Organic Cat Food Diet

Those of us who truly value the companionship of our pets and are now well versed in just what does go into those tins of commercial food with their glossy labels, are questioning how we live a healthy life. We also question how and what we feed our pets. We learn that for us diets high in sugars and fat do us a heap of harm, they also do our pets the same harm. We know that it is important to feed a diet that is as close to nature as possible. When we feed our cats a natural diet as close as it would get in the wild then long life and good health can be expected hence the organic cat food diet.

Is feeding a diet of fresh natural food complicated or time consuming? The answer is a resounding NO! The diet of a wild cat is pretty darn simple. In the wild they eat a high protein diet with a high moisture content and and meat based of course with a moderate level of fat and approximately 35 percent of its diet being carbohydrate. Cats obtain most of their water with their diet because their prey contains 75% water. Beware dry food with VERY little moisture!

To make your food you need ideally muscle meat rather than organ meat as the prime ingredient. Chicken and turkey are great but avoid chicken by products or by product meal. By products are items like feet, intestines, feathers, egg shells and other "fillers". Unbelievably this lot goes into commercial pet food and is not illegal. It all gets heated to high temperatures and its very hard for you to know when its canned just what it is. The smell alone might tell you though!

Organic cat food is the reverse of all this. Its easy to get meat that is drug and chemical free and NOT heated up to high temperatures to disguise it. When you feed this to your companion just see the result, more energy, glossy coat and bright eyes. You'll never want to open another can of so called "cat food" in your life. Even if your pet is ill now its not too late to ban the cans and start your pet on the road to recovery with an organic cat food diet.

Healthy Cat Food

We are nothing if not practical on this blog and today's offer is from our good friends at about.com.cats and below is their website, cut and paste into your browser.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5087982_make-healthy-cat-food.html

We focus once again on the many benefits of homemade cat food for your cat's health and how simple a task it really is.

How To

How to Make Healthy Cat Food

Contributor

By Sunny
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (1 Ratings)

Making your own cat food is a simple task. It is generally healthier than feeding your cat store-bought food because it contains mostly natural ingredients. It's also a cost-effective way to make sure your cat gets all of its nutritional needs met. Cats have a very high protein requirement, so the bulk of homemade cat food recipes consist of high-protein foods. According to Astro Star, certain foods must be avoided when making cat food recipes because they can be harmful to cats. These foods include onions, bones, pork and chocolate. Cats seem to love natural foods, and with simple food preparation techniques, they are easy to accommodate.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mixing bowl 4 oz. ground beef 1 oz. oatmeal Seasonings (optional) 500 g fish oil Skillet (optional)

Healthy Cat Food Recipe

1. Step 1

   Put 4 parts of a high-protein food into a large mixing bowl. Good options include 4 oz. of either ground beef or cottage cheese.

2. Step 2

   Add 1 part of a natural carbohydrate to the protein. A healthy, inexpensive choice is 1 oz. oatmeal, but there are plenty of other good options, such as barley, spinach, tomatoes and brown rice.

3. Step 3

   Add any desired seasonings to the mixture. Examples of tasty additions include small amounts of garlic powder, dill weed and nutritional yeast powder. Seasonings are optional, but they add variety to your cat's meals.

4. Step 4

   Add 500 g fish oil to the bowl. VetLord.org recommends fish oil as a supplement for healthy cats. It is available at most health food stores and adds essential fatty acids to your cat's diet.

5. Step 5

   Mix all ingredients thoroughly. You can feed this meal to your cat raw. If you find your cat doesn't like raw foods, however, cook the mixture in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through.

Weight loss cat Food The Natural way

Our cats are becoming increasingly obese. What happened? We moved out cats indoors, we reduced the amount of exercise we gave them and we changed their diet 100%. A recipe for disaster. What resulted was an epidemic of cats ranging from overweight to grossly obese.

What then happens is what we experience ourselves. Just a few of the many problems.

• The more overweight the cat, the less it moves around.
• Its lifespan is shortened.
• Overweight cats develop diabetes, stiff joints, arthritis and so on.

Just a few on the things that result from being overweight. How on earth did all this happen? Well quite simply, it is lack of exercise and part diet. Cats have become house cats and seldom venture outdoors, what is worse is that their diet has become a carbohydrate one which gets broken down into sugars and fats. A wild cat by comparison converts protein into energy, not carbohydrates. Carbohydrates take a cat's metabolism on a wild ride with ups and downs, easy to see why a cat piles on the weight.

