Should You "Free Feed" Your Cat?

For cats, grazing is basically nibbling at their food off and on all day. It’s not exactly normal to them. The types of animals that graze are herbivores: goats, cows, horses, sheep and so on. They graze because their bodies are built to chew, digest, regurgitate, chew again and digest again.

Cats, on the other hand, are carnivores. Their stomachs are not designed for grazing.” Cats are not cows. That is an obvious observation but why do so many cat owners feed their cat as if it was a cow or other grazing animal?

I’m talking about free-feeding, leaving a bowl of dry food in front of the cat all day. Physiologically, the cat sitting on your lap is not much different from a lion. A lion has to hunt for its food. Luckily for most of our cats, they don’t have to hunt to survive. Otherwise, many of them would probably starve to death.

A cat that has to hunt for its food does not know when or where its next meal is coming from. Candy-coated mice do not sit around in bowls waiting for the cat to come in for a nibble.

Cats are designed to gorge on a meal, then not eat again for many hours or even days. This allows for proper digestion and elimination of the toxins associated with a meat-based diet. “Cats, being true carnivores, actually prefer a 28-hour eating cycle.” Richard H. Pitcairn, D.V.M.

A cat is not finicky by nature. A finicky cat is created, not born. If you had a particular type of smelly food left in front of you most of the day, would you remain interested in that food? 

How many times have you had to change the brand of food you feed your cat because she or he would no longer eat it? Smelling food all day can actually decrease a cat’s appetite. I don’t think I could keep the solid muscle weight on my cats if I left food available all day.

Smelling food triggers a cat’s digestive system to begin working. Constantly smelling food, even if it is only an empty bowl that the food was once in or a bag of dry food left on the counter will keep the digestive system primed and ready to go all day. 

Munching on dry food throughout the day does keep the digestive system working and the stomach never gets the chance to completely empty as it should. The digestive system requires quite a bit of energy to operate. 

Keeping it going throughout the day by allowing constant access or exposure to food is pulling valuable resources from other systems and possibly prematurely aging the cat. This can also result in improper hair coat and the tendency towards cystitis.

A cat’s digestive system needs a good long break on a daily basis. A 24-hour fast once a week is a good thing for a healthy adult cat. In the wild, this would most likely happen more than once a week. As efficient a hunter as the cat is, more hunts are unsuccessful than successful.

If you’ve got five or six cats eating from a community food bowl, chances are you are not going to know if one cat is off its food until you see a noticeable loss of weight. This could take days or weeks.

As I’m sure you are aware, free feeding can lead to obesity. The pet food manufacturers have an answer to that problem by offering “less active” or “reduced calorie” food.

Free Feeding vs Canned Cat Food

Obesity and diabetes are two major health problems that have been linked with free-feeding. All too many cats graze throughout the day when food is left out, and eat more than their daily caloric requirement.

With dry food only diets already being a major contributor to feline weight gain, this grazing habit only serves to push cats further towards health-compromising levels of obesity.

Because of the known correlation between obesity and diabetes, overweight cats become at risk for developing this condition which is also brought on or aggravated by an abundance of dry foods.

 These carbohydrates turn to sugar in the body and cause spikes in the blood sugar levels which can increase the need for sugar-regulating insulin. 

The good news is that both of these serious and life-threatening conditions can quite often be easily prevented or regulated through diet change. Canned food is vital to your pet’s overall health and well-being — and not just for chubby kitties. 

Cats eating only dry food take in just half the moisture of a cat eating only canned food. This chronic dehydration may be a factor in kidney disease, and is a major contributor to bladder disease (crystals, stones, FUS, FLUTD, cystitis).

Canned foods high water content increases the cat’s overall fluid intake, which keeps the kidneys and bladder healthy. Because the ingredients are more easily digested and utilized by the cat’s body, canned foods produce less solid waste in the litterbox.

Caution: Adding water or milk to dry food does not solve the problem; and the fact that there are always bacteria on the surface of dry food means that adding moisture can result in massive bacterial growth–and a very upset tummy.

If you have more than one cat free feed your cats at one time. It’s convenient. You fill the bowl and run. Keeping your cat in optimum health and condition isn’t always about convenience. There’s a little bit of extra work you have to commit to doing.

If you want to let your cats graze, then grow them a pot of wheatgrass to munch on at will. Most cats love fresh grass and it’s very healthy for them. When it comes to their main diet, however, feed on a schedule.

Put the food down and allow free access for 30 minutes or so. After that 30 minutes is up, clean up the food, remove the bowls and wash the floor if necessary.

