Raw Cat Food - Why It is the Best Diet For Your Cat, and What Will be the Trade-offs For You?

The most important myth surrounding cat ownership is cats are worry free, self-contained and self-providing pets that require little if any maintenance. Cats are so great at giving people the impression of independence and self-reliance that individuals believe they do not need to supply the highly focused focus on cats that, say, dogs require. The very fact from the make a difference is cats require a similar focus on detail that any dog does, and possibly even even a bit more, in some instances. This really is especially true when one thinks of probing the controversy regarding whether raw cat food is better that canned cat food or kibbles for the feline ward.

It is a sad thing to seem around our country lately and find out so some people that have allowed themselves to get overweight after which need to do business with the consequential suffering and ill-health associated with obesity. Diabetes, shortness of breath, constant exhaustion from lugging around numerous extra pounds and lowered self-esteem. In fact, the garment industry is singing happy tunes with all of the extra thread they need to put together. There isn‘t any shortage of explanations for why this situation has happen, but I believe when it is available right all the way down to it we will only blame ourselves in the individual level for allowing this type of condition to bring root. In the end, just how many pounds overweight does one have to obtain before they understand that something's not right and becoming an issue? 10, 20... 50 lbs? And just how long will it take to understand that the magic pills, diets, elixirs and effortless, lose-weight-with-no-work-out machines are products being marketed within your ego, to separate you from the checking account, and to not solve your issue? No... the best way to locate an ideal normality is with thorough research, discovery and lots of labor accompanied with the ideal life style change. But, enough sermonizing in regards to the human condition. This really is about cats, their eating habits and raw cat food.

Something you need needs to come together with this discussion coming from the previous paragraph. Most individuals are not experts in animal nutrition and depend on others to lead them inside the right direction. The origin for many 'experts' available to some person for their daily making decisions and choice of choices usually involves us through the standard media of radio, newspapers, television and in fact now, the web. Media offers two sorts of resources. Investigative reporting and that is presented in newscasts or opinion pieces, and secondly, the marketing hype that provides commercial broadcast funding. The previous is reliable sufficient to put credence into and might involve further research to work if this interests you. The latter really only wants one to spend your hard earned money with these. That is certainly not bad... it will ultimately put people to labor and provides many by having an adequate, as well as comfortable living. Unfortunately, all sorts of things... corporations only have one objective ultimately. That‘s to feed their main point. Now recent events have caused many to reconsider the morality behind a corporations goals. But, so long as this market structure is that the paradigm for our particular economy, the best goal for giant business will continually be to maximize their profit-loss statements in the direction of the profit end from the spectrum, in whatever way they could get away with, and at the expense... literally.

So, what does that need to do with cats and when raw cat food is what you need to be feeding them? Simply put, the majority of folks depend on the marketing hype to base their decisions regarding the food they feed their pets. And that is exactly the incorrect source for basing this type of critical decision. Eliminate the cat for instance. It is not merely a scientific fact, but a cultural one also, the cat is described being an obligate carnivore. This defines cats as creatures who derive most of the food nutrients coming from the animals they hunt and consume (raw cat food ). Each time a cat devours it is prey, she is going to eat everything including not just muscle meat, however the brains, organ meat and also the stomach and it is contents which can include grasses and grains. Something you need she does not do is fire up a stove and saute or bake her dinner, or prepare a pleasant sauce to opt for it. She eats it raw. Cultural purists make use of this description being an argument that feeding cats store bought, mass produced canned or dry cat food is practicing your cat a disservice by depriving her from the natural nutrients she would generally fall into the raw cat food she captures inside the wild, as well as for which she was biologically designed.

Pottenger's cats
Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. (1901 - 1967 ) was the son of Francis M. Pottenger, Sr., the physician who co-founded the Pottenger Sanatorium for treatment of tuberculosis in Monrovia, California. Between 1932 and 1942 he conducted What‘s know like the Pottenger Cat Study. One part of the study was what effect heat had upon the nutrient worth of raw food. Basically, what happens to food whenever you cook it. Pottenger used donated laboratory cats to test the potency from the adrenal extract hormones he was making. The adrenal glands of those cats were removed to the experiments and Pottenger noted that a lot of the cats died during or following the operation. He was feeding the cats a supposedly nutritive diet consisting of raw milk, cod liver oil and cooked meat scraps of liver, tripe, sweetbread, brains, heart and muscle.

When the amount of donated cats exceeded the supply of food available, Pottenger began ordering raw meat scraps given by a local meat packing plant, including organs, meat, and bone ; and fed a separate number of cats using this supply. Within months this separate group appeared in better health compared to the cooked meat group. Their kittens were more energetic and, most interestingly, their post-operative death rate was lower.