How to correct all this? Well the best way is to stop feeding your cat commercial food with all its flaws and instead put your cat on a diet of fresh natural food you prepare yourself. The diet should be 60 -70% protein with plenty of moisture and rounded out with small amounts of vegetables or minimal grains like rice. Returning it to a natural diet will show changes such as a glossier coat, more energy and vitality and a real bounce in its step.

Weight loss starts at home and does not come from a tin or bag, remember there are no fat cats in the wild! Weight loss and health come from your own knowledge and your own kitchen.

To help you all further please read the article below from this excellent website, copy and paste into your browser.


http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.littlebigcat.com%2Findex.php%3Faction%3Dlibrary%26act%3Dshow%26item%3Dtherightweightlossprogramforcats&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB311GB312

The Right Weight Loss Program for Cats!

By Jean Hofve, DVM

A reader recently emailed us to ask how she could help her cat lose weight. Indeed, obesity is a serious problem for our feline friends. Many serious health problems can result from obesity, such as arthritis, diabetes, liver disease, heart failure, and kidney disease.

In most feline cases, obesity occurs when tasty, high-carbohydrate food is available 24 hours a day. Single cats may eat out of boredom; when there are multiple cats, when one eats, the others may be inspired to also eat, just to keep the playing field even.

Research has shown that, left to their own devices, cats will "nibble" from a bowl of dry food up to 20 times a day. The researchers conclude that this is "normal" behavior. Well, it may be common—especially when cats are left alone in a cage with nothing else to do!—but it surely isn't "normal."

As carnivores, cats are designed for a feast-famine lifestyle. They have a large stomach and short intestinal tract that can take in a large meal and process it quickly. Think about all those nature shows on Animal Planet. The big cats make a kill, stuff themselves until they can't take another bite, sleep for a couple of days, then go out to hunt again. Our domestic cats are, anatomically and physiologically, identical to their big cat cousins. Clearly, the "grazing" lifestyle is not natural for cats of any size!

When cats "graze" on dry food, many problems will result. First of all, dry food is dehydrating, and thus contributes to bladder and kidney problems.

Also, most dry cat foods contain from 30-55% carbohydrate. Cats use mainly protein and fat for energy, unlike humans who can utilize carbs directly. This means that the carbs in a cat's diet are basically unusable, providing only calories and little or no nutrition. And we know what happens to excess calories—they get converted to fat!

Another problem with carbs is that they cause wide swings in insulin. Over time, this can lead to diabetes. One researcher bluntly calls dry cat food "diabetes in a bag." Studies have repeatedly proved that most diabetic cats will reduce or even eliminate their need for insulin shots if they are put on a low-carb diet.

The other major issue with dry foods is the processing. The ingredients are subjected to high heat twice during the manufacturing process, which can denature proteins and potentially trigger food allergies.

The famous "Atkins Diet" is actually ideal for cats. It's high in protein and fat, and also high in moisture—which is important for cats' urinary tract health. The "Catkins" diet typically consists of either canned cat food or low-carb homemade food. This diet is the key to weight loss for your tubby kitty. Feed as much as she will eat in 1/2 hour, two or three times a day. A handful of cats will initially gain weight on the Catkins diet, but nearly all cats will ultimately re-regulate and lose weight easily, and more importantly, in a healthy way.

When choosing canned foods for your feline pal, in general stay away from those that contain "by-products", giblets, or large amounts of fish. Also, some pop-top cans have been linked to the development of hyperthyroidism, so it's best to go for the large multi-serving cans (or get a few more cats—mine will down an entire 15-oz. can in one meal!).

A word about the new "low-carb" and "no grain" dry cat foods. While they are clearly a step up from the high-carb brands, they are still not so great for cats. These high-protein dry foods are even more dehydrating than regular dry foods; and they are still heat-processed. Cats will still gain weight if the food is left out all the time.

If your cat is a total dry food junkie, converting her to one of the low-carb dry foods may be a good first step, but the ultimate goal should be to move the cat to an all-wet food diet fed in meals. (For more on how to get your cat on a better diet, see "Switching Foods" in our Library.)

For a more detailed report on this issue, see "Fat Cats" in our Bookstore.

