Dog n Cat folks: Raw food works!

Am I the last one on the planet to find this out?

I put Buddy on raw food -- slowly, so as not to upset her digestive system, and in THREE DAYS, her coat was soft and shiney! She's 13 and barely exercises and SHE LOST WEIGHT and she seems perfectly happy with the portions. It was amazing.

Now that she's switched over, I'm going to switch the cats. I've been doing 3/4 tuna with 1/4 fresh veggies.

fyi
B.

Salmon -- rich in Omega 3s. I like Innova brand dog food. Super good. Check it out.

FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

.
Naturally nutritious fresh chicken and turkey meat, plus high quality chicken meal, provide the foundation for Innova's great taste. But we didn't stop there. Fresh whole milk, cottage cheese and whole clove garlic add natural vitamins and flavor. Alfalfa sprouts help satisfy your pet's natural urge to graze. Natural cold-pressed sunflower oil provides the high quality fatty acids needed for healthy skin and a shiny hair coat.

Innova recipes are based on the most advanced research in animal health. The latest findings in orthomolecular medicine (the study of optimal amounts of substances, especially vitamins, found in the body to achieve optimal health) convinced us to increase the levels of disease fighting antioxidants - Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E - in Innova's one of a kind formula.

Preservatives? Innova is preserved naturally with vitamins C and E... and nothing else.

Farm Fresh Ingredients

Innova contains only fresh, natural, wholesome ingredients from each of the five major food groups - providing a balanced, nutritious and varietal diet for your pet. Natura Pet Products' innovative cooking methods combine fresh turkey and chicken meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and a variety of natural whole ground grains to create petfoods unequalled in healthful, nutritional benefits.

Compare Innova to any other petfood. We're sure you'll agree that there's a healthy, significant difference.

The difference is amazing. Still googling around and thanks, I will check out Innova.

She's an angel pretending to be a pet. :)

going. She loves her innova (senior, in a can) and it keeps her insides happy except she eats around the sweet potatoes. -- No I don't own a piece of t he company but I swear, you can set yer watch to when she does her business. And being that she's a small dog, 5 lbs -- if something goes wrong and isn't dealt with, she goes from bad to worse quickly. She is on three medications and is currently getting over pnumonia. It's amazing how after you've owned dogs your whole life, you know as much as some vets.

I don't take my animals to vets. I ring up the cat ladies.

Once, one of my cats was foaming at the mouth. We called a cab and raced to the vet. He told me Sweetie had the flu.

I said thanks, and went home. Called my cat lady, and she came over, made a brew that I then fed to Sweetie by hand. He didn't die.

He had been poisoned by a new cleaning lady accidentally. But with my cat lady's help, we brought him around. I fully understood the lesson.

email and pm. She is super cool and practices in NY. The thing about sick pets is 90 percent of the time -- its the same five or so things wrong. I am going to start to take my dogs temperature when she is sick. She doesn't seem to mind it and the vet said its not a bad idea.

Most of them are pushed to make a living and somehow manage their insurance.

But, nobody beats the Cat Lady Network. Those people are dedicated and careful and I'd go on TV for them.

Wouldn't it be great to get good collaboration going?

from one of those adoption weekends at a petshop and getting grilled by a zealous cat person -- I must have answered incorrectly -- she denied the adoption. I like pet people, I am pet people. But some are nuts. There is no better feeling than rescuing a skin and bones, spooked kitty, getting him fixed, fattening him up, building his confidence, giving him a dumb name and placing him. But its not a situation I seek out.

and doing it over time.

I was almost denied an adoption because I let the guys out. I rethought that because there **were** bunchers in the hood.

Then, lol, I became KittenCentral for about a year and a half. We must have gotten 300 kittens to heal, health up and adopt out. It was sort o amazing.

And all the cat people were sort of eccentric.

But I learned SO much. They taught me how to hand feed, how to give shots, how to give liquids and so on and so on. It was a real eye opener for me.

Do their apts smell? In general, sure. And I feel lucky to have had the experience. Isn't that something? They do the lion's share so very quietly and with so very few resources. Smelly, at that point, becomes beside the point. Obsessive? Sure.

There is nothing cooler than someone haunting the pound to get the scoop on a mom and four, sending the word out that the bail is $300, managing to get the money together, placing them with a foster like me, healing them up, neutering them and then placing them. You've just gone from the gas chamber to a good home.

How cool is that? :)

Sounds like dialogue from clockwork orange. Never realized you guys haunted the pound to adopt just to place them. Wow. Nice to know there is a secret army of do gooders.

My eyelids were peeled 'way back after my stint in that culture.

On edit: Shhhhhhh! We have a secret handshake, too. :)

couple of tablespoons every other day. Make sure you wash your hands good. Tuna is steamed in can. Raw meat from store is ok, but worms can develop so care in selection is important

I use plain yogurt for lots of things, including facials, lol.

What is the benefit to the furry ones? I'd love to know. :)

My old pal that I lost to old age this year was a yogurt fanantic. Other cats beg for tuna, he begged for yogurt.

LOL, we've seven and holding. :)

Some tips on cat care

Cats need love and affection, just as dogs do. But, you need to let the cat come to you.

Cats need their space. Let certain areas be off-limits to you except for cleaning and maintenance. An space that provides privacy and some darkness will do.

Cats like it when you talk to directly to them--use animated tones but keep your volume fairly low.

Do not "crank it up." A loud stereo causes incredible stress in cats.

If your cat has a behavior problem, work with your veterinarian to overcome it. Or use one of our cat books for advice. Using the wrong methods will only make the cat resent you and behave even worse.

