Word of Advice Based on My Own Experience.

This morning, while cleaning the cat box, I started reminiscing and thinking of what I’ve been through with my cat, Abby.  As a refresher, Abby has been troubled by an illness called IBD, or IBS for more than a year now. Then I used to write “A condition which has no cure but can be controlled”. My cat was getting tired of all the suffering. He had been bleeding with chronic diarrhea.  His fur was matted and dry, and he was giving up slowly but shortly.  The vet didn’t know what to do anymore.  Abby was walking a very dangerous path which leads to colonic cancer. After the IBD diagnosis, tests, medications and “special” food, I decided to pay attention to what I was feeding my cat.  With the help of very, very special friends like ZQ, LW, DS, April, Savas and Ghilly, I decided to research about real foods for felines.  As soon as I started feeding him cooked fish, the bleeding and the diarrhea stopped.  The change happened literally overnight. I am now keeping him on the BARF diet and it’s been 3 weeks since I haven’t seen any signs of IBD.

Cats are obligate carnivores, and WE are creating weak felines. We are contributing to the continuous attack of serious health conditions like cancer, IBD, Obesity, Kidney Stones, UTI, Diabetes etc.  If only we stopped to think what their basic needs are, we would be saving a lot of money and our cats’ lives. These health conditions have become so frequent a great percentage is suffering the consequences of improper diet, and many have died. Cats do not require plant protein, which is what they sell at the pet stores in the form of kibbles. Cats need animal protein, little to no carbs, vitamins and minerals, and digestive enzymes with probiotics.  I am happy to assist anyone who needs to know about the BARF diet as it is easy and painless. Your cat will appreciate this.

Please, do not let any vet convince you that your cat will eventually end up with cancer or that IBD has no cure. IBD has a cure. I spent endless nights not being able to sleep.  I had to keep washing or throwing away my bed sheets. My house was a mess with diarrhea and blood all over the carpet, walls, kitchen counter. But I always knew my cat’s suffering was much bigger than my own. Cooking for your feline or keeping her on the BARF diet should be a joy as these magnificent creatures fill our lives with happiness and comfort.  They deserve to live like true carnivores. Nature knows best, and we are selfish for trying to change a creature’s very nature. I hope you will take advantage of this, and will prevent any diseases caused by improper nutrition. Don’t let vets tell you what’s best for a cat with IBD. You know your cat best, and if you stop, think and pay attention to why they’re having so many digestive issues, you will come up wit the answer yourself.  Don’t let anyone tell you it is too much trouble to either cook for your cat or research about the BARF diet. I can assist you myself, and mind you, I am no cook and cooking isn’t my forte. So, If I can do it, you can do it, too.

Notice I am not talking about canned food. I am merely talking about YOU keeping an eye on what YOUR cat eats, or YOU being in control of what your cat consumes, because I found that the most expensive canned foods also made my cat bleed, and yes, I tried all of them trying to find a cure for my cat when the cure was in my fridge, frozen, fresh from the market: Human Intended Meat. I found that I should not trust labels and that just because a label says "Veterinarian Recommended" doesn't mean is good for your cat or good at all.

The BARF diet works. I’ve seen it work myself. I’ve seen it work on a cat who had no chance in life according to one of the most prestigious DVM’s in the state of Florida.

This post is dedicated to my dear Abby.

Thank you to those who gave me comfort, support, strength and motivation. Thank you, Wolf, April, Sarah, MJ, Savas, Ghilly, and my super buddy Zodiacqueen.

[zodiacqueen]

Thanks PK!  What a great, great post!  This post is too good to leave here, you need to put this in the health pages so everyone will be able to read this.  

There's another very important message in the post-that vets (and human doctors) are NOT always right, and it takes our own gut feelings to know if a condition needs to be looked into further.  Unfortunately, mamy vets are in denial about how junky and unhealthy commercial foods really are.  Maybe they own stock in it???  LOL   I have actually brought this up with a vet about how junky commercial foods are.  Of course, he was in major denial, and it practically became a yelling match.  This just goes to show, and we MUST keep this in our heads......doctors can be wrong and they are NOT Gods.  To protect our pets, ourselves, and our love ones, we can NOT forget this fact.

[PrettyKitty1]

You're right, my friend. Don't I know about vets being so busy they pay little to no attention to what a sick cat truly needs. What happens is that the pet food industry relieves them and makes their busy lives easier. They see hundreds of cases daily, and when you have someone telling you "Hey, my product is intended to cure your patients so you don't have to spend too much time one just one pet" then it all seems perfect all of a sudden.

I know very little about what they do and what their job entitles. I know nothing about medicine and I would never belittle a DVM's knowledge. But I have the confidence to say that they have become too comfortable with what the food industry promises and claims.

