How I Do Things

HOW I DO THINGS

If you would like to know what launched me into a frenzy of feline nutritional research, and the very foundation on which I now base my approach to feeding cats, please read Daisy's story: "DAISY and the LITTER BOX LURKER."

Yes, I am a proponent of a species appropriate, low carbohydrate, high protein MOIST (canned or raw) diet. I feed my cats predominately a home-prepared BALANCED raw meat diet. I supplement with good quality NO grain canned foods. My cats are on scheduled feedings - more or less - and they do not have free access to food throughout the day. They do not get dry food. Kittens are weaned directly onto the raw diet, then introduced to canned in preparation for their new homes.

I've been feeding raw since March of 2004. Here's a few things I have learned and/or noticed:

1. The litterboxes do NOT smell ! Yes, this is BIG. When I have kittens transitioning to canned food, all the cats get more canned, and the litterbox odor is exponentially more difficult to stay on top of. It is NOT my imagination.

2. Feeding and preparing raw is not for the faint of heart. It takes commitment and determination. Everyone is going to think you are crazy and tell you so. You will most likely have to go against your veterinarian's recommendations, and he or she will frighten you with a long list of the dangers of raw meat. They will talk down to you as if you are an idiot who hasn't considered the basics of feline nutrition. You will doubt yourself, worrying that you've over-looked something, or didn't do it right. You'll make excuses as to why your cats can't make the transition. You will sabotage your own efforts by convincing yourself that the poor darlings can't go through the night without their dry food to nibble on. In my experience, very few people can, or even should, do this.

3. BUT, many people DO successfully feed a quality raw diet to their cats and their dogs. I know those who manage to feed large numbers of both and hold down a full time job as well. Once you get organized and have your system in place, and see that your cats not only do well, but thrive, it becomes a way of life, and is not that difficult.

4. Cats do fine, gain weight as needed, maintain weight as needed, sometimes loose weight as needed, and remain healthy on a raw diet WITHOUT having food available all of the time. In fact, in the long run, they seem less obsessed with food and more satisfied.

5. And don't get me started on "keeping dry food available for their teeth." I've been there, done that, and have not seen any more dental issues with no dry food in their diet. This is a good article where dental issues are addressed: Dry Food vs Canned Food. Which is really better?

WHAT DO I RECOMMEND AS FAR A DIET?

I recommend feeding a well thought out, carefully prepared, balanced raw meat diet but, quite frankly, I'm not sure I trust everyone to do that, even if they were so inclined, and if you've done any research into raw feline diets or BARF or raw meaty bones (RMB), you will see that opinions differ even among raw feeders as to how it should be done. So all I can in good conscience recommend is that you DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. You will find a number of good links on the "nutrition" page (link above) to get you started. If you are genuinely interested in a raw diet for your cats, I'm always glad to answer questions, bearing in mind that I am not an authority nor a cat-care professional.

As I see it, there is considerable leeway in regards to feeding cats without causing serious health issues, however this can vary wildly depending on individual cats. Much like humans--we all knew an old lady who smoked all of her life, drank alcohol heavily, ate nothing but junk food, and lived into her nineties in good health. Some people can do this, and some can't. It's the same with cats, but cats have the added burden of being OBLIGATE carnivores. Although they can and do digest, and get by with many of the odd things manufacturers put in their food, they have absolutely got to have ANIMAL based protein in their diets, and quite a lot of it. A diet of predominately soy protein, or any other kind of non-animal protein is just not going to do it for them in the long run. In addition, a diet high in carbohydrates and grains is going to be more difficult for them to digest as well as less nutritious. If your cat makes REALLY smelly (over the top) deposits in the litterbox, I would suspect that he or she is not, in fact, "thriving" and is probably not digesting the food well, perhaps due to poor quality and too many carbohydrates. Feline dietary research has come a long way and we now know that there are a number of elements that have been deficient in the commercial diets in the past due to our ignorance of the complicated dietary requirements of cats. Perhaps the most publicized is Taurine, an essential amino acid found in abundance in the natural prey of cats without which blindness and serious heart conditions can result. Commercial cat foods are now all fortified with Taurine. However, despite better knowledge of feline dietary requirements, both commercial food manufacturers as well as consumers struggle with cost versus quality. In the long run, spending a little more on food, is likely to mean less spent years down the road on veterinary bills.

BUT, let's face it, most of us are average people. Although we are probably crazier than most about our cats, we still have busy lives with very little time for fussing over feeding regimens, cat food preparation, and going to great lengths to research feline diet and find the best foods. So, what are we to do? Who do we listen to? Every article you read, every veterinarian, every cat-care specialist is telling you something different.

We each need to make up our own minds. Here are a few of my guidelines, for what they are worth (see the link "Recommended Foods" above for more specific information and assistance in reading pet food labels):

1. Ideally a cat should be on a grain free (i.e. NO corn, soy, wheat, rice, barley, etc) LOW carbohydrate, HIGH animal protein diet. This doesn't take a whole lot of thought. In general even the best dry food is going to be higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein than the worse canned diet.... and checking ingredient lists will tell you if a food contains grains or not (this includes glutens - i.e. wheat gluten).

Why should we care about grains and carbohydrates? Because an obligate carnivore was never designed to consume great quantities of them, and long term diets high in grain and carbohydrates are now being connected with many chronic health issues in our cats as they age, such as diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, and obesity.

2. Canned food in general is better than dry food for two reasons: moisture and lower carbohydrate content. Cats derive the majority of their water from their food. They do not drink enough water to make up for any moisture deficit that they are not receiving in their food. Cats on dry diets may appear to drink more, but their total water intake is lower than cats on canned foods. This has been measured by looking at cats' urine specific gravity. Cats on dry diets have very high urine specific gravity readings - this is a risk factor for FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease). Any cat with urinary problems should be on an all canned diet.

Why do we care about water? They simply are not getting enough if fed a predominantly dry diet. Years of chronic dehydration can lead to and/or aggravate a number of health issues we see in many cats such as kidney disease, constipation and megacolon, cystitis (bladder inflammation), and bladder/kidney stones.

Do we care about "by-products?" Yes and no. After all, a cat will eat ALL of a mouse for example. This includes by-products such as gristle, brain, feet, and other "ick-factor" but nutritious parts of the body. In fact, a good feline diet will include organ meats such as liver, heart, gizzards, kidneys, etc. The problem with by-products as listed by a manufacturer is that you don't know if they are using the more nutritional by-products or not. If it says "meat" by-products, you don't even know what kind of animal, or animals, they came from. However, having said that, as a result of Dr. Hodkins book "Your Cat," (Which I highly recommend), I have changed my stance on putting "no by-products" foods at the top of my list. Now my first priority is no grains, no veggies, no fruit. In other words, foods that are totally meat-based and, as it turns out, most of these list "by-products" on their labels.

My recommended foods section was becoming unwieldy so it now has its own page:

Mythicbells Persians -- CFA registered Persians raised with LOVE!