat, so are likely to buy superior food. Actually, it would be impossible not to, as the low grade food that goes into making processed cat food is not available on the market. No consumer would buy it.
Only pet food manufacturers buy it as they have a greater interest in their bottom line than in the health of your cat.
So lets look at the different options available to you, which go to make up why you should provide home made cat food, as opposed to processed food.
- the meat you buy is very fresh
- the meat you buy is good quality
- you can offer the food raw
- you wouldn’t pad out the food with cheap, non-nutritional filler
- you wouldn’t add preservatives, colours or appetite stimulants
- you can opt to add healthy, natural, whole food supplements simply to ‘top up’ rather than to redress the poor quality
And don’t feel that raw, human grade food is expensive. It is more expensive to buy pound for pound (or kilo for kilo), but as they need far less in quantity, because the quality is so much better, it actually works out about the same or a bit cheaper.
Not only will your cat be healthier on a diet made with care and dedication, it will be cheaper too. No more expensive trips to the veterinarian. That alone can save you thousands, as well as heart break.
Home made cat food, when made with their evolutionary history in mind, will ensure a healthy and happy cat.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Best Cat Food is the One They Evolved On
The best cat food is fresh, quality, raw meat and bones.
Period.
Why?
Because that’s how cats evolved. They have been evolving for millennia so are super adapted to this diet.
On the other hand, cats have been fed processed food for a few decades.
Which do you think has more influence?
Cats kill their food. They don’t scavenge, as do dogs. That’s why cats are such fussy eaters. They heartily dislike the processed food they are given, but need to eat to survive.
So their food needs to be super fresh. Raw. And of good quality - this means human grade.
No cows hooves or other weird or strange ideas often spoken of on forums.
Don’t worry, feeding human grade raw meat and bones won’t cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, it’s likely to be a great deal cheaper than processed foods.
Human grade food is nutrient dense. Processed cat food is nutrient poor. So much less of the quality meat is needed.
Feeding the best cat food also means your cat is likely to be super healthy. Which, in turn, means fewer expensive trips to the veterinarian.
It becomes a win-win situation.
Admittedly, it is a tad more complicated to prepare than opening a can or packet. But no more than a few minutes, once you’ve got the hang of it. And that doesn’t take long.
Kittens and young cats adapt very easily to a raw diet. Older cats may take a bit of persuading. They get as stuck in their ways as humans do. But it’s worth persevering.
The best cat food makes for a happy and healthy cat - better for you and your cat.
Period.
Why?
Because that’s how cats evolved. They have been evolving for millennia so are super adapted to this diet.
On the other hand, cats have been fed processed food for a few decades.
Which do you think has more influence?
Cats kill their food. They don’t scavenge, as do dogs. That’s why cats are such fussy eaters. They heartily dislike the processed food they are given, but need to eat to survive.
So their food needs to be super fresh. Raw. And of good quality - this means human grade.
No cows hooves or other weird or strange ideas often spoken of on forums.
Don’t worry, feeding human grade raw meat and bones won’t cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, it’s likely to be a great deal cheaper than processed foods.
Human grade food is nutrient dense. Processed cat food is nutrient poor. So much less of the quality meat is needed.
Feeding the best cat food also means your cat is likely to be super healthy. Which, in turn, means fewer expensive trips to the veterinarian.
It becomes a win-win situation.
Admittedly, it is a tad more complicated to prepare than opening a can or packet. But no more than a few minutes, once you’ve got the hang of it. And that doesn’t take long.
Kittens and young cats adapt very easily to a raw diet. Older cats may take a bit of persuading. They get as stuck in their ways as humans do. But it’s worth persevering.
The best cat food makes for a happy and healthy cat - better for you and your cat.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
All Natural Cat Food - Seven Good Reasons Why Nature is Best!
Feeding your cat an all natural cat food diet will improve her health, boost her immune system and create a happy cat. If you knew what went into most, if not all, commercial pet food, you would never buy it again. Truly, it’s not for the faint hearted.
Most commercial pet food ingredients are cheap, as the better quality food goes for the higher priced human food market. Cheap food can mean anything from high fat content, meat by-products (hair, intestinal contents, chicken feet, rancid fat, dead or diseased animals), to low grade carbohydrates such as sugar, left over fast food or spoilt grain unfit for human consumption to the melamine used to bulk out American pet food imported from China.
None of this is normal or natural cat food and much of it is indigestible, so can you wonder that overall, cats health is on the decline?
What can you do about it?
The first and most important thing to do is change your cat’s diet to a homemade, raw, all natural cat food, for seven good reasons.
1 Cats evolved on raw food over millions of years. They are best able to use this diet over all others.
2 Raw food contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients, in the right amount, in a balanced form. Cooking destroys many essential nutrients.
3 Unlike processed cat food, natural cat food is easy to absorb and the cat utilises it efficiently.
4 An all natural cat food diet ensures your cat has healthy teeth and gums. Despite the claims, no processed cat food does this.
5 Parasites such as worms, fleas and ticks are minimal when you feed your cat this diet, as the environment of your cat’s body is not conducive to them. This is the opposite of processed food which makes your cat’s body a feeding ground for parasites.
6 All natural cat food keeps your cats immune system in good working order, so reducing or preventing many diseases, particularly the serious ones.
7 A hunting domestic cat is usually doing so to address an imbalance in their diet. A natural diet reduces a cat’s desire to hunt.
Whatever the health of your cat is like at the moment, changing her diet to all natural cat food will go a long way to the prognosis of her condition. However, it isn’t just a matter of substituting her processed food for raw meat. There are some important rules to follow and tips to consider.
Most commercial pet food ingredients are cheap, as the better quality food goes for the higher priced human food market. Cheap food can mean anything from high fat content, meat by-products (hair, intestinal contents, chicken feet, rancid fat, dead or diseased animals), to low grade carbohydrates such as sugar, left over fast food or spoilt grain unfit for human consumption to the melamine used to bulk out American pet food imported from China.
None of this is normal or natural cat food and much of it is indigestible, so can you wonder that overall, cats health is on the decline?
What can you do about it?
The first and most important thing to do is change your cat’s diet to a homemade, raw, all natural cat food, for seven good reasons.
1 Cats evolved on raw food over millions of years. They are best able to use this diet over all others.
2 Raw food contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients, in the right amount, in a balanced form. Cooking destroys many essential nutrients.
3 Unlike processed cat food, natural cat food is easy to absorb and the cat utilises it efficiently.
4 An all natural cat food diet ensures your cat has healthy teeth and gums. Despite the claims, no processed cat food does this.
5 Parasites such as worms, fleas and ticks are minimal when you feed your cat this diet, as the environment of your cat’s body is not conducive to them. This is the opposite of processed food which makes your cat’s body a feeding ground for parasites.
6 All natural cat food keeps your cats immune system in good working order, so reducing or preventing many diseases, particularly the serious ones.
7 A hunting domestic cat is usually doing so to address an imbalance in their diet. A natural diet reduces a cat’s desire to hunt.
Whatever the health of your cat is like at the moment, changing her diet to all natural cat food will go a long way to the prognosis of her condition. However, it isn’t just a matter of substituting her processed food for raw meat. There are some important rules to follow and tips to consider.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
What’s the Truth Behind Nutricious Cat Food?
Have you noticed there are now hundreds of ‘experts’ on virtually everything these days? That’s mostly thanks to the internet, which really is a wonderful resource of amazing information.
Sadly, it’s also an amazing place for misinformation.
Take nutricious cat food. Depending on how much commission the author is likely to receive will depend on how much they promote a particular brand.
Do you think that’s a bit cynical?
Well, you need to be today, more than ever before.
In today’s world, the dollar is king, with truth and health coming in a very poor second and third place. I don’t count myself as an expert. I feel my ‘expertise’ lies in working out the truth about health, regardless of any income I may receive from publishing this.
