Is Dry Cat Food Healthy? Part Two

Ok, I was thinking about dry cat food again the other day and whether it was a good idea to soak it and feed it to my 6 week old Highland Lynx kittens. How is it made? What kind of ingredients is my cat eating? Does it provide enough nutrition? It does not take long to find the processing that an average dry kibble goes through in this country. The following excerpts came from Wikipedia:

"Pellets of dry dog/cat food, called kibble in the US, are produced
by one of two methods, extrusion and baking. During the extrusion
process, cut dough or a mixture of raw materials is fed into an
expander, while pressurized steam or hot water is added. When
removed from the high pressure that results, the pellets
puff up like popcorn. The resultant kibble is allowed to
dry, then sprayed with vitamins, fats and oils, or any
other ingredients that are not heat-tolerant.

If extruded kibble is exposed to air for too long or not
properly stored, the fats and oils added after cooking
can become rancid, and vitamins and minerals in the food
may be destroyed by heat during storage or shipping"

Alright, I am already not a happy camper. Whatever life was in this nasty mass of refined carbohydrates (all wrong for an animal that needs mostly protein) is cooked out and synthetic nutrients are added back in to replace the real ones that were lost in the processing. Then you add a few toxic artificial colors and flavors and chemical preservatives and the stuff will last for months and months. And I have not yet even gotten into the standard ingredient list of dry cat food.
  
As you can see must question CONVENTIONAL wisdom about what is healthy for our cats and dogs if we want them to live a long healthy life.

Is Dry Cat Food Healthy? Part One

When I began raising Highland Lynx cats and bobtail kittens, several matters arose that I had no need to consider so diligently before. I have always fed my cats food that did not contain fillers, colors, preservatives, chemicals, sugar, etc. I even fed them organic cat food whenever I could get it at reasonable prices.

Now, as a Highland Lynx breeder I am responsible for my precious kittens health, both in the present and as they go on in life to be a companion to someone who will love them and want them to be around as long as possible. So I must know what kind of food is good for them. One of the dilemmas I face is whether dry food is nutritious for a cat.

Pet food advertising, veterinarians, kitten care manuals, etc. often lead us to believe that dry food should be the staple diet of a cat. But where would a cat find a diet of dry kibble in nature? A cat is a carnivore, just like a dog, meaning they are primarily meat eaters. Have you ever seen a cat kill a dry mouse? Or a crunchy rabbit? What bones they eat are padded in very moist flesh as well as soft in the middle (marrow).

Ok, maybe you don't like the thought of your Queen Fluffy killing anything. The point is to ask yourself how your cat was designed. Many cats do not drink enough water and have kidney problems. Is it possible they were meant to get much of their fluid through their food?

Let's say you still believe in dry cat food, how would you like to eat just corn flakes for the rest of your life. Even if they could pack everything you had to have in that corn flake box, I guarantee that not only would your health suffer, but you would grow to despise corn flakes, but eat them anyway to survive.

I think you are getting the idea of the thoughts coming to me. I will write more next time.

Beware of Clumping Litter For Kittens

When my first litter of kittens were old enough to start using a litter box, I put a small baking pan in their room with the same basic clumping cat litter in it that I used for the adult cats.

As I watched them one evening playing and getting in and out of the litter pan, I realized to my dismay, that they were eating little bites of the cat litter each time they got in the pan. I knew that could not be good, so I began researching the subject online and asking other breeders for input.

What I learned could save your kittens lives: NEVER USE CLUMPING LITTER FOR KITTENS!! Clumping cat litter contains sodium bentonite, a naturally absorbent clay, which is an extremely effective clumping agent. When liquid is added, bentonite swells to approximately 15 times its original volume. Now think about this: sodium bentonite acts rather like cement would, and all the labels tell you NOT to flush it because it can block your septic system as they absorb water and expand.

Is that what I want to happen in my kittens intestines? It came to my attention as I researched, that many a kitten owner has lost a kitten and discovered in autopsy that there were lung and bowel blockages made of clumping cat litter.

Needless to say, I immediately went and bought some plain, non-clumping litter. Since the ingestion of litter is unavoidable in kittens, be sure that whatever you use in their litter box is completely safe and non-toxic, and never, ever use a clumping litter when they are small.
 

How To Tell If Your Cat Is Sick

We know how to tell if a child is ill by taking their temperature or hearing them cough. But how do we tell if our pet is sick when they cannot speak our language? Here are some signs to watch for that will help you determine if your cat is under the weather.

Changes in your cats behavior are a sure sign that all is not well. If your cat is suddenly acting very different from what is normal for him or her, the chances are that something is wrong. Some situations I can think of for examples are: a cat that ordinarily eats little bits of food all day long, seems to have no appetite at all one day; a pet that is normally gentle natured and tolerant of children, begins to scratch and bite and growl at the least irritation; a cat who is generally laid back, lazy, and relaxed suddenly starts pacing the floor and whining; a normally playful cat that lays in the corner with eyes closed for hours at a time; a non-verbal cat that begins to meow and yowl; etc. That gives you enough of an idea of the kind of changes to watch for in behavior.

Some other changes to watch for to tell if your cat may be  sick are: runny bowel movements, cat parasites (such as white rice specks in it's feces), grass eating (this is normal, but can also be a sign of stomach upset), sudden and frequent thirst, and any other type of action or behavior that is not normal for your cat. If you observe any of these cat behaviors in your pet and cannot easily determine the problem, it would be a good idea to consult your favorite cat care/health book or your veterinarian. Perhaps like our cattery you will choose to treat your sick cat naturally, or you may take your vets recommendations. Regardless of your method of treatment, you should get help for a sick cat right away so the sickness does not worsen.

Causes of Cat Diseases

In this post you will read about a few of the common illnesses and cat diseases your pet can contract. It is hard to see our animals suffering with sickness and the more we know about what their symptoms may mean, the quicker we can help.

Bad bacteria can cause a number of diseases such as urinary tract infections, respiratory infection, etc. It is not uncommon for bad bacteria to build up in an animal that may have been treated with antibiotics which kill off good and bad bacteria alike . Some bacterial infections are acquired in situations where cats are malnourished, ill, or elderly, such as a rescue or pound animal. Spoiled meat or infection occurring from a wound can also be a source of bad bacteria. Some bacteria that commonly cause problems are Salmonella and e-coli.

If your cat has a bad case of diarrhea or loose stool have your vet check for protozoa such as giardia, tritrichomonas foetus, or coccidia.

Your cat can also catch viral illnesses. These are transmitted from cat to cat where water and food bowls are shared or during breeding (in body fluids). Stray cats and those who are sick or debilitated can be carriers of viruses. Symptoms to watch for are sneezing, runny nose discharge from nose, eyes or mouth, coughing, wheezing, etc. Just a few of these are feline distemper, feline viral respiratory disease, feline calicivirus, feline herpes virus and feline infectious peritonitis.

Feline heartworm is a mosquito born disease that is spread from one animal to another, when an infected cat is bitten by a mosquito which can carry the heartworm to the next animal it bites. If your cat has been exposed to a thick mosquito population and then begins to show any abnormal behavior, be sure to consult your vet.

Many people do not realize cats can get sick from tick bites just like humans, but unfortunately there are several diseases they can contract from ticks. If you find a tick attached to your cat pull it straight out slowly with tweezers and put it in an old bottle with a lid. You can have the tick tested for disease or just keep it in case the cat later shows evidence of a tickborne disease such as Lymes Disease.