Cats for the past 80 to 100 years have been eating dead, rotten, devitalized foods from rendering plants…junk food in pretty
cans and bags.

About 20 to 30 years ago it started to become fashionable to feed the BARF/RMB diet…feeding raw bones.

Then to add insult to injury, when cats get sick on these diets, veterinarians give drugs, chemicals and poisons to “cure” their ailments which were caused by the improper food in the first place. Quite a vicious circle. Antibiotics, steroids, vaccines, frontline, advantage, program, antihistamines, flea dips, deworming poisons and synthetic drugs which not only don’t cure…they cause more harm, illness and disease.

Food in cans and bags don’t provide nutrition…it’s junk food. Raw bones are not the answer. Cats need real, live, raw meat and vegetables…a food program that is complete and balanced with organic supplements.

Here is the answer… 

*Reduce or eliminate expensive visits to the veterinarian’s office.

*Peace of mind that your beloved companions are getting the very best of care and will soon gain and maintain excellent health and well-being.

* Clear eyes

* Healthy, shiny coat

* Healthy skin

* Clean teeth

* Eliminates fleas

* Eliminate bad breath

* Eliminate body odor

* Less volume and smell of stools

* Increased energy—good, healthy energy

* Hyper and/or aggressive cats become calm

* Increased endurance

* Increased alertness, attention

* Enhance overall health and well-being

* Rejuvenate organs and immune system

* Increased coat growth

* Increased confidence

* Extreme reduction of: * allergies * underweight * overweight * parasites * temperament problems * phobic behaviors * hyperthyroidism * arthritis * ear/eye ailments * kidney/bladder dysfunction * incontinence * irritable bowel syndrome * constipation * diarrhea * indigestion * pancreatitis * dermatitis, to mention a few.

Cats were designed by Mother Nature to eat everything RAW. In the wild felines eat mice, birds, lizards and other prey animals raw…no one is cooking in the wild.

The prey is raw, fresh and alive. The bones are still soft, supple, hydrated and full of nutrients. Our own domestic cats must eat live food just as they do in the wild to be at their optimum health.

Choices for our cats include beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, eggs, venison, buffalo, emu, ostrich, elk or whatever is available in your area.

The reason you cannot feed the bones of these farm animals is because they are not fresh kill. They have been dead for days, weeks or months. Rigor mortis sets in right after death and the bones become hard, brittle, dehydrated; the nutrients are dead and gone. What is left is a gritty substance that causes severe pancreatitis, kidney/bladder problems, crystals/stones in the urine, leaky-gut, irritable and/or impacted bowel, chalky and bloody stools, diarrhea, constipation, all of which are devastating to the gastrointestinal system.

Yes, you can occasionally give some cats bones for dessert; however, people often take things to the extreme, give them as a meal and give them too often.

After what I have seen in the past several years, I am now opposed to feeding bone…ground or whole…except an occasional bone for dessert to chew on for pleasure. And even that needs to be evaluated depending on the individual cat, how voraciously s/he goes after the bone, whether that particular cat actually eats the bone, whether s/he can digest it, and what it looks like when it comes out the other end.

If there are any digestive problems, do not give bones. If there are any chalky or bloody stools, diarrhea or constipation, do not give bones.

The three main ways we know cats are carnivores has to do with their teeth, their small intestines and their acidic digestive system.

1) Their teeth are sharp for ripping and tearing, not masticating.

2) The small intestines are short to enable the meat to go through the system quickly before it putrefies.

3) Their pH must be kept on the acidic end of the spectrum in order for a carnivore to be healthy.

Raw, live foods have enzymes, little protein molecules, which are essential for digesting food, for stimulating the brain, for providing cellular energy, for repairing all tissues, organs and cells, and functions so diverse that it is impossible to name them all. Animals and people cannot exist without enzymes. Supplemental enzymes can be very helpful, but they do not make up for natural enzymes in RAW food.

Live food is essential for health. It is the ultimate source of life. There is no other way to be disease free. No matter who tells you that a certain brand of commercial food, home-cooked food or an imbalanced diet is healthy for your cat, it is not. Commercial foods and home-cooked foods are dead – no enzymes, no friendly bacteria. Raw meaty bones cause harm and are not a balanced diet. Animal nutritionists, pet store owners, store clerks, veterinarians, authors of nutrition books or anyone else suggesting these options must not be familiar with what carnivores need for optimum health. If they were, they would not be prescribing, suggesting and/or selling cooked foods or improperly balanced diets for cats.

BARF and RMB foods are not balanced; they are not complete; and they are harmful because cats cannot tolerate that much dead, brittle, dehydrated bone that no longer has any nutrients. It is not the same as the whole, fresh-kill prey that the feline in the wild kills and eats.

The meat from the prey in the wild is raw, fresh and alive. The bones are still soft, supple, hydrated and full of nutrients. That is not the case with the bones from the meat market that has been dead for days, weeks and months.

In addition there is not a balance of carbohydrates and organic supplements that are necessary for a complete and balanced food program.