So how can you be sure I really am interested in the truth?
Nature has been around for quite a long time! Over millions of years, animals have evolved and fine tuned their diet and their behaviour to their current highly efficient selves.
Commercial cat food, on the other hand, has only been about for a maximum of 100 years, and more intensely for about 40 years.
Humans may well have had an impact on the look of domestic cats, but look how well domestic cats fair when they go feral. As long as they have all their physical attributes in tack (claws, teeth, etc), they can adjust just fine to finding their own food.
Which means that humans have had little real effect on them, as far as their diet and health goes.
Add that fact to the lack of laws governing the quality of pet food in most countries, and you can soon see that commercial cat food is likely to be as far removed from the nutricious cat food wild cats eat, as it can be.
Many people are told that domestic cats have longer and healthier lives than wild cats do. This is difficult to prove as few wild cats ages are known. But what most natural veterinarians do know for a fact is that as soon as cats are put on a nutricious cat food which closely resembles a wild cats diet, health problems melt away. From allergies to leukaemia, from kidney problems to infertility.
So I ask myself who is trying to convince you how much healthier domestic cats are? Could it be those people who want to profit by selling you inferior cat food or questionable medication to address the ill health as a result of the bad diet?
It seems almost too simple, to address the cause to cure the problem.
I remember reading of a medical student who became so ill she was confined to her bed. She had ulcers down her throat. She had no energy.
She went from doctor to doctor, who prescribed antibiotics to antidepressants and everything in between. None of it helped, and much of it harmed.
Her point was that not one of them had asked what had changed in her life at the time her illness started.
Finally she worked it out for herself. She had changed from good home cooking to hot dogs on the run. She stopped the hot dogs and her illness disappeared.
Diet is immensely important. Don’t underestimate its effect on you or your cat. When you go looking for a nutricious cat food, check everything out that you can. Compare the food to a wild cats diet. If the food is canned, ask yourself, does a wild cat eat canned food?
If the packet of food has a long shelf life, how can this be possible? Are the preservatives used safe for cats, despite a lack of laws? Do wild cats eat preservatives?
If man disappeared tomorrow, cats would revert to a healthy wild life, eating freshly caught raw meat and bones. That’s the most nutricious cat food. How can you better it?
Sadly, it’s also an amazing place for misinformation.
Take nutricious cat food. Depending on how much commission the author is likely to receive will depend on how much they promote a particular brand.
Do you think that’s a bit cynical?
Well, you need to be today, more than ever before.
In today’s world, the dollar is king, with truth and health coming in a very poor second and third place. I don’t count myself as an expert. I feel my ‘expertise’ lies in working out the truth about health, regardless of any income I may receive from publishing this.
So how can you be sure I really am interested in the truth?
Nature has been around for quite a long time! Over millions of years, animals have evolved and fine tuned their diet and their behaviour to their current highly efficient selves.
Commercial cat food, on the other hand, has only been about for a maximum of 100 years, and more intensely for about 40 years.
Humans may well have had an impact on the look of domestic cats, but look how well domestic cats fair when they go feral. As long as they have all their physical attributes in tack (claws, teeth, etc), they can adjust just fine to finding their own food.
Which means that humans have had little real effect on them, as far as their diet and health goes.
Add that fact to the lack of laws governing the quality of pet food in most countries, and you can soon see that commercial cat food is likely to be as far removed from the nutricious cat food wild cats eat, as it can be.
Many people are told that domestic cats have longer and healthier lives than wild cats do. This is difficult to prove as few wild cats ages are known. But what most natural veterinarians do know for a fact is that as soon as cats are put on a nutricious cat food which closely resembles a wild cats diet, health problems melt away. From allergies to leukaemia, from kidney problems to infertility.
So I ask myself who is trying to convince you how much healthier domestic cats are? Could it be those people who want to profit by selling you inferior cat food or questionable medication to address the ill health as a result of the bad diet?
It seems almost too simple, to address the cause to cure the problem.
I remember reading of a medical student who became so ill she was confined to her bed. She had ulcers down her throat. She had no energy.
She went from doctor to doctor, who prescribed antibiotics to antidepressants and everything in between. None of it helped, and much of it harmed.
Her point was that not one of them had asked what had changed in her life at the time her illness started.
Finally she worked it out for herself. She had changed from good home cooking to hot dogs on the run. She stopped the hot dogs and her illness disappeared.
Diet is immensely important. Don’t underestimate its effect on you or your cat. When you go looking for a nutricious cat food, check everything out that you can. Compare the food to a wild cats diet. If the food is canned, ask yourself, does a wild cat eat canned food?
If the packet of food has a long shelf life, how can this be possible? Are the preservatives used safe for cats, despite a lack of laws? Do wild cats eat preservatives?
If man disappeared tomorrow, cats would revert to a healthy wild life, eating freshly caught raw meat and bones. That’s the most nutricious cat food. How can you better it?
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Is Raw Cat Food Safe?
There is some concern about whether raw cat food is safe. Some feel that raw meat may contain salmonella, toxoplasmosis or another equally troublesome bacteria or parasite. And that the only way to be certain that your cat does not get these potentially fatal diseases is to cook the meat.
At first glance, this line of argument does appear to have some merit. But look a bit deeper.
Wild cats eat nothing else but raw meat and bones. Domestic cats, along with all other cats, have evolved on a diet of raw meat. Their digestive system only knows how to cope with this.
Cats, along with bears, are the only true carnivore. Their teeth show this very clearly. They are spiky for catching prey and powerful to crunch up bones. Their digestive track is short as raw meat is easy and quick to digest.
Humanity is generally under the illusion that they have improved on nature. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Holistic vets, as a body, can tell you that when you feed raw cat food, chronic degenerative disease melts away. Diseases like feline leukaemia, heart problems, sterility and tumours.
As Richard Kearns DVM puts it “I believe all cases of spinal myelopathy are caused by poor nutrition, sometimes going back to the mother’s nutrition during pregnancy”.
Richard Pitcairn DVM brings things into perspective. “Foods are so complex, we still don’t understand them. For example, researchers discovered that cats need taurine, an amino acid only found in animal tissue, which is lost through cooking. Now it is added to cat foods and supplements. Rather than wait for more such discoveries, it is better to provide animals with the diet that most closely resembles their evolutionary history”.
When you consider that cats have been evolving for hundreds of thousands of years, how could it be possible to have improved on their diet in the mere decades that commercial cat food has been available?
Lets look at salmonella. This is basically food poisoning by eating infected food. However, wild cats only eat the prey they have just killed. So the meat is super fresh, still warm in fact. Super fresh food does not carry infections. Infected food come from inadequate storage.
This is one reason why you will find cats are very fussy eaters. It’s because they know bad food when they see it. But because they still need to eat, domestic cats are left with little alternative but to eat the cat food they are given, if they are to survive.
The general guide here is to keep your cat’s raw meat super fresh. Don’t keep it in the refrigerator longer than between two to four days, depending on the temperature of the refrigerator, how many times it is opened, the ambient temperature, etc. Freeze the rest and thaw out each meal as necessary.
Toxoplasmosis is rarely a serious illness in healthy individuals. It can be a major cause of serious illness in those with a damaged immune system or those on medication which lessens the effectiveness of the immune system. This is true for both cats and humans.
Wild cats can only survive with a very strong immune system. So their diet of raw meat and bones seems to serve them well.
Nino Aloro DVM confirms this to be the case. “Diet seems to be at the base of about 90% of the cases of cystitis that I see. When my clients observe the proper diet after initial treatment, there are rarely any of the normal relapses. If they put the pet back on commercial pet food, then the cystitis comes back.”
