This is a blog about cat and dog nutrition and is a work in progress.
It is sometimes intentionally provocative & outspoken in order to disturb the status quo, which needs to be educated and must be changed!
In some cases, repetition appears. Certain things are worth repeating.
My name solely appears for the purpose of webcrawlers.
Pictures will be coming soon of the dear friends that I talk about in this blog who were lost much too early because of what I gave them to eat and the advice I followed from veterinarians.
I swore on the graves of my animal companions that I would protect their brothers and sisters. I’ve done over a hundred hours of research to separate facts from fiction, and now I’m confident I’ve found the answer.
DON’T LET YOUR ANIMAL COMPANIONS DIE YOUNG!
There are no words for the feeling I got when I went from playing fetch with my dog to six weeks later burying her in the back yard. I felt helpless when I was told by the vet that her systems are shutting down one by one and there is nothing that can be done to help her. But ALL this could have been prevented if I knew then what I know now.
I felt helpless watching our beautiful Persian cat actually walk and sit in the shower by herself, knowing that she must drink water but she can’t because her kidneys have shut down.
You pray that she’ll get better, but when her breathing becomes so labored that you hear her in the next room you know it’s time. On the way to the vet you know what you’re going to have to do and you start to feel the loss already and you start to cry.
You make the decision and give her one last kiss as she looks up at you as if to say it is time and “I understand”. Your head is pressed against hers and with tears pouring from your eyes you feel the last breath leaving her body.
You take her home crying the whole way and you dig a grave in the back yard and say your last goodbye to the best friend you ever had. Gone forever out of your life is the only living thing that ever gave you unconditional love no matter how you treated her.
And I killed her because of what I fed her over the years and listening to veterinarians that either knew nothing about animal nutrition or put their profits before the well-being of my pets!
After our animal companions have left us, we all have a feeling like we’ve been kicked in the stomach over & over again that can last a very long time…..that’s the small price we pay for having the PRIVILEGE of knowing our animal companions…..but fear not, because we will meet them again @: http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html
By the way, that lump you feel in your throat while watching Rainbow Bridge is their way of saying “thanks for the memories”…..
Roger Biduk writes:
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…..NOTHING, NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOUR CAT/DOG THAN WHAT YOU FEED HER/HIM…..!
The diet you feed your animal companion determines their health and life expectancy more than any other care!
IN THE WILD, THE NATURAL DIET OF A CANINE & FELINE HAS ALWAYS BEEN, STILL IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE ADKINS DIET!!!
HUMANS ARE THE ONLY SPECIES ON THE PLANET THAT COOK THEIR FOOD!
Scientific fact: Recent Veterinary science has determined by the cellular make-up of dogs and cats:
The average size dog should have a life span of 25 years…*
This crap about someone saying their dog or cat had a long life and dying at 15 is usually because they got some sort of cancer, liver or kidney disease from the garbage food they’ve been fed. Hell, even if you feed your child three times a day at McDonald’s and they smoke a pack a day, they’ll probably hit their 50’s before the sh*t hits the fan.
CLINICAL STUDY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
The results of this documented clinical study says it all:
All of the 505 dogs and 83 cats in the study had a history of chronic skin diseases. Of those, 114 dogs and 19 cats also displayed symptoms of gastrointestinal disturbance including vomiting, irregular stool patterns, weight loss and general weakness.
Remember, your children aren’t dependent on you for their whole lives but your animal companions are (you wouldn’t lower the life expectancy of your kids or poison them, would you…?).
THE POTTENGER STUDY – A MUST READ
The most famous, documented study by Dr. Francis M. Pottenger Jr., MD on 900 cats over four generations.
I would pay to hear what pet food companies such as the three I talk about below have to say and how they could defend the food they sell after reading about Pottenger.http://therawfoodsite.com/cats.htm
SCIENCE DIET, IAMS & HILL’S PRESCRIPTION
I’ve had a dog die (from cancer) and three cats die (cancer & chronic renal failure (CRF)) prematurely (autopsies were done by a holistic vet/surgeon on all but one cat and was told it was the food in every case) all because I listened to a vet who obviously knew absolutely nothing about animal nutrition and put his profits (unfortunately, like many vets) in front of my pets’ health. He recommended three types of dry food that he sold at his clinic and was making big money by selling them: Science Diet, Iams & Hill’s Prescription Diet, all dry food.