If you pick your cat up (such as when going for a walk and encountering a dog), support the cat's weight under the butt. Never pick a cat up by the arm pits or the belly--think of how you would want your weight supported if lifted up. Then make a little more allowance for the cat. Don't ever pick a cat up by front or rear limbs.

If the cat "chirps" at you and walks away, that is a sign that you are to follow. Act inquisitive, and mimic the cat's sounds. This lets the cat know you are interested in what s/he has to say.

Cats love to "help" make the bed. However, rather than get cat dander over freshly-laundered sheets, let the cat "help" you make the bed the morning before you wash the sheets. At other times, shut the door and let the cat in when you are done.

Learn how best to stroke your particular cat by practicing various light strokes around the ears, chin, sides, back, and other places while gaging the cat's reaction.

Don't feed your cat table scraps. To give your cat variety, you can use "people food." But, use small amounts of such food as an occasional treat. Tuna mixed with yogurt and chopped vegetables (broccoli works well) will give your cat a nutritious, delicious snack.

http://www.mindconnection.com/interests/cats.htm

I bought the book in B&N last year.

And, they do love broccoli. :)

Howdy,
I have had cats all my life, I have a pretty good sound system on my computer and my cat always seems to hop right up on a perch near my system when the tunes are cranking. Am I being a bad owner if I let her do this??

Peace

diet - I think it's more a matter of the switch than anything "healthy"

Don't forget, your cats NEED MEAT in order to survive. Raw veggie diet WILL kill them, there's no debate in the matter.

The veggies are just to make the diet balance.

And the change has to be slow.:)

they must have meat.

I'm interested in doing this, but leery. Is there a good online site?

:hi:

I'm still in the researching mode and no, can't give you a link.

Instead of giving my Buddy all kibble or even canned wet food, I switched her to half tuna and half kibble after a conversation I had with a dog person. Her coat became wonderful in 72 hours! It was amazing.

My aim is to do raw food 3/4 meat, 1/4 raw veggies soon.

My girl is an elder, and I haven't seen her so lively in years, no lie.

That's my deal. :)

and she TOTALLY LOVED it. I've never seen her eat like that. She usually eats dry food (Deli Cat) but always begs in the kitchen when I'm cooking. I've heard that cats really crave raw meat. Now I know it's true!

more expensive than canned wet stuff.

I'm a little paranoid about raw stuff because of the way meat is handled . So, I'm moving on it slowly. But my Buddy is thriving. I mean, all my friends are commenting on how good she looks. :)

They are on special food for cats with urinary problems anyway.

cats only tuna? I used to feed mine tuna in water several times a week and then then one of them became extremely allergic and got dermatitis that had to be treated with cortisone. I researched miliary dermatitis and ran into all sorts of articles about tuna and the problems it can cause. I am not sure if this would cause problems for all cats but thought I'd mention it in case you might not have heard of this before. It has to do with certain amino acids.

http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/fish.php
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/interven/message/7861

The instructions I got were 3/4 meat or fish, 1/4 fresh veggies.

/fractions :silly:

veggies. I've never tried it with my furry friends.

:hi: :loveya:

But, Buddy's coat is soft, not bristly. It's just wierd!

((((merh)))

:hug: And I am so glad to see you are doing so well to. :hug:

(((((sfexpat2000))))))) :loveya:

my dogs love it

good ground beef and tuna + broccoli and carrots. It can't be too cumbersome, we don't have time.

Our golden has perked up quite a bit since we started with raw foods. And there are some great web sites out there.

Can't believe I spent all those $s on cR@p all those years!

Basically, our whole household is now on the Southbeach diet. It's not really more expensive and we're all a wee bit lighter and brighter.

lol

The crap we eat is not much better than the commercial dog food. I don't mean going raw, which some people do, but just getting as locally grown as possible, as organic as possible without getting religion.

like a whack-a-mole.

:)

I've lost 65 lbs on it. Started 2 weeks before Easter after the Doc mentioned the D-word, went from 260 to 195.

My two Abys almost died from Inflammatory Bowel Disease and kidney problems. They had constant bloody diarrhea and vomited everything. Our vet tried for 7 years to get them healthy. We finally found catinfo.org, read about and switched to raw, fired our vet, got a holistic vet, and the kitties have each gained over 2 pounds since June. Their teeth look better, their coats are marvelous, and their poop doesn't stink ... and it's not runny anymore. We feed ground up rabbit and chicken (bones and all) and add taurine, B-complex, and water. They can't tolerate veggies or grains of any kind.

We have found that dry food is especially bad, as it leaves the animals chronically dehydrated. Apparently, they can't drink enough water to make up what's lost in the processing. The kidney problems have completely disappeared. :)

I would caution, however, about giving too much tuna (or any fish) to the cats. I wish I could remember EXACTLY why, but one of the reasons is that they get a taste for fish and become finicky. But there's something else about it nutritionally that's not good. It might say on catinfo.org. If you're into raw for the cats, I would highly recommend reading what Dr. Lisa says on that site.

Good luck! You'll be glad you switched! My next kitties are going to be on raw from the minute I get them. :)

Recommended by my vet. Who is actually my neighbor. Brilliant guy.
No reason to feed your dog out of a can or bag.
Make up a stew in a crock pot. Will feed your pet for a week or so, just remember to freeze it after about 3 days.

Adjust it based on the current needs of your pet.
Right now we are using chicken, chicken gizzards, oats, sweet potatoes, ginger, and yellow squash with just a touch of cinnamon.

My dog has a particular problem (failing kidneys) so we are going to continue with acupuncture as needed.

Best wishes to you and Buddy, I hope she loves her new diet.