ASPCA’s Poison Control Center says many household items can be poisonous to dogs.
The ASPCA last week revealed that it managed more than 116,000 calls to its Animal Poison Control Center hotline in 2006, many of which pertained to pet poisonings from common household items.
“While the reason is not clear, calls in virtually each of these categories seems to be on the rise,” said Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist and senior vice president with the ASPCA, who manages the ASPCA’s Midwest Office, which houses the APCC.
During National Poison Prevention Week, from March 18 to 24, the ASPCA is advising pet owners to stay alert to the possibility of poisoning from these common household items:
1. Human medications: The ASPCA says this category has been number one on its list of common items hazardous to dogs for years, including in 2006. Last year, more than 78,000 calls involving common human drugs such as painkillers, cold medications, antidepressants and dietary supplements were managed by the poison control center — a 69 percent increase over 2005.
2. Insecticides: The APCC handled more than 27,000 pet poisonings pertaining to products used to kill fleas, ticks and other insects in 2006, up more than 28 percent from 2005. “A key factor in the safe use of products that eliminate fleas, ticks and other pesky bugs, is reading and following label instructions exactly,” Hansen said.
3. Veterinary medications: The APCC says it managed more than 12,000 cases in 2006 involving animal-related preparations such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, heartworm preventatives, de-wormers, antibiotics, vaccines and nutritional supplements — a 93 percent hike in volume.
4. Plants: The number of pet poisonings involving plants also shot up by more than 111 percent in 2006 to over 9,300. While poisonous plants should certainly be kept away from dogs, it is also a good idea to discourage dogs from nibbling on any variety of plant, as even non-toxic plants can lead to minor stomach upsets.
5. Rodenticides: Last year, approximately 8,800 calls about rat and mouse poisons were received by the APCC, representing an increase of more than 27 percent over 2005.
6. Household cleaners: In 2006, the APCC received approximately 7,200 calls of pet poisonings pertaining to cleaning agents such as bleaches, detergents and disinfectants.
7. Chocolate: Always a common food-related call, more than 4,800 chocolate calls were received by the APCC last year, an 85 percent increase from 2005. Chocolate is poisonous and potentially fatal to dogs. “Typically, the darker the chocolate, the greater the potential for poisoning,” Hansen said.
8. Chemical hazards: A newcomer to the top 10 pet poisons, this includes such harmful items as volatile petroleum-based products, alcohols, acids and gases. In 2006, the APCC received more than 4,100 calls related to chemical hazards — a jump in call volume of more than 300 percent.
9. Physical hazards: While not necessarily all toxic, items in this group include objects that could pose a choking hazard, risk for intestinal obstruction, or other physical injury. In 2006, the number of pet cases related to a physical hazard grew 460 percent to over 3,800.
10. Home improvement products: In 2006, about 2,100 cases involving paint, solvents, expanding glues and other products commonly used in construction were managed by the APCC — up 17 percent from 2005.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
What Dangerous Byproducts Lurk in Cat Food?
A pair of glowing green eyes shimmers in the moonlit night…still and watching. Waiting. Patient. Then suddenly, like a spring—the shadowy figure leaps out and pounces on its unsuspecting prey.
Unwilling to end the hunt so easily, the Mighty Hunter tosses it into the air, letting it fly, again and again, down to the ground and up again, letting it fall to the earth and scamper free.
Just when Little Gray thinks it’s crafted an escape, it’s captured again. When Little Gray finally gasps its last breath, the Mighty Hunter revels in his moonlight snack.
Chances are, since you’re reading this article, you’re a cat owner and the above scenario rings a familiar bell. Why do cats display this perpetual hunting behavior, despite having a full bowl of kibble inside?
Cats were simply created to catch and kill prey. They are hard-wired that way.
House cats descended from their carnivorous wildcat ancestors who roamed the desert plains of Africa, feeding on mice and other small mammals. They have sharp, interlocking canines built for grasping, puncturing and tearing animal flesh. Their jaws are hinged to move up and down, unlike herbivores such as cows and horses whose jaws move side to side, performing a grinding motion that breaks apart fibrous material.
The first documentation we have of cat domestication is from Egypt, where they used them in granaries to keep mouse populations down.
Gradually, over the last thousand years, kitties have warmed their way into our hearts and through our front doors. We discovered what lovely companions they could be. Although they no longer have to fend for themselves, their transition from the wild has not been altogether helpful to their overall health, sadly enough.
It wasn’t until the early 1900s that we produced the first bag of cat food, more for our own convenience than the well being of our feline friends, whose digestive systems were designed to process live meat, a far cry from dry kibble.
The cat is more than a carnivore—she is an obligate carnivore. To survive, the cat must eat meat.
Basic Cat Nutritional Requirements
Cats, like all animals, require six classes of nutrients:
Water
Energy
Protein
Essential fatty acids
Minerals
Vitamins
Notice that carbohydrates are not listed. Cats have essentially NO requirement for carbohydrates, deriving all of their energy needs from a diet rich in protein and fat. The only carbohydrates their ancestors ate were the vegetables in the digestive tracts of their prey, which were already “pre-digested.” These carbohydrates made up about 3-5 percent of the cats’ diet.
The metabolic requirement for glucose in your cat is derived from proteins (glucogenic amino acids) and fats (glycerol)—she has no mechanism for converting carbohydrates to energy, like dogs and humans do. This is why animal protein is so crucial for cats.
Cats need more protein than other carnivores.
One reason for this is, certain liver enzymes that break down proteins are always functional in cats (they are turned “on” and “off” in other animals). Therefore, your cat uses some energy merely to fuel this process, and that energy has to come from protein.
Two amino acids that are particularly important for your cat are arginine and taurine. Cats lack the enzyme that allows them to convert other amino acids into arginine, so they must obtain this from their diet. Cats use taurine alone for bile salt synthesis, so they need much more of this than other animals.
The secondary source of energy for cats is fat. Cats require more fat than dogs or humans—it is recommended that 15 to 40 percent of the energy content of your cat’s diet be derived from fat.
Unlike proteins, excess fat can be wasted/excreted by your cat’s system; therefore, it’s not a burden to her kidneys. Consequently, as a cat enters her senior years, the fat content of her diet should be increased somewhat while the protein is decreased proportionately. This way, the proper energy content is maintained while easing the burden on her aging kidneys. 1
Even your cats’ physical organ structure reflects her highly specialized digestive system.
She has a fairly small stomach and small, short intestine, because her diet is supposed to be concentrated, highly digestible, and low in residue—i.e., mostly protein. When she eats an excess of carbohydrates, much of the food is only partially digested by the time it reaches the large intestine for fecal formation, overloading the digestive and excretory systems. 2
What’s In Your Bag of Cat Food?
Now, take a look at the label on that bag of dry cat food in your pantry. Even if you have a “reputable” brand, chances are it has a fair amount of vegetable-derived carbohydrate and grain ingredients:
Corn
Wheat
Rice
Soy
One primary reason is that it’s hard to make a dry kibble without those things. Typical dry foods are 35-40 percent carbohydrate, and some are as high as 50 percent.
So, you’ve been feeding your precious felines a diet lower in protein, lower in moisture, and higher in carbohydrate than what they are biologically designed to eat.
The end result?
Cats now share one major health problem with their human companions: obesity.
The Dangers of Obesity
Twenty five to 33 percent of cats are overweight or obese. In fact, obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among dogs and cats in the United States today.
In addition to dietary factors, neutered or spayed cats actually require about 25-30 percent fewer calories than non-neutered. There is some evidence that neutering might lead to disordered leptin control of body fat in male cats. Just like you and me, cats store excess carbohydrates as fat.
I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t neuter your Tom, but you should adjust his diet appropriately.
Obese kitties are at risk for:
Diabetes
Joint problems
Heart disease
Lower urinary tract diseases
FHL (Feline Hepatic Lipodosis, aka “fatty liver syndrome”)
Kidney problems, and
Skin conditions
The majority of diabetes in cats is type II, at 65 percent, whereas in dogs, the overwhelming majority is type I diabetes (insulin-dependent). Since it is known that type II diabetes can be controlled and even prevented through diet, you have a very good chance of preventing your cat from developing this condition with the right choice of diet.
