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Archive for September, 2008

Junk Food

Posted in Chi-Town Fur Gang, Feline nutrition and health, tagged , , , , on September 9, 2008| 3 Comments »

Friends of mine compared dry food to doughnuts, candy, or chips recently.  They noted that a little bit given to a healthy cat, probably won’t hurt them.  I actually agree – but if your cat is anemic, vomiting and/or has diarrhea/constipation, is borderline diabetic (or full-blown diabetic), obese, or has a tendancy to develop urinary tract stones – I would argue (once again) they should be given absolutely NO DRY FOOD!

I DO understand about some special cases, but in my opinion there’s a difference between understanding your choices and the risks and benefits of those choices and choosing something for which you feel the benefits outweigh the risks… and making a choice ignoring the evidence, justifying your decision with “my vet said” or “well, all my cats in the past” or “I know cats that”… like the people that *know* canned/raw is better for diabetics but don’t want to bother with the “effort” required to open a can twice a day. 
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Survive versus Thrive

Posted in Feline nutrition and health on September 8, 2008| 5 Comments »

Caring for a cat properly makes all the difference in whether they simply survive, or whether they thrive. There’s a lot we can do to ensure our feline companions live long, happy, healthy lives. Keeping them indoors accomplishes a lot, ensuring they are safe from cars, other animals, parasites, and communicable diseases. The average lifespan of an indoor cat is over three times that of a cat allowed outdoors.

Spaying/neutering our cats prevents some health conditions (like some forms of cancer) as well as alleviating some behavioral problems and doing our part toward the huge pet overpopulation epidemic. Millions of companion animals are euthanized each year for lack of homes, so as far as I’m concerned I highly doubt you have *any* compelling argument for allowing your household pet to reproduce. I really don’t have an issue with *responsible* licensed breeders – other than there are few of them. Before you buy that little kitten at a pet shop – know that NO responsible breeder would have allowed their litters to go to a shop. Responsible breeders interview the adopters and have waiting lists. Please consider rescuing a cat from a shelter or rescue organization – and there are purebred cats available from these sources, if that’s important to you. Visit petfinder.org to see thousands of cats in your area.

If you’ve read my blog before, you know my next and biggest point will be about food. We are what we eat – and so are our cats. If you’re feeding a commercial cat food with an AAFCO certification – you can be assured that at least six cats *survived* six months on that food. That’s it. Six months. They survived, not necessarily thrived. I want more than that for my cats.

When I talk/write about the benefits of a wet food diet, there’s always at *least* one person who has to comment that their cat lived to their teens on dry food only. SO WHAT? Cats are fully capable of living to their THIRTIES! There are documented cases of cats living to be age 37! Living to their teens is HALF what they are capable of! That is NOTHING to be proud of.
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Puke and Poop

Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged , , , , on September 2, 2008| 38 Comments »

Catchy title, huh?

Some of my friends have deemed me the “Queen of Poop and Puke”. While not a particularly flattering title, the sentiment is actually rather nice. I’ve worked with six cats with gastro-intestinal issues now – adopted and fostered. Generally, vets lump these cats into the category of “IBD” or Inflammatory Bowel Disease – meaning their intestines are inflamed, reasons unknown.

The thing is the reason generally *isn’t* unknown – at least not to me. The reason is an inappropriate diet – most often DRY KIBBLE. Of the six cats I’ve worked with – not a SINGLE ONE needed to remain on a prescription diet or medications. They were all “cured” by a diet change and nutritional supplements.

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