Recessionary Times For Cat Lovers

Here is a brilliant article from http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/what_you_can_do_if_you_are_having_trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html, longer than I usually post with lots of suggestions and help for those feeling the pinch in these recessionary times where we all need our pets to live as healthily as possible and where better to start than with their diets.? Article is from The Humane Society Of The United States, a great place to get help with all your pets large or small. How many of us have health insurance for our pets to ward off the worst of those vet's bills?

What You Can Do If You Are Having Trouble Affording Veterinary Care ©iStock.com Help for Pet Health Care Costs Many pet owners, at one point or another, are faced with unexpected veterinary bills. Veterinary medicine has advanced to such a degree that caregivers have new, and often expensive, options for the care of their ailing pets. Although the cost of veterinary care is actually very reasonable in comparison with the much higher cost of human health care, an unexpected medical emergency can present a major financial dilemma for an unprepared pet owner. Having Trouble Affording Your Pet? There are groups that can help. The Humane Society of the United States recommends that, in addition to preparing for routine pet-care costs, you regularly set aside money to cover for unexpected veterinary bills or consider pet health insurance. For example, create a special "pet savings account" and contribute money to it on a regular basis. Another great option is to purchase a pet health insurance policy. The HSUS has partnered with Petplan USA, to offer great saving to our members. Petplan USA is affiliated with Petplan UK—the world's largest and most trusted pet insurance company. It's recommended by more pet owners and veterinarians than any other. Use whichever option works best for you. The important thing is to have a plan and stick to it. If, despite your planning, your pet incurs major veterinary expenses that you have trouble affording, consider these suggestions: • Ask your veterinarian if he or she will let you work out a payment plan. Many veterinarians are willing to work out a weekly or monthly payment plan so that you do not have to pay the entire cost of veterinary care up front. • Contact your local shelter. Some shelters operate or know of local subsidized veterinary clinics or veterinary assistance programs. You can find the name and number of your local shelter in the Yellow Pages of your phone book under "animal shelter," "animal control" or "humane society," or by calling Information. You can also go to Pets911.com and enter your zip code to find a list of animal shelters, animal control agencies, and other animal care organizations in your community. • If you have a specific breed of dog, contact the National Club for that breed. (The American Kennel Club, akc.org, has a list of the national dog clubs.) In some cases, these clubs offer a veterinary financial assistance fund. Additionally, The HSUS has a list of breed-specific assistance groups. • There are some organizations that offer assistance locally (by state or community). See our state-by-state (including Canada) listing. • The HSUS also has a list of organizations that provide assistance to senior, disabled or ill pet owners. • Ask your veterinarian to submit an assistance request to the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) "Helping Pets Fund." In order to qualify, your animal hospital must be AAHA accredited. To learn more about the program visit the AAHA web site. To find an AAHA accredited hospital in your area, search online at Pets911.com. • If you bought your dog from a reputable breeder, check your contract to see if there is a health guarantee that covers your pet's ailment. • Check with veterinary schools in your state to see if they offer discount services to the public. You can find a list of veterinary schools in the Education section of the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) website, avma.org. • Use your credit card. Ask for a higher credit limit or a cash advance. • Call your bank. Ask about loan programs or other options they can suggest that might be helpful in your situation. • Ask your employer for a salary advance. • Alert family and friends and ask them each for a $25 loan. • Consider taking on a part-time job or temping. • Contact Care Credit at www.carecredit.com • Apply for a Citi Healthcard at www.healthcard.citicards.com • Start your own fundraising collection at www.fundable.com Given the current state of the economy, many pet caregivers are in need of basic necessities such as pet food. If you find yourself in this position, be sure to contact your local humane societies as some organizations have started their own pet food bank program. In addition, you can visit petsofhomeless.com/members.htm to view a state-by-state listing of food banks that are offering pet food for the pets of the homeless and disadvantaged. The following is a list of organizations that provide financial assistance to pet owners in need. Please keep in mind that each organization is independent and has their own set of rules and guidelines. Therefore you will have to investigate each one separately to determine if you qualify for assistance: IMOM Inc., IMOM.org Help-A-Pet, help-a-pet.org The Pet Fund, thepetfund.com Good Sam Fund, goodsamfund.org United Animal Nations LifeLine Fund, uan.org Angels for Animals, angels4animals.org Brown Dog Foundation, browndogfoundation.org/home Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program, fveap.org Feline Outreach, felineoutreach.org Cats In Crisis, catsincrisis.org The Perseus Foundation (Cancer specific), PerseusFoundation.org Canine Cancer Awareness, caninecancerawareness.org Cody's Club (Radiation treatments), codysclub.bravehost.com/ Diabetic Pets Fund, petdiabetes.net/fund/ The Mosby Foundation, themosbyfoundation.org Magic Bullet Fund (Cancer Specific), themagicbulletfund.org The Binky Foundation, binkyfoundation.org God's Creatures Ministry Veterinary Charity, http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html Please remember that, depending on the severity of your pet's illness or injury, you might still lose your pet even after great expense. Discuss the prognosis and treatment options thoroughly with your veterinarian, including whether surgery or