At a particular point, he made a decision to begin a controlled scientific exploration. Pottenger conducted studies involving approximately 900 cats during a period of ten years, with three generations of cats being studied.

Meat study :

In one study, one number of cats was fed eating too much :

Two-thirds raw meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil
Another group was fed eating too much two-thirds cooked meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil.
The cats fed the all-raw diet were healthy as the cats fed the cooked meat diet developed various health problems :

Towards the end of the very first generation the cats started to develop degenerative diseases and have become quite lazy.
Towards the end of the next generation, the cats had developed degenerative diseases by mid-life and started losing their coordination.
Towards the end from the third generation the cats had developed degenerative diseases very early in everyday life and a few were born blind and weak and experienced a much shorter life span. Most of the third generation cats couldn't even produce offspring. There was an abundance of parasites and vermin while skin diseases and allergies increased from your incidence of 5 percent in normal cats to over 90 percent inside the third generation of deficient cats. Kittens from the third generation Didn‘t survive six months. Bones became soft and pliable and also the cats suffered from adverse personality changes. Males became docile while females became more aggressive.
The cats suffered from a lot of the degenerative diseases encountered in human medicine and died out totally from the fourth generation.
At that time of Pottenger's Study the amino acid taurine were discovered but had still not been identified being an essential amino acid for Cats. Today many cats thrive on the cooked meat diet where taurine is added after cooking. The deficient diets lacked sufficient taurine to permit the cat's to properly form protein structures and resulted inside the health effects observed. Pottenger himself concluded that there was likely an as yet unknown protein factor (taurine ) that could have been heat sensitive.

Milk Study :

In another study, dubbed the Milk Study, the cats were fed 2 / 3 milk and 1 / 3 meat. All groups were fed raw meat with different groups getting raw, pasteurized, evaporated, sweetened condensed or raw metabolized vitamin D milk. The cats on raw milk were the healthiest while the remainder exhibited varying degrees of health problems much like the previous cooked meat study.

This type of Pottenger cat study is cited by advocates of raw milk as evidence that it must be likely healthier for humans than pasteurized milk.

Though Pottenger's experiments do not conclusively verify that raw cat food diets are better for sustaining the ideal support to the physiological needs of cats than cooked (canned ) or dry kibbles, (because he did not use canned cat food or kibbles inside the experiments ) certain conclusions could be drawn.

Cooking meat can destroy certain food nutrients, namely amino acids (proteins )
Cats thrive more healthily on raw meat instead of cooked meat with less degenerative results
Cooking meat for the cat requires the replacement from the essential amino acid taurine, and possibly other nutrients destroyed inside the cooking process
Pet food marketing hype says that XYZ cat food products are healthy for the pet since it adds ABC nutrients, vitamins and minerals on their product which safeguards your cat's health. Fortunately, marketing laws require the ingredients in a given product be listed upon the packaging of your respective cat's food. Ultimately, It‘s left up for you to make a decision about which happens to be the best shelf product for the cat.

Today's problem plagued market place has left many in doubt whether the company entities that give you the bulk in our aggregate necessities can continue to become worthy in our trust. Arrogance and greed have always gone head to head with social morality then it‘s usually finished user that ends up paying with unnecessary suffering. Many pet owners have now taken matters into their very own hands and therefore are resorting to providing from raw ingredients meals made with their very own hands for their pets. It is not a nasty step but certain measures, which include a life-style change, should be taken when preparing your pet's meals to stay her safe from bacterial infection and insure that her nutritional needs are met.

Here is an example of the raw cat food meal preparation from scratch :

2 kg 4. 4 pounds raw muscle meat with bones (chicken necks are mostly cartilage, are simple to chop and straightforward to the cat to digest ) thighs and drumsticks or, better, an entire carcass of rabbit or chicken amounting to 2 kg ; in case you do not make use of a whole carcass, choose dark meat like thighs and drumsticks from chicken or turkey )
400 grams 14 oz raw heart, ideally from a similar animal (if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine )
200 grams 7 oz raw liver, ideally from a similar animal (in case you can't find appropriate liver, you are able to substitute 40, 000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D--but attempt to use real liver rather than substitutes ).
NOTE : If you can‘t discover the heart or liver and make a decision to substitute using the Taurine / Vitamin A and D, then remember to exchange the missing level of organ meat using the equivalent level of muscle meat. Basically, if you can‘t find heart, you add another 400 grams from the meat / bones. In case you can't discover the liver, add another 200 grams of meat / bones.
16 oz 2 cups water
4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you re able to )
4 capsules raw glandular supplement (for example, for instance, Raw Multiple Glandular  from Premier Labs )
4000 mg salmon oil
200 mg Vitamin B complex
800 IU Vitamin E (dry E works well ) Buy Vitamin E in dry powder form. It is easier to do business with than those little oil-filled capsules.
OPTIONAL : 1 / 4 teaspoon of kelp and 1 / 4 teaspoon of dulse (1 / 2 teaspoon total ) Try to get dulse and kelp in powder form that you may easily measure having a teaspoon rather compared to capsule form. Taking apart those capsules is time intensive. If you re able to only find kelp in caplet form, you will need to experience crushing the caplets having a mortar and pestle.
OPTIONAL : 4 teaspoons psyllium husk powder (8 teaspoons if using whole psyllium husks ) ?