The list of raw and cooked materials that go into commercial pet food is horrendous: decayed animals from slaughterhouses classified as 4-D (dead, diseased, dying and disabled); animals filled with antibiotics, steroids, hormones, drugs, radiation, formaldehyde, charcoal; road-kill; dead and diseased animals from zoos; dogs, cats and other companion animals that died or were euthanized at veterinary clinics; including sweaters, blankets, plastic body bags, decorative collars, flea collars, ID tags or anything else that was on the body; spoiled meat from meat markets, including the plastic wrap; rancid grease and spoiled food from restaurants; donuts/breads from bakeries; hair, feathers, egg shells, hooves, stomach, bowels, feces, cancerous tissues and organs; all of these animals full of bacteria, viruses, fungi, worms and parasites.

In addition there is black paint which is a term used in the meat industry to cover any number of chemicals from carbolic acid to fuel oil. All left-over meat, poultry, bones and offal from production of food for human consumption is put into barrels with black paint added to every layer to indicate that this food is not for human consumption. This is the basis of the meat that most pet food companies use.

All of this material is ground up and cooked for approximately an hour at 250 degrees. The fat separates during the process and is removed. Actually there exists a videotape of a show narrated by Martin Sheen that shows the processing at a rendering plant. It is stated in this program that these fats are not only used for animal food, but for people foods and cosmetics. The left-over, after the fats are removed, is then pressed to remove all moisture and crushed into what is called bone meal and meat meal.

If the label says chicken meal, for instance, that means that there are more chicken products in this batch than any other one ingredient. However, if there are nineteen other ingredients in this batch, then there has to be only 6 percent chicken products, including feathers, offal, feces, etc, to qualify to call it chicken meal.

The manufacturing process destroys whatever minimal nutritional content there might have been. Then the commercial pet food companies put in sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, BHA, BHT, MSG, red dye #40, blue dye #2, propylene glycol, formalin, ethoxyquin or other potential carcinogenic additives, not to mention the rancid grease, salt and sugar.

Sodium Benzoate is a known poison to cats! One of the most commonly used preservatives right now that is highly touted as being okay and seen even in “health foods” is benzoic acid or its salt form, sodium benzoate. These can affect the nervous system, cause allergic reactions, asthma attacks, stomach irritations and hyperactivity.

No one is looking out for your animals’ nutrition anymore than they are looking out for our children’s. Cold breakfast cereals, hot dogs, canned spaghetti, etc, are not nourishing foods for children. Commercial food companies are out to please your pallet and their wallet with lots of sugar and salt and tempt the appetite with pretty, colorful labels to catch your eye. The bottom line for the majority of commercial food companies is profit, not healthy foods for your animals or your children.

Felines in the wild eat mice, birds, squirrels, reptiles, insects, to name a few. These animals are not that easily available nor are some of them culturally acceptable for human consumption. Our cultures does, however, accept eating beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and fish, (unless you hunt buffalo, venison, duck and a few others, they are usually too expensive) so we will discuss what is culturally acceptable, even though my preference is to feed what Mother Nature intended.

Naturally raised meats, poultry and fish and organic vegetables are preferred, of course. If not naturally grown, you have to find the best you can. What is important is that it is fresh or fresh-frozen and labeled for human consumption…not labeled for animals.

Of course it is better to feed meat and poultry that does not contain antibiotics, hormones and steroids; however, if you cannot find naturally grown meats, then go to the busiest market and at least you will be getting fresh meat.

The key words here are human consumption. Most foods that are labeled for animals are not fit to eat. Why would anyone feed their animals anything less than they would eat themselves?

Because cats are carnivores and raw meat is their natural food, their digestive juices take care of salmonella, Escherichia coli and other unfriendly bacteria that cause food poisoning. Many veterinarians oppose the feeding of raw meat and tend to unjustly blame salmonella, E coli and parasites when actually the problems come from a weakened digestive system and/or an autoimmune condition caused by feeding cooked foods and/or raw bones. Enlightened veterinary practitioners realize this and encourage their clients to feed raw meat, raw vegetables and organic supplements.

In 25 years of working professionally with people and their cats, I have never heard of a case of salmonella or E coli from raw food fit for human consumption. I have heard of salmonella in dogs from eating cooked food. The worst salmonella problem in the country in 1998 was several thousand pounds of cooked baby cereal that was contaminated and had to be recalled. So don’t think because you are cooking the food you are necessarily killing the unfriendly bacteria.

My basic recipe is 75 percent raw meat, poultry or fish and 25 percent raw vegetables. The recommended breakdown of the meat and vegetables is 40 percent muscle meat, 20 percent organ meat, 15 percent fat and 25 percent vegetable.

If you feed more meat one day and less vegetables because that is what you have on hand, don’t worry. The body remembers. The above percentages are a guideline to what carnivores need. Don’t be a purist and feel you have to give the exact proportions every day. As people we don’t do that for ourselves, so don’t go overboard for your cats either.

Unfortunately at the present time I know of no company making 75% raw meat and 25% raw vegetables commercially that doesn’t either contain ground bone or fruit or grain…none of which are acceptable for cats.

