Whether you believe in creation or evolution, cats have not ‘evolved’ so much in the last 50 years to go from thriving on fresh caught meals to surviving on kibble. Besides, their scissor-like teeth do not ‘chew’… It would be the same as expecting us omnivores to be able to rip meat from bones with our pitifully ineffective ‘canines’.
Why do we have so many cat diseases now? Diabetes, PKD (kidney disease). IBD (digestion), FLUTD (urinary) and cancer?
Catinfo.com attests:
This is not to say that all feline diseases are necessarily linked to diet but many of them are. “We are what we eat” is not just a useless cliché.
Also:
All dry foods are dangerously low in water which wreaks havoc on your cat’s urinary tract and puts him at great risk for life-threatening and excruciatingly painful urethral obstructions and possibly cystitis. Dry food (aka “kibble”), in addition to containing potentially deadly fungal toxins, contains a great deal of bacteria.” Catinfo.com
Cats have THRIVED for thousands of years on RAW birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, rats, etc. Who are we to think we can improve on Mother Nature? What can threatened their long life is being out in the wild to catch dinner! They can have the best of both worlds if we provide them a balanced raw diet in the comfort of their own home!
Obviously, I’m not suggesting we give “Fluffy’ live birds and mice as a regular diet. We are relatively ‘civilized’! However, we can mimic live prey thru a balanced RAW diet with proper supplementation.
(Have you ever seen a wild cat with their dinner on a spit over a fire? Probably not… )
What about feeding Raw to Kittens?
Kittens LOVE this nutritious soft food! It’s easy on their little mouths. I’ve done some experimenting of raw fed versus dry fed mamas. Of course, the raw fed babies were bigger and the mamas retained their weight better, even GAINING weight.
My story: I started breeding Pixiebobs in 2000. The first 9 years, I fed premium dry foods and tried to supplement with raw meat, with limited success. It’s kind of like expecting a kid brought up on chicken nuggets and French fries to embrace a salad…..NOPE! I had enough cats/kittens experiencing less than ideal health, but I had thought it was a numbers game—‘you have more than a few cats and some of them were bound to be compromised somehow. Right?)
W-e-e-e-ll, within 3 days of switching my entire cattery to raw, I noticed my litter box duty greatly decreased!! Wow! As if that wasn’t enough, in and of itself, I had had a cat with loose stools—seemingly fine, just loose stools. Her stools firmed up! Never to return again!
Over the course of about 2 weeks, I noticed that shedding was greatly reduced! What are the two of the worst things about having cats?… Litter boxes and shedding! What if those could be practically eliminated?
In the ensuing 11 years, I have continued to perfect my homemade raw diet. UPPER RESPERITORIES ARE A THING OF THE PAST! Forget about diarrhea—not an issue! How much healthier can a kitten be if their little immune systems don’t have to be compromised with antibiotics at a young age?
I’d wager that my cats are among the healthiest, if not THE healthiest on the planet because of the RAW diet and supplementation I feed!
I’d also wager that a homemade raw diet is the most cost effective and best way to feed your feline friend.
I’m often asked, “What about salmonella and e-coli?”
Cats are predators… What do they often catch? The healthiest and most vigorous?…Probably not! No, they catch the aged, the young and the wounded or diseased. Big cats have been known to kill a large animal and feed off it for up to a WEEK.
Cats have highly acidic systems. Designed to quickly and efficiently digest MEAT. Even IF there was salmonella etc. in the HUMAN grade meat I use, their systems would attack and destroy it!
“The proof is in the pudding”
Fortunately with cats’ relatively short generational life spans, it’s easy enough for me to tweak their diet to promote optimal health. I expect a LOT of my cats!! Therefore, I provide them with an optimal home environment with a superior diet and nutrition to enable them to withstand the pressures and challenges of showing and breeding. I’ve fed raw for over 11 years, which equates to 10 generations. I am continually convinced that this is the way Mother Nature intended for cats to eat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_M._Pottenger_Jr.#Pottenger’s_cats
When you adopt a kitten from me, the Veterinary Health Certification attests to their good Health and the baton is then passed to you to continue the legacy!