What About My Cats' Diet?

The title being about cats, let's not forget about our dog companions too. I've never owned a dog so all I'll say is that the feeding tips here (and a few other tips such as spay/neuter) will mostly apply to dogs too. The key point being, dogs are not that different than wolves-especially as far as their digestive systems go. Therefore, I'd recommend feeding them whole animals or at least grain-free raw meat as described below.
I'd say the most important thing is knowing that when you adopt a pet, it is kind of like adopting a human child. You will have responsibilities, you can't just "throw them away" when they become inconvenient and they may be more demanding and time consuming then you'd think. Pets (especially cats) get stressed out when changing homes and families frequently, so it is good to consider whether you can actually be a good pet parent before you want to bring the cute kitten home. I was pretty ignorant years ago with my first cat Irma, that I only cared for over a few months. Irma died young, shortly after leaving my home-most likely because she had been changing homes too frequently, and I don't know what the new owners had done to her.
This time when we adopted two litter-mate kittens right after getting married, I did my research and tried to approach them with the feeling of responsibility I would have for my future human children. These suggestions are for cats but hopefully you will find some useful tips for dogs too (especially feeding).
What I do for my 2 cats (currently 3.5 years old):
* Spayed/neutered them before they turned 4 months old. This is very important considering shelters are filled with pets in need of homes. It is also supposed to help with some sexual behavior such as urinating around the house. Plus, in my case, I didn't want incest babies.
* I am very against declawing which is a life-time of painful experience for the kitties. I simply trained them to let me trim their nails every week or so, since they were kittens. They occasionally get treats for letting me cut all 18 of their nails (occasional rewarding is more effective than consistent rewarding).
* I feed them twice a day raw meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, quail w/ supplements) made for pets (such as Natures variety Instinct) (grain-free and 95% meat). Barring the rare exception, I always defrost their daily patty in a glass tupperware in the fridge over night and obviously refrigerate leftovers.
* Every other day or so I feed them some whole animals (defrosted lab mice) outdoors (while wearing a harness)---they need the nutrients found in the organs, brain, skin and hair/feathers of whole animals. Although supplements are typically added into pet food to make up for the lack of these ingredients, they are not sufficient. For ex, you won't find psyllium husk in your pet's commercial food but it's found in the hair/feathers of prey animals. Basically I'm trying to get as close to their ancestral diet as possible. Remember, both cats and dogs are carnivorous, their digestive systems as well as their overall genetic make up don't differ from their wild ancestors, the wolf and the African wildcats. They can digest raw meat much better than cooked food which is less nutritious. They cannot digest grains, period.
While whole animals are probably the healthiest alternative to hunting in the wild, it's much more expensive than "raw meat for pets" which I consider to be the second healthiest alternative along with home-made mix of raw meat (80%muscle,10%organ,10%bone).
Sometimes I'll buy a whole chicken with organs and chop it up into little ziplocks, then defrost a bag in the fridge every day or so, for my girl who goes crazy over chewing raw chicken skin/meat/bone. The only problem with cats is that they can be too picky. My boy loves playing with&eating the mice but won't touch the chicken unless it's the ground patties or canned. For more on affordable home-made raw meat serving:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/inexpensive-natural-cat-food/#axzz3YT1kx0Ek
* Once or twice a week I give them some grain-free canned food or a few freeze dried treats to spoil them or reward them (I check to make sure it is 90% or more meat for my pets' carnivorous teeth)
* I feed them from bamboo and ceramic plates only-no plastic. I use stainless silverware to prepare their food.
* This goes without saying but they always have access to water from a glass bowl. I try to freshen it daily and I usually keep the water bowl in a different spot then their food corner.
* I only use litter made of plants, usually wheat and I switched to wonderbox (made of recycled paper) instead of plastic litter boxes/liners as it seemed my boy cat's paws were getting irritated from scratching the plastic bag.
