Genesee Bird And Pet Clinic 

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Nutritional Information and Recommendations

For Cats

Dear Clients,

            We at the Genesee Bird and Pet Clinic believe that nutrition is the cornerstone of good health.  Just as you can't build a house on sand, you can't build a healthy body with poor nutrition. The biggest single cause of health problems in pets, especially cats, is poor diets provided by the pet food industry.

            The energy we call LIFE animates the cells that make up our bodies and directs their multitudinous biochemical functions. Foods are the fuel of our bodies. They will not function properly on poor quality foods, any more than a finely tuned automobile will do well on poor quality gasoline.

            Should it be any different for our pets?  Many of the illnesses of people (Type II Diabetes and many cardiovascular problems) can be prevented and even treated with nutrition.  We believe that many of the problems of our companion animals can also be prevented, or at least minimized by sound nutrition practices.

            Therefore, we have developed a scale of nutritional adequacy for feeding our pets.  The scale is as follows, with 10 being the best.

1.  (Poorest) All meat without bones. Remember, the dog or cat in the wild eats everything when it kills its prey, including the intestinal contents. Muscle meat from any species is very deficient in calcium, having very low calcium to phosphorus ratio.  In a rabbit, the intestinal contents amount to about 40 percent of the body weight.  The dog or cat in the wild also eats the bones, a source of calcium for its body.

2.  Soft-Moist diets. (Gaines-Burgers, Prime, etc.)  These diets are very high in sugars, chemicals, dyes, etc… They have labels that make interesting reading.

3-4. Soft-Moist and dry combinations. (Kibbles and Bits, etc.)  Also included in this category are the generic brands.  The generic and store brands have been incriminated in the literature for being of poor quality and tend to vary from batch to batch.

5-6. Standard commercial diets.  The name brands.  Adequate TO KEEP THEM ALIVE in most cases for normal, healthy, young to middle aged animals but merely adequate.  (children will survive too on hotdogs and Twinkies, but how well?) * See Ethoxyquin Handout.

7-8. "Top-shelf" lines.  (Science Diet, Iams)  These are higher quality in their ingredients, but still have artificial preservatives and other chemical additives.  It should be noted that most Science Diet products are formulated with meat by-products, poorer quality protein.  There are some natural products in this category, but often are made of inferior ingredients such as "wheat flour."  Wheat flour is most accurately translated as white flour.  If the product is made with the whole grain, the product will have "ground whole wheat" or "whole wheat flour" as an ingredient.  There are, unfortunately, a number of other low quality products that come with high quality sounding names.  Avoid all pet foods containing, dyes, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and grains of any kind(wheat, corn, quinoa, millet, soy).(See our handout on Ethoxyquin). Ethoxyquin is the fat preservative used in almost all prepared canned and dry foods.  Once a fungicide and rubber tire stabilizer, it is now the most widely used fat preservative found in pet food.  Even if not found on the label it is probably added by fat suppliers before it reaches the pet food manufacturing plant.  This substance is not allowed in food for human consumption in the U.S. and is prohibited in animal foods and human foods in all other countries. Feeding grains to carnivorous animals is the same thing as feeding refined carbohydrates and sugars to humans. The body ages more quickly, teeth go bad, immune and parasite problems occur more frequently, and aging is more rapid. And don’t forget the processing of food itself. All PROCESSED pet foods must be heated to hgh temperatures by law—canned food to 245 degrees for 45 minutes. This denatures protein and diminishes all food value. The average can of dog or cat food is only 45% useable to the consumer.

9. Natural Life, Solid Gold, Limited Diets. These products are made with top quality ingredients, but are things like wheat, soy, and corn, no matter how high the quality, normal cat food? They have vitamin C and vitamin E as natural preservatives instead of artificial preservatives.  The minerals are chelated with amino acids to provide better absorption.  They are the optimal prepared diets and are the only prepared pet food lines manufactured that I know of that contains good quality protein (no byproducts), no food coloring or harmful preservatives. Once again, we have the problem of feeding grains as a significant part of these diets. DO NOT FEED ANY PET FOODS THAT CONTAIN GRAINS.

