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Lightning-Strike Pet Loss Support Forum _ Death and Dying Pet Support _ Fear

Posted by: John B Apr 26 2007, 07:21 PM

The more I think about it the more fear I have about getting a new cat. I know that the biggest part is opening up my heart and making myself vulnerable to this kind of pain again, but even if I can get past that my next worry is what to feed him or her.

Who do you trust? Wet food is out. Dry food causes kidney problems. Organic food is pretty expensive. Real meat is best but then you have to add stuff and grind bones etc.

It's just all so confusing.

John

Posted by: Chaos, my little talisman Apr 26 2007, 11:35 PM

Hey John,

I just got a new cat today, so I have the same concerns that you do. Wet food is out, dry food can cause problems (not to mention causing autoimmune diseases if they eat it for years, Katie was just diagnosed with that). I have her on an organic prescription dry food diet that is rabbit meat and green pea formula by Royal Canin. It is safe, and hypo-allergenic, but yes, it is very expensive. So I also feed her meat (turkey and chicken, smoked, so it's lean meat). I will add other stuff to her diet as we go, and as I learn what will be good for her. Now that I have Zen, the new kitty, his diet is also taken into consideration. So for the time being, I will have him eat the Rabbit formula. Though he needs to lose weight (he was in a room with other cats for almost two full months at the shelter, so he didn't really get any exercise). So he may need a different diet than Katie sometime in the near future. I have also considered cooking for my animals, since that is the very healthiest alternative.

It's obvious that you really care about giving a safe, healthy diet for your babies John. Do your research, and decide from there what will be the best method of maintaining a healthy diet for the new kitty. When you're ready to adopt again, you'll know and be prepared for it. I will let you know if I come across any good recipe books for making meals for felines. In the meantime, Royal Canin seems to be one of the few brands that had safe foods, as they don't have Menu Foods ingredients in their products.

Much Love,

Jenn (Chaos' Mom)

Posted by: Chaos, my little talisman Apr 27 2007, 12:09 AM

John,

I just went to the Royal Canin website and found some info on eight recalls with the Rice ingredient in it. They have given a safe food list, and the Limited Ingredient diet is deemed safe along with a number of other foods. Here is the URL if you want to take a look: http://www.royalcanin.us/safelist.html

It seems that cooking, ultimately in the end, is gonna be the very safest bet for now, though Royal Canin has had very few recalls, and no recalls for wheat gluten (they don't use it).

Much Love,

Jenn (Chaos' Mom)

Posted by: Moose Mom Apr 27 2007, 09:27 AM

Sadie's death was horrible, it scared you, no surprise there. No matter how they leave us it's painful, but thinking we were doing what was best and having it backfire is very hard.

Just remember that fear is the killer of hope and joy. Remember all the love, joy and wonder Sadie brought to you? I know you wouldn't give up one day with her, she gave you so much. Open your heart, let another baby in. I can't promise you that someday you won't hurt again, the chance is you will, I can promise you lots of love and joy, isn't it worth it?

Try not to be afraid of what to feed a new baby. Spend some money on a good organic and you'll be fine. After all, it's just money, they are worth a splurge. Mine love Wellness. They also like fresh ground turkey. We feed them a little dry, good for the teeth, but as treats, not regular food.

Posted by: John B Apr 27 2007, 06:04 PM

Thank you, Jenn and Moose Mom, for your kind words and research. I will definately be prepared this time. Your right, Moose Mom, any kitty or Dog is worth whatever it takes to keep them happy and healthy. Money is no object. You have to know that going in.

Posted by: toonie Apr 28 2007, 05:59 AM

Once again, Moose Mom's advice is worth gold!!!!
Organic meat is best because the meat contains, no hormones, antibiotics, medications etc.. If you can get grass fed organic meat this is better because it's leaner and higher in omega 3's. When it's certified organic it means there are inspectors checking that the farmer is really complying. Good pure food is much better for a source of vitamins and minerals than supplements are so when you are paying a little more,you're getting vitamins and minerals along with it. Also , they will be happier. A neighbour tells me that his chickens were raised on organic grain and one day he couldn't find some organic grain so he got the conventional grain and his chickens wouldn't eat it at first, so even chickens know the difference in taste!

Posted by: Muffins Apr 28 2007, 04:03 PM

Hi John:

QUOTE
I know that the biggest part is opening up my heart and making myself vulnerable to this kind of pain again


We open our hearts again because we all have so much love to give. And yes, it's true that in opening ourselves up to love again....eventually, at some point, there will be pain involved.

I KNOW that your beloved Sadie wub.gif will be happy for you when you make the decision to adopt again - because she loved you so much! Opening your heart & home again to a sweet furkid would be a beautiful tribute to your sweet Sadie!

QUOTE
Who do you trust? Wet food is out. Dry food causes kidney problems. Organic food is pretty expensive. Real meat is best but then you have to add stuff and grind bones etc.


Please check Dr. Lisa Pierson's site: http://catinfo.org/ She has TONS of very helpful information.