* I typically have them use two litter boxes. I make sure at least one of them has at least three inches deep of litter. I make sure at least one of the litter boxes has all fresh litter every few weeks. I dump the old litter in the compost. I change the wonderbox about once a month. I try to scoop both boxes daily or at least every other day, I sprinkle baking soda over their litter after scooping.
* Every 1-2 weeks I sprinkle some catnip on their scratch rug and let them go nuts for stimulation.
* NEVER dry kibble-cats have low thirst drive and will be dehydrated if fed kibble-even when they drink more water to make up for it. If I give them dried meat I'll mix it with water.
* I give them a bit of coconut oil (about a teaspoon a day for 2 cats or less depending on their appetite) in a dish that they can graze on throughout the day-they have shiny coats and no hairballs and it helps w/ skin conditions. I noticed they strongly differentiate between diff't qualities of coconut oil so I try to give them organic virgin, the one they like best.
* I give them lots of toys, either store-bought or made from egg cartons, toilet paper rolls etc and hang strings (made for cats, you don't want them needing surgery cause they ate a string) around the house they like to jump and attack.
* I make sure they get some fresh air almost every day, even in the winter-either by putting them on open window sills for some time or by taking them out on a leash & harness. I simply can't leave them out unsupervised due to the packs of coyotes and other wild animals that live in the neighborhood. I trained them for the harness as kittens.
* I spend some time daily petting them and/or brushing them and/or doing some interactive play with them and/or running around the house together with them. I also sweet talk to them and that seems to help make them better behaved kitties. In return they jump on my lap or give me the squinty eyes which is supposed to mean "I love U" in cat language.
* I am pretty strict when it comes to setting boundaries, they can only scratch certain things, they cannot eat human food (unless I occasionally leave a drumstick or so in their plate for them to chew on-no cooked bones), they are to eat and finish their own plates before they can get their next meals, they are not to play with cords or plants, etc. Once they learn and accept the rules, they implement it w/out fuss and if they try to bend the rule, a "shshshsh" often suffices to let them know "Mom/dad is watching" :) Rarely I pat on their nose bridge or spray them with water (one spray is supposed to be enough) if they do something that really pisses me off, for ex jumping on kitchen counters. I must say they grew up from naughty little kittens to well-behaved adults-perhaps partially due to having figure out the rules. Their litter boxes are in the small bathroom which we don't really use, but I keep the other bathroom's door shut both for their protection (from soaps, sharp items, dental floss, etc) and to keep the bathroom cleaner. They're also not allowed in the garage unless under my supervision, again for their protection.
* Our cats have pet health insurance, this is important if you live in a country like the US where vet prices can be outrageous. My girl cat got a hold of a sewing string once and it cost us several thousand dollars to remove the string from her guts and sew back together her damaged organs to save her from a painful death-not to mention several sleepless nights for both me and my husband. That experience taught us we cannot afford not to have pet insurance.
* I take them to the vet for their tests, vaccinations, checkups (especially while kittens) and if they appear sick (such as vomiting, lack of appetite, a skin rash, lack of activity, etc). (Note: ever since I've been more careful with the issues mentioned here they haven't had any problems thank God for the past 2.5 years, they're 3.5 yrs old now.) If the vet prescribes antibiotics, I give them colloidal silver instead. I make it at home, it's less harmful and more effective and the illness doesn't keep coming back as it does with prescriptions. I had to give the girl cat the prescribed antibiotics post-surgery, but I gave her colloidal silver in addition for a few weeks. I also made the error of giving the boy cat the prescriptions before, so I gave both of them digestive enzymes (pre&probiotics) with their food for a while, to make up for the damage it would have caused in their guts.
* I make sure to use biodegradable cleaning products and refrain from air freshener type sprays-especially around the kitties.
* Our cats wear collar tags, especially outdoors, but I take them off at home so they can lick clean their necks and they don't get too itchy.
