Want Your Pet To Be Healthier?
CForrester
P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Don't feed it commercial pet food!</div> <b>This is very important for anyone who has a pet, no matter what animal it is! Please make sure you read the <i>WHOLE</i> post.</b>
I recently started with feeding my cats a diet that my friend had recommended to me. She's had many animals over the years and feeds her animals a BARF diet. BARF stands for "Biologically Appropriate Raw Food" or "Bones And Raw Food". Basically, you feed your pet what it would be eating in the wild. For dogs and cats, this is raw meat, raw bones and a small amount of organ meats. Dogs and cats are carnivores. Similarly, you would feed a rabbit raw vegetables and hay. Rabbits are herbivores.
You shouldn't be feeding your pets commercial pet food. Commercial pet foods contain a lot of foods that are unnecessary and detrimental to your pet's health. For instance, kibbles contain grains. <i>Grains</i>. Dogs and cats were not meant to eat grains, it's unhealthy for them. The meat used in commercial pet foods is always the meat marked as not fit for human consumption. This includes meat from <u>sick or diseased</u> animals. A lot of health issues are caused by commercial pet foods and, usually, they can be fixed by feeding your pet a natural diet.
My cats have been getting MUCH better since I started them on a BARF diet. On a diet of raw chicken with the raw bones and a <b>small</b> amount of organ meat, their fur has improved. A cat or dog's fur is one way of telling how healthy it is. My cats' fur has gotten softer. My oldest cat, who was horribly overweight before I started feeding her a raw diet, has lost a lot of weight and they're all more energetic and happier.
If you've been thinking about consulting your vet about this, take everything they say with a grain of salt. Most vets receive only a small amount of training about animal nutrition and have been educated with lessons and statistics from pet food companies! A lot of them are even paid to sell expensive "specialty" pet foods.
For those of you who think that it will be more expensive than feeding your pet commercial pet food, you're wrong. Raw food can be found at extremely low prices, depending on the sales and where you look. Just shop around a bit. And you'll save <b>thousands</b> of dollars in vet bills when your animals are so healthy that they don't even need to go to the vet!
If you're worried about your carnivore pet choking on bones, don't worry. As long as the bones aren't cooked, your pet should be just fine. Cooked bones are weakened and splinter easily, which CAN hurt your pet. <b>NEVER feed your pet cooked bones!</b> Raw bones, however, are <i>essential</i>. Just make sure that you have more meat than you have bone! There are many more cases of a pet choking on commercial food than there are cases of a pet choking on raw bones!
If I've interested you, <b>PLEASE</b> start doing research! It's a bit of extra work in the beginning, but once you know what you need to do, it's easy and your pet WILL benefit from it!
Here are some links for more information for BARF diets. If you can't find any information for your pet on these pages, please check Google. Search for something like "BARF <animal>" and you'll be able to find many links!
<b><u>Links</u>:</b>
<i>Sites</i>
<a href='http://www.rawlearning.com' target='_blank'>http://www.rawlearning.com</a> - there's information there on vaccinations and deworming, too.
<a href='http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml</a>
<a href='http://rawfeddogs.net' target='_blank'>http://rawfeddogs.net</a>
<a href='http://www.pupcentral.com/most.juhtm' target='_blank'>http://www.pupcentral.com/most.juhtm</a>
<a href='http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm</a> - especially the first paragraph
<a href='http://www.hopperhome.com/rabbit_food.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.hopperhome.com/rabbit_food.htm</a>
<a href='http://www.carrotcafe.com' target='_blank'>http://www.carrotcafe.com</a>
<a href='http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-3/fiber.html' target='_blank'>http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-3/fiber.html</a>
<a href='http://rawfed.com/myths/' target='_blank'>http://rawfed.com/myths</a>
<a href='http://www.rawfoodlife.com/barf_faq.html' target='_blank'>http://www.rawfoodlife.com/barf_faq.html</a>
<a href='http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html' target='_blank'>http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html</a>
<a href='http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm</a> - VERY IMPORTANT if you want to know what they actually put in commercial pet foods!!
<i>Communities</i>
<a href='http://www.barfers.com/barflists.html' target='_blank'>http://www.barfers.com/barflists.html</a> - a list of mailing lists.