The vet said that they were the best food available, being sold by vets and it even said “veterinarian recommended” on the Science Diet. This was the “Mature Adult 7+ Original” for cats. Well, look at the ingredients in order on the label: Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn. http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524441763504
Prescription food my ass! The title suggests it’s medically the right food for your pet when its first two ingredients are grains and the third a by-product! What an injustice…..my obligate carnivore cat needs meat, not cheap fillers that will eventually kill her!
The Iams® ProActive Health™ Original with Chicken has the following first nine ingredients: Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Poultry By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast.http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=5
Besides the chicken as first ingredient, I’d never feed my cat or dog any food containing the rest. By-products, wheat and corn products have absolutely no use in any cat or dog diet and are detrimental to theitr health. What’s really scary is on the Iams website they say that “Iams is veterinarian recommended”.http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=5
I would rather give my animal companions away than feed them the above three types of food. I would NEVER feed them those ingredients. AND THEY’RE RECOMMENDED AND SOLD BY VETS….GO FIGURE!!!!
Compare those ingredients with EVO Turkey and Chicken Formula Canned Cat & Kitten Food: Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Broth, Chicken Broth, Chicken Meal, Herring, Carrots, Whole Eggs and Salmon Meal. This is a high-protein, low-carb and grain-free diet….EXACTLY WHAT YOUR CAT NEEDS! ALWAYS READ THE LABELS!!!
Evo and Wellness contain 100% Human Grade Ingredients and never contain any ingredients mentioned below under the title “AVOID AT ALL COSTS PET FOOD CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING”.
After I did my own research and familiarized myself with the ingredients, I made sure to throw out the commercial food that contained grains and by-products and feed them what I write about below (simply what nature intended, a raw food diet or a diet that mirrors one)…..the results are animal companions that are incredibly healthy, active, happy, never have to go to a vet (not good for the vets) and one feline (a 17 lb. Maine Coon) who is well into his mid-20s and still climbing trees! ALWAYS READ THE LABELS.
PET FOOD COMPANIES AND ANIMAL ABUSE
Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it. Very hard for me to write about.
Here’s what an animal nutritionist had to say about how bad Iams food is and he mentions that Innova (which makes the EVO brand that I wrote about above) is the best pet food company in the world.http://dogbreeders.meetup.com/boards/thread/21329
VETS AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF CAT AND DOG NUTRITION
“Did you know that your veterinarian gets almost no education on feeding your canine companion? Most universities provide their students with one day of propaganda hosted by a commercial kibble company that sponsors the university!
Why do some veterinarians misrepresent the benefits of feeding a raw natural diet and promote the practice of feeding an inferior commercial kibble diet?
For many it is ignorance while for others it is more calculated.
Science Diet (Hills Company) is a Platinum Corporate Sponsor of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). This is likely the only way Science Diet was able to pass off their products as pet food. The following ingredient list shows a sample of the shockingly inferior products that are designed to make Hill’s Company and the vets that sell it very wealthy. I would submit that no dog could eat the following chemicals, grains and by-products and be healthy. I encourage all dog owners to read the ingredient list of their pet’s food.” Source:http://www.totallyrawdogfood.com/
Personally, I’d like to know how the garbage that’s in this food will cure an adult dog with a sensitive stomach as the name says.
The only benefactors here are the food company and the vet who sold this crap. Plus the vet stands to make much more as the dog eating this stuff will probably have some disease in the future and will go to the same vet for treatment.
If a dog has a sensitive stomach in the first place it’s most likely because of it being allergic to many of the ingredients. The owner simply has to change the diet to raw meat or a good grain free, wet commercial brand like EVO or Wellness Grain-Free and everything should be fine (if it’s already not too late).
YOUR CAT AND DOG ARE INCREDIBLE ANIMALS
The dog family is a group of intelligent, carnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs and their relatives which include coyotes, wolves, foxes, jackals, dholes, raccoon dogs and bush dogs.
They’re known scientifically as Canidae, and its members are commonly called canids.
Carnivorans evolved from miacoids about 55 million years ago during the late Paleocene. Then, about 50 million years ago, the carnivorans split into two main divisions: caniforms (dog-like) and feliforms (cat-like). By 40 million years ago the first clearly identifiable member of the dog family Canidae had arisen.
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid or feline. Felids are the strictest carnivores (obligate carnivores) of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora. The most familiar felid is the domestic cat, which first became associated with humans about 10,000 years ago, but the family includes all other wild cats including the lion, cheetah, jaguar, lynx and wild cat.
