Pets Information
Google
 

Raw Feed? Are You Joking?


Let's think about this for a minute: God did not design our animals to eat pre-packaged, kibble or pellet-like food. In the wild, dogs don't tell each other, "Hey, I'm hungry, let's go to the pet food store and grab us some lunch." As if!

No, together, they go out and hunt down their food, then dig right in while it's still warm. Sorry about the graphic image, but well, that's nature for you! They also do not stoke up a campfire and sit around singing Kum Bi Ya while the meat gets cooked. Nope they just have at it in the natural raw form.

Now you might be thinking, "Yeah but that's wild animals, not our sweet kitties and dogs." Think again. They are and will always be carnivores. They need raw meat and bones to be healthy with a fully supported immune system. Also the raw, non-weight bearing bones such as the shoulders and backs give dogs and cats strong, clean white teeth eliminating the need for dentals done under anesthesia at a veterinarian's office, something that is not only much riskier but much more expensive than feeding your dogs and cats what they were designed to eat: meat.

Your other pets such as horses, guinea pigs, birds and rabbits also need natural raw food in order to thrive. They do not forage for pellets, let me tell you. Many birds are omnivorous so they'll eat fruits, veggies and meat. While our other furry and feathered friends need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Kim Christopher states, "Proper diet is among the more important considerations in the health maintenance of your pet and essential in the management of many diseases. To feed correctly, a knowledge of dietary nutrients and their availability is important."

And Dr. Russell Swift,"Carbohydrates are not needed by dogs(or cats). Carnivores cannot maintain long term production of the quantity of amylase enzyme necessary to properly digest and utilize the carbohydrates. In addition, the proteins in grains are less digestive than animal proteins. As a result, the immune system becomes irritated and weakened by the invasion of foreign, non-nutritive protein and carbohydrate particles."

So just what do you think most packaged pet foods commonly know as premium kibble contain? Grains. Byproducts. Toxic preservatives.

The question would then arise, if pet food manufacturers know this (they must because they're in business to know) why are these things added to our pet food and why are we told that these packaged foods are so good? Even our mainstream veterinarians are selling these foods to us.

Good questions. Part of the reason is because it's cheaper to use grains and byproducts. Byproducts can be anything we'd normally throw out such as beaks, feathers, feet/hooves, euthanized animals, road kill, you name it. It all gets rendered and added into our packaged pet foods.

Oh but it gets better. These foods are then baked. Here is what Dr. Betty Lewis stated on her website, "What's wrong with commercial foods? The number one item which makes commercial foods inappropriate for pets is that these foods are cooked. No one has ever reported seeing wild animals routinely barbecuing their meals! Raising the temperature of food above 118°F destroys all the enzymes and many of the nutrients."

To top it all off, in order to be able to say that these commercial foods have all the needed nutrients in them, they SPRAY on the nutrients. To get more details on this pick up the book by Ann Martin, Foods Pets Die For.

One of the best things you can do if you're confused about how to get started feeding your pets a natural diet is to first find a holistic veterinarian in your area and then find out what is appropriate for your pet. Homeopathic and holistic vets really adhere and promote the complete natural lifestyle for your pets and can help you put together a diet that will give your pet what he/she needs for full nutritional support.

All the problems we're seeing in our pets: allergies, skin disorders, cancer, diabetes, feather plucking, pulling out furr, etc., can almost alway be attributed to poor nutrition AND to food allergies. Their immune systems are compromised because they are not getting enough nutrition to support themselves which then weakens their immune system. Then we see disease. If the immune system is not supported properly, disease gets a front door welcome into your pets bodies.

So if you want to start seeing your pets live healthier, longer lives and also greatly reduce your vet bills, then switch to a natural, raw food diet. Your pets will love you for it!

References:
http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/nutrition.html
http://www.raot.org/information/nutrition.htm

About the Author:
Kim Bloomer is a natural pet care educator helping pet owners learn to care for their pets through natural, holistic means. Disease prevention is her goal to help pet owners lower their pet care costs and extend the lives of their pets. Visit her website Aspenbloom Pet Care and her dog's blog barkin' about natural pet care from a canine perspective Bark 'N' Blog

Look for Kim's new book on natural dog health with Dr. Jill Elliot, DVM due for release spring 2006.


MORE RESOURCES:

Pets' Corner: Will our holiday set back our cat's rehabilitation?
Independent, UK - 49 minutes ago
When we take in pets that have had a rocky start in life they usually come with baggage. Some behaviour that they display, like wariness of strangers or ...


ABC News

Hurricane Gustav Means Save Your Pet, Save Your Life
PR Web (press release), WA - 15 hours ago
A Zogby International study found that 44 percent of those who stayed behind when Hurricane Katrina hit did so because they wouldn't abandon their pets. ...
Video: New Orleans Braces For Gustav CBS
Pet shelters emptying cages as Gustav approaches The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
250 dogs, cats to leave New Orleans before storm St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Bayou Buzz - AFP
all 5,660 news articles


Change in Pet Evacuation Plan
WWL, LA - 35 minutes ago
Lafourche Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness will ONLY be assisting with the evacuation of pets from those residents who need transportation. ...
Parish ready for storm Opelousas Daily World
all 4 news articles


Group offers rides for pets to be sterilized at Harrisonburg clinic
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD - 1 hour ago
After pet owners pay in advance for a spay or neuter procedure, the vans will take animals to Harrisonburg for surgery and return the animals the next day, ...


The Sims 2 Apartment Pets and Apartment Life Now Available
Gamers Hell, UK - 2 hours ago
Electronic Arts announced that The Sims 2 Apartment Life for the PC and The Sims 2 Apartment Pets for the Nintendo DS are now available across North America ...


Things we do for the love of pets
Akron Beacon Journal, OH - 7 hours ago
Or you can clean 'em with these tips By Mary Beth Breckenridge Pets can be stinky, slobbery, messy and hairy. And they can be just so darned endearing, ...


Pets column: Teen's fowl behavior starts early, flourishes
Akron Beacon Journal, OH - 5 hours ago
The family eats the eggs but keeps the chickens strictly as pets. Adam's reputation as a bird man has wings at Tallmadge High School, and he is a steadfast ...


Longview animal shelter preparing to take in pets
KLTV, TX - 3 hours ago
Happy Days Kennel in Longview is preparing to take in pets of evacuees from Gustav. They'll be available 24/7 all weekend long at (903) 746-DOGS (3647). ...


Building bridges for needy pets
So Md News, MD - 7 hours ago
Pets with Disabilities Owner Joyce Darrell said Arnold and his volunteers did a fantastic job clearing trails and building bridges at the site. ...


Volunteers needed to care for terminally ill people's pets
Evening Leader, UK - 13 hours ago
By Kate Forrester A CHARITY dedicated to helping terminally ill owners and their pets stay together as long as possible is appealing for volunteers. ...
Barracuda's search for a pub site in Flintshire continues news.caterer.com
all 2 news articles

Pets - Google News

Français Español 日本語 [أربيك] Italiano Deutsch 汉语 漢語 Nederlands 한국어 PortРусско
Ελληνικά Swedish Indo Romanian Polish Norwegian Hindi Finnish Danish Czech Croatian Bulgarian English - Original language website translator

home | site map
Directory Seo Supreme
© 2006