Life of the Lintee Bean

 I’m pleased I’ve had more and more caregivers talk to me about putting their cats on a raw diet.  For those new to raw, I often recommend a pre-ground meat/bone product such as Hare Today, supplemented with a multi-vitamin/nutrient for cats such as Platinum Performance, as described in Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins in her book “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer Stronger Life“.

One problem – it seems some of these caregivers view this Hare Today/Platinum Performance combination to be some magical “cure” for what ails their cat (diabetes, IBD or chronic diarrhea, obesity, “allergies”, etc.)  In a way, it is a “cure” in that the cat becomes healthier and may no longer show any symptoms of their prior ailment (no more need for insulin, no more anemia, no more diarrhea, etc.)  However, in my opinion, it’s not so much that the particular food is a cure in that you’ve eliminated the *problem* (dry food). 

I’ll try to give an analogy.  Let’s say, like Jared of Subway fame, I stop eating McDonald’s for lunch every day and start eating Subway sandwiches.  Let’s say I lose weight, my bowel movements improve, my high blood pressure goes away, I have more energy, my skin condition improves, my blood sugar stabilizes… I’m in overall better health.  Does that mean Subway sandwiches are a “cure” for all that ailed me?  Not really.  It means BETTER NUTRITION gave me BETTER HEALTH.

The same goes for cats.  Better nutrition = better health.  Better nutrition may eliminate the diabetes, obesity, dandruff, cystitis, urinary tract stones, diarrhea, etc, etc.  What it DOESN’T mean is that the cat can just go back on a dry food diet later after being “cured”.  The cat should NEVER eat dry food again. 

I personally don’t believe ANY cat should eat dry food EVER.  Now, I’ll admit I’m more fanatical than most.  Some would argue that an occasional Big Mac from McDonald’s won’t kill you, or your children.  Therefore, an occasional treat of dry food won’t kill their cat.  Probably not, I have to admit.  But why bother?  Why take the risk that they’ll get sick from that snack, or just get “hooked” and clamour for the dry food (the same way children may scream for McDonald’s)?  Why bother giving the pet food industry your hard-earned dollars for such a horrible product?

On a similar note, there’s nothing particularly magical about the Hare Today + Platinum Performance combination.  A recipe such as those found at CatInfo.org or CatNutrition.org or BlakKatz.com are just as good, if not better.  Feline Future’s Instincts TC powder combined with boneless meat and liver is another great choice.  The commercial nutritionally-complete product, Feline’s Pride, is another option.  There aren’t a lot of grain-free vegetable-free fruit-free raw options out there, but there are several and they will ALL work.

Also, if your cat isn’t a severe case – many commercially available frozen raw products or canned foods will work just fine!  Just look for a product that contains a high moisture content and little-to-no grains, vegetables and fruit.  Some caregivers prefer a higher-quality meat source (rather than mystery “meat” and byproducts).

I think a raw diet is fantastic, and it’s what I feed my own cats most of the time – but I also think a canned food diet is great.  I abhor dry food – and I detest the “alphabet soup” that is prescription pet food simply because you’re generally paying more for inferior ingredients.

There’s plenty of scientific evidence out there that shows a diet such as I and many others recommend DOES work… I won’t list the numerous references here, but many are available at Feline Outreach.  There’s also tons of anectdotal evidence – which is often more convincing to people – stories like Buster’s (IBD), and Ralph’s (IBD, anemia, and diabetes), and Rumpelmintz’s (IBD), and Smudge’s (IBD), and Omaha’s (obesity), and Jellybean’s (diabetes), and Louie’s (diabetes), and Sammie Ray’s (diabetes), and Sinbad’s (diabetes) and many many others.  Are those cats “cured”?  Well, proper nutrition has certainly relieved if not eliminated their health woes – but they should NEVER eat dry food again.  Proper nutrition was the answer, and that nutrition doesn’t come in a bag.