10. A homemade diet with fresh raw foods.   We have provided specific directions on how to make these diets. The doctor will discuss any modification of the recipes that should be incorporated for your particular pet.

It is the recommendation of this clinic that you feed a homemade diet, preferably raw. Everything else is a poorer quality and will not serve your pet’s health well. WE ARE ADAMANT WHEN WE SAY YOU SHOULD NEVER FEED DIETS 1-5.  Diets 7-8 are also usually composed of by products waste materials, by products are and can be diseased organs, heads, tails of animals unfit for human consumption, and yes, euthanized animals, road kill, and rendered dogs and cats. Once again, all manufactured pet foods should be avoided if they contain grains and soy.

            We do not recommend the use of bacon grease.  Besides the high levels of nitrites, the high heat used in cooking bacon creates many other unhealthful compounds.  Therefore, we would also say that you should not use any fat dripping.  Raw fat in moderation is fine.

  Cats and the Natural Raw Food Diet, (NRFD) A Place to Start

Cats are the ultimate carnivores and require more meat and fat content in their diet than dogs.  After nutritional deficiencies are made up (anywhere from 1 to 5 weeks) average daily consumption should be about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the NRFD.  They require 4 times the fat and 10 times the B vitamins per pound of body weight than does a human.  They store vitamin A in their kidneys (unique to cats) and require animal fats to maintain normal skin and hair coat. Research has shown that vegetable oils such as flax oil may be detrimental to cats kidney health.

            Raw foods are the most powerful healers, proven time and time again.  Cats have been waiting for this food an entire lifetime, and they will eat it with gusto as long as there is still some natural remaining taste bud function.  The genetic encoding of the raw food and the genetic encoding of your pet is a match. This is the key to revitalizing a weakened system, causing DNA and RNA sub-unit transfer from food to consumer and from one species to another and guides the return to a more healthy state.  Heated and processed food destroys DNA and RNA structural intelligence, creating food that is appropriate only for survival, not health.  With this in mind, it is best to begin your pets on the Natural Raw Food Diet (NRFD) gradually, as commercial food fed for a length of time has severely weakened the entire body, especially the vital digestive fires.

            Water fast of one to two days will ease the transition to the NRFD.  Follow this fast with only the meat portion for two more days. Then add the veggies (for two more days) and then the grain portion.  This will reduce the occasional side effects of diarrhea arising from too much housecleaning too quickly from this all-powerful sustainer and purifier of life.

            An alternative to fasting cats is to mix the raw food with their favorite canned or moistened dry food, as little as possible, at first.  As time goes by, keep on gradually reducing the amount of commercial food in their diet.  It can be done---please try!

How much to feed

            Generally speaking the cat will eat between 3/8ths and one cup of the NRFD per day.  More will probably be consumed in the beginning as nutritional deficiencies are compensated for.  This is considerably less than the amount of supermarket food consumed. It's natural and good.  Remember, this is not an engineering project. The most important thing to consider is how your cat looks (bright eyed, active, usually more even-tempered and flexible) and ask “what is his body weight?”  A "doughy" appearance is replaced by a more compact, solid conformation.  If more weight is needed, increase the food ration by adding either fat or oil and more meat.  There is less voracious eating as vital nutrition makes it's way to the inner chambers of the cells.  The animal's eyes become bright and clear with overall greater energy and vibrancy.  The animal is more calm and responsive.  There is almost always less drinking with less urination and stool.  These characteristics become more prominent as higher quality nutrition stabilizes.  This can take weeks to months.