Cats are the ultimate hunters on this planet and their flexible bodies and fanged front teeth are perfect for biting into and shredding meat from small animals. Their teeth are in no way shaped for chewing, yet many people feed their cats kibble….go figure!
Cats are OBLIGATE CARNIVORES, meaning they need meat to survive. They don’t EVEN have the enzymes & amino acids in their bodies to digest or convert carbohydrates to energy (over the past 60 million years or so, they’ve been getting 100% of their energy from MEAT!!!). Sadly, many ingredients in a commercial food diet is not only useless but also detrimental to their health!!!
When’s the last time you heard of or saw any of the above members of the Canidae or Felidae family on the Animal or National Geographic channel totally ignore mice, deer, antelope, moose, zebra, wildebeest, etc. and run across the Serengeti for kibble, corn, wheat or soybean in the farmer’s field???.
If they did that, they’d eventually die before their time….yet those are the main ingredients in most of the pet foods sold at veterinary clinics and grocery/chain stores!!!
Cats & dogs have been around in one form or another for 55 million years eating nothing but raw meat, and now pets are dying because owners are buying crap (dangerous) food from veterinary clinics and grocery/chain stores which will eventually kill their pets…!
In the wild, members of the canine & feline family usually die from being hunted, natural disease, accidents, old age or being part of the food chain.
It’s only been in the last 30 years or so that our animal companions have been dying by the truckload from kidney failure, tumors, cancer & urinary problems (all found in humans)…around the same time major pet food companies have been putting together cheap, non-human grade food and kibble containing cheap fillers like corn, soy and wheat products, chicken by-products, meat meal and un-natural preservatives and selling it to pet owners in veterinary clinics and grocery/chain stores!
THAT COULD BE TOTALLY AVOIDED BY A NATURAL, RAW DIET or a commercial diet that resembles one!!!
WHAT DO ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY EAT? VERY SIMPLE ANSWER
At Sea World, why do they feed fish to Shamu the killer whale and to the dolphins? In zoos, why do they feed the hippos, elephants, zebras, water buffalos and giraffes grass and fruit?
Why do they feed the lions and tigers slabs of meat? The answer to all these questions is the same…..it’s what they’ve been eating for millions of years and what they eat in the wild!
THEN HOW COULD ANYONE JUSTIFY FEEDING THEIR PET CARNIVORES SUCH AS A CAT OR DOG KIBBLE CONTAINING MEAT BY-PRODUCTS (EUTHANIZED CATS & DOGS THAT ARE FULL OF DISEASE AND DRUGS), CORN, WHEAT & SOY PRODUCTS THAT ARE NOT AND HAVE NEVER BEEN A PART OF THEIR DIET AND LOWERS THEIR LIFE EXPECTANCY BY YEARS FROM A HOST OF DISEASES CAUSED BY BEING GIVEN THE WRONG FOOD?
“The sad truth is that prepared pet foods help provide patients for vets. On that basis it is hard to believe that dedicated animal healers – veterinary surgeons – will recommend commercial pet food. I find this hard to believe because as a practicing veterinary surgeon, I constantly see the enormous difference in health between pets raised on commercial pet food compared to those raised on a biologically appropriate raw food diet. I see the enormous change for good in the health of pets switched from cooked to a raw whole food diet. Despite that very obvious connection between commercial pet food and the poor health of the animals consuming it, commercial pet food has become the accepted way to feed pets throughout the civilized world! There are of course reasons. Much of it has to do with the way vets are trained in small animal nutrition.”http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/processed.shtml
“An alarming fact of life is that vets receive very little worthwhile training in nutrition. No training in the use of raw whole foods and a biased approach to our understanding of commercially produced pet foods. It is relevant to ask what do many veterinarians really know about pet foods? Unfortunately the answer translates as – not very much. Regrettably, a lack of knowledge concerning nutrition has become the basis for recommending processed pet food!”http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/processed.shtml
“Most people and that includes vets who are interested in their own health, will acknowledge raw whole foods as basic in the formulation of their own healthy diet. Why then do we insist on feeding our pets processed pet foods? Sadly we have been hoodwinked into accepting the hype regarding commercial processed food. We are prepared to believe the highly improbable theory that two species of animal, the dog and the cat, will do better on a diet for which their bodies are totally unsuited rather than their evolutionary diet!”http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/processed.shtml
“Unfortunately, many of the people who realize that commercially produced dog food does not produce worthwhile results, devise and cook up something which is in essence not very different from the processed food they were worried about. As a consequence, the results in terms of the health of their dog is not a whole lot better.” http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/processed.shtml
I would never feed my animal companions the food I’ve seen in vet clinics, grocery or chain stores…and neither will you after you know what the ingredients are after you are informed.