Also, http://www.catnutrition.org/ is a wonderful site.

We have two precious furkids....Ms. Lucy & Mr. Yoster. Their ages are 10 & 11 respectively. (approximately).
We rescued them 3 years ago, one month after my sweet girl, Ernestine wub.gif went to Rainbow's Bridge.

Lucy has diabetes & asthma, and suffered from irritable bowel disease ever since we adopted her. (....I only wish I knew how bad dry food was (in general), AND for cats with IBD!!!!)

We got rid of all the dry food in the house in Feb, 2007.
Our kids eat raw food now which we order from Feline's Pride. The link to their site is: http://www.felinespride.com/home/home.aspx . They also enjoy Wellness canned varieties, (no grain).
Lucy started having normal bowel movements within one week of this change biggrin.gif ! This was a MIRACLE!!!

Tortie cats are known for their "tortietudes" tongue.gif .....but....for the most part, because she is not suffering with diarrhea 3 X/day & the awful cramping that went along with that -- she is a pretty happy girl!!
Our sweet boy, Ms. Yoster....he's just enjoying all this good food biggrin.gif ! (and all of the good, wholesome treats, too.)

There are about 5 varieties of Fancy Feast that I will feed our kids - (5 flavors that have NO wheat gluten and less than 10% carbs). <-- good for Lucy's diabetes.

This site: http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html
will give you nutritional information on pretty much every canned food out there.

John, if there is anything at all that I can help you with, please do not hesitate to ask.

Wishing you & yours much peace,

Denise

p.s. if you aren't overwhelmed by the above sites wink.gif , here's another good one:
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/feline.htm

Posted by: Chaos, my little talisman May 1 2007, 09:22 PM

John,

Denise (Muffins) advice was right on. I have been doing ALOT of research, and it turns out that our cats are CARNIVORES (ok, I knew that, but it makes for a good point). I found felinespride.com for pre-prepared raw food diet. There is also another site that grinds your meat, organs and bone for you, and you mix in the supplements (felinespride doesn't offer rabbit-which I am thinking might make the transition easier for my kitties, since they're on the dried rabbit formula already). That site is http://www.hare-today.com/ and will send you the whole rabbit ground up and frozen. When you freeze it, you must add extra taurine, which tends to become depleted when the meat isn't completely fresh.

I bought 10 lbs (enough for three weeks for two cats). It was cheaper than buying their prescription dry food!!! I will check back in and let you know how they are taking the new diet, etc., so you'll know for future reference. I'm keeping you and Sadie in my thoughts...

Much Love,

Jenn

Posted by: John B May 2 2007, 03:50 PM

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate all your advice and support. I'm absolutely never going to feed a cat dry food again. If only I could convince my girlfriend to stop feeding her kitties dry food. The raw food thing sounds very good to me...especially if you can order it already ground up and frozen.

I'm not sure that I will be getting another kitty anytime soon anyway... but who knows.

Posted by: Leighann May 2 2007, 05:43 PM

Dry food is not all bad. I wouldn't feed a kitty a strictly dry menu, but to have some to munch on is really good for their teeth, not only for plaque, but for strength. I lay down both canned and dry for my cats, and they love the variety. I feed them a high quality, grain free food, and even my finicky cat will munch a little bit on it.

Posted by: Muffins May 2 2007, 07:03 PM

QUOTE
Dry food is not all bad. I wouldn't feed a kitty a strictly dry menu, but to have some to munch on is really good for their teeth, not only for plaque, but for strength.


With regard to dry cat food, please read Dr. Lisa Pierson's article "Feeding your cat".

http://catinfo.org/#Common_Feline_Health_Problems_and_Their_Ties_to_Diet_

To quote Dr. Pierson (from above article):

QUOTE
Dental Disease: Long-standing claims that cats have less dental disease when they are fed dry food versus canned food are grossly overrated, inaccurate, and are not supported by recent studies.  Many veterinarians are coming to the realization that this is a myth that needs to be dispelled.  First, dry food is hard, but brittle, and merely shatters with little to no abrasive effect on the teeth.  Second, a cat's jaws and teeth are designed for shearing and tearing meat, and cats that eat dry food grind it in a way that it ends up between their teeth. There it ferments into sugar and acid, thereby causing dental problems.  Third, many cats swallow the majority of their dry food whole and thus receive minimal benefit from chewing motion. There are many factors that contribute to dental disease in the cat such as genetics, viruses, and diet. There remain many unanswered questions concerning the impact of diet on dental health, but feeding a high carbohydrate, species-inappropriate dry kibble diet is a negative factor, not a positive one.  Perhaps a more effective way to promote dental health is to feed large chunks of raw meat which is what cats’ teeth are designed to chew.  (See 'Making Cat Food') 


Also, Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins site, "Your Diabetic Cat":

http://yourdiabeticcat.com/index.html

To quote Dr. Hodgkins:

QUOTE
"Feline diabetes is not the natural fate of hundreds of thousands of pet cats world-wide. It is, rather, a human-created disease that is reaching epidemic proportions because of the highly artificial foods that we have been feeding our feline companions for the past few decades. Without the constant feeding of highly processed, high carbohydrate dry foods, better suited to cattle than cats, adult-onset feline diabetes would be a rare disease, if it occured at all."
Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM, JD


Cats, whether or not they have diabetes DO NOT NEED dry food.