Proteins that are best for cats are beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, spleen and gizzards), and wild fish and egg yolks. Proteins that are great if you are a hunter or fisher or can afford to buy them are venison, elk, buffalo, ostrich, emu, and in some areas and fresh/salt water fish.

Other proteins, which are sometimes questionable because of pollutants, diseases or indigestibility, are pork, rabbit, fish and many dairy products. Probably the only fish that is safe anymore is wild fish fit for human consumption which, unfortunately, is very expensive, unless you catch them yourself.

First let’s talk about the ones that are the best. Farm animals naturally range fed provide the very best quality of meats. Next would be the meats that are found in meat markets and supermarkets.

I would like to say that organic meats are the best, but there are too many companies out there saying their meats are organically raised that must not be, because we’ve had too many reports of animals not doing well on what are referred to as organic meats. So I can only believe that they really aren’t organically raised.

To find meats that are chemically free—no steroids or hormones—presents a challenge. Your health food store or independent meat market is the best source. They will either carry chemically free meats or maybe they can tell you where you can find them. (If you are a meat eater, this same information is vitally important to your own health as well.)

Many of you may not even be aware that the farm animals in this country are fed and injected with growth hormones, steroids, antibiotics, vaccines and preservatives during their lifetime. All of these chemicals and drugs are supposed to make the farm animals grow unnaturally large, do so quickly, and make the meat tender.

Our health pays a high price for this “tender” meat, because each one of these chemicals has side effects on both the farm animals and the one who eats the farm animal.

Pork should not be fed to domestic animals because of the possibility of trichinosis, an organism which to be destroyed requires cooking. Because only raw meat can be properly assimilated by carnivores, pork would not be a good choice. It is also the most difficult meat to digest.

Fish is an excellent source of protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. But…are our fish healthy and edible anymore? Therein lies the question. First of all, there is a strong possibility that much of our fish is polluted with heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium. Secondly, fish should not remain at room temperature for longer than an hour. Thirdly, you must be very knowledgeable about the condition, color and odor of fish to know that it is fresh and free of disease.

If you feel you have a good source of healthy fish, by all means, feed them to your animals. Of course no fins and no bones.

The dairy industry has destroyed itself with all the growth hormones, antibiotics, sterilization and pasteurization.

The only two dairy products that I believe should be fed are colostrum and butter. Colostrum is actually a food that the mother produces before the milk comes in and butter is fat; neither of them have lactose which is the real culprit that causes allergies for most animals.

Some carnivores can deal with white cheese as a treat occasionally; however, if your cat has any signs of skin problems or digestive ailments, do not feed any cheese.

Raw butter is an excellent source of vitamins A and D and fatty acids. It is best if it is not pasteurized; however, it’s almost impossible to find raw butter, so you will have to settle for pasteurized.

Eggs are a great source of complete protein and are easily digested. They contain all the essential amino acids and the following nutrients: vitamins A, B2, D and E, niacin, biotin, copper, iron, sulfur, phosphorus and unsaturated fatty acids. The egg yolk is the richest known source of choline, which is necessary for emulsifying or dispersing cholesterol throughout the system.

Eggs yolks should be fed raw. If you feed the whole egg, including the white, it is best to poach or soft boil the eggs for one minute, just enough to turn the clear part of the egg to white. This will destroy the avidin, which is the protein that interferes with the absorption of biotin, an important B vitamin.

Hard-boiled eggs should be fed very seldom, perhaps not at all, because cooking makes them very hard to digest.

Do not feed eggs in the shell under any circumstances. When animals eat eggs or eggshells in the wild, the shell is still very fresh and soft. After the egg is a few hours old or has been cooked, the shell hardens. The edges of the broken shell become very sharp, which can cause internal bleeding.

The main concern with eggs is their quality and freshness. Make sure they come from healthy, free-range-fed chickens that have not been fed antibiotics, hormones or other drugs. Of course, it goes without saying that chickens who are caged and mutilated by having their beaks and nails cut are so stressed that they cannot be healthy or produce quality eggs.

Organic eggs are much higher in nutritional value than regular commercial eggs. If the eggs are fertile as well, they will contain beneficial growth hormones, as well as they will lower cholesterol.

Keep eggs in a covered container because they will stay fresh longer. Try to use the eggs within one week of purchase.

One to three eggs at a meal, depending on the size of your cat is about right. For tiny cats under ten pounds, one egg per meal will be sufficient. For medium cats that weight from 10 to 15 pounds, two eggs; cats from 15 to 30 pounds, three eggs.

If cats are eating raw meat, they very seldom have cholesterol problems; it is cooked meat that causes cholesterol problems for carnivores. If your cat is having a cholesterol problem, it is either because s/he is eating cooked proteins or grains, or because the liver, which regulates cholesterol, is not currently functioning properly.

Vegetables Work Synergistically

Vegetables work synergistically; the greater the variety, the more effective they are. My suggestion for the top vegetables are: broccoli, celery, zucchini, Romaine lettuce, kale, chard, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, squash, cauliflower and parsley. Other vegetables can be used if your animals like their taste; there are others that are very beneficial, but might be more expensive or seasonal, such as asparagus.