Dry foods is a relatively new thing in the market. Why they are doing it? I don't know. I do know, however, that their focus and intentions are NOT aimed to improving our pets' health.

So, these creatures depend on us and our gut feeling to survive. That's why we need to listen and pay attention to what's happening here.?

[zodiacqueen]

That was not my intention to tell people to belittle the vet or doctors' knowledge.  My intention was to encourage people to question what the vet is saying, if there gut's telling them that their vet's treatment is not working and something is still wrong with their pet..

[PrettyKitty1]

Oh God, I don't think you are belittling anyone!! I was supporting your comment you see. Then, I added that part (the part about me not willing to belittle DVM's knowledge) because I had a point to make, not to contradict you or say your intention was to belittle them. In fact, I didn't see anything in your comment with such purpose, hun.

I agree with you 100%. They are not always right and we should always question everything they come up with, especially what has to do with our pets and most importantly if it isn't working. They can be wrong, look at my case!!

I'm sorry :) I didn't mean to create a misunderstanding  :)

[zodiacqueen]

I hope not!!  I got worried there for a minute!!  :D  It's way too easy to miss what someone is trying to say on these forums and misunderstand people!  Sorry if I misnderstood something you wrote!  :D

[dominosarah]

I think this was a great post.  As we speak i am feeding S Science Diet c/d food.  He seems to be doing very well on it.......he had some urinary issues earlier on when he was still with my dad and the vet put him on that.  He is very healthy, good coat, keeps himself clean and uses the litter box.  I dont want to be feeding him something bad tho.  I am wondering if he wouldnt do better on the BARF diet or should i just leave it alone.

Yes he is still mad at me today.......he went after the beagle and i told him no so he went to the steps and cried and then i felt bad and went to pick him up and explain to him why i told him no and he ran up the steps and sat and meowed at me!!!!!  He is a brat!!!!

[zodiacqueen]

PK was forced to follow that BARF diet, because her cat colon couldn't tolerate it.  I think that our kitties would, in the long run, be sooooo much healthier being on a diet that is so close to what they would be eating on their own.  I wish to God, I had known about this diet BEFORE when Skunkie was a baby.  She's 15 yrs old now, so I personally don't see a point trying to change her diet wrong.  If you guys (ya'll) think that maybe I should try it, then let me know what ya think!!  As for Snickers, it's NOT too late to start this diet for him.  You said he was 6 or 7 yrs old, right?  You'd prevent a lot of health issues if you got him on this diet.  The junk commercial foods have been linked to the obnoxiously (love that word :D) high rates of thyroid disease, kidney disease, and cancer in our kitties.  You will NOT be too late to cut Snicker's risk of getting these diseases.  It upsets me very much that I couldn't start Skunkie on this diet earlier!!  ={

PK is probably going to post the "How To" of the BARF diet on the health pages!  I will help her, if she needs it.  She says it's very easy!  =D

[dominosarah]

Ya he is 7 and had some kidney problems when he was 4.......Please post that diet in the health pages and then i can go from there........I dont want my boy to get sick later in life if there is something i can do NOW to prevent it.

[PrettyKitty1]

Sarah,

You know what the problem with Science Diet, or Purina is? I’ll tell you. My cat was eating Science Diet for a long time, and was still bleeding and had chronic diarrhea.  My cat wasn’t born with IBD. Science Diet, Purina and other commercial foods made him sick. Science Diet is made by a company called Hills. Hills is the same company which creates and sells prescription foods, like z/d etc. It makes me wonder about the following: If this company’s intention (as well as Purina) is to look after our pets’ well being then why is it that most cats get sick when kept on any of these diets? If their intentions are truly genuine then why don’t they make healthier foods instead of selling the **** at the pet stores and the prescription diet at the vet’s? If your cat had UTI when kept, say on Purina, then you go to the vet and they prescribe Purina, or any diet made by this company, would you trust that? Why would you trust a product made by the same company which is to blame for your cat’s illness? Am I making any sense here?

I will definitely post about the BARF diet on the Heath Pages. ZQ is right, Snickers still has time to live better. If you want to really switch him to this wonderful diet, I’d be more than happy to help you.

[dominosarah]

I am going to look at the BARF diet here in a bit.  I dont want to feed him something that is eventually going to harm him.  He is still young for a cat.  I have to go and frost my cinnamon rolls i made.......like my butt needs them!!!!

[MJIthewriter]

I did research on the BARF diet before and wanted to switch our cats over, but I am limited by what my grandma will take. I tried talking to her about it before and she put her foot down.  But when I do eventually live on my own, I hope I can have the freedom to try the diet and see if there is any improvement with our cats.