Don’t worry if you get home late from work a few nights out of the week. Your cat won’t starve. Again, a cat in the wild doesn’t eat on a schedule. He eats when his hunt has been successful. Your cat will be hungry when you get home, but that’s a good thing. It is good for a cat to be hungry.

Think about when your best meal was. How hungry were you? If you had been nibbling all day, then were offered a wonderful steak dinner, would you enjoy it as much as you would if you hadn’t eaten all day?

►►How To Make Your Own Cat Food

Recommend:

All The Best Pet Care (They also carry pet food)

How To Make Your Own Cat Food

With multinational companies like Purina mass producing cheap cat food in places like China, where controls are limited even for products meant for human consumption, many people are beginning to go back to the basics for their pets.

If you would like to surprise your kitty with a wonderful treat, or even transition entirely to homemade kitty food, consider these guidelines, recipes, books and websites as a starting point.

Ingredients to Avoid

As tasty as a chocolate-covered mouse may sound, this is definitely a no-no for kitty. Chocolate, in general aggravates the tummies of many of our animal companions, not just cats. Some other ingredients to avoid in homemade cat food include:

• Garlic 
• Onions 
• Raisins 
• Raw Egg whites 
• Tomatoes 
• Grapes 

Click here to see more toxic foods for animals.

While the above ingredients must be avoided, any regular cat food diet must also include a number of ingredients, but especially animal protein. You may be okay being vegan, but your cat certainly will not thrive on a diet of tempeh and tofu! 

Your cat is a carnivore and there is no way around this evolutionary fact. Cats need between 60% and 80% meat protein in order to acquire enough essential amino acids such as taurine, arginine, lysine and cysteine. Not getting enough taurine, for example, will make your kitty blind.

The Essentials

Animal Protein:

The protein in your cat’s diet should come from chicken (or other poultry), beef, pork, rabbit, fish or liver. Liver is especially important because it is chock-full of Vitamin A and cats cannot produce this vitamin on their own. Variety is important, so you should not just feed your cat liver or straight fish on a daily basis. 

Animal Fats:

Not only does animal fat make food tastier, this essential ingredients is also mandatory for healthy skin and fur, as well the circulatory and urinary systems. Kittens need about 35% fat while adult cats thrive on a diet of about 30% fat.

Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio (Ca:P):

The ratio between calcium and phosphorus should be 1 part calcium to to 1.3 parts phosphorus. The easiest way to accomplish this ratio is to add calcium supplements. 

Commercial cat food usually uses bone meal. If you choose to use bone meal only use a product meant for human consumption, not one intended for gardening. Veternarian Dr. Piersons a supporter of grinding up bone herself and says it is much easier than it sounds.

Water:

Homemade cat food will ideally be 10% to 30% water weight.

Carbs:

All good recipes for felines should contain less than 10% carbs.

Recommend: ASPCA Feeding Your Adult Cat

How to Make Your Own Cat Food

Basic Cat Food from Ecolife: A guide to Green living

To convert grams to teaspoons click here for the calculator

• 1/4 teaspoon olive oil or salmon oil 
• 2.7 grams of feline vitamin/mineral supplement 
• 30 grams of potato, cooked without skin 
• 50 grams of carbs (choose one: cooked pasta, white rice, barley, oatmeal, peas) 
• 83 grams of cooked animal protein (whole meat chicken, lamb, rabbit, beef, pork, tuna, salmon) 

Mix all of the ingredients together (a blender works really well for this purpose) and store the food in the fridge until needed.

If you search online you will find dozens of recipes for homemade cat food as well as tips and warnings.

►►Quick and Easy Cat Recipes

The most thorough discussion that I found was at Cat Info run by Lisa A Pierson, DMV, where she does warn that if you decide to provide homemade cat food to your cat as its primary diet, you must do it right or not do it at all. 

It is not difficult, she says, to make cat food, but you must do your homework and you should not add or omit ingredients from a balanced vet-recommended recipe.

Of course, if you are providing a supplemental treat or just an occasional meal along side a commercial food diet, there is less concern for not getting the recipe or balance of nutrients exactly right. 

Article by Cherise Udell

Quick and Easy Cat Recipes

Making special treats and meals for your pet is easy, even for newbie cooks.Preparing a homemade dinner for your cat can be a real treat for him, especially when you use prime ingredients like real fish, chicken and beef. The best part is that you don’t need to be a gourmet chef to create special entrees. All you need is about half an hour of your time once or twice a week and a few basic ingredients commonly found in most kitchens.

Tasty Fish Entrees

Mackerel Recipe

If you’ve never made a homemade meal for your cat, this is a great recipe to start out with.