Raw vegetables must be processed into very tiny pieces, the size of sand, salt and/or add water during the blending so the vegetables are the consistency of baby food. Carnivores don’t digest vegetables as easily as they do meat, so make it as easy as possible for them to digest and utilize the vegetables.

In nature, cats would get predigested vegetation in the gastrointestinal system of their prey. That is why we must provide raw ground vegetables, as well as raw meat, to have a properly balanced program.

Steamed or baked vegetables can be used instead of raw if you choose on occasion because that is not the main source of a carnivore’s diet. It is the meat that is so important to be kept in its raw form. So if you have steamed/baked vegetables left over from your own meals, be sure to put them to good use and give them to your cats.

Keep baby food vegetables on hand. They are very convenient to use as the vegetable if you are in a hurry or caught short of fresh vegetables or if you are traveling. Cooked vegetables keep most of their nutrients intact as opposed to meat that is totally transformed in the cooking process.

Vegetables that are not recommended are ones from the nightshade family: white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, which can cause inflammation. Iceberg lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, spinach, onions and fresh garlic are all difficult to digest, and for other various reasons are best not to be given.

Vegetables with a hull such as peas, corn, beans, lentils can also cause problems because cats cannot digest the hulls. Cats who are having any type of digestive problems, skin ailments, diarrhea, constipation may also be having problems with the high sugar/starch content of these vegetables.

Each enzyme has a specific duty. For example, an enzyme capable of breaking down fats cannot break down vegetables. Cats, because they are carnivores, make very little amylase, the enzyme needed to break down grains, which leads to the belief that grains are not a necessary part of a carnivore’s diet.

Cats cannot maintain long-term production of the quantity of amylase enzyme necessary to properly digest and utilize grains. As a result, the immune system becomes irritated and weakened by the invasion of foreign, non-nutritive protein and carbohydrate particles. Grains, as well as cooked food, are probably the greatest cause of pancreatitis, kidney/bladder problems, crystals/stones, irritable bowel syndrome, overweight, plaque buildup on teeth, allergies, hyper- and hypothyroidism, skin disorders, yeast infections and other chronic immune problems.

In the wild, felines do eat the offal (digested food in the stomach, small intestines and bowels) of their prey; however, cooked grains cannot compare to predigested grains, so there is no way that predigested grains can be provided domestically.

Grains, such as oats, wheat, rice, barley, etc, are composed mostly of complex carbohydrates. They are not part of a cat’s natural diet. In the true natural setting, grains hardly exist at all. Even a mouse or other prey animal is not going to find much of its nutrition from grains. Herbivores eat vegetation: plants, seedlings, leaves, grasses, fruits, blossoms, flowers, etc. Therefore, the

argument that cats eat prey animals that have grains in their digestive tracts doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Prey animals that live near farms or other civilized areas are likely to have access to grains, but that is not a truly wild diet.

Do not use commercial kitten milk that you buy in the pet food store! One of my client’s came to me because while she was feeding a commercial puppy milk some of it dripped onto another puppy’s coat. She didn’t think anything of it until a few minutes later when she went to wipe it off. The “milk” had dried like cement and was stuck to the coat. She tried to soften it with water and couldn’t; she then tried to pull it off and the hair came with it, leaving a bald spot. So obviously there are other ingredients in these products other than food. Even if you read the label it cannot be truthful, because what food what take off the hair? And what food would be the consistency of cement?

If this is true of puppy milk, I’m sure it is true in kitten milk as well, because usually they are produced by the same companies and prepared with the same products.

Raw goat’s milk (if you can find it) is the best kitten milk if the mother is not able to provide enough milk or if you have an orphan. Powdered goat’s milk would be my second choice. One of the reasons goat’s milk is so beneficial for kittens is because it is higher in fat than cow’s milk, and it comes out of the goat already homogenized (the fat is emulsified in the milk) and kittens need that fat.

Kittens should always nurse until mom finally gives them the boot and says enough is enough. She will do the weaning just fine.

Mother’s milk of each species is totally different from one another. There is no resemblance between the mother’s milk of canines, felines, bovines and humans.

You will have to massage the underbelly of the kitten after each meal to help with digestion and elimination. When mom is doing all her licking and nudging she is stimulating the system. You will need to simulate that process.

The kitten should have several bowel movements a day, about one for every meal. If s/he isn’t going often enough you may have to add additional raw, unheated honey or unrefined molasses to the kitten milk mixture.

Somewhere between 3 to 5 weeks the kitten, will be ready to eat a little raw meat and raw veggies. At that time put the raw food in a blender with a little purified water, blend well to the consistency of baby food, offer the mixture to the kitten and see if s/he is interested. If so, give one meal a day of meat and vegetables and the rest of the meals should be the kitten milk mixture. Slowly increase the amount of raw meat and veggies and decrease the milk. By 8 to 10 weeks your kitten should be off the above kitten formula.

