Must Love Dogs And Cats
Today is my canine beauty Maya’s 1st birthday, a Black Labrador German Short-Haired Pointer mix. I thought this would be a perfect time to post under the category of holistic pet care! Last May when we picked her up from the foster home, I could not have imagined how much she would enrich our lives. Since then the bond between us has just blossomed and strengthened over time.
Maya’s companionship is the most universal thing that she gives my husband and me - but companionship is only the beginning. Scientific evidence proves that many health benefits come along with being a pet owner. Our dogs help us relax, lower our blood pressure, keep us active and show us unconditional love. I believe we can preserve and strengthen the bond not only by the companionship but by providing a healthy stable home. This stability includes love, attention, proper grooming, training, and exercise for the pets. More importantly a healthful diet and proper nutrition will benefit the well-being of both you and your dog and maintain everyone on the path to wellness.
I have always been an animal lover and taken great care of my pets but it was not until a feline named "Miss Kitty" – who happened to adopt me – came into my life, did I learn and come to understand about the importance of a proper diet. Miss Kitty was a very sensitive little darling but she ailed from digestive issues, scaly coat, skiddish manifestations of abuse, neglect and poor nutrition. I took care of her issues the best way I knew how at the time. It wasn’t until one day when I was at a yoga seminar in New York City roughly 15 years ago when I came across a book entitled “Dogs and Cats are People Too.” It caught my eye, and I went on to read about the horror stories of the pet food industry: rendering plants and cruelty that animals go through. The meat contained in most commercial pet foods is most often from diseased, condemned animals and the nutrition value of these foods is questionable. And cats, like dogs, do not have any dietary requirement for carbohydrates therefore grain-based foods are much less than optimal for them. In my opinion, a raw diet made with fresh, approved meats and bones provides them with healthy, natural nutrition. Remember the wide-scale pet food recalls? Those recalls left me feeling relieved that I didn't have to be concerned for my pets. I was also hopeful it would start a movement that more pet owners would be conscious and open themselves up to looking for healthier food options.
Well after my yoga seminar, I immediately went home and threw away my supermarket brand canned pet food and never looked back. I thought to myself this all makes sense, I am also on my path to well-being and changing to a non-processed, vegetarian, organic diet. Why shouldn't my cat’s diet be as good? Proper nutrition is fundamental for keeping all of us healthy be it human or animal. Diet directly affects your pet’s skin, coat, weight, energy level, and gastrointestinal function - just like as it would yours. If a problem occurs in one of these areas, it may be linked to improper diet. I took the advice of the book and tried some higher quality pet foods until I could research more about the best balanced diet for her unique situation. The change in her coat, ears, eyes and energy was like night and day. I went on to learn more about raw diets, supplementation, holistic care and homeopathy. Miss Kitty and all my animals since thrive rather than survive because of these changes and lifestyle approach.
Why Raw?
I feed Maya and my other two felines Rocco and Cosmo a strictly raw diet because dogs and cats are meat eaters by nature. This is why raw, fresh meat is the most instinctive diet for your pet. It is low in carbohydrates just the way our pet's ancestors (their wild cousins, wolves and the big cats) have eaten in the outdoors for thousands of years. A diet consisting primarily of raw meat, organs, bone, and fat reflects what your pet would eat in his natural habitat. This returns our pets to this more natural primal form of nutrition, as if they had hunted and caught their "perfect" dinner. With natural proportions of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins, and amino acids, raw diets provide wholesome nutrition. In addition, many pets have found relief from grain-related allergies with a grain-free diet. A highly digestible grain-free diet will also lead to less cleanup on your walk and litter box.
Most of your vets may disagree greatly with all this information but the fact remains that vets just like regular medical doctors receive very little worthwhile training in nutrition. There exists a lack of training in the use of raw whole foods and a biased approach to our understanding of commercially produced pet food. Most of these commercial pet brands are marketed to vets. It is relevant to ask what many veterinarians really know about pet foods. Unfortunately - not very much.
Regrettably, a lack of knowledge concerning nutrition has become the basis for recommending processed pet food! They continue to give terrible nutritional advice or guidance. If your pet's health and weight are suffering I urge you to research some of the things I'm suggesting and work with a doctor who is open to all these different options for the sake of your pet and your wallet.
Love & Light,
Claudia
(Resources: Holistic Pet Stores in NY: Whiskers, Anitra Frazier, Natural Health Care Cat Expert and Author of "The New Natural Cat " she can be contacted at 212 663 0122Holistic Pet Stores in NJ: Paradise Pet,Wholistic Paws)