Excessive carbohydrates is directly linked to diabetes in cats. Carbohydrates break down into sugar, and sugar stresses your cat’s pancreas. Your kitty’s pancreas is designed to secrete insulin to balance the blood sugar, but when you’re feeding him an excessive amount of carbohydrates, which shouldn’t really be in the foods in the first place, diabetes can result.
High carbohydrate diets can lead to serious bladder problems for your kitty. Excessive carbs cause alkalization of your cat’s urine, which causes crystals cystitis and painful inflammation of the bladder.
Kidney and bladder stones can also occur from feeding your kitty food he wasn’t biologically designed to consume. In fact, the leading cause of death of cats in the United States is kidney failure.
Important Concerns Regarding the Overweight Kitty
Overweight cats have one particularly important health caution when it comes to diet and weight loss that I must mention, because it can be life-threatening. It is called Feline Hepatic Lipidosis (FHL, aka “Fatty Liver Syndrome”) and is characterized by excess fat accumulation in the liver of cats.
Fatty Liver Syndrome is the most common form of liver disease in cats in North America, and it is unique to felines.
It can occur in cats of any age or breed, and it occurs after a period of anorexia (loss of appetite) of a few days’ to a few weeks’ duration. After a few days without adequate food, the cat’s body will begin to use fat for energy. Cats do not metabolize fat well; therefore, the fat cells build up in the liver and rapidly prevent it from functioning normally. It isn’t long before the liver shuts down completely, which is life threatening if left untreated.
The cat developing FHL will begin to feel sick, which further suppresses his appetite, which accelerates the problem into a vicious cycle. Symptoms commonly seen with FHL are anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, vomiting, jaundice (yellow tinge to the skin, inside of the ears, and gums), and occasionally behavioral or neurological signs such as excessive drooling, blindness, coma or seizures.
Are You Feeding Your Cat High Quality Protein?
Another issue you have to contend with is the quality of the protein found in commercial cat foods.
Initially, proteins used in cat foods were from fresh, living, whole sources. But in time, as with all big business, the almighty dollar demanded cheap substitutes. This is when rendering entered the scene.
Rendering is the recycling of animal remains into usable material. It involves cooking down raw animal parts to separate out the moisture and fat. Rendering plants are like giant recycling kitchens, boiling down the carcasses of everything from road kill, dead and diseased farm animals, poultry waste and supermarket rejects.
When you see ingredients such as meat meal, fishmeal, poultry meal, meat by-products, tallow, beef fat, chicken fat, etc—these came from a rendering plant, which were then sold to feed industries, including pet food manufacturers.
Rendered means “not for human consumption.”
As important as recycling is today, the problem comes from the contaminants that go into the mix. Rendering plants are unavoidably processing toxic waste.
Animals are frequently tossed into “the pit” with flea collars still on, so you have insecticides going in. Pharmaceuticals given to livestock, euthanasia drugs given to pets, and heavy metals from pet ID tags, surgical pins and needles, and a variety of plastic ends up in the toxic soup. Every week, millions of packages of expired plastic-wrapped meat go through the rendering process and become one of the unwanted ingredients in animal feed.
Obviously, this recycled, ultra processed matter does not offer your kitty much in terms of nutritional value, and the sad fact is that rendered material exists in more than 90 percent of cat foods on the market today.
There is some good news, however.
There are a few smaller companies who offer quality cat food made with human-grade ingredients. They are a bit harder to find, but they’re out there. If you are in love with your current pet food and the label looks decent, I suggest you call the company and simply ask if the food is approved for human consumption. That’s a good start.
Canned or Dry?
From the perspective of moisture content, canned food is by far superior to dry food in meeting your cat’s needs, for the reasons discussed in the previous section about moisture content. Of course, we’re used to convenience, and it’s really easy and quick to scoop some kibble into a dish and leave it out, and expect our kitties to thrive.
Unfortunately, this is a convenience we need to break.
Dry food has been touted to be the saver of cat’s teeth. Supposedly, chewing the dry food cleans their teeth. However, this has not proven true since most cats swallow dry food whole, chewing very little of it, and what does get chewed often gets stuck between their teeth due to the type of jaw motion cats have. There, it ferments, causing dental problems.
In general, canned food is also higher in protein than dry kibble. The carbohydrate isn’t needed for “structural” purposes. Since your kitty doesn’t need the carbs for nutrition, this is just one more reason that canned food is better for him.
I challenge you to gradually wean your kitty onto a high quality, human-grade canned cat food. It is important to do this in a gentle way since cats don’t respond well to a mandate. It requires patience. But the benefit to your kitty’s health and happiness will be so worth the time and effort.
Once your cat is eating human-grade canned food, consider weaning him or her onto a balanced raw food diet. This is the most biologically appropriate food you could offer your cat.
What to Look For in Your Cat Chow
The canned food should be USDA-inspected and declared safe for human consumption, and it should contain essentially no carbohydrates (less than 3-5 percent). Here are some other considerations:
The use of by-products: Heads, feet, bones, tendons, ligaments, intestines and other unsavory body parts can all be labelled “protein,” but are inferior sources of protein and difficult to digest. This means less nutrition and more clean up.
Chemical preservatives and artificial colors: BHA, BHT, and ethoxoquin can be very harmful to pets. Artificial colors are also linked to health problems.
Grains: Corn, soy, wheat gluten and corn gluten are often used instead of meat, but are nothing more than cheap fillers and are difficult for your cat to digest.
Freshness: Many large manufacturers make pet food in huge batches formulated to last for a very long time, so you may be buying food that has been sitting on warehouse shelves for six months to a year.
Cooking Method: Often companies use rigorous cooking techniques that destroy most of the beneficial nutrients—just like when you boil vegetables to death. The result is poor nutritional quality.
Now, look at the first five ingredients. These play a significant role in the nutritional make-up of the food. Ask yourself these questions:
What are the protein sources? The primary source should come from quality animal protein, not vegetable protein or grain. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients might have more vegetable protein than animal protein, which is not as good for your cat.
What are the fat sources? The primary fat source should be animal-based because animal fats contain a profile of fatty acids that are easily metabolized and thus generally more bioavailable to your cat.
Are there by-products? You don’t want any of those!
Are there other health-promoting ingredients? Vegetables and fruits, antioxidants, chelated minerals, bacteria cultures (probiotics), eggs, and essential fatty acids seed meal are excellent things to find in the ingredient list.
However, cats can’t convert ALA to EFA/DHA, so make sure it does not contain flax (unless you need to bulk up your pet’s stool).
You might need to call the manufacturer to get answers to some of these questions, since there is limited information on the label. Any company worth their salt should be happy to have a representative speak with you. Cats should be fed two to three times per day (consult your holistic vet if your cat has health problems). The days of the all-you-can-eat kitty buffet have come to an end.
To stimulate your cat’s desire to try new foods, you have to create a little bit of hunger throughout the day. Cats were meant to fast between meals, so these periods of hunger are actually good for their metabolism (although Sylvester will undoubtedly try to convince you he is close to dying of a cruel and painful starvation). Start by picking up your cat’s bowl in between 2-3 square meals a day. After your cat is regimented to twice daily feeding, begin slowly mixing in new foods with their old diet. With persistence and help from your holistic veterinarian, you can successfully wean your cat onto a healthier diet.
Don’t give in, no matter what! You KNOW how persuasive he can be. There are times your cat will want you to believe he is on his last, dying breath—especially if he’s been free-feeding and has forgotten what hunger feels like--but this will pass as he adjusts to his new routine. Don’t feed your cat when he’s begging for food…stick to feeding your 2-3 meals a day or you’ll only create a monster! By lovingly, yet firmly sticking to your commitment to improve your cat’s diet you can successfully wean you cat onto healthier food and create a healthier future for your feline friend.
Unwilling to end the hunt so easily, the Mighty Hunter tosses it into the air, letting it fly, again and again, down to the ground and up again, letting it fall to the earth and scamper free.
Just when Little Gray thinks it’s crafted an escape, it’s captured again. When Little Gray finally gasps its last breath, the Mighty Hunter revels in his moonlight snack.
