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What a Difference Food Makes!

7/27/2015

 
Picture
My cat Malcolm (the orange tabby in the photo, taken one month ago) used to be a hefty 17 lb. cat. Once I switched all my cats to grain-free foods, he lost weight and went down to 14 lbs. For several years I fed all my cats canned food in the morning, and dry food at night, all grain-free with constant rotation of different brands and flavors.

Every spring and summer, Malcolm had allergies. His nose broke out in itchy scabs, all the hair on his ears fell off and scabs formed there too, and he licked hot spots over his elbows just like a dog. I treated him with the occasional homeopathic remedy but it never really made a difference.

Last fall, 10 months ago, I stopped feeding the cats dry food altogether. Now I put raw food in the bottom of their bowls, and smash some canned food into that. About half of them will eat the raw food willingly, and Malcolm is one of them. All the cats lost weight again. Malcolm is now a normal 10 or 11 lbs.

And he has had no allergy symptoms this year. Not a scab or a scratch.

Just from removing the dry food.

Crazy, huh?

Why Food Matters

7/21/2015

 
Occasionally I am contacted by folks wanting holistic treatment for their pets, but they announce in advance: “Oh, and I’m not going to feed a raw food diet. I’ll do exercises, take Buddy for weekly chiropractic sessions, I’ll give him supplements, but there’s no way I can change his food. I’m a vegetarian/it grosses me out/my husband won’t let me/it’s too expensive/time-intensive/complicated….” The list is endless.

Unfortunately, asking your dog’s body to run and function normally and get over symptoms of illness (a.k.a. repair itself) while feeding a highly processed dry or canned food is unrealistic. Even if the package has claims such as “Organic! Human-grade! All natural!” you need to know that the FDA does not evaluate these claims when it comes to pet food. That means that anybody can manufacture a pet food and label it “organic” and “human-grade,” and it may or may not be those things.

Even if the food is organic and human-grade, it is still very processed. This is like the difference between grocery-store brand mac and cheese and super-gourmet mac and cheese. It is all extremely processed and mac and cheese is not really a healthy meal for anyone.

Nutrition is the foundation of health. The folks who refuse to use nutritional supplements or give homeopathic remedies but are willing to feed a raw, species-appropriate diet will still have pets that are healthier than those who are willing to do everything BUT feed raw.

    Author

    Jessica Levy, DVM

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