Some added hints

            It does not matter what prepared food you choose, for instance, we recommend that cats be fed 1-2 raw chicken necks or wings daily cut into 1 inch pieces and 1 raw chicken liver 2-3 times weekly (and cats love them).  Chicken liver, giblets, and hearts (giblets and hearts are a great treat) need not to be treated or disinfected.  This will provide them with raw meat and fat, raw bones are a good source of calcium, and probably the next best thing to brushing for tooth and gum health.  Only buy chicken from companies that warrant their products to be free from hormones and chemicals.  It is fine to feed raw bones, but never cooked.  The cooking process precipitates the calcium and makes the bones very hard and easily splintered.  We have done feeding experiments using raw bones.  Within 15 minutes of feeding raw bones, they cannot be seen on an x-ray. 

Chicken meat can be detoxified by soaking for 20 minutes in one half teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water followed by rinsing.  For those of you interested in more detail, we have booklets on dog and cat nutrition complete with many recipes and specific nutritional information.

The Raw Food Diet itself:

75 to 90% raw meat- raw means NOT cooked!

            It is fine to cook it if you must, but know that you are cooking it for yourself, not for your pet.  Just cook the food as little as possible until you feel comfortable.

Turkey, Chicken, Fish, Beef, Buffalo, Venison, and Ostrich

(Lamb and pork should be cooked)

This is in the order of usually most liked to least preferred.

            Begin with it chopped, it's OK to serve the same kind of meat for 3 to 4 days, then switch if possible, steady feeding of the same food stuff can lead to hypersensitivities.

10 to 25% raw grated or chopped veggies-fresh, above ground (carrots, turnips and parsnips are fine), dark green, leafy, cauliflower, broccoli (a cat favorite), cabbage, zucchini… whatever is fresh and happy at the grocery store is fine!!

0 to 5% cooked grain- (if you must) oatmeal or rice.

            Small amounts of chopped fresh veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds will give your cat an opportunity to tell what is desired, allowing them to choose among raw natural foods will give a boost to health and well being of your cat.

Further foods and Supplement Suggestions:

Fats: Cats, it should be remembered, need animal fats to insure the health of their skin and hair coats. Vegetable oils are of little use here.  Oil of choice for cats is fish oil (but not cod liver oil).  Fish oil has also been shown to protect cats from kidney degeneration (80% of cats over 10 years of age die from kidney failure). We also recommend the use of Emu oil as a fat supplement(see us for supplies and amounts).

Milk and Milk Products: Pasteurized cow's milk can cause diarrhea, flatulence and uneasiness in the less vital animal.  Any processed (i.e. cottage cheese) or cultured dairy product is usually fine, like cheese, yogurt, kefir, panir, etc.  Raw goat's milk, sheep's milk and in many cases raw cow's milk can be well tolerated if slowly added to the diet. After the animal has been acclimated to the natural raw food diet, continue to monitor stool for looseness or note excessive drinking (this may indicate diarrhea if you can not find the stool). In general, minimize the use of dairy or use none at all.

 Eggs:  Excellent overall food source.  One egg twice weekly.  Raw is fine with the shells broken into small pieces and softened.  Lightly scrambled with butter and shells is also fine.  The shells may be toasted in the toaster oven, toast till lightly brown and then crumpled in food.

Water: best is spring fed (check to see if it's contaminated), purified carbon filtered, or distilled.  Give distilled water only after placing it in a glass container in direct sunlight for at least one day; all of the vitality of distilled water is lost, but can be returned through direct sunlight.  It might be good to add more minerals to the diet if only distilled water is given.  In Southern California, tap water from the Colorado River is probably contaminated with radioactive waste.

Cat multi-vitamin mineral supplement. We recommend trace minerals for all our patients.  These are minerals such as molybdenum, chromium, selenium, etc that are no longer found in our exhausted soils, and therefore not in plants, and not in the animals who eat those plants (cattle, sheep, etc).  Therefore people and animals that eat cattle, sheep, etc. are also lacking trace minerals.  These chemicals are necessary in 5 out of 6 of the 5000-6000 simultaneous chemical reactions going on in the body. 