Chances are, since you’re reading this article, you’re a cat owner and the above scenario rings a familiar bell. Why do cats display this perpetual hunting behavior, despite having a full bowl of kibble inside?
Cats were simply created to catch and kill prey. They are hard-wired that way.
House cats descended from their carnivorous wildcat ancestors who roamed the desert plains of Africa, feeding on mice and other small mammals. They have sharp, interlocking canines built for grasping, puncturing and tearing animal flesh. Their jaws are hinged to move up and down, unlike herbivores such as cows and horses whose jaws move side to side, performing a grinding motion that breaks apart fibrous material.
The first documentation we have of cat domestication is from Egypt, where they used them in granaries to keep mouse populations down.
Gradually, over the last thousand years, kitties have warmed their way into our hearts and through our front doors. We discovered what lovely companions they could be. Although they no longer have to fend for themselves, their transition from the wild has not been altogether helpful to their overall health, sadly enough.
It wasn’t until the early 1900s that we produced the first bag of cat food, more for our own convenience than the well being of our feline friends, whose digestive systems were designed to process live meat, a far cry from dry kibble.
The cat is more than a carnivore—she is an obligate carnivore. To survive, the cat must eat meat.
Basic Cat Nutritional Requirements
Cats, like all animals, require six classes of nutrients:
Water
Energy
Protein
Essential fatty acids
Minerals
Vitamins
Notice that carbohydrates are not listed. Cats have essentially NO requirement for carbohydrates, deriving all of their energy needs from a diet rich in protein and fat. The only carbohydrates their ancestors ate were the vegetables in the digestive tracts of their prey, which were already “pre-digested.” These carbohydrates made up about 3-5 percent of the cats’ diet.
The metabolic requirement for glucose in your cat is derived from proteins (glucogenic amino acids) and fats (glycerol)—she has no mechanism for converting carbohydrates to energy, like dogs and humans do. This is why animal protein is so crucial for cats.
Cats need more protein than other carnivores.
One reason for this is, certain liver enzymes that break down proteins are always functional in cats (they are turned “on” and “off” in other animals). Therefore, your cat uses some energy merely to fuel this process, and that energy has to come from protein.
Two amino acids that are particularly important for your cat are arginine and taurine. Cats lack the enzyme that allows them to convert other amino acids into arginine, so they must obtain this from their diet. Cats use taurine alone for bile salt synthesis, so they need much more of this than other animals.
The secondary source of energy for cats is fat. Cats require more fat than dogs or humans—it is recommended that 15 to 40 percent of the energy content of your cat’s diet be derived from fat.
Unlike proteins, excess fat can be wasted/excreted by your cat’s system; therefore, it’s not a burden to her kidneys. Consequently, as a cat enters her senior years, the fat content of her diet should be increased somewhat while the protein is decreased proportionately. This way, the proper energy content is maintained while easing the burden on her aging kidneys. 1
Even your cats’ physical organ structure reflects her highly specialized digestive system.
She has a fairly small stomach and small, short intestine, because her diet is supposed to be concentrated, highly digestible, and low in residue—i.e., mostly protein. When she eats an excess of carbohydrates, much of the food is only partially digested by the time it reaches the large intestine for fecal formation, overloading the digestive and excretory systems. 2
What’s In Your Bag of Cat Food?
Now, take a look at the label on that bag of dry cat food in your pantry. Even if you have a “reputable” brand, chances are it has a fair amount of vegetable-derived carbohydrate and grain ingredients:
Corn
Wheat
Rice
Soy
One primary reason is that it’s hard to make a dry kibble without those things. Typical dry foods are 35-40 percent carbohydrate, and some are as high as 50 percent.
So, you’ve been feeding your precious felines a diet lower in protein, lower in moisture, and higher in carbohydrate than what they are biologically designed to eat.
The end result?
Cats now share one major health problem with their human companions: obesity.
The Dangers of Obesity
Twenty five to 33 percent of cats are overweight or obese. In fact, obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among dogs and cats in the United States today.
In addition to dietary factors, neutered or spayed cats actually require about 25-30 percent fewer calories than non-neutered. There is some evidence that neutering might lead to disordered leptin control of body fat in male cats. Just like you and me, cats store excess carbohydrates as fat.
I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t neuter your Tom, but you should adjust his diet appropriately.
Obese kitties are at risk for:
Diabetes
Joint problems
Heart disease
Lower urinary tract diseases
FHL (Feline Hepatic Lipodosis, aka “fatty liver syndrome”)
Kidney problems, and
Skin conditions
The majority of diabetes in cats is type II, at 65 percent, whereas in dogs, the overwhelming majority is type I diabetes (insulin-dependent). Since it is known that type II diabetes can be controlled and even prevented through diet, you have a very good chance of preventing your cat from developing this condition with the right choice of diet.
Excessive carbohydrates is directly linked to diabetes in cats. Carbohydrates break down into sugar, and sugar stresses your cat’s pancreas. Your kitty’s pancreas is designed to secrete insulin to balance the blood sugar, but when you’re feeding him an excessive amount of carbohydrates, which shouldn’t really be in the foods in the first place, diabetes can result.
High carbohydrate diets can lead to serious bladder problems for your kitty. Excessive carbs cause alkalization of your cat’s urine, which causes crystals cystitis and painful inflammation of the bladder.
Kidney and bladder stones can also occur from feeding your kitty food he wasn’t biologically designed to consume. In fact, the leading cause of death of cats in the United States is kidney failure.
Important Concerns Regarding the Overweight Kitty
Overweight cats have one particularly important health caution when it comes to diet and weight loss that I must mention, because it can be life-threatening. It is called Feline Hepatic Lipidosis (FHL, aka “Fatty Liver Syndrome”) and is characterized by excess fat accumulation in the liver of cats.
Fatty Liver Syndrome is the most common form of liver disease in cats in North America, and it is unique to felines.
It can occur in cats of any age or breed, and it occurs after a period of anorexia (loss of appetite) of a few days’ to a few weeks’ duration. After a few days without adequate food, the cat’s body will begin to use fat for energy. Cats do not metabolize fat well; therefore, the fat cells build up in the liver and rapidly prevent it from functioning normally. It isn’t long before the liver shuts down completely, which is life threatening if left untreated.
The cat developing FHL will begin to feel sick, which further suppresses his appetite, which accelerates the problem into a vicious cycle. Symptoms commonly seen with FHL are anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, vomiting, jaundice (yellow tinge to the skin, inside of the ears, and gums), and occasionally behavioral or neurological signs such as excessive drooling, blindness, coma or seizures.
Are You Feeding Your Cat High Quality Protein?
Another issue you have to contend with is the quality of the protein found in commercial cat foods.
Initially, proteins used in cat foods were from fresh, living, whole sources. But in time, as with all big business, the almighty dollar demanded cheap substitutes. This is when rendering entered the scene.
Rendering is the recycling of animal remains into usable material. It involves cooking down raw animal parts to separate out the moisture and fat. Rendering plants are like giant recycling kitchens, boiling down the carcasses of everything from road kill, dead and diseased farm animals, poultry waste and supermarket rejects.
When you see ingredients such as meat meal, fishmeal, poultry meal, meat by-products, tallow, beef fat, chicken fat, etc—these came from a rendering plant, which were then sold to feed industries, including pet food manufacturers.
Rendered means “not for human consumption.”
As important as recycling is today, the problem comes from the contaminants that go into the mix. Rendering plants are unavoidably processing toxic waste.
Animals are frequently tossed into “the pit” with flea collars still on, so you have insecticides going in. Pharmaceuticals given to livestock, euthanasia drugs given to pets, and heavy metals from pet ID tags, surgical pins and needles, and a variety of plastic ends up in the toxic soup. Every week, millions of packages of expired plastic-wrapped meat go through the rendering process and become one of the unwanted ingredients in animal feed.
Obviously, this recycled, ultra processed matter does not offer your kitty much in terms of nutritional value, and the sad fact is that rendered material exists in more than 90 percent of cat foods on the market today.
There is some good news, however.