Only over the last 30 years has cancer & kidney disease evolved to be the main killers of our animal companions, because they are being fed food sold in vet clinics, grocery and chain stores.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS PET FOOD CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING:
Chicken by-Products, Meat By-Products, Meat Meal, Meat By-Product Meal, un-natural & carcinogous preservatives such as BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) & Ethoxyquin, Corn, Corn Meal, Wheat Gluten, Corn Gluten, Rice Gluten, Meat and Bone Meal, Animal Digest, Animal Fat, any Wheat Products and any Soy Products.
Ethoxyquin is listed and identified as a hazardous chemical by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association). It has a rating of 3 on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being super toxic requiring less than 7 drops to cause death. When manufactured by Monsanto, the containers are marked with the word POISON. Monsanto makes no representations and will not be responsible for damages of any nature whatsoever.
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture for toxicology information lists ethoxyquin in their Farm Chemical Hand-Book as a PESTICIDE, in the same group as Agent Orange!!!).
Ethoxiquin promotes kidney carcinogenesis, significantly increased incidence of stomach tumors, and enhanced bladder carcinogenesis.
According to Dr. Wendell Belfield, DVM practicing veterinarian for some 26 years, ethoxyquin is suspected of causing cancer and that propylene glycol (a pet food ingredient closely related to anti-freeze) causes destruction of red blood cells.
BHA enhanced stomach and urinary bladder carcinogenesis, causes squamous-cell carcinomas in stomachs.
BHA has been banned in Japan because Japanese studies found it to cause cancerous tumors in rats’ fore-stomachs and in hamsters.
BHT is an additive that accumulates in the body fat. It is known to cause cancer in animals and disrupt the body’s hormone balance. Laboratory studies have shown BHT causes cancer and results in detrimental reproductive effects in rats.
BHT promoted urinary bladder carcinogenesis, could be a promoter of thyroid carcinogenesis.
BHT is banned for human consumption in Europe and Australia.
BHT can cause liver and kidney damage, behavioral problems, infertility, weakened immune system, birth defects, cancer; should be avoided by infants, young children, pregnant women and those sensitive to aspirin.
McDonald’s eliminated BHT from their US products in 1986 due to the harmful effects.
BHT is banned in England, Romania, Sweden, and Australia.
In 1958 & 1963 official committees of experts recommended that BHT be banned in the UK, however due to industry pressure it was not banned.
BUT THERE’S NOTHING IN THE LAW THAT’S STOPPING PET FOOD COMPANIES FROM USING BHT/BHA & ETHOXYQUIN IN THEIR PET FOOD……GO FIGURE!
WET VS. DRY FOOD
Always feed wet food, not dry. Use good dry food as a treat. Wet food mirrors what they would eat in the wild and is best by far.
For the last 55 million years in the wild, canines and felines drank very little water. Dogs have gotten ~70% & cats 80% of their water needs from the kill, always keeping their kidneys hydrated.
Dry food was invented only for the convenience of humans and for the HUGE profits of the pet food industry, unfortunately to the detriment of the health of our animal companions causing a host of illnesses including chronic renal failure (CRF), a main cause of death.
Read these great articles which applies to both cats and dogs and why you should only feed wet food:
DRY FOOD CLEANS THEIR TEETH; WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!
I was told by the same vet that recommended the food my pets died from that dry food was the best for their teeth and health in general…..bulls**t!
Dry food does not clean the teeth. If it did, you and I could floss with toast!