Only buy the freshest meat and be as sensible about the handling and storage of your cat’s raw meat as you are about your own. If your cat doesn’t like the food, suspect a problem. This could be meat starting to decompose or a chlorine wash on the meat, a process some butchers use to extend the life of the meat.
At first glance, this line of argument does appear to have some merit. But look a bit deeper.
Wild cats eat nothing else but raw meat and bones. Domestic cats, along with all other cats, have evolved on a diet of raw meat. Their digestive system only knows how to cope with this.
Cats, along with bears, are the only true carnivore. Their teeth show this very clearly. They are spiky for catching prey and powerful to crunch up bones. Their digestive track is short as raw meat is easy and quick to digest.
Humanity is generally under the illusion that they have improved on nature. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Holistic vets, as a body, can tell you that when you feed raw cat food, chronic degenerative disease melts away. Diseases like feline leukaemia, heart problems, sterility and tumours.
As Richard Kearns DVM puts it “I believe all cases of spinal myelopathy are caused by poor nutrition, sometimes going back to the mother’s nutrition during pregnancy”.
Richard Pitcairn DVM brings things into perspective. “Foods are so complex, we still don’t understand them. For example, researchers discovered that cats need taurine, an amino acid only found in animal tissue, which is lost through cooking. Now it is added to cat foods and supplements. Rather than wait for more such discoveries, it is better to provide animals with the diet that most closely resembles their evolutionary history”.
When you consider that cats have been evolving for hundreds of thousands of years, how could it be possible to have improved on their diet in the mere decades that commercial cat food has been available?
Lets look at salmonella. This is basically food poisoning by eating infected food. However, wild cats only eat the prey they have just killed. So the meat is super fresh, still warm in fact. Super fresh food does not carry infections. Infected food come from inadequate storage.
This is one reason why you will find cats are very fussy eaters. It’s because they know bad food when they see it. But because they still need to eat, domestic cats are left with little alternative but to eat the cat food they are given, if they are to survive.
The general guide here is to keep your cat’s raw meat super fresh. Don’t keep it in the refrigerator longer than between two to four days, depending on the temperature of the refrigerator, how many times it is opened, the ambient temperature, etc. Freeze the rest and thaw out each meal as necessary.
Toxoplasmosis is rarely a serious illness in healthy individuals. It can be a major cause of serious illness in those with a damaged immune system or those on medication which lessens the effectiveness of the immune system. This is true for both cats and humans.
Wild cats can only survive with a very strong immune system. So their diet of raw meat and bones seems to serve them well.
Nino Aloro DVM confirms this to be the case. “Diet seems to be at the base of about 90% of the cases of cystitis that I see. When my clients observe the proper diet after initial treatment, there are rarely any of the normal relapses. If they put the pet back on commercial pet food, then the cystitis comes back.”
Only buy the freshest meat and be as sensible about the handling and storage of your cat’s raw meat as you are about your own. If your cat doesn’t like the food, suspect a problem. This could be meat starting to decompose or a chlorine wash on the meat, a process some butchers use to extend the life of the meat.
Monday, July 13, 2009
What is the Most Nutritious Cat Food?
Not that long ago, everyone relied on an ‘expert’ for guidance. Teachers were thought to have the best interests of the future generation at heart. Doctors were considered the best people to entrust with your health. Likewise with veterinarians for animal health.
This may have been good for the time.
But it made some people very powerful. And, inevitably, this power corrupted.
So, in time, good welfare was the last thing on some of these professionals minds. Good income was, and is, more important.
The advent of the internet is slowly changing all that.
But it can still be a maze, working out what is the most nutritious cat food you can feed your cat to make sure she has a healthy, trouble free and long life.
Pretty packets and cans can (and do) easily influence many people.
Impressive words such as ‘balanced nutrition’, ‘fortified with x for a longer life’ can easily lure people in if you are still stuck in the idea that ‘experts’ know more than you do.
After all, they’ve got a degree to prove they know more, haven’t they?
Degree or no degree, you can slash your way through the maze more effectively if you consider just two points.
It is essential that you take this concept into consideration in your ponderings of what is the most nutritious cat food.
You’ll be happy to know that to feed a cat according to his nature, it is not necessary to go out hunting mice and rats (although prey size is relevant).
Keeping this concept firmly in your mind, you can now see that you are easily able to cut through all the chanting salesmen, trying to gain access to your dollars.
Now you can avoid all the harmful fillers from China, all the toxic chemicals you’re afraid may be in a packet of ‘nutritious’ cat food. Now you don’t need to rely on anyone else. Or worry about how ethical a producer may be.
Whenever you want to reaffirm what is the most nutritious cat food, you just go back to this concept.
Cats need raw meat (and bones) to live a trouble free and long life. That’s how they evolved.
Cats need a diet of 95% raw meat and bones.
Not 30% low grade cooked meat by-products, 65% cheap filler and 5% toxic preservatives and synthetic ‘nutrients’ that can’t be digested.
So now, when someone asks you what is the most nutritious cat food, you can answer easily and with great confidence, whether or not you finished high school, let alone have a degree.
It’s common sense.
This may have been good for the time.
But it made some people very powerful. And, inevitably, this power corrupted.
So, in time, good welfare was the last thing on some of these professionals minds. Good income was, and is, more important.
The advent of the internet is slowly changing all that.
But it can still be a maze, working out what is the most nutritious cat food you can feed your cat to make sure she has a healthy, trouble free and long life.
Pretty packets and cans can (and do) easily influence many people.
Impressive words such as ‘balanced nutrition’, ‘fortified with x for a longer life’ can easily lure people in if you are still stuck in the idea that ‘experts’ know more than you do.
After all, they’ve got a degree to prove they know more, haven’t they?
Degree or no degree, you can slash your way through the maze more effectively if you consider just two points.
- Cats have been fed various forms of commercial cat food for a mere trifle compared with their evolution, perhaps 100 years. But in those years, cats have been more needed as mousers or ratters than pets. So it’s probably a lot less.
- A cat is a true carnivore, a true hunter. They will never be content without raw meat. Whatever you think of this idea, this is how cats evolved. This is their true nature.
It is essential that you take this concept into consideration in your ponderings of what is the most nutritious cat food.
You’ll be happy to know that to feed a cat according to his nature, it is not necessary to go out hunting mice and rats (although prey size is relevant).
Keeping this concept firmly in your mind, you can now see that you are easily able to cut through all the chanting salesmen, trying to gain access to your dollars.
Now you can avoid all the harmful fillers from China, all the toxic chemicals you’re afraid may be in a packet of ‘nutritious’ cat food. Now you don’t need to rely on anyone else. Or worry about how ethical a producer may be.
Whenever you want to reaffirm what is the most nutritious cat food, you just go back to this concept.
Cats need raw meat (and bones) to live a trouble free and long life. That’s how they evolved.
Cats need a diet of 95% raw meat and bones.
Not 30% low grade cooked meat by-products, 65% cheap filler and 5% toxic preservatives and synthetic ‘nutrients’ that can’t be digested.
So now, when someone asks you what is the most nutritious cat food, you can answer easily and with great confidence, whether or not you finished high school, let alone have a degree.
It’s common sense.
Monday, June 29, 2009
What’s the Truth Behind Nutricious Cat Food?
Have you noticed there are now hundreds of ‘experts’ on virtually everything these days? That’s mostly thanks to the internet, which really is a wonderful resource of amazing information.
Sadly, it’s also an amazing place for misinformation.
Take nutricious cat food. Depending on how much commission the author is likely to receive will depend on how much they promote a particular brand.
Do you think that’s a bit cynical?
Well, you need to be today, more than ever before.
In today’s world, the dollar is king, with truth and health coming in a very poor second and third place. I don’t count myself as an expert. I feel my ‘expertise’ lies in working out the truth about health, regardless of any income I may receive from publishing this.