There are a few smaller companies who offer quality cat food made with human-grade ingredients. They are a bit harder to find, but they’re out there. If you are in love with your current pet food and the label looks decent, I suggest you call the company and simply ask if the food is approved for human consumption. That’s a good start.
Canned or Dry?
From the perspective of moisture content, canned food is by far superior to dry food in meeting your cat’s needs, for the reasons discussed in the previous section about moisture content. Of course, we’re used to convenience, and it’s really easy and quick to scoop some kibble into a dish and leave it out, and expect our kitties to thrive.
Unfortunately, this is a convenience we need to break.
Dry food has been touted to be the saver of cat’s teeth. Supposedly, chewing the dry food cleans their teeth. However, this has not proven true since most cats swallow dry food whole, chewing very little of it, and what does get chewed often gets stuck between their teeth due to the type of jaw motion cats have. There, it ferments, causing dental problems.
In general, canned food is also higher in protein than dry kibble. The carbohydrate isn’t needed for “structural” purposes. Since your kitty doesn’t need the carbs for nutrition, this is just one more reason that canned food is better for him.
I challenge you to gradually wean your kitty onto a high quality, human-grade canned cat food. It is important to do this in a gentle way since cats don’t respond well to a mandate. It requires patience. But the benefit to your kitty’s health and happiness will be so worth the time and effort.
Once your cat is eating human-grade canned food, consider weaning him or her onto a balanced raw food diet. This is the most biologically appropriate food you could offer your cat.
What to Look For in Your Cat Chow
The canned food should be USDA-inspected and declared safe for human consumption, and it should contain essentially no carbohydrates (less than 3-5 percent). Here are some other considerations:
The use of by-products: Heads, feet, bones, tendons, ligaments, intestines and other unsavory body parts can all be labelled “protein,” but are inferior sources of protein and difficult to digest. This means less nutrition and more clean up.
Chemical preservatives and artificial colors: BHA, BHT, and ethoxoquin can be very harmful to pets. Artificial colors are also linked to health problems.
Grains: Corn, soy, wheat gluten and corn gluten are often used instead of meat, but are nothing more than cheap fillers and are difficult for your cat to digest.
Freshness: Many large manufacturers make pet food in huge batches formulated to last for a very long time, so you may be buying food that has been sitting on warehouse shelves for six months to a year.
Cooking Method: Often companies use rigorous cooking techniques that destroy most of the beneficial nutrients—just like when you boil vegetables to death. The result is poor nutritional quality.
Now, look at the first five ingredients. These play a significant role in the nutritional make-up of the food. Ask yourself these questions:
What are the protein sources? The primary source should come from quality animal protein, not vegetable protein or grain. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients might have more vegetable protein than animal protein, which is not as good for your cat.
What are the fat sources? The primary fat source should be animal-based because animal fats contain a profile of fatty acids that are easily metabolized and thus generally more bioavailable to your cat.
Are there by-products? You don’t want any of those!
Are there other health-promoting ingredients? Vegetables and fruits, antioxidants, chelated minerals, bacteria cultures (probiotics), eggs, and essential fatty acids seed meal are excellent things to find in the ingredient list.
However, cats can’t convert ALA to EFA/DHA, so make sure it does not contain flax (unless you need to bulk up your pet’s stool).
You might need to call the manufacturer to get answers to some of these questions, since there is limited information on the label. Any company worth their salt should be happy to have a representative speak with you. Cats should be fed two to three times per day (consult your holistic vet if your cat has health problems). The days of the all-you-can-eat kitty buffet have come to an end.
To stimulate your cat’s desire to try new foods, you have to create a little bit of hunger throughout the day. Cats were meant to fast between meals, so these periods of hunger are actually good for their metabolism (although Sylvester will undoubtedly try to convince you he is close to dying of a cruel and painful starvation). Start by picking up your cat’s bowl in between 2-3 square meals a day. After your cat is regimented to twice daily feeding, begin slowly mixing in new foods with their old diet. With persistence and help from your holistic veterinarian, you can successfully wean your cat onto a healthier diet.
Don’t give in, no matter what! You KNOW how persuasive he can be. There are times your cat will want you to believe he is on his last, dying breath—especially if he’s been free-feeding and has forgotten what hunger feels like--but this will pass as he adjusts to his new routine. Don’t feed your cat when he’s begging for food…stick to feeding your 2-3 meals a day or you’ll only create a monster! By lovingly, yet firmly sticking to your commitment to improve your cat’s diet you can successfully wean you cat onto healthier food and create a healthier future for your feline friend.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Study: Cats control you with meows!
Researcher: Cats have learned to adapt their cries
Updated: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 11:50 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 11:49 AM EDT
By LILY FU, Special Contributor
You may think your cat sees you as its owner, but a new study finds that the cat owns you.
LiveScience.com reports that many cats use a kind of meow that's a mix of a purr and a high-pitched cry when they want to be fed. Unlike other meows, many people find this kind of cry difficult to ignore.
"The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response," said Karen McComb of the University of Sussex, who conducted the study. "Solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing, which is likely to get cats ejected from the bedroom."
Researchers collected 10 cat cries from different owners. They were then played back for 50 people, not all of whom owned cats. The majority of people found the high-pitched meow mixed with the purr as more urgent and less pleasant as compared to the cries that didn't have the underlying purr.
McComb said she believes that humans are wired to respond to the cries of human babies -- when babies cry, people come to their aid as part of a nurturing instinct. Cats have learned to adapt their cries so that they make it difficult for humans to ignore as they can't with human baby cries.
Cats may have the same method of getting what they want. But they don't all sound the same. The cat in the video below has a very interesting way of saying "hello."
Updated: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 11:50 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 11:49 AM EDT
By LILY FU, Special Contributor
You may think your cat sees you as its owner, but a new study finds that the cat owns you.
LiveScience.com reports that many cats use a kind of meow that's a mix of a purr and a high-pitched cry when they want to be fed. Unlike other meows, many people find this kind of cry difficult to ignore.
"The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response," said Karen McComb of the University of Sussex, who conducted the study. "Solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing, which is likely to get cats ejected from the bedroom."
Researchers collected 10 cat cries from different owners. They were then played back for 50 people, not all of whom owned cats. The majority of people found the high-pitched meow mixed with the purr as more urgent and less pleasant as compared to the cries that didn't have the underlying purr.
McComb said she believes that humans are wired to respond to the cries of human babies -- when babies cry, people come to their aid as part of a nurturing instinct. Cats have learned to adapt their cries so that they make it difficult for humans to ignore as they can't with human baby cries.
Cats may have the same method of getting what they want. But they don't all sound the same. The cat in the video below has a very interesting way of saying "hello."
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pets, Protein, Dry Food and Disease
If you’re like most pet owners, your four-legged companion is a beloved member of your family. And just like the humans in your household, you want to give your pet every opportunity for a long and healthy life.
What you might not know is that despite advertising claims, the majority of commercial pet foods are not optimally healthy for your dog or cat. Just as most processed, convenient “people food” is devoid of nutritional value, so is much of the dead, dry pet food sold commercially today.
The pet nutrition industry is very similar to the human food industry – full of hype and false claims, peddling inferior nutritional choices. Much of the so-called “healthy pet foods” on the market contain inferior meat meals, cheap grains like corn and soy, fillers, by-products, food coloring, pesticides, preservatives, and other contaminations.
Case in point: the widespread contamination of melamine (a chemical used in the production of plastics, which imitates protein) rocked the pet food industry not so long ago, and led to thousands of deaths and illnesses. More than 5,600 products by dozens of pet food makers – everything from cheap supermarket brands to prescription-only food – were recalled in the process.
Good nutrition is a fundamental requirement to keep your pet in top physical shape, and improve his or her chances of resisting disease and other degenerative conditions. And when it comes to protein levels and organ health, the more we learn, the more we realize how little we knew before.
Many Commercially Available Pet Foods Can Destroy Your Pet’s Health
“Pet” foods are actually a relatively new addition to the marketplace, only filling a consumer niche for the last 100 years or so. Many proactive, integrative and holistic veterinarians have long recognized the short falls of many commercially available pet foods.
