Our Furrbabies and the food they eat

[TigaHawk]

So this post was sparked by a recent string of events involving my Furr Baby.

When the above started i begun thinking about the food they eat.

We know that processed foods are having very bad effects on Humans. Have we ever stopped to think of our furry friends? Their food is very much processed - and on top of this - the bulk of their food is made from products that are deemed unfit for human consumption.

I would love to see some statistics of animal related illnesses and diseases going back on a similar timeline to when they started to heavily process their food (Probably the same time as they started heavily processing ours)

While sitting in the waiting area at the Specialist vet (3 hours - I promised him i would not leave him there and they had a few emergency's come in so it was delayed) i saw many dogs and cat's come in. A common theme was Cancer - either having tumors removed, chemo or pain management. There was this beautiful Ridgeback dog there. The parent explained she was there for pain management and all the bump's on the dog's body were cancer. They had 7 cut out already - but she was riddled with it and they could do nothing more to help. It was also mentioned that large breed's of dog have a much higher chance of health issues than smaller dog's.

I eat organic as much as possible because i can tell that processed foods are not good for me. My stomach tells me this - and so does the rest of my body. After you have been on a strict organic / whole foods diet - you can really notice the difference.

What about our Furry Friends??

After a bit of investigating i was able to find a place that appears to have what i'd like to try with my Furrbaby after he has recovered. http://www.completepet.com.au/ (Remove the link if inappropriate - not intending to advertise - linked for the info about the food)

I have had this thought before - but i had no clue on how / what to prepare that he would eat and also be right for him nutrition wise. I have tried to give him some raw or cooked chicken. Tried chicken necks as well but he seemed completely uninterested in fresh meat. Advice for that appears it can be difficult getting them to take to the new diet if they've had processed foods their entire life, but when you think about it - that's exactly like us. For a person making their own journey away from processed and chemical laden foods to fresh organic produce - it's never a simple stop eating crap one day and eat entirely healthy the next - it's a bit of a process that takes time. It was also good to know that the temperature of the food may be a deterrent (Fresh out of the fridge and cold - when their instincts from nature tell them it should be warm)



Has anyone here already been through this thought process and switched your furrbaby's food to something cleaner?

If yes - i would love to hear if you have noticed a big difference in their health since doing so!

Thanks for listening!

[Curiosity]

Cat's and dogs are pretty much domestically human engineered. With this in mind what we feed them is also human engineered. But for the most part they are carnivorous
And yes you have to be careful to read what's in the food you buy for them because a lot of brands are full of fillers that are not designed for their diet.

With male cats, for example, some of the fillers cause urinary track problems that cause premature death.

Pure bread dogs are more pron to diseases that can be activated and/or aggravated by the wrong diet.

This is an area that a good pet owner needs to research to give your pets the best and most comfortable life you can. And in the long run save you money if you spend a bit more to get them the proper food.

[avid]

I introduced a little macerated raw steak every evening to Atom's diet, and his appetite perked up, and he rallied for awhile, but at 17 wirh hyperthyroidism, the end was inevitable. Raw meat is very good for carniverous animals in moderation when they have been used to processed foods.

I also bought frozen cod fish pieces to cook, but got alarmed when one cat got ill every time he ate it, as I discovered it was north Pacific caught, near Alaska, and was probably irradiated!!! We can but try....

Hope your Furrbaby gets well soon ❤️

(Oops - almost posted frozen fish cod pieces - er, Henry VIII probably wore those) 😱

[Matt P]

We buy the highest quality foods we can for our dogs and supplement with raw meats. We go to a local butcher, who saves hamburger and bones just for particular pet owners and local Vets and breeders. For the cats we get Evo, which is without all the grains...just meat.
Something else that is probably in play here are the huge numbers of vaccines given to pets now. Vaccines in humans are poison and create disease and have been in large part responsible for the explosion in soft tissue cancers over the last decades. Why would dogs and cats be any different?? Or the insecticides we put on their skin every month for fleas?? I have seen from first hand experience that those little tumors all over the dogs are more normal than not these days. They...are...everywhere. But my 14-year-old lab that just passed lived a long healthy life, without vaccines and without disease of any kind. It seems I have to have a heated argument with my vet every time I go down there but there is no way I will give my kids or my pets injected vaccine poisons!
So, yeah, I'd say be vigilant about the quality of food / medicine given to your pets, just like for yourselves. :)

Matt

[Sierra]

And yes you have to be careful to read what's in the food you buy for them because a lot of brands are full of fillers that are not designed for their diet.

With male cats, for example, some of the fillers cause urinary track problems that cause premature death.

This is an area that a good pet owner needs to research to give your pets the best and most comfortable life you can. And in the long run save you money if you spend a bit more to get them the proper food.

That is precisely what happened to our male cat Pippin, and it was caused by the grain they put in cat food. The vet said Pippin was a classic case in that he succumbed at 18 months. Now we buy organic grain free cat food.

Our cats Martha and Pippin are so different than McKnao (my avatar picture). McKnao loved human food, fishies, and chicken, etc. Pippin eats ONLY cat food, while Martha will condescend to eat a shrimp or two...

Here is Martha, who loves to hang out in my shower (she will also give me baths, willy nilly, as she pleases).
32595

And here is Pippin the enormous one (14 lbs while Martha is 8 lbs, we make Pippin wear a collar with a bell so he can't sneak up on her):
32596

[conk]

Simply reading the ingredients list on a bag of pet food is enough to induce vomiting. Dogs eating wheat or corn? By-products? "Hey, look at Rover foraging in the woods for some GMO corn and gluten meal". "Oh wait, he's dead".