So how can you be sure I really am interested in the truth?
Nature has been around for quite a long time! Over millions of years, animals have evolved and fine tuned their diet and their behaviour to their current highly efficient selves.
Commercial cat food, on the other hand, has only been about for a maximum of 100 years, and more intensely for about 40 years.
Humans may well have had an impact on the look of domestic cats, but look how well domestic cats fair when they go feral. As long as they have all their physical attributes in tack (claws, teeth, etc), they can adjust just fine to finding their own food.
Which means that humans have had little real effect on them, as far as their diet and health goes.
Add that fact to the lack of laws governing the quality of pet food in most countries, and you can soon see that commercial cat food is likely to be as far removed from the nutricious cat food wild cats eat, as it can be.
Many people are told that domestic cats have longer and healthier lives than wild cats do. This is difficult to prove as few wild cats ages are known. But what most natural veterinarians do know for a fact is that as soon as cats are put on a nutricious cat food which closely resembles a wild cats diet, health problems melt away. From allergies to leukaemia, from kidney problems to infertility.
So I ask myself who is trying to convince you how much healthier domestic cats are? Could it be those people who want to profit by selling you inferior cat food or questionable medication to address the ill health as a result of the bad diet?
It seems almost too simple, to address the cause to cure the problem.
I remember reading of a medical student who became so ill she was confined to her bed. She had ulcers down her throat. She had no energy.
She went from doctor to doctor, who prescribed antibiotics to antidepressants and everything in between. None of it helped, and much of it harmed.
Her point was that not one of them had asked what had changed in her life at the time her illness started.
Finally she worked it out for herself. She had changed from good home cooking to hot dogs on the run. She stopped the hot dogs and her illness disappeared.
Diet is immensely important. Don’t underestimate its effect on you or your cat. When you go looking for a nutricious cat food, check everything out that you can. Compare the food to a wild cats diet. If the food is canned, ask yourself, does a wild cat eat canned food?
If the packet of food has a long shelf life, how can this be possible? Are the preservatives used safe for cats, despite a lack of laws? Do wild cats eat preservatives?
If man disappeared tomorrow, cats would revert to a healthy wild life, eating freshly caught raw meat and bones. That’s the most nutricious cat food. How can you better it?
Sadly, it’s also an amazing place for misinformation.
Take nutricious cat food. Depending on how much commission the author is likely to receive will depend on how much they promote a particular brand.
Do you think that’s a bit cynical?
Well, you need to be today, more than ever before.
In today’s world, the dollar is king, with truth and health coming in a very poor second and third place. I don’t count myself as an expert. I feel my ‘expertise’ lies in working out the truth about health, regardless of any income I may receive from publishing this.
So how can you be sure I really am interested in the truth?
Nature has been around for quite a long time! Over millions of years, animals have evolved and fine tuned their diet and their behaviour to their current highly efficient selves.
Commercial cat food, on the other hand, has only been about for a maximum of 100 years, and more intensely for about 40 years.
Humans may well have had an impact on the look of domestic cats, but look how well domestic cats fair when they go feral. As long as they have all their physical attributes in tack (claws, teeth, etc), they can adjust just fine to finding their own food.
Which means that humans have had little real effect on them, as far as their diet and health goes.
Add that fact to the lack of laws governing the quality of pet food in most countries, and you can soon see that commercial cat food is likely to be as far removed from the nutricious cat food wild cats eat, as it can be.
Many people are told that domestic cats have longer and healthier lives than wild cats do. This is difficult to prove as few wild cats ages are known. But what most natural veterinarians do know for a fact is that as soon as cats are put on a nutricious cat food which closely resembles a wild cats diet, health problems melt away. From allergies to leukaemia, from kidney problems to infertility.
So I ask myself who is trying to convince you how much healthier domestic cats are? Could it be those people who want to profit by selling you inferior cat food or questionable medication to address the ill health as a result of the bad diet?
It seems almost too simple, to address the cause to cure the problem.
I remember reading of a medical student who became so ill she was confined to her bed. She had ulcers down her throat. She had no energy.
She went from doctor to doctor, who prescribed antibiotics to antidepressants and everything in between. None of it helped, and much of it harmed.
Her point was that not one of them had asked what had changed in her life at the time her illness started.
Finally she worked it out for herself. She had changed from good home cooking to hot dogs on the run. She stopped the hot dogs and her illness disappeared.
Diet is immensely important. Don’t underestimate its effect on you or your cat. When you go looking for a nutricious cat food, check everything out that you can. Compare the food to a wild cats diet. If the food is canned, ask yourself, does a wild cat eat canned food?
If the packet of food has a long shelf life, how can this be possible? Are the preservatives used safe for cats, despite a lack of laws? Do wild cats eat preservatives?
If man disappeared tomorrow, cats would revert to a healthy wild life, eating freshly caught raw meat and bones. That’s the most nutricious cat food. How can you better it?
Monday, June 8, 2009
All Natural Cat Food - Seven Good Reasons Why Nature is Best!
Feeding your cat an all natural cat food diet will improve her health, boost her immune system and create a happy cat. If you knew what went into most, if not all, commercial pet food, you would never buy it again. Truly, it’s not for the faint hearted.
Most commercial pet food ingredients are cheap, as the better quality food goes for the higher priced human food market. Cheap food can mean anything from high fat content, meat by-products (hair, intestinal contents, chicken feet, rancid fat, dead or diseased animals), to low grade carbohydrates such as sugar, left over fast food or spoilt grain unfit for human consumption to the melamine used to bulk out American pet food imported from China.
None of this is normal or natural cat food and much of it is indigestible, so can you wonder that overall, cats health is on the decline?
What can you do about it?
The first and most important thing to do is change your cat’s diet to a homemade, raw, all natural cat food, for seven good reasons.
Whatever the health of your cat is like at the moment, changing her diet to all natural cat food will go a long way to the prognosis of her condition. However, it isn’t just a matter of substituting her processed food for raw meat. There are some important rules to follow and tips to consider.
Most commercial pet food ingredients are cheap, as the better quality food goes for the higher priced human food market. Cheap food can mean anything from high fat content, meat by-products (hair, intestinal contents, chicken feet, rancid fat, dead or diseased animals), to low grade carbohydrates such as sugar, left over fast food or spoilt grain unfit for human consumption to the melamine used to bulk out American pet food imported from China.
None of this is normal or natural cat food and much of it is indigestible, so can you wonder that overall, cats health is on the decline?
What can you do about it?
The first and most important thing to do is change your cat’s diet to a homemade, raw, all natural cat food, for seven good reasons.
- Cats evolved on raw food over millions of years. They are best able to use this diet over all others.
- Raw food contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients, in the right amount, in a balanced form. Cooking destroys many essential nutrients.
- Unlike processed cat food, natural cat food is easy to absorb and the cat utilises it efficiently.
- An all natural cat food diet ensures your cat has healthy teeth and gums. Despite the claims, no processed cat food does this.
- Parasites such as worms, fleas and ticks are minimal when you feed your cat this diet, as the environment of your cat’s body is not conducive to them. This is the opposite of processed food which makes your cat’s body a feeding ground for parasites.
- All natural cat food keeps your cats immune system in good working order, so reducing or preventing many diseases, particularly the serious ones.
- A hunting domestic cat is usually doing so to address an imbalance in their diet. A natural diet reduces a cat’s desire to hunt.
Whatever the health of your cat is like at the moment, changing her diet to all natural cat food will go a long way to the prognosis of her condition. However, it isn’t just a matter of substituting her processed food for raw meat. There are some important rules to follow and tips to consider.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Best Cat Food for the Healthiest Cat
Most people think that the best cat food they can buy is the most expensive commercial cat food, often those sold at veterinarians, or in little individual packets.
Then they wonder why their cat seems to be hungry all the time.