Michelle Bernard, an expert in pet nutrition and is a freelance author says, “While there is no documented proof that a natural diet contributes to dental health; periodontal disease is the most common disease of adult dogs and cats. Except for Wiley, now deceased, none of the cats in my care have had to have dental work done. Contrary to what most people have been told by their veterinarian, dry food does not clean teeth! When a cat or dog chews dry food, it shatters into small pieces. In order to promote effective cleansing of tooth and gums, the food must remain in contact with the teeth and gums for a period of time. Nothing is going to provide effective abrasive cleansing than chunks of raw meat. Unless you are prepared to brush your cat or dog’s teeth or pay hundreds of dollars for dental work, I suggest you start feeding chunks of meat. As I write this, I’m making a note to myself that Ms. Bella, the resident lazy chunky-monkey, chowhound is going to go on an all-chunks diet regimen for a few weeks.” http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html
Roger Biduk writes:
Your animal companions will thank you for the rest of their lives by YOU taking the time to inform yourself by reading the following articles and watching the informative videos on the upper-right side of this page (many of them shocking) written and hosted by holistic veterinarians/surgeons and experts in the field of pet nutrition:
While premium pet foods may carry a price tag higher than your average supermarket brand, this is more than offset by the following:
Cost for food will come down because your pet will now be eating less because of the healthy, wholesome ingredients compared to foods made from nutritionally worthless sources.
No more visits to the vet because of illnesses or death as a result of feeding your animal companion nutritionally worthless food that is slowly killingthem (saving you thousands of dollars) .
I supplement the premium wet food with pure chicken. When chicken legs & backs (I grind them up, bones and all) go on sale @ for $.59/lb it brings the price down substantially and my animal companions are getting the best raw, human grade food available!
And most important, the satisfaction and peace of mind (which you cannot measure or put a price tag on) knowing your animal companions will lead a long, energetic & healthy life (20-30 years) because of what you are feeding them.
The good food (and there are others) to keep your vet bills low and your animal companions healthy and happy (and you, too, as a result knowing you’re doing the best thing for the animal companions you love) for 20-30 years (yes, that’s the life expectancy of healthy dogs & cats):
Raw food is still the best …it’s what nature intended (I use pure chicken), supplemented with premium wet food mentioned above.
As previously mentioned, when chicken legs & backs go on sale for $.59/lb, I buy 30 lbs. I use a $25 food grinder and grind them up, bones & all. I then freeze them in individual containers bought @ the dollar store to kill any bacteria and keep them frozen till needed. I defrost one every several days.
I’ve NEVER, EVER seen happier, healthier or more energetic animals in my life and they’ve NEVER, EVER had to go to the vet because of any illness …..!!!
TO SUMMARIZE…..
Very simple, feed your carnivore what a carnivore eats….RAW MEAT.
IN THE WILD, THE NATURAL DIET OF A CANINE & FELINE HAS ALWAYS BEEN, STILL IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE ADKINS DIET!!!
Feeding dry food causes preventable diseases such as Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) because they’re ALWAYS dehydrated, Cystitis (bladder inflammation), Bladder/Kidney Stones, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver Disease) and more. In the wild, canines & felines drink very little water and get 70%-80% of their water requirement from the kill…wet food!
They have to drink up to 6X their usual water needs to make up for not eating a wet food diet if they’re being fed dry food (and they never do).
ABSOLUTELY NO GRAIN should be in their food…corn is almost always present in grocery store or chain stores because it’s so cheap. Pets are usually HIGHLY allergic to it & it’s HIGHLY indigestible, like in humans (look in the toilet bowl the day after you’ve had some corn!!!).
Corn, rice, wheat and soy products are used as cheap fillers to raise the protein content. What’s important is what the protein source is, and that source should come from only HUMAN GRADE MEAT.
The following must be avoided at all costs: Chicken by-Products, Meat By-Products, Meat Meal, Meat By-Product Meal, un-natural & carcinogous preservatives such as BHT/BHA & Ethoxyquin, Corn, Corn Meal, Wheat Gluten, Corn Gluten, Rice Gluten, Meat and Bone Meal, Animal Digest, Animal Fat, any Wheat Products and any Soy Products.
Unfortunately, most dog & cat food (especially dry) can have over 60% carbohydrates…these grains are only cheap fillers with good marketing being used by pet food companies because they’re so cheap compared to much more expensive, human-grade meats!!!
Don’t fall for slick advertising from pet food companies or listen to vets saying that grains, wheat and soy products are good for cats and dogs….they’re just CHEAP fillers taking the place of more expensive meat and DEFINITELY don’t have any place whatsoever in a cat’s diet!!!
One of the main reasons people are fat is because they eat too many carbohydrates, and the same goes for cats and dogs.
Our animal companions shouldn’t be eating ANY carbohydrates. There’s no such thing as fat, overweight felines & canines in the wild!
Roger Biduk
RAW FOOD, OR WET FOOD SUPPLEMENTED WITH RAW FOOD (CHICKEN) IS BEST.
An amazing study by Dr. Pottenger (this says it all…!):