<a href='http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs' target='_blank'>http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs</a> - a LiveJournal community for people who feed their dogs and cats raw diets
<a href='http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs/41938.html' target='_blank'>http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs/41938.html</a> - an anecdote. Note how the vet told the farmer to feed his dog kibble and the dog got sick, then the farmer went back to raw food and the dog got better.
<b>EDIT: Oct 6, 8 AM EST-</b> Added two more links.
I recently started with feeding my cats a diet that my friend had recommended to me. She's had many animals over the years and feeds her animals a BARF diet. BARF stands for "Biologically Appropriate Raw Food" or "Bones And Raw Food". Basically, you feed your pet what it would be eating in the wild. For dogs and cats, this is raw meat, raw bones and a small amount of organ meats. Dogs and cats are carnivores. Similarly, you would feed a rabbit raw vegetables and hay. Rabbits are herbivores.
You shouldn't be feeding your pets commercial pet food. Commercial pet foods contain a lot of foods that are unnecessary and detrimental to your pet's health. For instance, kibbles contain grains. <i>Grains</i>. Dogs and cats were not meant to eat grains, it's unhealthy for them. The meat used in commercial pet foods is always the meat marked as not fit for human consumption. This includes meat from <u>sick or diseased</u> animals. A lot of health issues are caused by commercial pet foods and, usually, they can be fixed by feeding your pet a natural diet.
My cats have been getting MUCH better since I started them on a BARF diet. On a diet of raw chicken with the raw bones and a <b>small</b> amount of organ meat, their fur has improved. A cat or dog's fur is one way of telling how healthy it is. My cats' fur has gotten softer. My oldest cat, who was horribly overweight before I started feeding her a raw diet, has lost a lot of weight and they're all more energetic and happier.
If you've been thinking about consulting your vet about this, take everything they say with a grain of salt. Most vets receive only a small amount of training about animal nutrition and have been educated with lessons and statistics from pet food companies! A lot of them are even paid to sell expensive "specialty" pet foods.
For those of you who think that it will be more expensive than feeding your pet commercial pet food, you're wrong. Raw food can be found at extremely low prices, depending on the sales and where you look. Just shop around a bit. And you'll save <b>thousands</b> of dollars in vet bills when your animals are so healthy that they don't even need to go to the vet!
If you're worried about your carnivore pet choking on bones, don't worry. As long as the bones aren't cooked, your pet should be just fine. Cooked bones are weakened and splinter easily, which CAN hurt your pet. <b>NEVER feed your pet cooked bones!</b> Raw bones, however, are <i>essential</i>. Just make sure that you have more meat than you have bone! There are many more cases of a pet choking on commercial food than there are cases of a pet choking on raw bones!
If I've interested you, <b>PLEASE</b> start doing research! It's a bit of extra work in the beginning, but once you know what you need to do, it's easy and your pet WILL benefit from it!
Here are some links for more information for BARF diets. If you can't find any information for your pet on these pages, please check Google. Search for something like "BARF <animal>" and you'll be able to find many links!
<b><u>Links</u>:</b>
<i>Sites</i>
<a href='http://www.rawlearning.com' target='_blank'>http://www.rawlearning.com</a> - there's information there on vaccinations and deworming, too.
<a href='http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml</a>
<a href='http://rawfeddogs.net' target='_blank'>http://rawfeddogs.net</a>
<a href='http://www.pupcentral.com/most.juhtm' target='_blank'>http://www.pupcentral.com/most.juhtm</a>
<a href='http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.mybunny.org/info/rabbit_nutrition.htm</a> - especially the first paragraph
<a href='http://www.hopperhome.com/rabbit_food.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.hopperhome.com/rabbit_food.htm</a>
<a href='http://www.carrotcafe.com' target='_blank'>http://www.carrotcafe.com</a>
<a href='http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-3/fiber.html' target='_blank'>http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-3/fiber.html</a>
<a href='http://rawfed.com/myths/' target='_blank'>http://rawfed.com/myths</a>
<a href='http://www.rawfoodlife.com/barf_faq.html' target='_blank'>http://www.rawfoodlife.com/barf_faq.html</a>
<a href='http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html' target='_blank'>http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html</a>
<a href='http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm</a> - VERY IMPORTANT if you want to know what they actually put in commercial pet foods!!
<i>Communities</i>
<a href='http://www.barfers.com/barflists.html' target='_blank'>http://www.barfers.com/barflists.html</a> - a list of mailing lists.