--->As a result, thank God, my cats are both healthy, active, playful, loving, well-behaved, free of chronic conditions and of a healthy weight unlike many American obese pets. I pray they will continue to live a long, healthy and happy life.
Bu sayfanın Türkçesi için lütfen tıklayınız.
I'd say the most important thing is knowing that when you adopt a pet, it is kind of like adopting a human child. You will have responsibilities, you can't just "throw them away" when they become inconvenient and they may be more demanding and time consuming then you'd think. Pets (especially cats) get stressed out when changing homes and families frequently, so it is good to consider whether you can actually be a good pet parent before you want to bring the cute kitten home. I was pretty ignorant years ago with my first cat Irma, that I only cared for over a few months. Irma died young, shortly after leaving my home-most likely because she had been changing homes too frequently, and I don't know what the new owners had done to her.
This time when we adopted two litter-mate kittens right after getting married, I did my research and tried to approach them with the feeling of responsibility I would have for my future human children. These suggestions are for cats but hopefully you will find some useful tips for dogs too (especially feeding).
What I do for my 2 cats (currently 3.5 years old):
* Spayed/neutered them before they turned 4 months old. This is very important considering shelters are filled with pets in need of homes. It is also supposed to help with some sexual behavior such as urinating around the house. Plus, in my case, I didn't want incest babies.
* I am very against declawing which is a life-time of painful experience for the kitties. I simply trained them to let me trim their nails every week or so, since they were kittens. They occasionally get treats for letting me cut all 18 of their nails (occasional rewarding is more effective than consistent rewarding).
* I feed them twice a day raw meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, quail w/ supplements) made for pets (such as Natures variety Instinct) (grain-free and 95% meat). Barring the rare exception, I always defrost their daily patty in a glass tupperware in the fridge over night and obviously refrigerate leftovers.
* Every other day or so I feed them some whole animals (defrosted lab mice) outdoors (while wearing a harness)---they need the nutrients found in the organs, brain, skin and hair/feathers of whole animals. Although supplements are typically added into pet food to make up for the lack of these ingredients, they are not sufficient. For ex, you won't find psyllium husk in your pet's commercial food but it's found in the hair/feathers of prey animals. Basically I'm trying to get as close to their ancestral diet as possible. Remember, both cats and dogs are carnivorous, their digestive systems as well as their overall genetic make up don't differ from their wild ancestors, the wolf and the African wildcats. They can digest raw meat much better than cooked food which is less nutritious. They cannot digest grains, period.
While whole animals are probably the healthiest alternative to hunting in the wild, it's much more expensive than "raw meat for pets" which I consider to be the second healthiest alternative along with home-made mix of raw meat (80%muscle,10%organ,10%bone).
Sometimes I'll buy a whole chicken with organs and chop it up into little ziplocks, then defrost a bag in the fridge every day or so, for my girl who goes crazy over chewing raw chicken skin/meat/bone. The only problem with cats is that they can be too picky. My boy loves playing with&eating the mice but won't touch the chicken unless it's the ground patties or canned. For more on affordable home-made raw meat serving:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/inexpensive-natural-cat-food/#axzz3YT1kx0Ek
* Once or twice a week I give them some grain-free canned food or a few freeze dried treats to spoil them or reward them (I check to make sure it is 90% or more meat for my pets' carnivorous teeth)
* I feed them from bamboo and ceramic plates only-no plastic. I use stainless silverware to prepare their food.
* This goes without saying but they always have access to water from a glass bowl. I try to freshen it daily and I usually keep the water bowl in a different spot then their food corner.
* I only use litter made of plants, usually wheat and I switched to wonderbox (made of recycled paper) instead of plastic litter boxes/liners as it seemed my boy cat's paws were getting irritated from scratching the plastic bag.
* I typically have them use two litter boxes. I make sure at least one of them has at least three inches deep of litter. I make sure at least one of the litter boxes has all fresh litter every few weeks. I dump the old litter in the compost. I change the wonderbox about once a month. I try to scoop both boxes daily or at least every other day, I sprinkle baking soda over their litter after scooping.