Unfortunately, most widely available pet foods and even many of the brands conventional vets recommend do not contain clean, inspected ingredients, nor are they biologically balanced for your domesticated carnivore (cat) and scavenging carnivore (dog).
Common symptoms associated with regular consumption of commercial pet foods include:
Diarrhea
Increased flatulence
Dull coat
Intermittent vomiting
Prolonged scratching
During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, frustration with low quality food led to the emergence of improved dry pet foods. This higher quality kibble was baked rather than extruded, and contained more diverse ingredients and USDA inspected meats.
During this time pet owners also began to realize the benefits of home cooked diets, where they could control the quantity and quality of ingredients added to their pets’ meals.
However, although these changes addressed some of the quality control issues, and began to address the biological appropriateness of pet food ingredients, it did not address the fact that companion animals were still consuming an entirely dead diet, devoid of all the benefits living foods have to offer.
Dogs and cats evolved to consume living, unprocessed foods, and once you remove the raw food, you disrupt nearly every important biochemical pathway in their body. This is a prescription for disaster, and maintaining your pet on completely cooked and refined foods can clearly impact their organ health.
In fact, a growing number of veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbled and canned food) is the number one cause of illness and premature death in modern dogs and cats.
In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food suppresses animals’ immune systems, and causes:
Liver disease
Kidney disease
Heart disease
Other diseases
Another case in point: In one animal study, performed by Dr. Kollath of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, young animals that were fed cooked and processed foods initially appeared to be healthy. But once they reached adulthood, they began aging quicker than normal and developed degenerative disease symptoms. A control group raised on raw foods aged less quickly and did not develop any degenerative diseases!
Why Your Pet Needs RAW Food
The introduction of commercially available raw food diets in the late ‘90’s offered tremendous additional health benefits to pets everywhere, because many varieties combined USDA inspected meats with human edible-quality vegetables and fewer grains, which is more biologically appropriate.
Several AAFCO approved homemade recipes also became available and contained options for living food additions. To argue whether raw food diets are appropriate for dogs and cats is moot; they have thrived consuming a variety of small prey for thousands of years!
Wild animals also avoid many of the degenerative health issues that plague our current domestic pet population. To suppose that your pet’s health would suffer any less than your own from consuming a highly processed diet, filled with corn and other denatured ingredients, would simply be foolhardy.
Knowledgeable veterinarians have wisely forfeited the concept that cats can become trendy, healthy vegetarians and that dogs can thrive on an entirely grain-based diet. Most of us have the desire to match, as closely as possible, our companions’ current diet to their ancestral diet. This should be common sense.
Of course, this should also be our first choice for our patients, as veterinarians.
The Two Main Problems with a Dry Food Diet
The biggest concern I hear about not feeding dry food is, “But what about their teeth?”
Remember: eating crunchy granola doesn’t brush or clean your teeth. You have to brush your teeth. Likewise, eating crunchy kibble doesn’t brush or clean your pet’s teeth. You still have to brush your pet’s teeth. So please don’t use this rationale to feed your pet a diet of mainly dry foods.
There are the two major problems with an entirely dry food diet.
Protein quality
Moisture content
Protein quality -- For years, protein got a really bad rap. More recently, proactive veterinarians have tried to re-educate pet owners about protein, protein quality, and protein requirements. Contrary to popular belief, protein requirements actually increase as pets age to combat catabolic processes, which can lead to muscle wasting. We have also learned that the biological availability of certain protein sources actually determines how easy or difficult they are to metabolize. For example, snouts and feathers, although 100 percent protein, are not nearly as digestible as lean muscle meat.
The quality of protein your pet eats is critical to reduce organ stress over time. The scary truth is that the majority of commercial pet foods on the market today are using rendered meats that are not approved for human consumption. Because kibbled foods made with these poor quality meats are so difficult to digest and assimilate, they can actually cause organ disease.
Moisture content -- Moisture content is another problem inherent in a mainly dry food diet. Our carnivorous companions were designed to consume non-dehydrated foods. Species appropriate diets -- foods free of corn, wheat, rice and soy -- formulated in their biologically correct form, meaning raw or minimally processed, with non-denatured proteins, contain all of the moisture needed to process the food with minimum metabolic stress.
Did you know that the natural diet of dogs and cats is up to 70 percent water?
That’s right: rabbits and mice, like our bodies, are primarily composed of water. Our pet’s bodies have evolved to consume a diet that is rich with water, not dehydrated, and not cooked.
When food is cooked and dehydrated (which is how kibble is produced), several things happen, the most detrimental of which is that the food becomes dry. Far too dry to be healthy.
This requires your pet’s body to provide sufficient moisture to reconstitute the food in their digestive tract. Although some animals may make a noble effort to consume enough water, many animals, and most cats, don’t.
The Association of Feline Practitioners recommends owners feed cats a diet of primarily canned foods (vs. dry foods) for this very reason.
What are the most notable physiologic changes when our companion animals consume a dehydrated, poor quality protein diet?
Kidney stress
Liver stress
Metabolic stress
A lifetime of minor dehydration is stressful to multiple organ systems, but most notably the kidneys. It’s important to realize that this can easily be remedied by feeding canned or living food diets, and can easily be avoided by feeding foods that have not been dehydrated (dry food).
Diet Recommendations
The convenient alternative to our pet’s ancestral diet looks great at first glance, but poses significant health risks if fed as a sole diet indefinitely. Remember, our pet’s bodies are resilient. They can eat a variety of suboptimal, metabolically stressful foods on occasion and be fine, but because it’s our goal to provide a diet that most closely fits our companion’s biological requirements, we don’t recommend a lifetime of kibble.
Our goal is to provide a diet that mimics our pets biological nutritional requirements as closely as possible…in this case it means rethinking the “lifetime of dry food” theory. Thankfully, we can make one healthy lifestyle change at a time, which optimizes our pet’s chances of achieving abundant health.
If you are unable or unwilling to feed your pet a species appropriate, nutritionally balanced, raw food diet, then I strongly recommend you compromise with the next best choice: USDA approved canned foods.
My last choice would be a dry food (kibble), made from human-grade ingredients with little to no grains, and LOTS OF WATER.
I’m not anti-kibble. But it’s important to recognize why you choose to feed kibble. Most pet owners feed kibble for convenience, or because your pets like it. But the truth is, it’s frequently not species appropriate, and can seriously damage your pet’s health.
Fortunately, once you recognize it’s not the healthiest choice for your companion it makes it easier to gently begin transitioning to a more biologically optimal food.
What you might not know is that despite advertising claims, the majority of commercial pet foods are not optimally healthy for your dog or cat. Just as most processed, convenient “people food” is devoid of nutritional value, so is much of the dead, dry pet food sold commercially today.
The pet nutrition industry is very similar to the human food industry – full of hype and false claims, peddling inferior nutritional choices. Much of the so-called “healthy pet foods” on the market contain inferior meat meals, cheap grains like corn and soy, fillers, by-products, food coloring, pesticides, preservatives, and other contaminations.
Case in point: the widespread contamination of melamine (a chemical used in the production of plastics, which imitates protein) rocked the pet food industry not so long ago, and led to thousands of deaths and illnesses. More than 5,600 products by dozens of pet food makers – everything from cheap supermarket brands to prescription-only food – were recalled in the process.
Good nutrition is a fundamental requirement to keep your pet in top physical shape, and improve his or her chances of resisting disease and other degenerative conditions. And when it comes to protein levels and organ health, the more we learn, the more we realize how little we knew before.
Many Commercially Available Pet Foods Can Destroy Your Pet’s Health
“Pet” foods are actually a relatively new addition to the marketplace, only filling a consumer niche for the last 100 years or so. Many proactive, integrative and holistic veterinarians have long recognized the short falls of many commercially available pet foods.
Unfortunately, most widely available pet foods and even many of the brands conventional vets recommend do not contain clean, inspected ingredients, nor are they biologically balanced for your domesticated carnivore (cat) and scavenging carnivore (dog).
Common symptoms associated with regular consumption of commercial pet foods include:
Diarrhea
Increased flatulence
Dull coat
Intermittent vomiting
Prolonged scratching
During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, frustration with low quality food led to the emergence of improved dry pet foods. This higher quality kibble was baked rather than extruded, and contained more diverse ingredients and USDA inspected meats.