<a href='http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs' target='_blank'>http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs</a> - a LiveJournal community for people who feed their dogs and cats raw diets
<a href='http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs/41938.html' target='_blank'>http://www.livejournal.com/community/rawdogs/41938.html</a> - an anecdote. Note how the vet told the farmer to feed his dog kibble and the dog got sick, then the farmer went back to raw food and the dog got better.
<b>EDIT: Oct 6, 8 AM EST-</b> Added two more links.
Comments
what about budgies, huh? <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I'll look in to it and let you know what I find.
Also, even if your cat is healthy enough, it will get much healthier on a BARF diet. You'll notice the difference. Giving it a try can't hurt, as long as you do your research.
When I feed my cats chicken, it's usually chicken thighs with the back attached. I seperate the bones at the joints and split the bones in the back in to smaller pieces, and they've never had problems with it. They generally won't have problems with bones. My youngest cat LOVES to gnaw on bones.
~ DarkATi
~ DarkATi <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sorry, I guess my timing was bad. :/
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->my rabbit is happy after switching to veggies and BARF approved food <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Great! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> Have you been giving her timothy hay along with the vegetables? Rabbits need to have hay available at all times, on the bottom of their cages. She's been feeling better since you last posted about her? <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Apart from him looking so stoned because he stares everyone to death he seems quite ok. He's 12 years btw, which is afaik pretty long for a cat.
Which isn't to say that some animals might not be healthiest eating raw meat and cracking bones for marrow. I am only saying that it's not necessarily the case, and taking the word of one prejudiced camp is likely to be foolhardy. Throughout history, people have a tendancy to claim that Their Way is the Only Way, and it's never the case. Always remain open minded, always do your own research, <b>never walk into a question convinced you already know the answer.</b>
But you do make a good point about this 'diet' food and 'grains' and what nots, will take this into consideration if I ever get a pet.
12 years has only been pretty long for a cat since people started feeding their pets commercial food. On a raw diet, it isn't unusual for a cat to live 15+ years.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->What would you feed a rat in this case? They eat eveything. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Rats are omnivores and trash-eaters, like hogs and humans, but they're rodents. Their diet should probably be primarily flora, but I don't really know.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Feed your pet Science Diet brand. That's all I can say.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you want your pet to suffer from a shortened lifespan, bloat, high risk for many diseases, decreased immune system and dental issues, sure.
<b>[Edit:]</b> I would also like to note that I tried feeding my cat Science Diet once. They got really sick. My oldest was vomitting and she had severe diarrhea. Once I stopped feeding it to her, she got better immediately.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->And besides its been proven that commercial food will to improve the health of animals.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Who has proven it? The only studies I've seen have been by pet food companies, who are trying to sell their product.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Trying to claim that OMG ALL THINGS IN X CATEGORY ARE BAD is always dumb. Unless X category is, say, "alkali metals". Always do your research, always talk to your vet. Dogs and cats are descended through thousands of years of domesticated bringing. This is a form of crude genetic modification, and within even a few generations, domesticated foxes began to evince definite physiological and behavioral differences. I forget the name of the researcher who held the experiment that showed this, but she (or maybe he, can't remember) did it in Siberia, I think. Inside of four generations, the foxes she was working with developed mottled coloring and maintained puppy-like behaviors much longer. To suppose that dietary needs might change is far from a stretch. Further, how much do you know about your pet's "wild" diet? Leaving out the question of whether it had one in the first place, what sort of natural prey is going to be appropriate for a Bichon Frise? Sure, they're descended from carnivores, but so what? There's a huge variation in what constitutes a healthy diet between populations of humans the world over. The Inuit obtain basically all their nutrition from various marine fauna. Were you or I to try that, we'd probably get sick. So saying that there's variation in what a dog will be healthiest eating - and there's far more physiological variation between dogs than between humans - seems to almost be a no-brainer. And of course in most cases, diet is going to be less of an impact on health than breed. A mutt is almost certainly going to be healthier than a purebred, assuming similar environments; newer breeds are usually going to be healthier than older breeds.
Which isn't to say that some animals might not be healthiest eating raw meat and cracking bones for marrow. I am only saying that it's not necessarily the case, and taking the word of one prejudiced camp is likely to be foolhardy. Throughout history, people have a tendancy to claim that Their Way is the Only Way, and it's never the case. Always remain open minded, always do your own research, never walk into a question convinced you already know the answer.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
All dogs are carnivores. You only need to look at their teeth to tell. They were <b>meant</b> to eat raw meat and bone and a little bit of grass.