Kittens should be fed on demand. If they are nursing, mother will encourage them to eat from her plate. At that time put mother’s food in a blender as in the above paragraph and they will usually wean themselves onto the raw food on their own by starting to eat out of their mom’s plate whenever they feel like it. Here again, some kittens may have a few nibbles at two weeks; some will eat full meals at three weeks; others may not start for another week or two. Whenever they are ready, they and their mothers will know when it is time.

After they are completely weaned, kittens will let you know how many times a day they want to eat. Healthy kittens are usually very vocal when they are hungry. Kittens to the age of 4 months should be fed on demand. They get to eat all they want and to eat as often as they want from two to six times a day. Remember, in the six month’s of a kitten’s life, s/he grows to full maturity and is able to have kittens of her own…and males father kittens at that young age as well. Do not hold back on the amount of food or supplements during the first six to nine months. Unless you have an exceptionally large cat or a cat who matures very slowly, s/he will have reached full growth by eight or nine months and should be eating just once a day.

The general rule for feeding healthy kittens the raw food program is:

                5 weeks to 8 weeks, 6 times a day
                8 weeks to 12 weeks, 4 times a day
                12 weeks to 20 weeks, 3 times a day
                5 months to 8 months, 2 times a day

Sometime during that 5 to 8 month period, on his/her own, the kitten will begin to lose interest in the second meal, and eat just one meal a day.

When feeding raw food, you will notice that they will not have to eat as often as they would if they were eating canned or dry, and they will not be constantly pestering you for more food. They will be satisfied.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. The majority of calcium in the body is utilized by the bones and teeth; however, it is also involved in the blood-clotting process, in nerve and muscle stimulation, parathyroid hormone functions and the metabolism of vitamin D. To function properly along with the high phosphorus content in meat, calcium must be accompanied by magnesium, boron, copper, molybdenum, potassium, sulphur, zinc and vitamins A, B6, D and E.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that must be present in a calcium formula for the body to properly absorb the calcium. In addition, it plays an important role in utilizing vitamins B, C and E. Studies point out that the balance between calcium and magnesium is especially important. The consensus now is that magnesium should be two-thirds of the amount of calcium in any formula.

We don’t hear enough about boron. It is needed for the metabolism of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. It also enhances brain function and promotes alertness. Older cats are often boron deficient.

Copper is essential for the formation of collagen and connective tissue, which relates directly to joint problems. Copper is also very important for hair growth and healthy skin.

Potassium works with sodium (yes, sodium is necessary) and calcium to control the body’s water balance. It is essential for a healthy nervous system, normalizes the heartbeat, nourishes the muscular system and unites with phosphorus (which is in the raw meat) to send oxygen to the brain. Sometimes just the lack of raw meat can be the cause of seizures.

As always, we could go on and on about the necessity of vitamins and minerals and the roles they play for ourselves and our cats.

From veterinarians and from authors of articles you hear about home-prepared meals for animals not being balanced. More often than not, that is true; not because people don’t want to balance their cats’ meals, but because even the professionals who warn you that the meals are not balanced, don’t take the time to tell you what IS balanced. In most cases that’s because they either don’t know or they are selling a commercial pet food that they want you to buy from them, and they want you to believe that preparing your own is too complicated.

There’s nothing complicated about knowing that cats need raw meat and that meat is high in phosphorus, so you must balance it with an organic calcium plus the necessary nutrients for the body to utilize the calcium—it is mandatory.

In the wild, carnivores eat their entire prey: flesh, bones, blood, entrails, organs, glands, digested and undigested food in the stomach and intestines, hair, head, feet and tail. The only parts they do not digest and utilize are teeth and nails. To provide a comparable meal domestically is impossible, but we can come close to Mother Nature’s design with a balance of all raw muscle meat, organs, fat, vegetables and Calcium+Plus. Calcium must be supplemented in a domestic diet unless you are feeding live mice, birds and lizards and other live prey.

Chicken necks and backs, turkey necks, beef and lamb marrowbones, knucklebones and rib bones.

Do not feed chicken wings, legs and thighs. These are long bones that can splinter causing them to be sharp with the possibility of puncturing the intestinal system. Necks and backs are flat bones that mush up rather than splinter.

Be aware after your cat has eaten to note whether there appears to be any discomfort, gas, vomiting, anything that would indicate that s/he cannot digest and utilize the bone.

You must check your cat’s stool after eating bones and see if there is any blood, chalkiness, diarrhea, constipation, undigested bone, sharp shards or anything that would indicate they cannot handle eating bones.

If you feel your cat can eat or chew on a bone after a meal, then be sure to only give raw bones. Cooking bones can cause serious problems because the bones become even more brittle, chip off, possibly puncturing the esophagus, stomach or intestines, which can cause internal bleeding and infection; constipation, rectal bleeding and blockages in the gastrointestinal system.

Hairballs

Cats should not have hairballs. If they do that means their systems are not sufficiently acidic. In the wild they eat the whole mouse—hair and skin—the whole bird—feathers and all. They digest the majority of the hair and feathers because that is usable protein for them. So one of the first signs of digestive problems is hairballs. Very often just the raw food program will take care of the problem. If not, then you need to increase the vitamin C with our C+Plus or if the problem is severe you will need to give Urtica Urens, a homeopathic tincture, to increase the acidity. 