In this article, I want to take you on a journey, perhaps a journey of discovery. It may not read as the most pleasant journey you have been on, but it may be the most informative one.
An abattoir is where animals are slaughtered, for food or leather or both. Most people are aware of this, but prefer not to think about it too much. The pretty packs of meat in the supermarket hide the real story behind meat production.
If you’re already cringing, and thinking of putting this article down, I promise to make it as informative as possible without making you too upset - just enough to take action, perhaps? After all, you do want to find the best cat food, or you wouldn’t be reading this.
If any animal comes in for slaughter who is suspected of Mad Cow Disease, because they can’t move when stimulated to, many countries in the world will not allow the meat from this animal to go into the human food chain.
Likewise for any animal who is showing certain signs of serious illness, such as cancers, abnormal body discharges, skin lesions, infested with maggots, respiratory problems, too thin, etc.
However, these same animals may be used in pet food. The animal may be euthanased with a lethal drug and then dyed and ‘denatured’ with carbolic acid or a strong disinfectant.
Then they are taken to a rendering plant, possibly some distance away. So they can be exposed to hot summer weather for hours, possibly days.
A rendering plant takes in anything from road kill to dead farm animals, to euthanised pets, horses or zoo animals.
And it’s from a rendering plant that many, if not most, pet food manufacturers buy their raw material. The ingredients may tell you. Typical ingredients from a rendering plant include meat by-products, animal fat, meat meal, bone meal.
Soap manufacturers also buy their raw material from rendering plants.
Many countries don’t insist on pet food listing all their ingredients. In this world, pet and animals have no rights and don’t matter. Why list something that will make people put your product back on the shelf, unless you have to by law?
Does your cat matter to you?
Would you willingly feed your cat rotten meat, diseased meat, meat containing acid, disinfectant, a lethal drug or a lot of fat?
Even if you tried, it’s likely your cat would refuse it.
So why doesn’t she refuse the commercial cat food, ostensibly the best cat food money can buy, which contains all this? Why are cats addicted to dried food?
I don’t know the reason for this for certain, but I can guess. Most cats adore tuna. Cats can become tuna junkies. I suspect that most commercial cat food contains tuna flavouring, either natural or more likely, synthetic.
If you’re looking for the best cat food to ensure your cat remains as healthy as possible, commercial pet food just doesn’t make sense.
I’m not suggesting that all commercial pet food is the same. But I think most are, especially the big names. Some smaller ones may be doing their bit to improve the image, but would you know if they sold to someone less ethical?
If you were fed low grade food, would you be hungry all the time? You bet! Why? Because low grade food has few nutrients. It is nutrient poor.
So your cat may be well fed on what you consider to be the best cat food you can buy, but if she’s hungry all the time, you can be sure she is lacking in something vital to her ongoing good health. Probably several somethings.
Then they wonder why their cat seems to be hungry all the time.
In this article, I want to take you on a journey, perhaps a journey of discovery. It may not read as the most pleasant journey you have been on, but it may be the most informative one.
An abattoir is where animals are slaughtered, for food or leather or both. Most people are aware of this, but prefer not to think about it too much. The pretty packs of meat in the supermarket hide the real story behind meat production.
If you’re already cringing, and thinking of putting this article down, I promise to make it as informative as possible without making you too upset - just enough to take action, perhaps? After all, you do want to find the best cat food, or you wouldn’t be reading this.
If any animal comes in for slaughter who is suspected of Mad Cow Disease, because they can’t move when stimulated to, many countries in the world will not allow the meat from this animal to go into the human food chain.
Likewise for any animal who is showing certain signs of serious illness, such as cancers, abnormal body discharges, skin lesions, infested with maggots, respiratory problems, too thin, etc.
However, these same animals may be used in pet food. The animal may be euthanased with a lethal drug and then dyed and ‘denatured’ with carbolic acid or a strong disinfectant.
Then they are taken to a rendering plant, possibly some distance away. So they can be exposed to hot summer weather for hours, possibly days.
A rendering plant takes in anything from road kill to dead farm animals, to euthanised pets, horses or zoo animals.
And it’s from a rendering plant that many, if not most, pet food manufacturers buy their raw material. The ingredients may tell you. Typical ingredients from a rendering plant include meat by-products, animal fat, meat meal, bone meal.
Soap manufacturers also buy their raw material from rendering plants.
Many countries don’t insist on pet food listing all their ingredients. In this world, pet and animals have no rights and don’t matter. Why list something that will make people put your product back on the shelf, unless you have to by law?
Does your cat matter to you?
Would you willingly feed your cat rotten meat, diseased meat, meat containing acid, disinfectant, a lethal drug or a lot of fat?
Even if you tried, it’s likely your cat would refuse it.
So why doesn’t she refuse the commercial cat food, ostensibly the best cat food money can buy, which contains all this? Why are cats addicted to dried food?
I don’t know the reason for this for certain, but I can guess. Most cats adore tuna. Cats can become tuna junkies. I suspect that most commercial cat food contains tuna flavouring, either natural or more likely, synthetic.
If you’re looking for the best cat food to ensure your cat remains as healthy as possible, commercial pet food just doesn’t make sense.
I’m not suggesting that all commercial pet food is the same. But I think most are, especially the big names. Some smaller ones may be doing their bit to improve the image, but would you know if they sold to someone less ethical?
If you were fed low grade food, would you be hungry all the time? You bet! Why? Because low grade food has few nutrients. It is nutrient poor.
So your cat may be well fed on what you consider to be the best cat food you can buy, but if she’s hungry all the time, you can be sure she is lacking in something vital to her ongoing good health. Probably several somethings.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Best Cat Food - How to Make It Yourself
You’re searching around, looking for the best cat food perhaps because you have a new kitten and want to provide her with the best. Or perhaps it’s because you seem to have had a lot of illnesses with your past cats and are now wondering if the diet could be partly responsible.
Well, let me tell you that categorically, without a shadow of doubt, diet is all important to anyone’s health, including that of your cat.
Providing the best cat food will be the biggest step towards keeping your cat as healthy as possible.
But what is this?
Cats have spent a long time evolving to their present state. Many millions of years, in fact. Many tens of millions of years.
Over that time, they have perfectly adapted to the food that is available to them on a regular basis.
Whatever gives us the idea that we, as a species, can better that?
Whilst advertising, with it’s alluring pictures and fine words, may tell us ‘science’ has improved a cats diet, rest assured it hasn’t. The advertising remains just that - pretty pictures and fine words, aimed at improving the health of the manufacturers bank balance rather than the health of your cat.
So let’s go back to the earlier question - what is the best cat food?
There is not a shadow of doubt that the best cat food is that which is so close to a wild cat’s diet as to be almost identical.
OK, I’m not asking you to go out and catch mice - your cat can do a better job of that than you can.
Let’s look at a wild cat’s diet. Cats kill their prey and eat it all immediately. They aren’t opportunist eaters, like dogs, who are happy to eat carrion. So what does this tell us, about the qualities of the food?
That’s quite a daunting list for someone new to the idea of not opening a box or can for your cat’s dinner.
And there is a bit to learn to apply those principles.
But it is really easy, once you get to know the basics and how to apply them.
Your cat will think she’s died and gone to heaven...
Well, let me tell you that categorically, without a shadow of doubt, diet is all important to anyone’s health, including that of your cat.
Providing the best cat food will be the biggest step towards keeping your cat as healthy as possible.
But what is this?
Cats have spent a long time evolving to their present state. Many millions of years, in fact. Many tens of millions of years.
Over that time, they have perfectly adapted to the food that is available to them on a regular basis.
Whatever gives us the idea that we, as a species, can better that?