Ingredients

1 cup canned mackerel

1 tablespoon sunflower seed oil

1 tablespoon organic, brown rice, cooked

1 to 2 tablespoons of chicken or beef broth, or water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

Pulse until blended.

Serve immediately, and refrigerate leftovers up to three days.

Sardine Cat Food Recipe

Cats love the smell of sardines, but they like the flavor even better. Don’t count on leftovers when you serve this dinner!

Ingredients

1 can sardines in oil

2 tablespoons of grated carrot

1/3 cup cooked oatmeal

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Mash ingredients together and serve.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator, and discard after three days.
Trout Dinner

When Kitty deserves something special, treat him to this tasty 

Trout Dinner

Ingredients

1 cup cooked trout

1 cooked egg yolk

1 tablespoon steamed broccoli

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Directions 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

Pulse until blended and serve.

Store in the refrigerator up to three days.

Salmon Dinner

Salmon is a wonderful source of healthy fish oil, and it’s tasty too. This recipe just might become one of your pet’s favorites.

Ingredients

1 can salmon

1 tablespoon cooked, mashed broccoli

1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1 teaspoon brewer’s yeast

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Stir together and serve.

Keep any leftovers refrigerated, and discard after three days. 

Recipes for Other Entrees

Chicken Dinner

Many cats will choose chicken over other meats. This recipe is simple, and cats love it!

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked chicken (may be broiled or baked)

1/4 cup of steamed broccoli

1/4 cup of steamed carrots

Chicken broth

Directions

Place ingredients in a food processor with several tablespoons of chicken broth.

Puree or crumble the ingredients until it begins to resemble pate cat food. Add broth, as needed, to make the mixture smooth, but not soupy.

Cool the food completely before serving.

 
Beef Dinner

If your favorite feline loves beef, this dish is sure to please!

Ingredients

1 cup of ground beef

1/2 cup of steamed brown rice

6 tablespoons of minced alfalfa sprouts

3/4 cup of small curd cottage cheese

Directions

Brown and drain the ground beef in a frying pan, and then cool completely.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix all four ingredients together and serve.

Refrigerate leftovers up to three days.

Chicken and Tuna Dinner

Chicken and tuna often prove to be an irresistible combination. If your cat is acting finicky about his food, this dinner might encourage his appetite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cooked chicken

1 can tuna in oil

1 tablespoon cooked, mashed carrot

2 tablespoons brown rice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor

Pulse until blended and serve.

Refrigerate leftovers, and discard after three days.

Cat Salad

Many cats like greens, but indoor cats usually don’t have access to the grass they crave. This special treat should satisfy your cat’s craving for something green.

Ingredients

1/4 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup chopped alfalfa sprouts

1/8 cup chicken or fish stock

1/8 teaspoon of minced catnip for garnish

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl and toss.

Serve sprinkled with the minced catnip on top.

Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in a refrigerator for up to three days.

The above cat recipes are shared with us by Kelly Roper. Our cats thank you.

Maintain a Balanced Diet

It’s important to make sure your pet receives balanced nutrition. The best way to do that is to feed a high-quality, commercial diet on a regular basis, and treat your cat to a homemade meal a couple of times a week. He’ll love the variety, and you’ll love making him happy.

While cats love all things fish, it is not advisable to feed only fish because your kitty won’t get a balanced diet from a menu that is solely comprised of fish. Cats can even develop health problems and nutrient deficiencies from only feeding a diet of fish. 

Raw or under cooked fish contains the enzyme called thiaminase that can actually destroy the thiamine in your cat’s system. This can lead to a deficiency of thiamine that in turn can cause neurological problems.

Not only that, but feeding a diet solely comprised of tuna fish can lead to a serious Vitamin E deficiency. This can lead to a health problem known as “steatitis”. This condition is also known as “Yellow Fat Disease”, and it can be very painful. It causes the fat in a cat’s body to harden. Tuna fish is also high in mineral salts, that can lead to bladder stones over time.

You shouldn’t feed fish as a regular diet to your cat, however, once or twice a week is sufficient so they don’t feel deprived for their craving for fish.

►►How To Make Your Own Cat Food

Litter Box Mistakes That Owners Unknowingly Make

These days, many people owned by cats suffer from kitty litter confusion, and it’s no wonder. The number of cat litters on the market is mind-boggling, and the companies that sell the stuff work night and day to one-up each other with clever packaging and advertising strategies.

Gone are the days of sand and ashes in the cat box. Walk into your local grocery, big box or pet store, and you’ll be faced with litters made from a wide variety of materials such as clay, corn, silica gel crystals, recycled paper, wheat hulls, walnut shells, and bark, to name just a few.