            We do recommend multi-vitamins in the form of raw chicken liver or emu liver at the equivalent of two whole chicken livers per week. Almost all commercial vitamins supplements are synthetic, made of petroleum.  Commercial Vitamin C for instance, is only 1/5 of the Vitamin C molecule found in nature.

            Whether on raw or commercial food, we suggest supplementing your cats diet with taurine (an essential amino acid required for all cats---that’s mother nature for you)

At 250 mg twice daily or per meal.

Kelp, nutritional yeast, antioxidants, lecithin wheat grass juice, sprouted beans or seeds have all been used successfully for their nutritional support and can be added freely or according to label.  Start off in small amounts until your cat gets accustomed to the new tastes.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

            We are all aware of osteoporosis or bone demineralization in humans over a certain age, from loss of sex hormones and poor mineral intake.  For every 4 human females with osteoporosis, there is one male or 20% of the population at that age group.  In my practice I have never seen one animal that has been brought in for acupuncture treatment for degenerative spinal/bone disease that has not been spayed or neutered.  90% of dogs with this problem also have hypothyroidism.

            We also know that about 80% of cats over the age of 10 years die of kidney failure. We also see large numbers of cats with demineralized bones, showing up as spinal or back hypersensitivity and poor hair coats. (See our Feline Special Care handout)

            For the above reasons we strongly advise that all spayed or neutered pets be given hormone replacement therapy via glandular products and also Chinese herbs if over a certain age. 

Dry Cat Food: Cats are meat-eating animals as designed by nature. Therefore, we do not recommend feeding dry food to cats.  It does little to clean their teeth.  Cats actually consume less water when eating dry foods, which shunts water from the urinary bladder to the colon to maintain stool moistness.  This in turn decreases urination frequency, already low in these descendents of desert animals.  Then we see an increase in urinary tract problems of 700% in cats eating dry foods.  We do therefore caution against offering your pet dry foods, as palatability is enhanced (cats are fooled…) by adding flavors and digested liquefied chicken entrails to foods that cats ordinarily won't eat (waste products, or by products, corn, soybeans, and wheat).  This often leads to the rejection of more ideal whole food diets. DON’T FEED IT!

How often to feed? Adult cats can be fed once a day, although twice is also acceptable. .  Fasting one day a week with fresh water (or fresh chicken broth) available at all times will enhance your pet's wellness. The animals truly appreciate the rest day and will periodically take it even though food is made available. Leaving dry food out constantly causes a constant alkaline tide. This means that after we eat, the digestion of a meal raises the pH of the blood, making it less acidic Cats need an acidic body pH, and this raised pH(less acid) sets them up for urinary tract problems. Bladder stones for instance, need this less acid pH to form.

Kittens, Lactating and Pregnant Cats: These life stages require more frequent feedings and slightly higher protein, fat, mineral and dairy content in the diet.  Dairy in the form of raw (unpasteurized) cat or goat milk is the best form of dairy.  Be sure to check to see that no diarrhea ensues.  Dairy is not a substitute for meat.  Meat forms the backbone of a healthy feline diet and there really is no adequate substitute.  High quality growth formulas can be used as supplements. Stay under 25% (by volume) of the total intake per day to avoid reductions in wellness. 

Diet and FUS/FLUTD/ (Feline urinary syndrome)

            For 15 years we have been saying that FUS or FLUTD is caused by poor diet and psychological stress, and have recommended raw food/fresh food diets, and Chinese calming herbs and Bach Flower remedies as a backbone of our treatment.  Guess what the latest "scientific" recommendations are?  Amitryptyline (a prozac-like compound) and fresh food diets.

Exercise

            In our experience, 90% of our feline patients are COUCH POTATOES.  Stagnation is the root of all illness.  ASK US ABOUT OUR HYDROTHERAPY POOL AND TREADMILL EXERCISE PROGRAM.

All the research behind this paper was done right here in San Diego in the early 1940’s by Dr Pottenger, a physician and surgeon.  We have his work for viewing on videotape in our reception room----won’t you come and take a look for yourself?