Too much of the WRONG calcium can cause deposits. Calcium must be from a food source or an organic fossilized source with the proper vitamins and minerals necessary to digest, absorb, assimilate and utilize the calcium. The body must be able to digest it just as it does food. When professionals warn cat guardians about feeding too much calcium, they are referring to traditional calciums: bone meal, calcium gluconate, calcium carbonate, calcium lactate and calcium citrate. These types of calcium are only able to be absorbed and utilized by the system at approximately 20% or less. That’s why you have the possibility of the other 80% being left as deposits causing crystals, stones and bone spurs.

Calcium+Plus can be absorbed at 90 to 95 percent. Not only does it not leave deposits, it will facilitate in clearing up present deposits. I have seen many cases where kidney/bladder stones and bone spurs have been dissolved on my raw food program with the Calcium+Plus.

The accumulation of calcium-causing crystals, stones and bone spurs also means that your cat is too alkaline. You may need to add the homeopathic remedy, Urtica Urens.

Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, collards, dandelion greens, turnip greens, kale, and actually any leafy greens are vegetables high in calcium. This natural calcium will also be beneficial; however, no matter how many, how often or how much you feed of these vegetables, they will not provide enough calcium for your cat. You will still need to add Calcium+Plus.

I don’t like dairy sources of calcium for several reasons: 1) because we have ruined our dairy industry with all the antibiotics, hormones, pasteurization and sterilization; 2) it does not provide sufficient calcium; 3) the calcium from milk often cannot be assimilated by the carnivore; 4) milk for cats after they are adults creates all kinds of problems such as mucus, indigestion, allergies, yeast infections, to name a few; 5) cats have an intolerance to lactose in milk because they don’t produce the enzymes, amylase and lactase, that are needed to digest milk; 6) milk often causes severe dehydration in cats.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, vital to the formation of strong bones and teeth and for the maintenance of healthy gums. It is also important to the health of the heart. Cats often have some form of heart problem, heart murmurs, rapid heart beat. Lack of digestible calcium is one of the main culprits. Please note: if your animal has unhealthy gums and/or teeth, s/he probably has heart problems as well and is in desperate need of organic calcium.

Calcium is also important in the transmission of nerve impulses; it lowers cholesterol levels; is needed for muscular growth, contraction and prevention of muscle cramps. It is also involved in the activation of enzymes, including lipase, necessary to break down fats for utilization by the body; thus, tied in with skin, coat and flea problems. How many cats (and people) do you know with those problems!

Calcium deficiency can lead to the following additional problems: aching joints, arthritis, brittle or soft nails, eczema, hyperactivity, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, bone fractures/breaks, early loss of teeth, seizures (also magnesium deficiency which goes along with calcium) and tooth decay.

Calcium protects the bones and teeth from lead by inhibiting absorption of this toxic metal. If there is a calcium deficiency, lead can be absorbed by the body and deposited in the teeth and bones.

The key to nutrition for healthy, happy cats is RAW food with organic calcium.

If you live in an area where you know the water is safe that’s great. Otherwise providing yourself and your animals with purified water is essential.

Water is not only the most abundant nutrient found in the body (approximately two-thirds of a cat’s body weight); it is also by far the most important nutrient.

Water is responsible for and involved in nearly every body process, including digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion. It is the primary transporter of nutrients throughout the body and is necessary for all building functions. Water helps maintain a normal body temperature and is essential for carrying waste material out of the body.

Pure water added to your animal’s food is vitally important to carnivores, because this is the most efficient way for their bodies to assimilate water. Felines in the wild do not usually have easy access to water all of the time, so they must count on the body fluids of their prey for hydration.

You will notice when you put your cats on the raw food program that they will immediately drink less water from their water bowl right after their first meal.

Pure water added to your cats’ food is vitally important to carnivores, because this is the most efficient way for their bodies to assimilate water.

Most Cats Ultimately Die of Dehydration

Dehydration in cats is most often the cause of death, no matter what the ailment was in the beginning. In the wild cats very seldom ever drink water. Often they go weeks without actually drinking any water at all. That’s why it is so important that they eat fresh kill or fresh raw food that provides all the fluid they need.

Fresh kill has 95 percent water; dry food has 2 percent. Dry food is the worst problem ever perpetrated on cats. It is criminal. Felines never eat anything dry in the wild. Why commercial pet food companies would ever do such a horrendous thing to cats is impossible to imagine.

Boiling tap water only makes it worse because the purest water will be lost in the form of steam and any heavy metals or nitrates will be even more concentrated.

Even rainwater these days collects atmospheric pollutants as it descends. If you continue to give tap water, the contaminants in the water can defeat your other nutritional efforts.

Purified water has a high degree of oxygen, which not only makes it healthier but makes it taste better as well. All drinking water and water used to prepare their food should be pure.

It is true that most of the minerals are depleted from purified or distilled water. However, minerals will be in the fresh food and, if you are giving your animals Calcium+Plus, AnimaLife and C+Plus they are getting the necessary minerals in their supplements.