treatment would just cause your animal discomfort without preserving a life of good quality. Also remember that a little preventive care can go a long way. Having your pet spayed or neutered, keeping her shots up to date, and keeping your pet safely confined can prevent serious and costly health problems. If you have trouble affording the cost to spay or neuter your pet, contact your local animal shelter. They might operate a clinic or know of a local clinic that offers subsidized services. Unfortunately, due to our limited resources as a nonprofit animal protection organization, The HSUS does not provide direct financial assistance to pet owners for veterinary or other expenses. If you know of any veterinary assistance programs or services that we have not included here, please let us know by calling 202-452-1100. Breed Specific Assistance Programs The Boston Terrier Rescue Net, bostonrescue.net CorgiAid, corgiaid.org Special Needs Dobermans, doberman911.org Disabled Dachshund Society, ourdds.org Dougal's Helping Paw (Scottish Terriers, West Highland White Terriers and other small, short legged terriers), http://www.welcome.to/dougalsfund Labrador Harbor, labradorharbor.org/ Labmed, labmed.org Labrador Lifeline, labradorlifeline.org Westimed (West Highland White Terriers), westiemed.org Pyramedic Trust (Great Pyrenees), http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/pyramedic/summary.html Working/Service Dogs Helping Harley Cancer Treatment Grant, http://grants.landofpuregold.com Assistance Dogs Special Allowance (ADSA) Program, http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/PG82.htm State-Specific Programs CANADA Animal Cancer Therapy Subsidization Society Lucky Moffat Memorial Fund, actssalberta.org/lucky/lmmf.asp (Alberta Canada Only) The Farley Foundation, farleyfoundation.org (Ontario Canada Only) CALIFORNIA Actors and Others for Animals, actorsandothers.com SF/SPCA Animal Hospital, sfspca.org/hospital/index.shtml Animal Health Foundation, http://animalhealthfoundation.net/ Peninsula CatWorks (cats only), www.peninsulacatworks.org COLORADO Max Fund, maxfund.org Harrison Memorial Animal Hospital, www.hmah.org CONNECTICUT Connecticut Humane Society Fox Veterinary Clinic, cthumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=About_Fox MARYLAND/WASHINGTON, D.C. Washington Animal Rescue League, warl.org MASSACHUSETTS Alliance For Animals Metro Action Clinic, afaboston.org/clinic.htm Massachusettes SPCA (Provides financial assistance for pet owners receiving services at one of its three medical centers, mspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AAMC_Boston_Financial_Assistance): Angell Memorial Animal Hospital-Boston 350 South Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02130 617-522-7282 Angell Animal Medical Center-Nantucket 21 Crooked Lane Nantucket, MA 02554 508-228-1491 Angell Animal Medical Center-Western New England 171 Union St. Springfield, MA 01105 413-785-1221 The Sampson Fund PO Box 1756 Orleans, MA 02653 sampsonfund.org The fund is to benefit companion animals of Cape Cod and the adjacent Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. MICHIGAN Michigan Humane Society maintains three veterinary clinics: michiganhumane.org Detroit MHS Detroit Center for Animal Care Veterinary Center: 7401 Chrysler Drive Detroit, MI 48211 313-872-0004 Rochester Hills MHS Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care Veterinary Center: 3600 W. Auburn Road Rochester Hills, MI 48309 248-852-7424 Westland MHS Berman Center for Animal Care Veterinary Center: 900 N. Newburgh Road Westland, MI 48185 734-721-4195 NEVADA Shakespeare Animal, shakespeareanimalfund.org NEW JERSEY Save U.S. Pets Foundation (Veterinarian must apply on behalf of pet owner), www.saveuspets.org NEW YORK NY S.A.V.E Inc., nysave.org/index_2.html ALL 4 PETS, all4petswny.org (Limited to Western New York) NORTH CAROLINA Ashley's Angel Fund, ashleyfund.org/ OREGON The Bearen Foundation, bearenfoundation.org/funding.htm PENNSYLVANIA Animal Care & Assistance Fund, http://www.animalcarefund.org The Animal Rescue of Western PA, animalrescue.org/Clinic.htm The Humane Society of Berks County Veterinary Hospital, berkshumane.org/vets/vets_services.asp RHODE ISLAND RIVMA Companion Animal Foundation, companionanimalfoundation.org TEXAS Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine "The Capper and Chris Save the Animals Fund," cvm.tamu.edu/capperchris/index.shtml Organizations Offering Assistance Programs for Senior, Disabled or Ill Pet Owners CALIFORNIA Voice for the Animals Foundation, Helping Friends Program, http://vftafoundation.org AniMeals Helen Woodward Animal Center, animalcenter.org/animeals/ SF SPCA Animal Hospital, sfspca.org/hospital/index.shtml SHARE Marin Humane Society, marinhumanesociety.org/ProgramsServices/SHARE.html PAWS San Diego, pawssdc.org/ PALS - Pets Are Loving Support, http://sonic.net/~pals/index.html PAWS Los Angeles, pawsla.org/ PAWS San Francisco, pawssf.org CONNECTICUT Manchester Area Network on AIDS AID-A-PET, mana-ct.net/Aid-A-Pet.html DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PETS-DC, petsdc.org/ GEORGIA PALS - Pets Are Loving Support, palsatlanta.org HAWAII Hawaiian Humane Society: PALS Program, hawaiianhumane.org/programs/pals/ MASSACHUSETTS Phinney's Friends (MSPCA), mspca.org/phinneysfriends MICHIGAN Pet Support Services, petsupportmi.org/ NEVADA Shakespeare Animal, shakespeareanimalfund.org. NEW JERSEY PetPALS of Southern New Jersey, petfinder.com/shelters/NJ151.html NEW YORK Humane Society of Lollypop Farm, lollypop.org/orgMain.asp?ssid=&storyID=105&orgID=14&sid PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh PAWS (Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force), andrew.cmu.edu/user/natashat/PAWS/ TEXAS SPCA of Texas, spca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_socialservices_2004#petomeals UTAH Pet Samaritan Fund, www.petsamaritan.org WASHINGTON Pet Project: Seattle-King County Humane Society, seattlehumane.org/petproject.shtml and seattlehumane.org/foodbank.shtml Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine Good Samaritan Fund, www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-prd/GoodSam CANADA Pet Program (Toronto PWA Foundation), pwatoronto.org/what.htm#pets For more information, visit cdc.gov/healthypets/resources/local_organizations.htm. Having Trouble Affording Your Pet? Where to Have Your Pet Spayed or Neutered Your Regional Office Pets911.com

