Pet Diseases and Diet

by Janine Carter

If you are feeding your dog store bought food that is produced by the large manufacturing companies, your pet may face some health problems. Some large manufacturers are using products in their food that has been removed from human foods. Find out what you are feeding your dog or cat.

Like most of the population, you would think that dog and cat food manufacturers are paying close attention to a healthy formula for your pets' good health and wellbeing. It may surprise you to know that not all manufacturers do, and that some use discarded animal parts that can actually harm your dog.

Not long ago, pet owners were shocked to find out that the food they were feeding their dogs had toxic ingredients and were causing many deaths in the pet world. Healthy dogs were fed this store-bought dog food that was well trusted by the unsuspecting public. Federal testing of some of the cat and dog food and the wheat gluten used in their production turned up the chemical melamine, which can be toxic in high doses. Gluten brings elasticity and chewiness to baked products, but in this case was toxic.

Know what's in your pets food. Make sure to always read the labels. Watch for by-products, which can contain diseased and contaminated slaughterhouse meats. Healthy dogs and cats can have their lives shortened by what they are eating every day. Also, meat from animals that have been drugged and chemical preservatives are also dangerous.

If at all possible, feed your pet all natural dog foods that have not been on the shelf for a long period of time. Food should be manufactured in smaller quantities to allow freshness. Food that has been sitting in a store for a year will not have the same quantities of nutrition it did when fresh. The longer the food sets the less nutrition.

A healthy dog should have a life expectancy of twenty years or more, yet most only survive ten to fifteen years. Good nutrition is key to ensure your dog lives out his full life and is not taken early by preventable diseases and bad diet.

Many things can be caused from improper nutrition such as, Allergies, Arthritis, Bladder problems, Cancer, Dental problems, Diarrhea, Diabetes, Digestive problems, Kidney problems, Liver problems and Obesity. Obesity can be caused by too much sugar and carbohydrates that are found in store-bought dog foods.

In the end, buy a quality dog food. All natural human grade food with no preservatives added. An Internet search can quickly find you the best natural food for your pets. In doing so you will increase their lives and their happiness.

If you have any questions on Dog supplies or Posh Pampered Pets, please call 979-221-7251 or email info@poshpamperedpets.com. Our home office is located in Waller, Texas, with warehouses located throughout the United States such as Dallas TX, Houston TX, New York NY, Denver CO, Chicago ILL, Seattle WA, Kansas City MO, Miami FL, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Los Angeles CA, Fayetteville AR, Philadelphia PA, Phoenix Arizona, San Antonio TX Texas.



This article was written by Janine Carter, owner of Posh Pampered Pets. If you have any questions regarding Dog Supplies or Posh Pampered Pets, please feel free to call 979-221-7251 or email info@poshpamperedpets.com.

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Cat Care - The Best, the Easiest, the Most Natural

By Madeleine Innocent
Raw Food Diet - Photo: © Alison007 (Flickr name) reproduced under creative commons

Caring for your cat is easy when you try to remember her origins. Being domesticated doesn't mean you should abandon how she would live in the wild. Cats have evolved in the wild over millennia. They have been domesticated for a mere trifle in comparison.

This means that their nutritional and emotional needs remain identical to those of their forebears. In attempting to provide the best cat care means looking at these needs. Lets look at their nutritional needs first.

Wild cats hunt on their own. They hunt small animals, sometimes up to about their own size, but mostly smaller than themselves. They rarely eat anything other than freshly killed meat. Contrasting this with a typical domestic cat's diet of dried pellets and you realise how off the mark commercial pet food is. Even if dried pellets were made with the best cuts of meat (which they aren't), the meat is still not fresh or raw. So, if you're trying to provide the most complete cat care, what should you feed your cat?

In my opinion, the best cat food is raw meat and bones. You can't completely duplicate a wild cat's diet, but you can come so close as to not compromise her health. Cat care starts with food as this is consumed daily. Something done daily has much more impact on our health than say something that only happens once a year.

When a cat eats her prey, she will eat all the meat, including the bones. Bones are the best source of calcium for a cat. And meat can only be properly digested when it is consumed with bones. After all, all carnivores eat meat with bones. Not only that, crunching up on bones is the best way of keeping her teeth and gums healthy, as long as they're not too big. No dried pellets can do that as well, despite the promises on the label.

Some think that giving a cat raw meat will trigger their hunting instinct. In my experience, it does the exact opposite. Because raw meat is nutrient dense, your cat will be satisfied and won't feel the need to supplement her diet as when fed a nutrient deficient diet.