During this time pet owners also began to realize the benefits of home cooked diets, where they could control the quantity and quality of ingredients added to their pets’ meals.
However, although these changes addressed some of the quality control issues, and began to address the biological appropriateness of pet food ingredients, it did not address the fact that companion animals were still consuming an entirely dead diet, devoid of all the benefits living foods have to offer.
Dogs and cats evolved to consume living, unprocessed foods, and once you remove the raw food, you disrupt nearly every important biochemical pathway in their body. This is a prescription for disaster, and maintaining your pet on completely cooked and refined foods can clearly impact their organ health.
In fact, a growing number of veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbled and canned food) is the number one cause of illness and premature death in modern dogs and cats.
In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food suppresses animals’ immune systems, and causes:
Liver disease
Kidney disease
Heart disease
Other diseases
Another case in point: In one animal study, performed by Dr. Kollath of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, young animals that were fed cooked and processed foods initially appeared to be healthy. But once they reached adulthood, they began aging quicker than normal and developed degenerative disease symptoms. A control group raised on raw foods aged less quickly and did not develop any degenerative diseases!
Why Your Pet Needs RAW Food
The introduction of commercially available raw food diets in the late ‘90’s offered tremendous additional health benefits to pets everywhere, because many varieties combined USDA inspected meats with human edible-quality vegetables and fewer grains, which is more biologically appropriate.
Several AAFCO approved homemade recipes also became available and contained options for living food additions. To argue whether raw food diets are appropriate for dogs and cats is moot; they have thrived consuming a variety of small prey for thousands of years!
Wild animals also avoid many of the degenerative health issues that plague our current domestic pet population. To suppose that your pet’s health would suffer any less than your own from consuming a highly processed diet, filled with corn and other denatured ingredients, would simply be foolhardy.
Knowledgeable veterinarians have wisely forfeited the concept that cats can become trendy, healthy vegetarians and that dogs can thrive on an entirely grain-based diet. Most of us have the desire to match, as closely as possible, our companions’ current diet to their ancestral diet. This should be common sense.
Of course, this should also be our first choice for our patients, as veterinarians.
The Two Main Problems with a Dry Food Diet
The biggest concern I hear about not feeding dry food is, “But what about their teeth?”
Remember: eating crunchy granola doesn’t brush or clean your teeth. You have to brush your teeth. Likewise, eating crunchy kibble doesn’t brush or clean your pet’s teeth. You still have to brush your pet’s teeth. So please don’t use this rationale to feed your pet a diet of mainly dry foods.
There are the two major problems with an entirely dry food diet.
Protein quality
Moisture content
Protein quality -- For years, protein got a really bad rap. More recently, proactive veterinarians have tried to re-educate pet owners about protein, protein quality, and protein requirements. Contrary to popular belief, protein requirements actually increase as pets age to combat catabolic processes, which can lead to muscle wasting. We have also learned that the biological availability of certain protein sources actually determines how easy or difficult they are to metabolize. For example, snouts and feathers, although 100 percent protein, are not nearly as digestible as lean muscle meat.
The quality of protein your pet eats is critical to reduce organ stress over time. The scary truth is that the majority of commercial pet foods on the market today are using rendered meats that are not approved for human consumption. Because kibbled foods made with these poor quality meats are so difficult to digest and assimilate, they can actually cause organ disease.
Moisture content -- Moisture content is another problem inherent in a mainly dry food diet. Our carnivorous companions were designed to consume non-dehydrated foods. Species appropriate diets -- foods free of corn, wheat, rice and soy -- formulated in their biologically correct form, meaning raw or minimally processed, with non-denatured proteins, contain all of the moisture needed to process the food with minimum metabolic stress.
Did you know that the natural diet of dogs and cats is up to 70 percent water?
That’s right: rabbits and mice, like our bodies, are primarily composed of water. Our pet’s bodies have evolved to consume a diet that is rich with water, not dehydrated, and not cooked.
When food is cooked and dehydrated (which is how kibble is produced), several things happen, the most detrimental of which is that the food becomes dry. Far too dry to be healthy.
This requires your pet’s body to provide sufficient moisture to reconstitute the food in their digestive tract. Although some animals may make a noble effort to consume enough water, many animals, and most cats, don’t.
The Association of Feline Practitioners recommends owners feed cats a diet of primarily canned foods (vs. dry foods) for this very reason.
What are the most notable physiologic changes when our companion animals consume a dehydrated, poor quality protein diet?
Kidney stress
Liver stress
Metabolic stress
A lifetime of minor dehydration is stressful to multiple organ systems, but most notably the kidneys. It’s important to realize that this can easily be remedied by feeding canned or living food diets, and can easily be avoided by feeding foods that have not been dehydrated (dry food).
Diet Recommendations
The convenient alternative to our pet’s ancestral diet looks great at first glance, but poses significant health risks if fed as a sole diet indefinitely. Remember, our pet’s bodies are resilient. They can eat a variety of suboptimal, metabolically stressful foods on occasion and be fine, but because it’s our goal to provide a diet that most closely fits our companion’s biological requirements, we don’t recommend a lifetime of kibble.
Our goal is to provide a diet that mimics our pets biological nutritional requirements as closely as possible…in this case it means rethinking the “lifetime of dry food” theory. Thankfully, we can make one healthy lifestyle change at a time, which optimizes our pet’s chances of achieving abundant health.
If you are unable or unwilling to feed your pet a species appropriate, nutritionally balanced, raw food diet, then I strongly recommend you compromise with the next best choice: USDA approved canned foods.
My last choice would be a dry food (kibble), made from human-grade ingredients with little to no grains, and LOTS OF WATER.
I’m not anti-kibble. But it’s important to recognize why you choose to feed kibble. Most pet owners feed kibble for convenience, or because your pets like it. But the truth is, it’s frequently not species appropriate, and can seriously damage your pet’s health.
Fortunately, once you recognize it’s not the healthiest choice for your companion it makes it easier to gently begin transitioning to a more biologically optimal food.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
July 4th Fireworks Are No Blast For Pets
Returning home from a holiday celebration, Sharon Moore and her family discovered feces on their living room floor.
The sliding glass door to their backyard was open, and a hole had been dug under their fence.
The Moores were gone for only four hours, but D.O.G., their 2-year-old, aptly-named white German Shepherd, was gone. Left on her own to face the tumult of fireworks and loud celebrations, she escaped, apparently to seek the familiar—her family—even if she had no idea where to look.
"From what we can tell, when D.O.G. heard the fireworks she freaked out and pooped on the floor inside—for the first time ever—then she opened the sliding glass door with her paw, and dug a hole outside our fence.... She went searching for us," said Moore, of Maitland, Fla.
The Moores' search for D.O.G. ended when she was found dead alongside a road where she was often walked.
No Celebration
Moore believes that D.O.G., who wasn't normally scared of thunder or other loud noises, panicked from the cumulative effects of the fireworks, the excited voices outside, and being left alone inside the house.
The Moores' tragic loss isn't unique. Pets often become frightened and frantic by the noise and commotion of Independence Day. In fact, animal shelters across the country are accustomed to receiving "July 4th" dogs—dogs who run off during fireworks celebrations and are rescued by animal control officers or good samaritans who take them to the safety of a local shelter.
Leave Them At Home
Fortunately, preventing pet problems on Independence Day is possible by simply planning ahead and taking some basic precautions.
"With a little bit of planning and forethought, you can enjoy the excitement of the Fourth of July and know that your animal companion is safe, sound, and enjoying a little peace and quiet," said Nancy Peterson, an issues specialist with The Humane Society if the United States.
To protect your pet on the Fourth of July, take these precautions:
Resist the urge to take your pet to fireworks displays.
Do not leave your pet in the car. With only hot air to breathe inside a car, your pet can suffer serious health effects—even death—in a few short minutes. Partially opened windows do not provide sufficient air, but they do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen.
