Our Recommendations
MeOW-llo Welcome to Service Cat Furiday fur another episode of Training Tips and Everything Feline. You can find al the posts in this series by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page from our menu. Ifin you have any questions or topics you would like to see purrlease let us know in the comment section below or send us an email via our Contact page. We will be wrapping up our mini-series on Pet Food Ingredients today. However, this is a huge topic that we will revisit from time to time. Please stay with us. Pet Food Nutrition doesn’t have to be as daunting, confusing or expensive as one might think. We had to present you with the disturbing facts surrounding pet feed before getting to the good parts. You know, bad new furst? MOL
The following post will be written in human English for reader and translator ease. Our Service Cat posts aren’t intended to be an all inclusive Training Manual but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques used/developed by mommy A thru her many years of animal training, cats in purr-ticular. And to offer insight into your questions about Everything Feline. Always remember, successful Training is all about Repetition and Rewards.
We’ve been asked numerous times what we suggest kitties be fed, our recommendations regarding wet cat food, what brands are the best and how to transition kitty from one food/feed to another. Today, we’ll address these questions as best we can. Ideally, cats being obligate carnivores, should eat Raw, or at least as close as possible. No bag of kibble or can of who knows exactly what is actually a “Species Appropriate” diet. One of mommy’s biggest pet peeves is the Royal Canin peeps who overcharge and claim Persian cats need a different food than Siamese. People, all cats innards are exactly the same and digest nutrients the exact same way. Targeted advertising should be totally ignored when making food choices fur your pets. Just stick to the facts and not the pretty pictures on the packaging or some advertising blurb.
Our Recommendations:
What brand do we recommend? Which wet food is best? Our answers to these questions are only our opinions based on what we believe is “Species Appropriate”. As we stated earlier, cats or Obligate Carnivores and must eat meat. Their bodies are designed to get all their nutrients from their prey and not supplements, vegetables, grains, grasses or additives. We do not recommend feeding kibble to cats ever!!! As for wet food, we recommend feeding raw or slightly cooked. You can purchase pre-made ready to serve meals online and in many local stores depending on the area you live in. Altho’ these pre-mades can be costly, they are a good option for those who don’t want to prepare your own or to introduce your pet to raw. A few brands/sites we have tried/use: Big Bear, Feline Natural/K9 Natural, Primal, Vital Essentials, Northwest Naturals, Hounds & Gatos, Raw Paws Pet Food, and Stella and Chewy’s.
Truth About Pet Food.com compiles a list each year of cat and dog foods that meet stringent requirements. The list is made available for basically a donation. You can see what the requirements for the list are and it can be purchased here.
Dezi’s Health Scare and Transition:
As some of you know, me, Dezi, was a kibble eater for years. Me would literally starve me’s self before eating anything but Blue Buffalo kibble. *If you are feeding Blue Buffalo, especially the grain free option, please STOP immediately. After speaking with many Veterinarians across the country, we know that it is the predominant feed many cats presenting with UTI’s are eating.* That’s exactly what happened to me. So, being the good mommy she is, mommy strapped up for the fight to switch me’s food to get and keep me healthy. Me’s urine Ph was off the charts alkaline. This is terribly dangerous for a kitty. Naturally, we refused the prescription diet offered by our Vet. These expensive options aren’t any better than traditional pet feeds.
Mommy knew raw was best, but convincing me of that was going to take time and a lot of determination and sticking to her guns from mommy. And no, me doesn’t mean real guns. Mommy would never shoot me or even point a gun in me’s direction. Me wouldn’t eat anything from a can, pouch or cup. Me was so picky, that even me’s kibble had to have a particular shape and size. Mommy ordered up some Wysong freeze dried rabbit and chicken. Note: We must add this disclaimer: Freeze Dried food should have added water/broth and not be served dry. So, me wouldn’t eat it wet so mommy served it to me dry. After missing 3 meals, me began to nibble a bit. Hmmmmm, Me thought. This stuff wasn’t half bad. That began me’s journey to raw and good health. Over the course of a few months, mommy began to add more and more water/chicken broth. Guess what? Me’s a gravy lover. Yep, once a kibble only kitty now loves gravy. Switching didn’t happen easily or over night, but it is possible to switch any animal. We will cover Transitioning Techniques next week. Yes, feeding Raena and me freeze dried raw is expensive and that’s why mommy is moving us toward totally raw. She says it’s worth it because we’re happy and healthy, but her pocket book would appreciate a break. We also switched from Wysong to Primal and/or Stella & Chewy’s for cost effectiveness.
Can ya’ see all that gravy? Yummmmmmm
Wrap Up:
We have great things in store for us and all of you as we continue this journey, so we do hope you’ll stay tuned. Next week we plan to discuss more about Raw Feeding, Purchasing, Preparing and Switching techniques. We received several questions about Transitioning kitty to a different/better food, so we’ll be answering those. Don’t get overwhelmed by percentages or talk of needed supplements for raw diets. We promise to show you the easiest, most effective way to keep your little carnivore eating the way nature intended on a budget.
I’s never had kibble, and I’s a healthy happy kitty girl.
Me can’t even ‘member me’s kibble days and me can’t imagine eating a pellet and thinking it’s good much less food. Trust us, Raw isn’t as scary as you might think, nor is it as expensive. Whether you’re feeding one kitty or 20, raw feeding can be done economically. Ifin mommy can do it, anyone can. As we do each week, we’re joinin’ Comedy Plus fur Feline Furiday. Don’t furget you can ketch up on any post in this mini-series or our Service Cat series in general by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Felne page. And we’d love to hear what questions you’d like answered or topics you’d like us to cover. Just tell us in the comments section below or send us an email via our Contact page in the menu above.
Till the next time……………………………………………Be Blest!!!
Service Cats U.S. 