Natural cat care also means providing your cat with her basic emotional and physical needs. Cats are intelligent and inquisitive. They need visual stimulation. This is best served by being outdoors, where nature provides an abundance of stimulation. If it's impossible or too dangerous to let your cat outside, do make sure she has access to safe stimulants, perhaps in the form of toys. Make sure you play with her to ensure she gets adequate exercise.

Sun is an important aspect of good cat care. Cats love the sun and it is essential to good health for all of us, not just your cat. Regular outdoor access will allow her to choose for herself. For confined cats, make sure there are times when you can open a window (safely) to allow the sun's rays in, unhindered by glass or plastic.

Easy cat care really means allowing your cat the freedom she desires. Confining cats indoors is going against good animal husbandry, I am also of the opinion that declawing cats is not only painfully inhumane, it deprives the cat of the natural joy of stretching. If you are considering declawing your cat, maybe you should also consider having a cat is not for you. Cats have already adapted a great deal to live with us. Putting them through an unnecessary, inhumane and painful operation is purely for your benefit, not your cats.

Cats provide us with an abundance affection, love and enjoyment. To provide even adequate cat care, we should at least do the same for them.

Madeleine Innocent has been a homoeopath, a natural health therapist, since 2000. She treats both people and animals and finds that when the diet of her patient is addressed, to one that is more in keeping with natural laws, at the same time as her treatment, enormous strides in the resultant good health are made. To underestimate a good, natural diet is to play Russian roulette with life.

For more information, click on this website:- http://www.naturallyhealthycats.com

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Raw Feeding Your Cat – Is It Really A Healthier Diet?

By Moses Wright

Popularly know as BARF diet for bones and raw food or biologically adequate raw food diet, the natural raw feeding diet has been drawing increasing interest in the cat lover community.

One of the many people that support a raw feeding diet is Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, author of “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to the Natural Health for Dogs and Cats,” Rodale Press. He states that a cat’s health is improved by feeding a raw diet and that many of his clients have been feeding their cats raw meat successfully for many years.

When you are deciding what type of meat to feed your cat, Dr. Pitcairn suggests meats that can be easily found and prepare; many of his recipes use ground lean meat because it is high in protein but low in fat. In preparing the meat, Dr. Pitcairn says that 1 pound of ground meat equals roughly 2 cups. He warns that you should not feed raw rabbit, fish or pork as they can carry particular parasites.

Some of the meat type that he recommends as interchangeable are: turkey or giblets; chicken or giblets; beef, chicken or turkey liver; mackerel; tuna; beef, chick or turkey hearts; lean ground beef; duck, among others. Dr. Pitcairn recommends a varied diet and using more than one kind of meat in each meal.

On the other hand, a strong supporter for homemade food, Ann Martin, author of “Food Pets Die For,” New Sage Press, does not favor the raw food diet. The main concerns of a raw diet are bacterial and chemical contamination.

Citing the research of Jeff Bender and Ashley Robinson, veterinarians at the Department of Clinical and Population Sciences at the University of Minnesota, about an epidemic of food poisoning in a cattery. The food poisoning was caused by Salmonella that was thought to be traced to the 4-D meat (dead, diseased, dying or debilitated) in cat food. She is against feeding a raw food diet because of the potential for bacterial poisonings such as this and notes that these bacteria can also be found in meat intended for human consumption. Freezing the meat, she explains, destroys some but not all bacteria.

While Dr. Pitcairn disagrees and says that in over 17 years of practice, he has not seen any food poisoning in raw diets used by his clients. He comments that though it is not impossible that a pet may become ill, he believes they are less vulnerable. However, he leaves it up to the cat owner and suggests that if you do not feel comfortable feeding raw food, do cook it but realize that some of the nutrients will be lost.

Currently, there are still little substantiate results to support or go against raw feeding, and like what Dr. Pitcairn suggested, it’s totally up to the cat owner. As a cat owner who is truly concern about your cat’s health, you can try raw feeding and observe your cat’s response. You can then judge and decided for yourself if raw feeding is suitable for your cat.

About the Author: Moses Wright is the founder of http://www.FelineDiet.net. More helpful information on Feline Cat Diet, Natural Cat Food and Homemade Cat Food can be found on his website. Webmasters are welcome to reprint this article if the content and live link are keep intact.

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From Debbie the Blog Owner: "I personally feed my furkids a home prepared raw diet and couldn't be happier. Up until 6 months ago I fed them store bought canned food, yes, I higher end canned food but canned all the same. Anyway, I'm here to brag because my babies have NEVER BEEN BETTER! They look wonderful, their coat is silky and oh so soft it's incredible, eyes bright and even though they range between 8 and 14 years old, they have energy to burn! They're playing like kittens again. Bye, bye to the lethargic, slow moving, lay-around kitties that just lumbered from here to there. I love having my babies back!"

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