[MJIthewriter]

Anyways when I did research on pet foods I found Animal fat/animal protein/ and by products are a huge NO.  It's a bunch of waste products, spoiled meat, meat with tumors, meat from pets pts, and what else...  Science diet unfortunately is composed of those ingredients... Corn based foods are hard for pets to digest.

http://www.preciouspets.org/report.htm

[MJIthewriter]

"Another source of meat you won't find mentioned on pet food labels are dogs and cats. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were being used in pet food. Although pet food manufacturers vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association confirmed the Chronicle's story.  Many pets are euthanized with sodium pentobarbital and then rendered.  This poison does not break down and goes into commercial pet food and feed for cows, pigs and horses.  For the detailed report by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine on popular commercial pet foods containing pentobarbital, click here.  When you read the report, please know that AD (animal digest) is animal waste (to be polite)!"

http://www.preciouspets.org/report.htm

[dominosarah]

Gee i use Arm and Hammer kitty litter too............but i do clean it everyday so guess i am doing ONE thing right.

[PrettyKitty1]

See I was not aware of what MJ was talking about. I didn't know many euthanized animals were used as food sources. It makes me sick to my stomach really.

I highly recommend the BARF diet. I do not trust canned or dry foods. My vet himself told me they both contained and lacked the same things. The only difference is kitty will be more hydrated on a canned food diet. But her nutritional needs will not be met. I do not trust labels. If it is sold at the pet store then it is neither human intended meat nor good quality food.

I've tried all possible brands, but my cat's condition kept getting worse. I stopped recommending "high quality" pet foods a long time ago. You don't have to own a sick pet with IBD or megacolon to realize how serious the situation really is, and how important it is to stop recommending canned foods no matter how "good" they claim to be. I used to not pay attention to this until I adopted a cat with food allergies. I used to read comments from desperate members who didn't know what to do anymore to safe their cats. I never realized how serious the situation was until I adopted Abby. My ignorance almost killed him.

[MJIthewriter]

It shocked me too when I read stuff on it a few years ago. As soon as I found out, I started to look through the ingredients of Waldo's pet food and treats. Watch out, a lot of those treats you buy at Walmart, etc are laced with those nasty chemicals and added preservatives...   I used to get after my parents for buying treats with those ingredients and chemicals. Most people aren't aware and that's what is sad.

I also read somewhere when they use euphonized animals they leave flea collars on and process that. Ick, if that is true...  Those things make me sick just to read.

We still feed our cats dry food, but we use Blue Buffalo Spa Select for Waldo and Nutro Natural Choice for Sahib. As far as I know the package claims to not contain animal bi products and use higher quality food...  If people can't do the BARF diet, at least try to look for foods that make note of not containing those ingredients.

Stay away from Purina and some of the others that are rather cheap...


While we are at it Read up on those canine Greenies... They may not have animal protein and animal by products, but the plant material has caused damage and killed some dogs because it clogs up the intestines.  Also watch out for any kind of Kong with just one hole.  Apparently dogs can get their tongues stuck and not be able to get their tongue out. I read of a sad story of a dog who lost its tongue on one of those Kong toys.
http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/group/dogsville/forum/topics/dangerous-dog-toy-dog-owners?page=1&commentId=658300%3AComment%3A870578&x=1#658300Comment870578

[PrettyKitty1]

MJ, I will take a good look at your page today. I will let you know what I think, but judging from what you've mentioned, I'd say I'll love that page. Thank you for the info. I wanted to create this thread as a source of information because we don't know everything about the pet food industry, and in the meantime, our pets are suffering the consequences of our ignorance. Look at my case...*sigh*

What you say about dogs also deserves a wow!! You should post it on the dogs forum as well so dog owners can take advantage of all this information. I'm sure they'll appreciate it just as much as I appreciate you citing sources about the truth in pet foods.

[MJIthewriter]

PK, you're welcome. Here's a direct link to the PDF document. It lists a variety of pet foods they tested.

http://www.preciouspets.org/images/DFCHART.pdf

From the looks of it the food we give our cats isn't mentioned.  I saw two things from Nutro witch concerned me, but it doesn't show anything from their Natural Choice cat food.  According to the claims they say they don't use harmful by products and I've looked over the ingredients in the past.

If anything look in the ingredients.  Animal digest, animal fat, by products are some red flags.  I also read a while ago that when it says "fat" that means they boil up the meat and harvest the fat that comes up. It's less nutritious than using meat.  But dry food by its very nature will have less meat than moist.

Some sources say to eliminate dry completely or use it for treats, but then other sites will state concern for teeth and gum health.  It seems to be somewhat a gray area.  I just know our cats don't chew like people. Thy bite it down a little and then swallow it. I don't know how that really clears up tarter.