Do not get your purified water from vending machines. Bacteria build up on the filters and the water is again contaminated. Otherwise they use chlorine to control the bacteria and you are back to chemically treated water. A reverse osmosis unit or other purification systems in your home are presently the most effective and inexpensive way to provide purified water for your animals and you.

Or you can buy bottled water in a food store or have it delivered, depending on the amount of water you consume. However, be careful, because some of bottled-water companies are adding chlorine as well. Be sure to ask.

Every kitten and every cat needs a different amount of food each time they eat, just as people do. It is how the body metabolizes the food that decides how much is necessary.

Commercial pet food companies who put on their labels the amount a certain size cat should eat each day is ludicrous. How much are you going to eat at your next meal? People aren’t even sure what they themselves are going to eat during any given day, so how can they possibly guess what amount of food their cat is going to eat?

No one prepares food based on how many pounds they weigh? Most people put more food on the table than is expected that everyone will eat and usually there are leftovers. That’s how it should be for your animals.

Adult cats should be offered food once a day and allowed to eat all they want at that time. Each time you put the food down, put so much on the plate…cats prefer plates instead of bowls because they don’t like their whiskers to touch anything…that they cannot possibly finish it. When they walk away with food on their plate you know they have had all they want to eat.

This program of allowing them to eat as much as they want at each meal can only be used if you are feeding healthy raw food. This method with canned and dry food won’t work, because they never reach the point of being nutritionally satisfied. I repeat: nutritionally satisfied. Being stuffed full of junk food does not provide nutrients; it’s just empty calories. The body is not interested in quantity; it is interested in quality.

Cats should never be allowed to free feed. Their digestive systems were meant to gorge, digest, then be completely empty for at least 20 hours or more.

There are a whole spectrum of digestive systems from the snake who eats once a month to the goat who eats 23 hours a day. If you feed the snake every day for a week, the snake will die. If you don’t feed the goat for one week, the goat will die. Cats’ digestive systems are closer to the snake and people’s digestive systems are closer to the goat. Mother Nature is always right, so we need to pay attention to what She tells us.

Fat cats are starving. (This is true of people as well.) In other words, because their bodies cannot reach their nutrition satiation point when they are eating commercial pet food, they continue to eat, hoping that they will finally be satisfied, but they can’t be, so the struggle goes on, and they get fatter and fatter and eat more and more.

Finally you go to your vet or a pet nutrition expert at a pet store who says, “Feed him a ‘lite’ formula and give him one cup a day,” or whatever. Of course, your cat will lose weight. S/he is being starved. What are they to do? They can’t open the refrigerator or the cupboard. They can’t tell you in people words the pain of suffering from starvation. All you see is that your cat is losing weight, and you think everything is okay. It is not! Cats feel the pains of starvation just as much as people do.

Three reasons why dieting doesn’t work:

You must give them healthy, raw food and let them eat all they want. They will lose weight while feeling comfortably full, and they will be getting all their nutrients as well.

Healthy adult cats don’t necessarily eat every day. If your overweight cat does not want to eat, do not encourage him/her! In the wild, felines may eat only once or twice a week.

When you first change over, offer your cat the same volume of raw food as compared to the canned or dry food s/he has been used to eating. Just eyeball it to decide how much. If s/he finishes it all that meal, then the next meal put double the food on the plate. Cats very seldom will overeat raw food. Make sure there is always food left on his/her plate.

If you have a dog, I would suggest giving the cat leftovers to the dog. Cats prefer to eat fresh food each day.

If your cat has been eating dry or canned foods, s/he may eat a huge amount of raw food at first to reach his/her nutrition satiation level or s/he may go to the other extreme and not eat at all, because the food smells foreign. Whichever the situation, be patient and understanding and in most cases your cats will soon work things out for themselves. There is always the exception that refuses to eat.

For some animals, you may have to hand feed for a while or maybe mix the raw food with some canned food or with some dry food that has been soaked in water first. Never feed dry food dry. Dry food is the worst garbage that has ever been perpetrated upon our animals. Dry food destroys the kidneys, pancreas, and liver; causes severe gastric distress, dehydration, to name a few of the serious ailments. All this devastation is caused by 1) it is cooked; 2) it contains mostly grains; 3) it has only 2% moisture. All food must have water, blood or some kind of fluid in order to be processed by the body. This is a serious concern with cats.

Cats in the wild are used to eating fresh kill. If they kill an animal and they aren’t hungry, they will leave it for another animal in the wild, and when they are hungry, they will kill again. They do not go back and get a previous kill that is dehydrated and rotting. Dogs will do that, but not cats.

You may have to mix a little of your own cooked beef, chicken, turkey in with the raw food. Be sure it is ground or cut up small enough that it mixes with the raw food; otherwise they will just pick out the bits of cooked meat and leave the rest.

You can also try some melted butter, colostrum powder or any healthy food that you know your cat likes, even if it is cooked, as a bribe to get them started on the raw food.

Presently a very serious problem with cats is hyperthyroid, the thyroid is over stimulated, here again, caused by the wrong foods, insufficient amino acids (raw meat) and supplements like kelp, alfalfa, sea meal which stimulate the thyroid and the appetite creating serious extremes for a healthy cat, throwing the system completely out of balance.