There are also more than a few sizes, textures, and scents to choose from.

So what’s a cat guardian to do… especially since kitties are notoriously picky about so many things, including the litter they prefer?

My first rule of thumb is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If your cat is using the box like a champ, keep doing what you’re doing. Obviously, your kitty approves not only of your litter selection, but also the box itself and its location.

However, if you are introducing a new cat to the family or you have a flexible cat who may be open to a litter change, picking eco-friendly, recycled, or sustainable products is obviously a good choice. Additionally, choosing a chemical free litter with low dust production is optimal.

Common Types of Cat Litter 

• Clumping clay. This type of litter is typically made from bentonite, which is a highly absorbent clay that forms into solid clumps when your cat urinates. Clumping clay makes litterbox scooping and cleaning easy. Drawbacks are that this type of litter is dusty, non-biodegradable, and heavy to cart around. 
• Non-clumping clay. This type of litter is made from clays other than bentonite. It absorbs urine but doesn’t form clumps, so it’s easy to leave bits of moist litter behind when you scoop the box. This means it will start to get smelly sooner rather than later, and may require more frequent changing than clumping clay. However, non-clumping litter is often cheaper than clumping, and some cats prefer it. 
• Silica gel crystals. The crystals are made of tiny silica gel beads similar to the desiccant found in the tiny pouches packaged as a preservative with foods, medications, and other products that can be damaged by excess moisture. Crystal litter is highly absorbent, controls odor well, and is almost dust-free. Some people even say it tracks less than other types of litter. Crystal litters are usually more expensive, but they tend to last longer. Downsides are that some cats don’t like getting the crystals on their paws, and they can be dangerous if ingested in large amounts or over a long period of time, which happens when cats clean their feet. 
• Recycled paper. This is litter made from recycled paper that is turned into pellets or granules. Paper is dust-free, highly absorbent, and biodegradable. In pellet form, the paper doesn’t form urine clumps, but the granule form does. 
• Pine. Pine litter is also recycled and is typically made from lumber scraps that are heat-treated to remove toxins, oils, and allergens from the wood. This type of litter comes in pellets, granules, or roughly crushed pine. It has a pine scent, which helps control odor. The granules and cobble (roughly crushed pine) are somewhat clumping, but in pellet form, the pine turns to sawdust that must be regularly replaced. 
• Corn. Corn-based litter is biodegradable, absorbent, and provides odor control. However, since most kitties ingest a bit of litter each day during grooming, and since corn is a problem ingredient for pets, I recommend avoiding this type of litter. 
• Wheat. Wheat litter is made from ground wheat. It clumps and provides odor control, is biodegradable, and is low on dust and tracking. Wheat can be another problem ingredient for cats, so I also suggest avoiding wheat-based litters as well. 
• Walnut shells. This litter is made from crushed walnut shells and is dark brown in color. Walnut shell litters have clumping ability, offer excellent odor control, are highly absorbent, and biodegradable. 
• Grass. Grass litter is new on the scene. One brand, Smart Cat, is a fine-grained litter made from USA-sourced grass fibers that is biodegradable, controls odor, and has good clumping ability. Another brand, The Touch of Outdoors by Dr. Elsey, uses USA-grown prairie grass. 

Cats Prefer Unscented Clumping Litter with No Odor Control Additives

For those of us who would prefer to use an organic litter, this is a sad fact. In litter preference studies, cats consistently and significantly favor clay clumping litter made of very small granular (sand-like) material over large granule litter made with other types of substrates.

Kitties also have an aversion to litters with a floral or citrus scent, and since most of those litters are synthetic, my advice is to steer clear of scented litters altogether.

As you might guess, many cats are also averse to odor control additives, which most commercial litters contain – typically baking soda or activated charcoal (carbon).

Given the option of one or the other, cats prefer carbon to baking soda. If you’re concerned about litter box aversion, my suggestion is to select a litter with no odor control additives. 

This will give your kitty as natural an environment as possible in which to do his business. Alternatively, you can try a litter with a charcoal or carbon-based odor control additive.

If you have a cat who is eliminating outside the box and is free of any medical issues that might cause the behavior, I recommend providing several litter boxes representing a variety of options (different size boxes, placed in a variety of locations, with a variety of litter choices) so you can determine your kitty’s preference. This is also a good approach when introducing a new cat or kitten to the family.

The small additional expense of trying out different options will be well worth it to solve litter box aversion problems and prevent future or potential house soiling.

Article by Dr. Karen Becker

Keeping Pets Healthy

Animal homeopathy, a branch of alternative medicine is growing in size and popularity as society’s interest in alternative medicine for humans continues to grow.
Not sure what exactly homeopathy is? You have come to the right place! 