In a way, you've just proved my point. If your animal needs a different diet, why are you feeding it pet food that was meant for <i>all</i> breeds to consume? On a raw diet, you can adjust what your animal eats to fit its needs. You can't do that with pet food.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I'll talk to my parents about it. We just got this year old husky (trying it out for a week) who won't eat anything but tablescraps... no dog food whatsoever... hopefully this might work..<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Depending on the size of your dog, you may have to feed it whole chickens. A dog should have 2% of its body weight a day, unless it's a puppy. Puppies need 10-15% of their body weight a day and need to eat around four times a day. <b>Keep in mind that these numbers are not set in stone.</b> They may need to be adjusted, depending on the activity level of your dog! A lot of dogs may need more than 2% of their body weight!
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->my cat still manages to get some small wild animals here and there ^_^ and he eats half of it before offering it to me o.O<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you catch your cat with a small wild animal, take it away from him and put it in a plastic bag or something marked with the animal species and the date and leave it sit in your freezer for a month to ensure that all of the parasites are killed, then it's safe to feed it to your cat. This is just a precaution for people who are worried, though. Your cat should be fine even if he eats them right away. Why let free food go to waste? <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Eediot:</b> Here you go. It seems that you should be feeding it bird seed as well as vegetables. <a href='http://www.birds-online.de/nahrung/nahrung_en.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.birds-online.de/nahrung/nahrung_en.htm</a>
Also:
"Small amounts of cooked chicken egg, apple, pear, cantaloupe, leafy greens, whole wheat bread, and corn bread are very good for Budgies. Really, anything that you eat yourself, with the exceptions of chocolate and avocado, can be offered to Keets. A different fresh food should be fed every day."
<b>[EDIT:]</b> I would like to note that dogs, while domesticated a long time, have only been eating cooked commercial food for about fifty years. Working dogs were rarely on any sort of diet, because they have to <b>work</b>. Rat dogs--and all terriers--have eaten <b>rats</b> for years. That's what they're <i>for</i>. Cats, too. They've been eating commercial food for even less time. <b>They're meant to work, too</b>. (Killing rodents on farms, ships, in houses, etc...) Cats and terriers and spitzes have been working animals on ships for years and years, eating raw rats.
Regardless of where dogs came from, dogs are carnivores, and the <a href='http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp' target='_blank'>Merck veterinary manual</a> says that non-pregnant carnivores have absolutely no need for carbohydrates. <i>All</i> commercial kibble contains carbohydrates. Lots of them. Also toxic dyes (in "safe" levels; what?)
Rats are omnivores and trash-eaters, like hogs and humans, but they're rodents. Their diet should probably be primarily flora, but I don't really know. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was kidding. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> Rats, while omnivorous, should eat +95% fruits and vegtables. Protein is rather harmful to them, and all forms of sweets and oily/greasy foods should be avoided.
Rats are omnivores and trash-eaters, like hogs and humans, but they're rodents. Their diet should probably be primarily flora, but I don't really know. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was kidding. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> Rats, while omnivorous, should eat +95% fruits and vegtables. Protein is rather harmful to them, and all forms of sweets and oily/greasy foods should be avoided. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ahh, thanks. I will keep this in mind. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I know that's what most dogs do, but to be perfectly honest she does it just because she wants to. She's perfectly healthy otherwise.
It's not necessarily to keep them from getting sick, but it does help push things through. It's good roughage. Dogs should <i>always</i> have access to fresh grasses. Wheatgrass, for example, is easy to grow indoors and cheap. Sometimes, dogs may eat grass to throw up. To get excess acids out of their stomachs. If that happens, they should probably be fed some meat.
Besides, you say she does it because she enjoys it.. doesn't sound like it's her actual diet, just something she does.
<a href='http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html' target='_blank'>http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html</a>
I'm going to add it to the links section in the first post.
The only time my cats ever show a sign of sickness is is when they cough up a hairball. They have caught a few colds now and then, but thats about it.
The way my cats will die will most likey be some form of cancer, contributed by the morons that smoke in this house (myself not included) 2 former cats have died of the same cancer disease, and while old age is a factor, the toxic smoke and chemicals in a pack of that garbage also contribute. My other cat got hit by some ****** in the middle of the night and didn't make it.
However
What you posted is quite interesting, I'll give it a more in-depth read in the links.