Whilst advertising, with it’s alluring pictures and fine words, may tell us ‘science’ has improved a cats diet, rest assured it hasn’t. The advertising remains just that - pretty pictures and fine words, aimed at improving the health of the manufacturers bank balance rather than the health of your cat.
So let’s go back to the earlier question - what is the best cat food?
There is not a shadow of doubt that the best cat food is that which is so close to a wild cat’s diet as to be almost identical.
OK, I’m not asking you to go out and catch mice - your cat can do a better job of that than you can.
Let’s look at a wild cat’s diet. Cats kill their prey and eat it all immediately. They aren’t opportunist eaters, like dogs, who are happy to eat carrion. So what does this tell us, about the qualities of the food?
- it must be raw
- it must be fresh
- it must contain bones
- it must include organ meat
- it must be varied
That’s quite a daunting list for someone new to the idea of not opening a box or can for your cat’s dinner.
And there is a bit to learn to apply those principles.
But it is really easy, once you get to know the basics and how to apply them.
Your cat will think she’s died and gone to heaven...
Monday, May 11, 2009
Cat Care - The Best, The Easiest, The Most Natural
Caring for your cat is easy when you try to remember her origins. Being domesticated doesn’t mean you should abandon how she would live in the wild. Cats have evolved in the wild over millennia. They have been domesticated for a mere trifle in comparison.
This means that their nutritional and emotional needs remain identical to those of their forebears. In attempting to provide the best cat care means looking at these needs.
Lets look at their nutritional needs first.
Wild cats hunt on their own. They hunt small animals, sometimes up to about their own size, but mostly smaller than themselves. They rarely eat anything other than freshly killed meat.
Contrasting this with a typical domestic cat’s diet of dried pellets and you realise how off the mark commercial pet food is. Even if dried pellets were made with the best cuts of meat (which they aren’t), the meat is still not fresh or raw.
So, if you’re trying to provide the most complete cat care, what should you feed your cat?
In my opinion, the best cat food is raw meat and bones. You can’t completely duplicate a wild cat’s diet, but you can come so close as to not compromise her health. Cat care starts with food as this is consumed daily. Something done daily has much more impact on our health than say something that only happens once a year.
When a cat eats her prey, she will eat all the meat, including the bones. Bones are the best source of calcium for a cat. And meat can only be properly digested when it is consumed with bones. After all, all carnivores eat meat with bones.
Not only that, crunching up on bones is the best way of keeping her teeth and gums healthy, as long as they’re not too big. No dried pellets can do that as well, despite the promises on the label.
Some think that giving a cat raw meat will trigger their hunting instinct. In my experience, it does the exact opposite. Because raw meat is nutrient dense, your cat will be satisfied and won’t feel the need to supplement her diet as when fed a nutrient deficient diet.
Natural cat care also means providing your cat with her basic emotional and physical needs. Cats are intelligent and inquisitive. They need visual stimulation. This is best served by being outdoors, where nature provides an abundance of stimulation.
If it’s impossible or too dangerous to let your cat outside, do make sure she has access to safe stimulants, perhaps in the form of toys. Make sure you play with her to ensure she gets adequate exercise.
Sun is an important aspect of good cat care. Cats love the sun and it is essential to good health for all of us, not just your cat. Regular outdoor access will allow her to choose for herself. For confined cats, make sure there are times when you can open a window (safely) to allow the sun’s rays in, unhindered by glass or plastic.
Easy cat care really means allowing your cat the freedom she desires. Confining cats indoors is going against good animal husbandry,
I am also of the opinion that declawing cats is not only painfully inhumane, it deprives the cat of the natural joy of stretching. If you are considering declawing your cat, maybe you should also consider having a cat is not for you. Cats have already adapted a great deal to live with us. Putting them through an unnecessary, inhumane and painful operation is purely for your benefit, not your cats.
Cats provide us with an abundance affection, love and enjoyment. To provide even adequate cat care, we should at least do the same for them.
This means that their nutritional and emotional needs remain identical to those of their forebears. In attempting to provide the best cat care means looking at these needs.
Lets look at their nutritional needs first.
Wild cats hunt on their own. They hunt small animals, sometimes up to about their own size, but mostly smaller than themselves. They rarely eat anything other than freshly killed meat.
Contrasting this with a typical domestic cat’s diet of dried pellets and you realise how off the mark commercial pet food is. Even if dried pellets were made with the best cuts of meat (which they aren’t), the meat is still not fresh or raw.
So, if you’re trying to provide the most complete cat care, what should you feed your cat?
In my opinion, the best cat food is raw meat and bones. You can’t completely duplicate a wild cat’s diet, but you can come so close as to not compromise her health. Cat care starts with food as this is consumed daily. Something done daily has much more impact on our health than say something that only happens once a year.
When a cat eats her prey, she will eat all the meat, including the bones. Bones are the best source of calcium for a cat. And meat can only be properly digested when it is consumed with bones. After all, all carnivores eat meat with bones.
Not only that, crunching up on bones is the best way of keeping her teeth and gums healthy, as long as they’re not too big. No dried pellets can do that as well, despite the promises on the label.
Some think that giving a cat raw meat will trigger their hunting instinct. In my experience, it does the exact opposite. Because raw meat is nutrient dense, your cat will be satisfied and won’t feel the need to supplement her diet as when fed a nutrient deficient diet.
Natural cat care also means providing your cat with her basic emotional and physical needs. Cats are intelligent and inquisitive. They need visual stimulation. This is best served by being outdoors, where nature provides an abundance of stimulation.
If it’s impossible or too dangerous to let your cat outside, do make sure she has access to safe stimulants, perhaps in the form of toys. Make sure you play with her to ensure she gets adequate exercise.
Sun is an important aspect of good cat care. Cats love the sun and it is essential to good health for all of us, not just your cat. Regular outdoor access will allow her to choose for herself. For confined cats, make sure there are times when you can open a window (safely) to allow the sun’s rays in, unhindered by glass or plastic.
Easy cat care really means allowing your cat the freedom she desires. Confining cats indoors is going against good animal husbandry,
I am also of the opinion that declawing cats is not only painfully inhumane, it deprives the cat of the natural joy of stretching. If you are considering declawing your cat, maybe you should also consider having a cat is not for you. Cats have already adapted a great deal to live with us. Putting them through an unnecessary, inhumane and painful operation is purely for your benefit, not your cats.
Cats provide us with an abundance affection, love and enjoyment. To provide even adequate cat care, we should at least do the same for them.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Cat Food - the Best, the Healthiest, the Most Nutritious
We humans have a capacity of extremes. There are those of us who are honest to the letter and there are those of us who are equally dishonest. Stress often plays an important part of being dishonest, especially for a struggling businessman desperately trying to provide for his family.
Then there are those who are just plain greedy and don’t care how they arrive at their fortune as long as they do.
Luckily, in most countries, there is now a system in place that ensures a basic (some might say very basic) standard that all manufacturers or suppliers of human food must meet.
Sadly this is either not the case for animal feed, or the standards are so low as to be useless.
So despite all the pretty advertising, all the logically convincing and reassuring words from your vet, chances are, if you’re feeding your cat a processed cat food, you’re directly contributing to her ill health.
The big brand names in cat food contribute financially to veterinary colleges, which explains why vets surgery reception areas are now piled high with these brands. But does it spell quality?
To find out we need to look at what’s in processed cat food. Most fresh meat goes for human consumption as more money can be made there. So pet food tends to get the dregs. Dregs can include meat meal or meat by-products (chicken feet, feathers, hair, skin, intestinal waste (poo to you and me), general slaughterhouse wastes), meat not considered safe (spoiled or toxic) or desirable for human consumption, fat, diseased carcasses (which may be far from fresh), including euthanised animals.
To bulk this out, low cost carbohydrates are used, which can include sugar, propylene glycol, leftover fast food, mouldy and rancid grain deemed unsuitable for human consumption, corn syrup, non-nutritive fillers such as sawdust or newspaper and so forth.