Keep your pets indoors at home in a sheltered, quiet area. Some animals can become destructive when frightened, so be sure that you've removed any items that your pet could destroy or that would be harmful to your pet if chewed. Leave a television or radio playing at normal volume to keep him company while you're attending Fourth of July picnics, parades, and other celebrations.
If you know that your pet is seriously distressed by loud noises like thunder, consult with your veterinarian before July 4th for ways to help alleviate the fear and anxiety he or she will experience during fireworks displays.
Never leave pets outside unattended, even in a fenced yard or on a chain. In their fear, pets who normally wouldn't leave the yard may escape and become lost, or become entangled in their chain, risking injury or death.
Make sure your pets are wearing identification tags so that if they do become lost, they can be returned promptly. Animals found running at-large should be taken to the local animal shelter, where they will have the best chance of being reunited with their owners.
If you plan to go away for the holiday weekend, read our information on Caring for Pets When You Travel.
If you follow these simple precautions, you and your pet can have a safe and happy Fourth of July.
The sliding glass door to their backyard was open, and a hole had been dug under their fence.
The Moores were gone for only four hours, but D.O.G., their 2-year-old, aptly-named white German Shepherd, was gone. Left on her own to face the tumult of fireworks and loud celebrations, she escaped, apparently to seek the familiar—her family—even if she had no idea where to look.
"From what we can tell, when D.O.G. heard the fireworks she freaked out and pooped on the floor inside—for the first time ever—then she opened the sliding glass door with her paw, and dug a hole outside our fence.... She went searching for us," said Moore, of Maitland, Fla.
The Moores' search for D.O.G. ended when she was found dead alongside a road where she was often walked.
No Celebration
Moore believes that D.O.G., who wasn't normally scared of thunder or other loud noises, panicked from the cumulative effects of the fireworks, the excited voices outside, and being left alone inside the house.
The Moores' tragic loss isn't unique. Pets often become frightened and frantic by the noise and commotion of Independence Day. In fact, animal shelters across the country are accustomed to receiving "July 4th" dogs—dogs who run off during fireworks celebrations and are rescued by animal control officers or good samaritans who take them to the safety of a local shelter.
Leave Them At Home
Fortunately, preventing pet problems on Independence Day is possible by simply planning ahead and taking some basic precautions.
"With a little bit of planning and forethought, you can enjoy the excitement of the Fourth of July and know that your animal companion is safe, sound, and enjoying a little peace and quiet," said Nancy Peterson, an issues specialist with The Humane Society if the United States.
To protect your pet on the Fourth of July, take these precautions:
Resist the urge to take your pet to fireworks displays.
Do not leave your pet in the car. With only hot air to breathe inside a car, your pet can suffer serious health effects—even death—in a few short minutes. Partially opened windows do not provide sufficient air, but they do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen.
Keep your pets indoors at home in a sheltered, quiet area. Some animals can become destructive when frightened, so be sure that you've removed any items that your pet could destroy or that would be harmful to your pet if chewed. Leave a television or radio playing at normal volume to keep him company while you're attending Fourth of July picnics, parades, and other celebrations.
If you know that your pet is seriously distressed by loud noises like thunder, consult with your veterinarian before July 4th for ways to help alleviate the fear and anxiety he or she will experience during fireworks displays.
Never leave pets outside unattended, even in a fenced yard or on a chain. In their fear, pets who normally wouldn't leave the yard may escape and become lost, or become entangled in their chain, risking injury or death.
Make sure your pets are wearing identification tags so that if they do become lost, they can be returned promptly. Animals found running at-large should be taken to the local animal shelter, where they will have the best chance of being reunited with their owners.
If you plan to go away for the holiday weekend, read our information on Caring for Pets When You Travel.
If you follow these simple precautions, you and your pet can have a safe and happy Fourth of July.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Does Your Pet Have Allergies? What You Need to Know and Do
Does your pet:
Sneeze and cough?
Have swollen paws or inflamed ears?
Have gastrointestinal upset?
It could be that allergies are wreaking havoc on their system.
Just like in people, your healthy pet’s immune system should react to bacteria and viruses by manufacturing antibodies that allow its body to mount an immune response against these unwelcome invaders (pathogens).
Your pet’s immune system also encounters hundreds of particles every day that are not harmful, rather are just part of the natural environment. Under normal circumstances, these substances (ragweed, grasses, pollens, molds, foods, etc.) should be recognized by the body but not be considered foreign invaders.
In the case of pet allergies, however, an over-active immune system processes and interprets common substances as a toxic assault. And when your pet’s body mounts an immune response to common, normally harmless substances, or allergens, allergic symptoms appear.
Food Allergies vs. Environmental Allergies
There are two types of allergic responses that pets can experience: food and environmental. Your companion can be allergic to one type of tree or every outdoor allergen, allergic to only wheat or every starch. Some pets even inherit sensitivities to certain foods and environmental factors, and in these cases often demonstrate allergic symptoms early in life.
For other pets, allergies are acquired over several years of continual exposure to the allergen.
What may your pet be allergic to?
The truth is, animals can react to anything in their environment -- even water is a possibility if it’s contaminated with impurities. Collar and bedding materials (cotton, etc.), cleaning supplies, household chemicals and dust mites are all relatively common household allergens that could cause your pet to have an allergic reaction.
As you’re trying to figure out what allergen is causing your pet a problem, keep in mind that some pets have both food and environmental allergies. If your pet itches during the spring, summer or fall, they are most likely reacting to something they are exposed to at that time. But if your pet continues to have allergic reactions after outdoor allergens have been buried under snow, it points more toward a non-seasonal, or year-round source of allergy, such as food.
That said, if you live in an environment that does not have a hard freeze in the winter, environmental allergens can really build up and cause year-round issues for our companions. Allergy testing can be done to determine what substances your pet is reacting to at that point in time. Allergy panels can yield very different results when conducted over several months, demonstrating that the immune system can over-react to many different substances at varying times of the year.
Why Feeding Your Pet One Food for a Lifetime May be Problematic
I commonly hear people say, “My pet can’t be allergic to her food, she’s been eating it her whole life.”
This is the point, exactly! Food allergies have been shown to occur more in pets that are fed only one food source for a prolonged period of time. Your pet’s immune system can become bombarded with the same allergens for so long that it begins to react negatively to the food source.
The foods most commonly found to be allergenic to dogs and cats are:
Wheat
Corn
Chicken
Beef
Surprising?
Not really, as dogs and cats were never meant to ingest foods containing such high amounts of carbohydrates (the average commercial dog food contains over 50% grains), and were certainly designed to consume more than one protein source over a lifetime!
If you suspect that your pet has a food allergy, a food trial, or allergy elimination diet, can help you figure out which foods are the problem.
Conducting an Allergy Elimination Diet
Once your companion has developed an allergic reaction to a substance, those reactive antigens can circulate in his bloodstream for up to 6 weeks, causing inflammation and irritation.
This means that an allergy elimination diet should last at least six weeks, sometimes longer (I recommend a full 3 months).
During this period, pets must not eat any foods or treats suspected of causing a reaction. A single bite of a problematic food can cause a flare up that lasts several days, so complete elimination is essential for the process to be successful.
After your pet has been given adequate time to clear the allergic substances from his body, new foods can be added slowly back in, as you watch the animal’s response after each food is added. Interestingly, many of the foods that were previously considered allergenic can often be incorporated into the diet once your pet’s body has had ample time to detoxify and clean out cellular debris.
Many holistic vets theorize that it’s not the actual food protein that causes the immune system to react but the chemicals and preservatives included in the foods that cause the problem. Although we can’t say for sure, this would explain why, after making the correct dietary changes, many pets can then consume foods that they were previously allergic to.
Allergy Symptoms Can be Diverse
It’s critical for pet owners to recognize that allergy symptoms are very diverse, and expand beyond the typical itching or sneezing. They include:
Itchy body
Red eyes
Nasal discharge
Oozy skin
Asthm
Coughing and sneezing
Inflamed ears
Swollen paws
Gastrointestinal disease (vomiting, diarrhea, gas, chronic hairball issues, anal gland problems)
What is the Best Treatment?
Because the symptoms of inflammation are produced from the inside out, ointments, shampoos, sprays and dips can only provide temporary relief and although are beneficial to use for improving your pet’s quality of life during a flare up, long-term treatment must focus on balancing your pet’s immune system.