We feed our dogs raw chicken livers, boiled in water for mere seconds, just time enough to kill any pathogens on the surface. They drink bone broth cooked for 12 hours, with garlic and other healthful items. We add some green plant material every other day or so. Even carnivores need plants, getting it in their diet by eating the intestines of their prey. All our pets, for many decades, have lived full lives in expectation and accordance of their normal limits. Very few vet bills either, and practically no vaccines.

My mom's dog could serve as an example of change. She used to feed the doggie packaged food. It always had digestive issues. Constipation or runny bowels, we never knew from day to day. It had allergies and got ear infections. I convinced her to begin a diet solely of clean meats and occasional broccoli stalks or other green veggies. We dusted the food with probiotics and enzymes. Within 3 months she had a totally different dog, with none of the previously mentioned ailments.

It really is so simple. Just follow Mother Nature's lead. woof woof

[TigaHawk]

He does have urinary crystals too ;(

Have already ordered the new food and also the DIY mix so all i need to do is visit the organic butcher then prepare it in portions!

he did well overnight but is not eating yet :( They want to keep him there the rest of the day and possibly overnight again :(

I have the same opinion of vaccinations. Unfortunately he has had a few - they did this prior to me adopting him. My partner also had some done without me knowing a few years ago - he has not had any since. Some places can be really bad if they know they are not up to date with vaccinations - some will even refuse service under the excuse that they don't want other animals "at risk" due to your furr baby - which is utter BS.

Since i am about to do the transition - Will post an update after he's been switched to the new food (may need to wait a little as he needs to be on really mushy stuff due to his stomach - this is due to me not having much veterinary knowledge and not wanting to cause him injury after an operation - I dont know any "unconventional" vets or vet's with unconventional (ie holistic / organic) views to query on the matter)

Fonzy is the Ginger Ninja :D Xela is the terror that looks like a cutie :P

[Sierra]

I have the same opinion of vaccinations. Unfortunately he has had a few - they did this prior to me adopting him. My partner also had some done without me knowing a few years ago - he has not had any since. Some places can be really bad if they know they are not up to date with vaccinations - some will even refuse service under the excuse that they don't want other animals "at risk" due to your furr baby - which is utter BS.

Utter BS, agreed. We gave McKnao a vaccination, and he dragged himself around for three months. The next time we went to the vet, I described what happened. She asked if he was indoor or outdoors, and I said indoor, unless I walk him out to the front area where he liked to do roll floppies, but never allowed another cat to approach him. The vet said the viruses last about 17 seconds in the air, and given McKnao's reaction, no more vaccinations.

The vet helper up here, argued vehemently, and angrily that they should get vaccinations. The vet came in, and did a reasonable data dump from her perspective. Since Pippin and Martha are indoors unless supervised for short outings (we have raptors, bears, raccoons, and cougars in the area), we're not giving them vaccines either.

[Curiosity]

Curiosity's wife here --
I go by Silkentek online.
I Have dealt with FUS for a long time. My vet told me plain and simply that any dry cat food (any cat food really) with ANY corn in it is a deathnell for male cats. The cat has an allergic reaction which results in inflammation of their urinary tract. Antibiotics will help only because they reduce the inflammation for a short time. The ONLY long term solution is to change the diet.
In the last 30 years I Have lost 3 male cats to FUS by the time they were 3 to 5 years old. My most recent male is now 10 years old this spring. I can credit his longevity to one simple thing. Kirkland maintenance formula cat food. It is chicken and rice, no corn.
My vet told me that kirkland was a good cat food and it has proven itself to be so.
You have to remember, that a cat's penis has a bone through it, and the urinary tract goes through the middle of this bone. There is NO where for crystals to pass once they develop in the bladder. There is a surgery that they can perform that removes this bone, and basically turns your boy cat into a girl but it is hard on them, it also does not always solve the problem if the issue is not addressed on a dietary level.

I don't care who manufactures your favorite cat food, if it has corn in it, and you have a male cat, you are going to face this issue sooner or later, usually sooner.

As stated, Rocky has been on chicken and rice cat food for 10 years, no health issues at all. his predecessor died at age 3, that was when my vet explained the relationship between diet and FUS to me.
The BEST diet for a cat of course is rodents... but in today's world, who lets their cats hunt anymore? =)

I wish you the best with your fur baby and will do some prayin for him. Many hugs and much love offered.

-- Silkentek (curiosity's wife)

[TigaHawk]

Spent this weekend making two batches of bone broth. Just strained the 2nd batch and it's cooling before i put it in the fridge.

They also had fresh chicken all weekend - to which they completely ignored :( Tho i did sneak a peek at him having a bit of chicken on Saturday - he looked like he hated it! :( Have even tried a pinch of Parmesan cheese on the top - no dice. My partner put down a bowl of sachet broth which he apparently gobbled up - as he was begging after i went to work. Even warmed it for them (not cook - warm water and metal bowl's trick) - ahh dear. :( This is going to take a bit of time i think lol.

He has been super affectionate all weekend and very chatty. Keeping a close eye on him tho regardless!

[happyexpat]

With past animals I had done raw meat and rice and veggies mixed myself. Our current dog ended up on "natural" processed dog food... Fairly expensive... Had chronic ear infections and some other skin problems. He also had terrible teeth his whole life. Anybody who saw them would never believe his age. They completely cleared up in the first week of switching over. Beautiful pearly whites. Now, he has done a full regimen of Heilkunst sequential timeline therapy... Is even on his second trip through the miasms.
That being said, the full permanent improvement seemed to come when I switched him to raw meat only diet. Before that he would get better for a while and then nose-dive again.
He alternates between whatever porc or beef meaty bones from the butcher and chicken legs with backs.
He has still had some... Not sure what they are, but a bit like they are knots. Here and there, but I expect they will pass as the old stuff clears out his system.