So the cat food starts out as low quality, too low in digestible protein essential to a cats well being, too high in fat, too high in carbohydrates and possibly poisonous - 100 Bald and Golden Eagles in North America have died recently from eating a euthanised animal.
Then the ‘food’ is cooked, usually at very high temperatures. Cooking destroys many nutrients which are essential for good health. Cats evolved by killing and eating their food instantly, showing that freshness is essential for a cats overall good health.
To address this, the cat food manufacturers add synthetic nutrients. Synthetic nutrients are isolated and not easily digested by anyone let alone your cat. So a label reassuringly boasting of a ‘nutritionally complete’ or ‘scientific’ diet are purposefully vague as neither are true. Unqualified claims are legally acceptable in most countries with their poor or non-existent pet food regulations.
As this resultant cat food doesn’t look very appealing, colour is added (Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2), obviously for your benefit as I doubt your cat cares much about the colour of cat food.
Now, most processed food is in a dry or semi dry form. This means that you have to preserve the food to keep it. If you purchase any meat product that keeps longer than a couple of days in the fridge, you know it has preservative in.
Some common preservatives include disodium guanylate, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (a very controversial synthetic vitamin K.), mixed-tocopherols (synthetic form of Vitamin E) and others considered unfit for human consumption.
All processed food is ‘dead’ food, with no life. Dead food is that which has been cooked, particularly at high temperature and for long periods.
So you might think that buying cat food direct from a pet food supplier or butcher might be the answer. A quality butcher I buy from once told me that most pet mince sold at butchers is all the excess fat they can’t use, mixed with beetroot juice. On further inspection of the pet mince in discussion, I didn’t doubt him.
I read recently of someone buying from a pet shop. As she walked up to the shop from the car park, she noticed a pickup truck loaded down with large boxes marked poultry. On closer inspection she saw they contained pre-packaged chicken pieces. Fresh chicken sitting in boxes, in the hot summer sun, not on ice, not in a refrigerated truck, but in the back of an open pick up truck waiting to be carried into the store for sale to consumers.
Then there are those who are just plain greedy and don’t care how they arrive at their fortune as long as they do.
Luckily, in most countries, there is now a system in place that ensures a basic (some might say very basic) standard that all manufacturers or suppliers of human food must meet.
Sadly this is either not the case for animal feed, or the standards are so low as to be useless.
So despite all the pretty advertising, all the logically convincing and reassuring words from your vet, chances are, if you’re feeding your cat a processed cat food, you’re directly contributing to her ill health.
The big brand names in cat food contribute financially to veterinary colleges, which explains why vets surgery reception areas are now piled high with these brands. But does it spell quality?
To find out we need to look at what’s in processed cat food. Most fresh meat goes for human consumption as more money can be made there. So pet food tends to get the dregs. Dregs can include meat meal or meat by-products (chicken feet, feathers, hair, skin, intestinal waste (poo to you and me), general slaughterhouse wastes), meat not considered safe (spoiled or toxic) or desirable for human consumption, fat, diseased carcasses (which may be far from fresh), including euthanised animals.
To bulk this out, low cost carbohydrates are used, which can include sugar, propylene glycol, leftover fast food, mouldy and rancid grain deemed unsuitable for human consumption, corn syrup, non-nutritive fillers such as sawdust or newspaper and so forth.
So the cat food starts out as low quality, too low in digestible protein essential to a cats well being, too high in fat, too high in carbohydrates and possibly poisonous - 100 Bald and Golden Eagles in North America have died recently from eating a euthanised animal.
Then the ‘food’ is cooked, usually at very high temperatures. Cooking destroys many nutrients which are essential for good health. Cats evolved by killing and eating their food instantly, showing that freshness is essential for a cats overall good health.
To address this, the cat food manufacturers add synthetic nutrients. Synthetic nutrients are isolated and not easily digested by anyone let alone your cat. So a label reassuringly boasting of a ‘nutritionally complete’ or ‘scientific’ diet are purposefully vague as neither are true. Unqualified claims are legally acceptable in most countries with their poor or non-existent pet food regulations.
As this resultant cat food doesn’t look very appealing, colour is added (Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2), obviously for your benefit as I doubt your cat cares much about the colour of cat food.
Now, most processed food is in a dry or semi dry form. This means that you have to preserve the food to keep it. If you purchase any meat product that keeps longer than a couple of days in the fridge, you know it has preservative in.
Some common preservatives include disodium guanylate, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (a very controversial synthetic vitamin K.), mixed-tocopherols (synthetic form of Vitamin E) and others considered unfit for human consumption.
All processed food is ‘dead’ food, with no life. Dead food is that which has been cooked, particularly at high temperature and for long periods.
So you might think that buying cat food direct from a pet food supplier or butcher might be the answer. A quality butcher I buy from once told me that most pet mince sold at butchers is all the excess fat they can’t use, mixed with beetroot juice. On further inspection of the pet mince in discussion, I didn’t doubt him.
I read recently of someone buying from a pet shop. As she walked up to the shop from the car park, she noticed a pickup truck loaded down with large boxes marked poultry. On closer inspection she saw they contained pre-packaged chicken pieces. Fresh chicken sitting in boxes, in the hot summer sun, not on ice, not in a refrigerated truck, but in the back of an open pick up truck waiting to be carried into the store for sale to consumers.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Cat Food Recipes - Quick, Easy, Nutritious
For years, I thought that the best cat food was bought from the supermarket, in tins, packets and boxes. After all, the labels said things like “scientifically proven” and “recommended by vets” and “low ash”, things that seemed to indicate to me the manufacturers knew what they were talking about.
I don’t doubt, that you do or perhaps did, feel the same.
It’s easier to assume the best if you have high demands on your time. And who hasn’t these days?
It was only when I started looking at a more holistic way of treatment, that I began to run into the idea that perhaps commercial pet food wasn’t the best way.
After all, the makers of such food are normal people trying to make their business pay. It’s tempting to cut corners. And the more corners you cut, the easier it becomes.
Now, you’re probably as concerned as I am about the lack of quality in commercial pet food. From the low grade meat, to the meat-by-products, to the high fat, to the synthetic nutrients, to the chemical preservatives. Even the cans aren’t safe, with BPA in the lining leaking into the food.
Really, the only way to ensure your family or your pet is getting proper nutrition is to make it yourself, from scratch.
And, of course, just as you and your family want variety, so too does your cat.
So you’re looking for some inspiring cat food recipes?
Ones that are quick to deliver after a hard day’s work?
Ones that are nutritious and balanced to ensure your cat’s ongoing good health?
Ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg?
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
When I adopted the idea of homemade cat food, I struggled with providing my cats with food they would eat and which was healthy. It took a lot of trial and error, but I got there in the end.
Now I know what the most nutritious cat food is, I know what cats like and I can vary the meals so they get something different every day of the week.
I thought others might like to learn from my experiences, rather than make their own mistakes. Why reinvent the wheel? This other has gone before and ironed out the wrinkles for you!
Cat food recipes must contain the essential meat that cats need, but just by varying one ingredient, you can create a difference that will stimulate your cats appetite.
And it’s just so easy!
OK, I admit, it’s not quite as easy as opening a can or box. But then, I’m guessing you’re looking beyond that, for quality and health enhancing nutrition.
Good quality homemade cat food recipes are fun to make, easy to do and ensures your cat’s optimum health.
The emphasis is on good quality.
I’ve read many different cat food recipes which really aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. It’s obvious that the writer hasn’t done any research into the dietary requirements of cats.
My cat food recipes are based on what I have researched, but also what holistic veterinarians are saying, as a body. They’re saying what really works, what diseases, often serious, melt away with a proper diet, made from good quality homemade cat food recipes.