I wish I knew this earlier, but I am extremely grateful that I know now.

Peace & Love to you and yours,

Denise

Posted by: Leighann May 2 2007, 09:41 PM

I'm sorry but that is the opinion of a couple of vets, though others may agree with a non-dry diet, not all will. To tell people to never feed their cats dry foods is a little closed minded. I worked at a vet clinic for 5 years, and I learned about food, and talked food with the vets, and never did they once even suggest to not feed animals dry food. Yes, a low quality strictly dry diet will lead to complications, but on that hand so will a low quality canned. It's more about the ingredients. People need to pay attention to how much liquid their pets are consuming as well as do routine bloodwork.
My one cat basically eats a canned diet, and her teeth are very poor. She nibbles on a bit of dry, but she still needs to go in for teeth cleaning. And the older she gets, the less I am going to want to do that. My cats that eat mostly dry have the most beautifully white clean teeth(and clean teeth helps with some diseases.)
Also, many people who feed their animals dry, will just put out a bowl and keep filling it when it's empty, without control of the amount of food their animal consumes, then wonder why he's fat or has diabetes.

I understand your point, and its fine that you refuse to feed your cat dry, but its not wrong that other people will. People simply need to discuss their options and concerns with their vet, and EVERYONE will be different. This message board is the best, and its nice to have opinions, but it's only opinions, and not dr's advice.

Posted by: Muffins May 3 2007, 05:01 PM

Here's three more articles regarding feline diets (not written by a vet).

http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

http://www.blakkatz.com/natural.html

http://www.blakkatz.com/naturetooth.html


QUOTE
I understand your point, and its fine that you refuse to feed your cat dry, but its not wrong that other people will.


If other people choose to feed their cats dry food, that's their choice.
However, people are becoming more educated regarding a felines' need for dry food and finding that there isn't one.

For treats, both of our furkids enjoy Grandma Lucy's freeze dried chicken or mahi-mahi or ocean whitefish.
The latter two are hard and satisfies Mr. Yoster's enjoyment of chewing, rather than on dry cat food.

http://www.snobbypaws.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_5

I just found these Whole Life freeze dried cat treats:

http://waggintails.com/store/index.php?disp=19

The chicken and Salmon fillet (not slammin' salmon) are hits in our house.

Peace & Love to you all,

Denise

Posted by: John B May 3 2007, 05:45 PM

I'm thinking if it is a high quality organic dry food it may be okay in very very limited quant*ities. Maybe just enough for the bone meal and vitamins that are in it. And something for the teeth. Other than that it makes sense to give the cats high quality meat. It is still confusing. My girlfriend asked me if domesticated cats are still true carnivores. I don't know. I know that Sadie and her (my girlfriend's) 3 cats love eating grass...and not just to throw up. ohmy.gif

Posted by: Chaos, my little talisman May 5 2007, 03:11 PM

Hi John,

I think that your idea of organic dry food is a good one. I too have contemplated it. For now I have started sprinkling vitamins and minerals on their food (or I add it to chicken breast, which they love). The raw hare still hasn't made it to me yet (it's being shipped Monday). I will do more research into it, so that I can make the best choice for my babies, however, it is very clear that old way of feeding is gone since all the recalls, and tragic deaths. I've been hearing about alot of pets having diabetes and autoimmune diseases from the dry kibble that was standard for so long. Katie (my 13 year old tortie) was just diagnosed with autoimmune disease (her own body was attacking her skin, savagely). What had me perplexed though, was when I took her for her last steroid shot, I asked the vet how to get weight back on her, and she really didn't have any useful suggestions beyond the treats that I've been giving her. Most vets know about life-saving procedures and drugs, etc., but are not really informed about preventative care. I even asked about the raw diet, and she said she's never known anyone that has done it. She also incorrectly told me that cats were as prone to Salmonella poisoning as humans (they actually aren't, their digestive track is much quicker and was built to eat raw food).

Definitely stuff to think on.

Much Love,

Jenn (Chaos' Mom)

Posted by: John B May 6 2007, 08:49 AM

Thanks, Jenn. There is definately a lot to think about.

QUOTE (Jenn)
Most vets know about life-saving procedures and drugs, etc., but are not really informed about preventative care.


The same can be said for our own Doctors. It really is frightening.

Posted by: Moose Mom May 8 2007, 11:29 AM

I just found this again, I've had it for a long time. I thought I'd share. It's from a very wise man, Alan Cohen:

"Love is heaven and fear is hell. Where you place your attention is where you live."

To me it just says so much.

Mr. Cohen has a bunch of books out.

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