Please read on…

Thousands of pet owners around the world believe strongly in its power to heal and maintain health, and a growing number of veterinarians are being trained in homeopathic as well as Western medicine.

Is Homeopathy Safe and Does It Really Work?

Is It Safe and Effective?

Homeopathy is perfectly safe! This is because homeopathic medicines are made from a very small amount of the active ingredient. Two hundred years of practice, research and trials have proved the safety of this gentle system of medicine for both people and animals. Read more

It Is Gentle and Non-Addictive

Unlike some conventional drugs, homeopathic medicines are non-addictive and have no dangerous side-effects. Homeopathy is safe to use for babies, children and pregnant or breastfeeding women and animals.

How Long Does It Take To Work?

People animals respond differently to homeopathic medicines based on individual emotional and physical states. While some show an immediate improvement which increases over time, others will see results over a few weeks with regular use.

Homeopathic remedies work from the inside out, often causing you or your pet to feel more positive, with more energy, in the first instance. Outer symptoms such as skin conditions are often the last to clear. Sometimes patience is called for – as balance is slowly restored, symptoms will improve.

What Is It?

Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, is a medical philosophy and practice based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself. Homeopathy was founded in the late 1700’s in Germany and has been widely practiced throughout Europe.

Homeopathy is founded on the belief that every being (pets as well as humans) has a self-healing response, and that health problems develop when that response is hindered or imbalanced. 

Homeopathy views the symptoms within the larger context of the affected individual’s overall health, and then tries to stimulate the body’s own healing responses.

It is based on the principle of similars (“like cures like”), which means that a substance that can cause certain symptoms in a healthy body can cure similar symptoms in an unhealthy one.

Homeopathy for pets aims to aid and stimulate the animals own defense and immune processes. 

What Are The Ingredients?

The substances used in homeopathy are derived from herbs, minerals, and other natural substances that are diluted beyond the point of actual toxicity. 

In fact, homeopaths believe that the more diluted the substance, the higher the potency, and the less frequently it has to be given.

These remedies are prescribed to fit the needs of each individual person or animal, given in much smaller and less toxic doses than traditional medications, and are used for both prevention and treatment. 

How is Homeopathy for Pets Different from Conventional Pet Medication?

Conventional pet medication usually applies certain chemical or biological agents to our pets body in the form of antibiotics and antiviral drugs.

These drugs work by suppressing the animals illness symptoms.

During this process of symptom suppression, the animal inherent defense mechanism is weakened. 

Conventional medicine may make the symptoms go away (for the time being) but does nothing to remove the predisposition of disease and the weakness of immune system.

Instead, it weakens the system further, predisposing it to more and frequent diseases.

Homeopathy for our pets, on the other hand, helps the animals body to overcome diseases by strengthening its inherent immune system and let the body take care of the disease causing agents. 

By doing so, two objectives are attained: 

1. The disease is cured effectively, and sometimes rapidly, without the side-effects of many conventional medicines. 
2. As the immune system is further strengthened, the predisposition to diseases is overcome and their recurrence prevented. Thus there is overall health benefit in the long run.

Use in the United States

According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of the use of complementary health practices by Americans, an estimated 3.9 million adults and 910,000 children used homeopathy in the previous year. However, this survey did not include animals.

These estimates include use of over-the-counter products labeled as “homeopathic,” as well as visits with a homeopathic practitioner. Out-of-pocket costs for adults were $2.9 billion for homeopathic medicines and $170 million for visits to homeopathic practitioners.

Licensing 

Laws regulating the practice of homeopathy in the United States vary from state to state. 

Usually, individuals who are licensed to practice medicine or another health care profession can legally practice homeopathy. In some states, non-licensed professionals may practice homeopathy.

Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada are the only states with homeopathic licensing boards for doctors of medicine (holders of M.D. degrees) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (holders of D.O. degrees). 

Arizona and Nevada also license homeopathic assistants, who are allowed to perform medical services under the supervision of a homeopathic physician. 

Some states explicitly include homeopathy within the scope of practice of chiropractic, naturopathy, and physical therapy.

“Which do you think is better for the well being of our pets?

For me, I give two thumbs up for homeopathy for our pets!”

References:

• Dr. Weil on Homeopathic Medicine
• Homeopathy for Pets
• Homeopathy for Healing Animals

Recommended Reading:

• Natural News-Homeopathy For Pets Safe and More Effective Than Toxic Drugs 
• Homeopathic Mistakes to Avoid – True for Both Your Pet and You 
• Animal Wellness

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