Enjoy!
I don’t doubt, that you do or perhaps did, feel the same.
It’s easier to assume the best if you have high demands on your time. And who hasn’t these days?
It was only when I started looking at a more holistic way of treatment, that I began to run into the idea that perhaps commercial pet food wasn’t the best way.
After all, the makers of such food are normal people trying to make their business pay. It’s tempting to cut corners. And the more corners you cut, the easier it becomes.
Now, you’re probably as concerned as I am about the lack of quality in commercial pet food. From the low grade meat, to the meat-by-products, to the high fat, to the synthetic nutrients, to the chemical preservatives. Even the cans aren’t safe, with BPA in the lining leaking into the food.
Really, the only way to ensure your family or your pet is getting proper nutrition is to make it yourself, from scratch.
And, of course, just as you and your family want variety, so too does your cat.
So you’re looking for some inspiring cat food recipes?
Ones that are quick to deliver after a hard day’s work?
Ones that are nutritious and balanced to ensure your cat’s ongoing good health?
Ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg?
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
When I adopted the idea of homemade cat food, I struggled with providing my cats with food they would eat and which was healthy. It took a lot of trial and error, but I got there in the end.
Now I know what the most nutritious cat food is, I know what cats like and I can vary the meals so they get something different every day of the week.
I thought others might like to learn from my experiences, rather than make their own mistakes. Why reinvent the wheel? This other has gone before and ironed out the wrinkles for you!
Cat food recipes must contain the essential meat that cats need, but just by varying one ingredient, you can create a difference that will stimulate your cats appetite.
And it’s just so easy!
OK, I admit, it’s not quite as easy as opening a can or box. But then, I’m guessing you’re looking beyond that, for quality and health enhancing nutrition.
Good quality homemade cat food recipes are fun to make, easy to do and ensures your cat’s optimum health.
The emphasis is on good quality.
I’ve read many different cat food recipes which really aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. It’s obvious that the writer hasn’t done any research into the dietary requirements of cats.
My cat food recipes are based on what I have researched, but also what holistic veterinarians are saying, as a body. They’re saying what really works, what diseases, often serious, melt away with a proper diet, made from good quality homemade cat food recipes.
Enjoy!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Holistic Cat Food For the Healthiest Cat
Once you’ve started looking around for holistic treatment for your cat, it’s a natural sequel to think about holistic cat food.
There’s a saying that currently people have never been so well fed, but so under nourished. As this is a direct result of poor farming methods as well as bad dietary advice, it’s no less true for your cat as it is for you.
Changing over the diet of your cat to a more natural one, will not only benefit him, but your pocket too. Because your cat is healthier on this diet, you’ll have fewer visits to your preferred cat health professional.
But what exactly am I talking about?
Well, an holistic cat food is one which so closely resembles a wild cat’s diet, as to be in the same league as far as health is concerned.
You’ll probably be relieved to know, I’m not suggesting you go out and catch mice. What I’m asking you to do is to consider the diet of a wild cat and then be mindful in duplicating it as closely as you can, within the framework of readily available food and the constraints on your time.
Actually, I’ve already done that for you, so you don’t have to do all the hard work. I just want you to know the reasons behind feeding your cat an holistic diet to ensure better health and longevity.
It’s worth remembering that cats have evolved on a wild diet over millions of years, and are extremely healthy on it. Otherwise they would have died out.
So trying to duplicate nature’s bounty for your cat is the best way to ensure his good health and longevity.
Providing an holistic cat food isn’t difficult once you’ve opened up your mind to the idea of it. Isn’t that always the biggest hurdle? Once you’re open to the idea the rest, as they say, is easy. With a bit of guidance from someone who has made all the mistakes possible.
A quality, balanced holistic cat food:
Holistic cat food contains only naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, in a balanced and whole food form. You know, you shouldn’t need to supplement your cat’s food. All the necessary nutrients should come from the food, and in the wild, they do.
But, because modern farming methods cut corners in quality to boost quantity (and so profit), the resulting foods are often poor in nutrients. So supplementing becomes necessary.
Most supplements on the market today are isolated nutrients. In nature, nutrients are always found with other nutrients that they co-depend on. For example, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium must be in the natural balanced ratio and need vitamin A and D to be properly utilised. Iron, copper and cobalt co-depend on each other. And so on.
In addition to the isolation, most modern supplements are synthetic. Synthetic nutrients aren’t easily absorbed or utilised by the body. And you can overdose on synthetic nutrients more easily than on natural ones, which the body knows how to deal with.
Holistic cat food, on the other hand, is easily absorbed and utilised by your cat. The supplements are a whole food, and are nutrient dense. This means all that is needed is readily absorbed.
It is not time consuming to provide this diet, if you follow my easy feline dietary advice, It’s simply a question of being aware of certain pitfalls. It may take you and your cat a while to work things out, but it’s well worth it for the huge benefits which follow.
There’s a saying that currently people have never been so well fed, but so under nourished. As this is a direct result of poor farming methods as well as bad dietary advice, it’s no less true for your cat as it is for you.
Changing over the diet of your cat to a more natural one, will not only benefit him, but your pocket too. Because your cat is healthier on this diet, you’ll have fewer visits to your preferred cat health professional.
But what exactly am I talking about?
Well, an holistic cat food is one which so closely resembles a wild cat’s diet, as to be in the same league as far as health is concerned.
You’ll probably be relieved to know, I’m not suggesting you go out and catch mice. What I’m asking you to do is to consider the diet of a wild cat and then be mindful in duplicating it as closely as you can, within the framework of readily available food and the constraints on your time.
Actually, I’ve already done that for you, so you don’t have to do all the hard work. I just want you to know the reasons behind feeding your cat an holistic diet to ensure better health and longevity.
It’s worth remembering that cats have evolved on a wild diet over millions of years, and are extremely healthy on it. Otherwise they would have died out.
So trying to duplicate nature’s bounty for your cat is the best way to ensure his good health and longevity.
Providing an holistic cat food isn’t difficult once you’ve opened up your mind to the idea of it. Isn’t that always the biggest hurdle? Once you’re open to the idea the rest, as they say, is easy. With a bit of guidance from someone who has made all the mistakes possible.
A quality, balanced holistic cat food:
- will provide your cat with all his nutritional requirements.
- will make your cat content and much less interested in hunting - hunting domestic cats usually means they are lacking nutrients in their current diet and they’re trying to redress that
- is free from chemical residue, such as preservatives and colour, which cats are so sensitive to
- contains no synthetic vitamins or minerals - which are difficult to absorb and utilise so tend to be excreted
- is raw and so contain all the enzymes and other nutrients lost in cooking
Holistic cat food contains only naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, in a balanced and whole food form. You know, you shouldn’t need to supplement your cat’s food. All the necessary nutrients should come from the food, and in the wild, they do.
But, because modern farming methods cut corners in quality to boost quantity (and so profit), the resulting foods are often poor in nutrients. So supplementing becomes necessary.
Most supplements on the market today are isolated nutrients. In nature, nutrients are always found with other nutrients that they co-depend on. For example, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium must be in the natural balanced ratio and need vitamin A and D to be properly utilised. Iron, copper and cobalt co-depend on each other. And so on.
In addition to the isolation, most modern supplements are synthetic. Synthetic nutrients aren’t easily absorbed or utilised by the body. And you can overdose on synthetic nutrients more easily than on natural ones, which the body knows how to deal with.
Holistic cat food, on the other hand, is easily absorbed and utilised by your cat. The supplements are a whole food, and are nutrient dense. This means all that is needed is readily absorbed.
It is not time consuming to provide this diet, if you follow my easy feline dietary advice, It’s simply a question of being aware of certain pitfalls. It may take you and your cat a while to work things out, but it’s well worth it for the huge benefits which follow.
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