Steroids (also called prednisone, cortisone or the nondescript “allergy shot”) are the least optimal treatment choice, as they work by suppressing your pet’s immune system. Steroids actually turn the immune system off, which improves the symptoms remarkably fast but doesn’t address the root issue of why your pet’s immune system is over-reacting in the first place.
Not only can steroids have a negative effect on your pet’s liver, adrenal glands and kidneys, but suppressing your pet’s immune system with steroids also allows for opportunistic yeast and bacteria to grow on your pet’s skin, sometimes increasing the chances that antibiotics may be prescribed.
Antibiotics increase the likelihood of yeast overgrowth, which causes your pet to:
Smell like a corn chip
Become insanely itchy, which sends you back to the vet for more steroids
Do you see the crazy cycle? The image below does a great job of explaining it further.
As an aside, keep in mind that healthy pets do not smell bad. Yeast exudes a musty smell, and if your pet smells this way he may have a problem with yeast overgrowth. Many people assume their pets should smell this way, but in reality healthy pets should only be bathed with they’re dirty -- not because they’re smelly.
Bathing smelly pets in oatmeal (a grain) shampoo often adds fuel to the fire, requiring the pet to be re-bathed multiple times a week in order for the owners to tolerate the pet’s odor.
Nutrition is the Optimal Solution
The foods you feed your pet will eventually heal or harm. Feeding pets healing, non-allergenic foods allows their immune systems to rest. Rebalancing your pet’s immune system by offering natural, biologically appropriate wholesome foods is necessary to begin the road to recovery. Also remember that the more variety you include in your pet’s diet, the less likely your pet will be to react to the same monotonous foods. Nutritional variety is not only the spice of life, it’s critical for a balanced and healthy immune response -- and for keeping your pet allergy-free.
Sneeze and cough?
Have swollen paws or inflamed ears?
Have gastrointestinal upset?
It could be that allergies are wreaking havoc on their system.
Just like in people, your healthy pet’s immune system should react to bacteria and viruses by manufacturing antibodies that allow its body to mount an immune response against these unwelcome invaders (pathogens).
Your pet’s immune system also encounters hundreds of particles every day that are not harmful, rather are just part of the natural environment. Under normal circumstances, these substances (ragweed, grasses, pollens, molds, foods, etc.) should be recognized by the body but not be considered foreign invaders.
In the case of pet allergies, however, an over-active immune system processes and interprets common substances as a toxic assault. And when your pet’s body mounts an immune response to common, normally harmless substances, or allergens, allergic symptoms appear.
Food Allergies vs. Environmental Allergies
There are two types of allergic responses that pets can experience: food and environmental. Your companion can be allergic to one type of tree or every outdoor allergen, allergic to only wheat or every starch. Some pets even inherit sensitivities to certain foods and environmental factors, and in these cases often demonstrate allergic symptoms early in life.
For other pets, allergies are acquired over several years of continual exposure to the allergen.
What may your pet be allergic to?
The truth is, animals can react to anything in their environment -- even water is a possibility if it’s contaminated with impurities. Collar and bedding materials (cotton, etc.), cleaning supplies, household chemicals and dust mites are all relatively common household allergens that could cause your pet to have an allergic reaction.
As you’re trying to figure out what allergen is causing your pet a problem, keep in mind that some pets have both food and environmental allergies. If your pet itches during the spring, summer or fall, they are most likely reacting to something they are exposed to at that time. But if your pet continues to have allergic reactions after outdoor allergens have been buried under snow, it points more toward a non-seasonal, or year-round source of allergy, such as food.
That said, if you live in an environment that does not have a hard freeze in the winter, environmental allergens can really build up and cause year-round issues for our companions. Allergy testing can be done to determine what substances your pet is reacting to at that point in time. Allergy panels can yield very different results when conducted over several months, demonstrating that the immune system can over-react to many different substances at varying times of the year.
Why Feeding Your Pet One Food for a Lifetime May be Problematic
I commonly hear people say, “My pet can’t be allergic to her food, she’s been eating it her whole life.”
This is the point, exactly! Food allergies have been shown to occur more in pets that are fed only one food source for a prolonged period of time. Your pet’s immune system can become bombarded with the same allergens for so long that it begins to react negatively to the food source.
The foods most commonly found to be allergenic to dogs and cats are:
Wheat
Corn
Chicken
Beef
Surprising?
Not really, as dogs and cats were never meant to ingest foods containing such high amounts of carbohydrates (the average commercial dog food contains over 50% grains), and were certainly designed to consume more than one protein source over a lifetime!
If you suspect that your pet has a food allergy, a food trial, or allergy elimination diet, can help you figure out which foods are the problem.
Conducting an Allergy Elimination Diet
Once your companion has developed an allergic reaction to a substance, those reactive antigens can circulate in his bloodstream for up to 6 weeks, causing inflammation and irritation.
This means that an allergy elimination diet should last at least six weeks, sometimes longer (I recommend a full 3 months).
During this period, pets must not eat any foods or treats suspected of causing a reaction. A single bite of a problematic food can cause a flare up that lasts several days, so complete elimination is essential for the process to be successful.
After your pet has been given adequate time to clear the allergic substances from his body, new foods can be added slowly back in, as you watch the animal’s response after each food is added. Interestingly, many of the foods that were previously considered allergenic can often be incorporated into the diet once your pet’s body has had ample time to detoxify and clean out cellular debris.
Many holistic vets theorize that it’s not the actual food protein that causes the immune system to react but the chemicals and preservatives included in the foods that cause the problem. Although we can’t say for sure, this would explain why, after making the correct dietary changes, many pets can then consume foods that they were previously allergic to.
Allergy Symptoms Can be Diverse
It’s critical for pet owners to recognize that allergy symptoms are very diverse, and expand beyond the typical itching or sneezing. They include:
Itchy body
Red eyes
Nasal discharge
Oozy skin
Asthm
Coughing and sneezing
Inflamed ears
Swollen paws
Gastrointestinal disease (vomiting, diarrhea, gas, chronic hairball issues, anal gland problems)
What is the Best Treatment?
Because the symptoms of inflammation are produced from the inside out, ointments, shampoos, sprays and dips can only provide temporary relief and although are beneficial to use for improving your pet’s quality of life during a flare up, long-term treatment must focus on balancing your pet’s immune system.
Steroids (also called prednisone, cortisone or the nondescript “allergy shot”) are the least optimal treatment choice, as they work by suppressing your pet’s immune system. Steroids actually turn the immune system off, which improves the symptoms remarkably fast but doesn’t address the root issue of why your pet’s immune system is over-reacting in the first place.
Not only can steroids have a negative effect on your pet’s liver, adrenal glands and kidneys, but suppressing your pet’s immune system with steroids also allows for opportunistic yeast and bacteria to grow on your pet’s skin, sometimes increasing the chances that antibiotics may be prescribed.
Antibiotics increase the likelihood of yeast overgrowth, which causes your pet to:
Smell like a corn chip
Become insanely itchy, which sends you back to the vet for more steroids
Do you see the crazy cycle? The image below does a great job of explaining it further.
As an aside, keep in mind that healthy pets do not smell bad. Yeast exudes a musty smell, and if your pet smells this way he may have a problem with yeast overgrowth. Many people assume their pets should smell this way, but in reality healthy pets should only be bathed with they’re dirty -- not because they’re smelly.
Bathing smelly pets in oatmeal (a grain) shampoo often adds fuel to the fire, requiring the pet to be re-bathed multiple times a week in order for the owners to tolerate the pet’s odor.
Nutrition is the Optimal Solution
The foods you feed your pet will eventually heal or harm. Feeding pets healing, non-allergenic foods allows their immune systems to rest. Rebalancing your pet’s immune system by offering natural, biologically appropriate wholesome foods is necessary to begin the road to recovery. Also remember that the more variety you include in your pet’s diet, the less likely your pet will be to react to the same monotonous foods. Nutritional variety is not only the spice of life, it’s critical for a balanced and healthy immune response -- and for keeping your pet allergy-free.
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