* Every 1-2 weeks I sprinkle some catnip on their scratch rug and let them go nuts for stimulation.
* NEVER dry kibble-cats have low thirst drive and will be dehydrated if fed kibble-even when they drink more water to make up for it. If I give them dried meat I'll mix it with water.
* I give them a bit of coconut oil (about a teaspoon a day for 2 cats or less depending on their appetite) in a dish that they can graze on throughout the day-they have shiny coats and no hairballs and it helps w/ skin conditions. I noticed they strongly differentiate between diff't qualities of coconut oil so I try to give them organic virgin, the one they like best.
* I give them lots of toys, either store-bought or made from egg cartons, toilet paper rolls etc and hang strings (made for cats, you don't want them needing surgery cause they ate a string) around the house they like to jump and attack.
* I make sure they get some fresh air almost every day, even in the winter-either by putting them on open window sills for some time or by taking them out on a leash & harness. I simply can't leave them out unsupervised due to the packs of coyotes and other wild animals that live in the neighborhood. I trained them for the harness as kittens.
* I spend some time daily petting them and/or brushing them and/or doing some interactive play with them and/or running around the house together with them. I also sweet talk to them and that seems to help make them better behaved kitties. In return they jump on my lap or give me the squinty eyes which is supposed to mean "I love U" in cat language.
* I am pretty strict when it comes to setting boundaries, they can only scratch certain things, they cannot eat human food (unless I occasionally leave a drumstick or so in their plate for them to chew on-no cooked bones), they are to eat and finish their own plates before they can get their next meals, they are not to play with cords or plants, etc. Once they learn and accept the rules, they implement it w/out fuss and if they try to bend the rule, a "shshshsh" often suffices to let them know "Mom/dad is watching" :) Rarely I pat on their nose bridge or spray them with water (one spray is supposed to be enough) if they do something that really pisses me off, for ex jumping on kitchen counters. I must say they grew up from naughty little kittens to well-behaved adults-perhaps partially due to having figure out the rules. Their litter boxes are in the small bathroom which we don't really use, but I keep the other bathroom's door shut both for their protection (from soaps, sharp items, dental floss, etc) and to keep the bathroom cleaner. They're also not allowed in the garage unless under my supervision, again for their protection.
* Our cats have pet health insurance, this is important if you live in a country like the US where vet prices can be outrageous. My girl cat got a hold of a sewing string once and it cost us several thousand dollars to remove the string from her guts and sew back together her damaged organs to save her from a painful death-not to mention several sleepless nights for both me and my husband. That experience taught us we cannot afford not to have pet insurance.
* I take them to the vet for their tests, vaccinations, checkups (especially while kittens) and if they appear sick (such as vomiting, lack of appetite, a skin rash, lack of activity, etc). (Note: ever since I've been more careful with the issues mentioned here they haven't had any problems thank God for the past 2.5 years, they're 3.5 yrs old now.) If the vet prescribes antibiotics, I give them colloidal silver instead. I make it at home, it's less harmful and more effective and the illness doesn't keep coming back as it does with prescriptions. I had to give the girl cat the prescribed antibiotics post-surgery, but I gave her colloidal silver in addition for a few weeks. I also made the error of giving the boy cat the prescriptions before, so I gave both of them digestive enzymes (pre&probiotics) with their food for a while, to make up for the damage it would have caused in their guts.
* I make sure to use biodegradable cleaning products and refrain from air freshener type sprays-especially around the kitties.
* Our cats wear collar tags, especially outdoors, but I take them off at home so they can lick clean their necks and they don't get too itchy.
--->As a result, thank God, my cats are both healthy, active, playful, loving, well-behaved, free of chronic conditions and of a healthy weight unlike many American obese pets. I pray they will continue to live a long, healthy and happy life.
Bu sayfanın Türkçesi için lütfen tıklayınız.