A friend of mine has two cats and usually feeds them canned food ( Innova or Wellness ). She does not believe in raw food. What else can she do?
Christy Johnson, Vancouver, BC
Dear Christy,
You have asked a very good question. Under natural circumstances, cats diet would include mice and birds. The skin, fur, bones and raw diet enzymes usually are sufficient to “scale” any tartar off.
The reality is that we humans sometimes try to go against the nature’s point of view.
If I was in your situation, I would try to educate your friend about the benefit of healthy teeth There are only 2 options. She will either have to resort to regular dental check ups and scaling under anesthesia or or she will have to change her cats diet. Perhaps the cost of the dental scaling is a good motivation to start her cats on raw food.
Soft or dry foods are clearly part of the problem. They contain complex carbohydrates from grains and starches that deposit on teeths’ surface. Add bacteria that loves to “feast on sugar” tartar develops very quickly. In addition, there is a tendency to stay away from dry foods in cats a the increased water demands tax their kidneys. Canned food is “cooked to death” under very high temperatures ( about 130C) which decreases the nutritional value and destroy some vitamins.
A simple hand scaling, if your cat allows it , may be another way of prolonging the periods in between the dental cleaning under anesthesia.
Ideally, with any health concern, one has to first eliminate the cause , which in this case, is the processed food. If your friend has concerns about raw food, allow her to express them, try to see her point of view. Remember that it takes time and gentle nudging. Preaching will not help anyone.
I hope that for the sake of her cats and the general raw food benefit, she will soon reconsider the options and give raw food a try.
Generally, I recommend feeding 95% varied meat and 5 % internal organs. There are companies in Vancouver that make prepackaged raw food. To decrease tartar build up, I usually suggest feeding 1 – 2 chicken wings a week. Free range , non-medicated meat is always the best for your cat and the environment. Try to mix the food in gradually or offer raw food only if her cats like it. Just be patient. One of my clients switched all her 15 cats to raw and they are doing very well.
I personally chose not to eat meat, however cats are true carnivores and there is no way around it. I appreciate you taking the time to do something for your friend and her cats. Good luck.
When I was on the fence about going raw my dear vet recommended an article by Dr. Debra Zoran DVM that helped me understand the physiological and emotion benefits (and necessity really) of feeding raw to cats. The article can be found in the right sidebar of the catinfo.org website. (It’s a pdf, otherwise I would post it directly)Perhaps suggesting the Pottenger study to the friend might help as well.
I can’t recommend feeding raw to cats (and dogs) enough! I have witnessed true miracles of healing since starting several years back. One ol’ gal who was IBD at the time on a premium grain free canned food completely resolved and lived to be 24 years old. I had her bloodwork done at 23yrs just to check up on her and all her values were perfect. She passed peacefully of old age with no ailments. I have an 18yr old who still jumps 10 feet from the floor everyday to lay in his favorite bed and a 15 yr old that insists that he keep all the younger whipper-snappers in line. All animals should have the chance to be so vibrantly healthy. For me, honoring their nature is the easiest way to do that.