Commercial Cat Food Dangers

Here is a golden nugget I'd like to share with those of you who have not read the articles by the brilliant Dr.Lisa Pierson DVM at her site http://www.catinfo.org they are well reasoned and converted me entirely to feeding my cats her way and understanding the link between homemade cat food and health.

The Dangers of Commercial Pet Food - Especially Dry Food

With regard to the safety of raw meat diets, you will no doubt hear varying opinions on this issue. Many of my colleagues are adamantly opposed to the feeding of raw meat yet they think nothing of supporting the common practice of leaving bowls of dry food sitting out for pets to free-feed from and supporting the feeding of treats which can be contaminated with fungal mycotoxins, bacteria, or chemicals. It is very frustrating to witness this narrow-mindedness and lack of knowledge as it pertains to the contamination issues regarding dry food and treats.

I would like to see my colleagues stop reflexively telling their clients that all raw meat diets are dangerous and understand that there are ways to prepare this diet that will actually make it safer than the commercial foods that they continue to recommend without any thought as to feline illnesses that these foods contribute to, and to the contamination issues.

I don't think that a single cat or dog caregiver in the US is not aware of the thousands of cats and dogs that suffered tremendously and died - or have been left with failing kidneys and a shortened lifespan/diminished quality of life - due to the contamination of commercial foods processed by Menu Foods in the summer of 2007.

While the Menu Foods recall was the largest pet food recall in the history of commercial pet food, make no mistake in thinking that this was the first time that many cats and dogs have died after consuming commercial pet foods that have been contaminated with chemicals, bacteria, and bacterial or mold toxins.

However, keep in mind that the vast majority of these contamination disasters (outside of the Menu Foods tragedy) have involved dry food or treats - not canned food. Therefore, if you decide that you don't want to make your cat's food, please feed canned food and keep the dry food out of your cat's food bowl.