It‘s such as this recipe will produce about 5- 6 lbs of finished raw cat food product which might feed one cat for a few weeks. Which means the majority of it might need to be frozen in individual air tight containers and thawed as needed.

The digestive system of the cat requires handle things human systems can't. Their stomachs possess a highly acidic environment, and that is a good deterrent to ingested bacteria for example e coli and salmonella. Inside the wild, cats sometimes eat some pretty iffy stuff with no ill effects. Wild cats die more frequently from infection because of injuries than from food poisoning. However, there will be steps you are able to take when you have concerns about raw cat food bourn bacteria.

Avoid packaged supermarket ground beef using whole chunks of meat instead
Buy free-range meat and poultry as fresh as possible
Add priobiotics (which help maintain intestinal health ) within your raw food preparation
Proper handling of raw cat food is important since some raw cat food may contain bacteria that can cause illness for you or your pets. Make sure to keep raw cat food meat and poultry separate from other foods. Wash hands just before, and once handling raw cat food. Wash working surfaces, bowls, and utensils that are available connection with raw meat with hot, soap and water. Always wash your hands after cleaning your cat's waste ; including litter boxes.
Grab and dispose of uneaten raw cat food within half-hour of feeding your cat
Preparing raw cat food meals from scratch for the cat is really a labor of adore indulged in by purists. The majority of folks do not have time, and possibly even lack the talent to bring on such an activity. In case you count yourself among this latter group, rest easy. Ready-made products are finding their method to the marketplace place. There will be complete raw cat food meals that shipped frozen there are mixes which all that you need to do is add the meat. Just do not forget that if you‘re going using the mix, be certain the essential amino acids for example taurine are included. Otherwise then make sure to add the guts (a source for taurine ) along with other organ meat from a similar animal if possible, using the raw cat food meal so that the cat won't be deprived of those critical ingredients.

So, do you know the trade-offs you ask?

Well, for just one thing you will need to forego the convenience of one-stop-shopping inside the supermarket pet food aisles. Orders for raw cat food meals or mixes are mostly made on-line so you will need to do business with credit or debit cards. Pre-planning will need to be regular routine to ensure that you do not run from raw cat food before subsequent shipment arrives. In case a shipment thaws, you will need to return it since you won't want to bring any chances with bacterial infection. Most companies will honor returns because of thawing. And, in case you prepare raw cat food meals completely from scratch, be ready to spend a few hours inside the kitchen using this task.

The actual trade-off is using the quality of cat food you may be providing. The store bought 'meal' based cereal foods will certainly be replaced using the top quality fresh foods that cat's were made for. Some cats may balk in the transition initially simply since they weren't socialized with raw cat food as kittens. But, their health will show marked improvement, you‘ll probably be surprised from the results which may be when compared with how the cat behaved before being fed a brand new, top quality raw cat food diet that meets their needs nutritionally, plus their immune systems will certainly be stronger giving your cat an opportunity for any longer, healthier life.

Ask any monk or perhaps the ordinary, next-door-neighbor contemplative type, and they will tell you just how life Isn‘t easy ; suffering is that the characteristic that describes much from the existence during this corner from the Universe, and the punishment for ignoring this fact usually is to bear more suffering. Yet this suffering could be relieved with even just a little knowledge and knowledge of why and just how things can operate to ease your burden. It will have a willingness to work to alter and accept new habits to support a changed life-style. But, knowledge and understanding can‘t be acquired through osmosis. It will take lots of work to comprehend also a bit from the detect that holds life together. One can't depend upon epiphanies either. Like magic and miracles, instant knowledge occurs only rarely... and you may grow old expecting it while your cat pines for any raw cat food meal. It'd be like huffing and puffing along wondering why you are carrying around everything extra baggage.

+ - Because of Wikipedia for that excerpt
? - Because of Wikihow