Weight changes, especially loss of weight, are very serious for cats. Consider one of the following:

Cats Are Not Finicky

With cats it is important to find out why they aren’t eating and keep a journal of how many days they don’t eat at all or, if they are eating small amounts, how much they are eating each day.

Cats will starve themselves if they are 1) ill, 2) if they are dehydrated, 3) if they have thyroid, kidney, bladder, liver problems or 4) if the food that is being offered isn’t a food they know,

Dogs are pack animals. If the leader of the pack (that’s you) says this is what you are going to eat, dogs know that the leader has checked the food out and it is fit to eat.

Not so with cats. Cats live singly in the wild and they check out their food each time they are presented with something different.

It is important to understand that when they are kittens they instinctively know how to kill their prey; however, they are taught what to eat. Some prey animals in the wild are poison to felines, so what they eat has to be taught by their mothers.

When domestic kittens are put on commercial pet foods after weaning, they are being “taught” that that food is okay. So later on when you change to raw, they are just doing what is natural for them and that is to be cautious, because they have already been imprinted with canned/dry foods as kittens.

It is relatively easy to put a kitten on raw food because they are not already imprinted with commercial pet food; not necessarily so with adults. They are more difficult to convert to any new food because their instincts are more defined. If it is not one of the imprinted foods, they are very skeptical…and rightly so. So be patient with your cat and help him/her to understand that it is safe to eat this food.

Cats are not finicky…that is a myth. They are rightfully cautious by nature.

Not only will each cat in your family eat a different amount, they will eat a different amount every day just like we do. No one eats the same amount of food each meal, each day. You can have two cats that both weigh 10 pounds and one will be a big eater and one will hardly touch the food. It has much more to do with metabolism than it does size. That is why it is important to let your cat decide how much.

If you feed their favorites, they will eat more just like we people do, so be sure to vary their foods. Do not give their favorite day after day. Cats should not eat the same food more than two days in a row. Each meat and each vegetable has a completely different set of nutrients; every one of these nutrients is vital for a complete and balanced food program, so be sure to vary their food program.

You decide what, where and when. Your cat decides how much. When I see and hear all the different scenarios of the eating habits of people’s cats from my clients, I know that the cats themselves must be the ones to decide how much.

The best time to feed is in the morning. The body has its own clock: times to eat, sleep, cleanse, heal, et cetera. The best time to eat is between 7am and 9am. If that works into your schedule that is my suggestion.

During the evening hours the body does its best sleeping, cleansing, repairing and healing. So the emptier the stomach is at that time the better.

If your cat is truly nocturnal—up all night prowling the house—you may have to consider feeding between 7pm and 9pm because being active during the night is instinctive in many cats and needs to be taken into consideration. That would definitely be the exception, because most cats give in to our schedule and turn their lives around for us.

Feeding your cat the natural way is easy and fun, especially when you realize the true benefits of raw food and organic supplements. Keep it simple. 75% raw meat, 25% raw vegetables, Calcium+Plus, AnimaLife and C+Plus. Organic supplements are as close as you can get to what Mother Nature had in mind and now you have a complete and balanced meal. Both you and your cat will be happier, and maybe this program will inspire you to start eating better food, too.

Many commercial pet companies, veterinarians and nutritionists are suggesting kelp and alfalfa as supplements that are to be added to a cat’s food every day. Both of these herbs are medicinal: kelp stimulates the thyroid and alfalfa stimulates the appetite. You definitely don’t want to do either of these herbs for your cat. Constantly stimulating the thyroid will cause shaking, nervous disorders and finally cause hyperthyroid. Hyperthyroid is already a serious problem with cats and a very difficult condition to get back on track. And you certainly don’t want to continuously stimulate the appetite so that your animal feels hungry all the time and becomes overweight.

Under no circumstance should you give your cat ground bone in their food, kelp, alfalfa or sea meal. I would advise staying completely away from all of these, because over the years I have seen serious problems such as impacted bowels and anal glands, bloody, chalky stools, hyperthyroid, overweight, aggressive behavior, lethargy, to name a few.

You will have much greater success with the basic raw food program, Calcium+Plus, AnimaLife and C+Plus and, if necessary, the Colostrum Cocktail.

No dry cat treats, dehydrated treats, pressed treats, cat biscuits. All of these will cause dehydration which is a serious problem for cats.

When you feed canned, dry, dead, cooked food or bone (cooked or raw) you put a burden on one of the most important organs in the body, the pancreas. If there are no enzymes to stimulate the digestive processes, the pancreas has to come into action and produce extra enzymes, burdening it with yet another job. It already has enough to do producing insulin and pancreatic enzymes. Too many cats already suffer from diabetes.

An hour and a half of running, walking on the shore and swimming in the lake every morning doesn’t hurt the dogs (or Pat) either.

Author of:

REIGNING CATS & DOGS, A Holistic Approach to Royal Treatment for Healthy, Happy Carnivores.

and

NATURAL IMMUNITY, Why You Should NOT Vaccinate!