Dry food is simply not a healthy or safe diet to be feeding to any cat.

There have been many instances of mold toxin-related deaths of pets after eating contaminated commercial dry food. I have listed a few below but these tragedies are too numerous to list all of them.

The regulatory body for the commercial pet food industry does allow a certain level of mold toxins (found in grains) to be present in your pets' food. For me, this is unacceptable - especially when feeding cats - since grains have no business in their diet to begin with.

With regard to the extremely dangerous and life-threatening fungal toxins found in commercial dry food, this issue will never be a worry when feeding a grain-free diet - either in the form of canned food or the diet discussed on this page.

And if mold toxins and bacteria in dry food are not enough to cause us worry, please consider the fact that the fats contained in dry food become rancid over time - even with the preservatives that are added to the food. Heat, oxygen and light are all factors involved in fats becoming rancid. Keeping dry food in the refrigerator will help with the issue of heat but that still leaves the oxidation issue unaddressed.

Dry foods that are fed to pets sit in warm warehouses and pet food stores before they even reach our pets' bowls - promoting rancidity of fats, bacterial growth, mold growth, and toxin formation, and proliferation of storage mites.

See this link for an abstract that discusses the issue of storage mites that were found in 9 out of 10 bags of tested dry food.

This link will take you to an article on a website maintained by the pet food industry. This article discusses the use of ethanol by-products in pet foods.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that many cats and dogs have died as a result of consuming commercial pet foods. These deaths include the various illnesses (diabetes, etc.) that manifest themselves due to the species-inappropriate composition (composition = percentage of calories coming from proteins/fats/carbohydrates) of the diet, as well as out-and-out contamination issues as discussed above and below in the Pet Food Recalls section.

Unfortunately, humans just don't recognize these illogical and unsafe diets as the cause of the pet's illness. Humans - including veterinarians - often fail to put 2 + 2 together in many instances of ill health or death. Food is often the last thing to even be considered as a cause or contributing factor in the event of an illness or death.

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear people (both lay people and veterinarians) caution people about the hazards of raw meat diets but then ignore the bowls of kibble sitting out in many homes. Dry food is far from safe and pathogen-free. Both food forms - raw diets and dry kibble - carry risk. However, I feel much safer feeding the diet that I prepare myself versus any dry food in terms of cleanliness and overall safety.

As stated above, we all must work within our comfort zone. If you find that you are not comfortable feeding a raw meat - or lightly cooked - diet even when implementing the tips in my safety section, then please feed a high quality canned food and remove all dry kibble from your cat's diet. Although my cats primarily eat a carefully prepared raw (or lightly cooked) meat and bones diet, I do feed some canned food on occasion (a few times a year) as a treat since some of my cats really like canned food.

Homemade Cat Food and Health

It may take a long time for cat owners to make the connection between homemade cat food and health and to change their pet to a natural diet free from the many contaminants found in commercial pet food. The advantages of putting your cat on a diet of fresh natural food you source and prepare yourself soon become clear. Who else is bothered by waste? I reckon I used to throw away at least 3/4 of every tin of cat food that I opened. The cat would eat a bit then refuse the rest, it was seriously expensive, annoying and frustrating. Once I switched to homemade food I soon learned just what my friend would eat and have six different meals I can alternate, that way the cat never tires of the same old food day after day. That is an end of the waste. My cat's health improved dramatically, especially with the raw food they both love. Their coats became more glossy and they are both far more active. It was as if I was feeding them a diet of junk food before, making them overweight and slothful.

Popping the lid on a can is almost effortless but a pet owner must truly consider if continuing to poison their pet in exchange for convenience is a road they really want to go down.

For me the real payoff for my efforts is that once my cats were on a proper diet of quality fresh food they now only go to the vet's once a year for a checkup, compared to the frustration and expense of taking them down for numerous allergies they developed from the commercial food. Once they both had the required nutrients and enzymes their bodies needed, their ailments cured themselves.

I reckon I can feed a cat a quality fresh pure meal for just 64cents and I don't spend any more time at the pet food store, rather I save money while at the same time seeing my cats way healthier than they ever were on tinned commercial cat food. The scary thing is that I realise now that it cost me serious money to feed my pets food that slowly poisoned them and guaranteed I would spend even more money at the vets trying to put all this right. Remember, its never too late to change and you may well save your pet's life.