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Nutrition

Dogs, Cats and Ferrets

"We are what we eat" is a much quoted phrase in relation to human health but it is equally true for our animals.  Nature dictates what is best for the diet and the optimium health is attained by feeding a species-appropriate diet that has been proven over thousands of years rather than over a very short time in a laboratory.

Dogs, cats and ferrets are carnivores.  Cats are obligate carnivores which means they MUST have animal-derived protein within their diet in order to survive.  Dogs are scavenger carnivores and can survive by eating fruits and berries etc in times of hardship where animal prey or carion carcasses are not available.  There is however a subtle but important difference between the ability to survive and what is required to really thrive.

The Fundamental problems of Commercial Pet Food

Commercial pet food is largely based on grains and plant content with minimal meat.  Meat derivatives as often described on bag labels means, poultry feet, pigs trotters - ie the bits of a carcass not required even to make human processed meat products. Although these parts of a carcass would be eaten in the wild, these low-grade ingredients would not consitute the sole meat source in nature.  High amounts of grains with poor-grade animal parts is nowhere near the natural diet in terms of ingredients or preparation.  

• How many wild-life documentaries have you seen where carnivores surround and attack a field of grain or other crops?! 
• How many times have you seen animals cook?!  

If you don't see it in the wild it isn't natural or normal and there are significant health repercussions for feeding unnatural and unnaturally produced food.

Dogs are Carnivores

Commercial pet food manufacturers would have us believe that dogs are not carnivores but omnivores because they eat plant-derived foods in the wild - which they do - but only when they can't get meat or to get a sugar hit from ripe fruit.  This deliberate mis-classification flies in the face of all the evidence.  

• Dogs have recently been reclassified by scientists with no vested interest in commerciality as a sub-species of the Grey Wolf because they share 99.8% of their genome.  Nobody doubts that wolves are carnivores.
• Looking at the anatomy of a dog, the jaw only moves up and down so cannot perform any grinding action necessary to start physically breaking down plant cell walls that releases the nutrients within.  
• The dog dentition has carnassial teeth that are designed for gripping and shearing flesh and crunching through bones.  
• There is no salivary amylase, the enzyme that starts the digestion process of simple carbohydrates in the mouth for herbivores and omnivores.  
• The liver has enzymes that generate energy directly from proteins so there is no dietary requirement for any carbohydrates.  
• The digestive tract has no plant fermentation area and food stays in the gut a relatively short time.

Commercial pet food manufacturers try to counter this evidence by claiming that despite the recent re-classification as a subspecies of the Grey Wolf, dogs are not little wolves because they have evolved through living with humans into being able to eat grains and other inappropriate ingredients.  This is a blatant lie to justify their existence and the inclusion of lowest-cost plant-derived ingredients to maximise profits.  Dogs exhibit many of the behavioural characteristics of their wild relatives.  They circle before lying down because in the wild this action flattens a space in the grass, they try to lick your face because that is how they stimulate the regurgitation of food by their mother, they lie on their back in submission to a more dominant member of the pack etc etc.  Given the choice, dogs eat raw meaty bones!!  Although dogs have co-habited with people early man did not cook for them or pour them a bowl of kibble! More likely they brought home the kill, took what they wanted for their own cooking pot and gave the carcass left-overs and raw scraps to the dogs.  Sure they probably got some cooked left-overs too but I suspect this would be a small part of the overall diet.  Certainly dogs' physiology has not adapted to commercial junk food in the couple of hundred years it has been in existence.

Advantages of the Raw Meaty Bones Diet

The proper Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) diet provides a number of functions for our pet carnivores.

1. Chemical nutrients - building blocks for energy, body repair and procreation
2. Physical cleaning of the teeth and gums which are an efficient self-cleaning mechanism if fed correctly
3. Emotional satisfaction - pacifying endorphins are released by chewing and crunching bones and tough connective tissue that leads to better behaviour.
4. The harsher physical environment of the gut is less conducive for intestinal parasites.
5. Slight straining of harder faeces (poo) helps express the anal glands which prevents impaction and other anal gland problems.
6. Cats derive essential fluid intake from raw meat that helps prevent kidney issues later in life (see later).

There are additional benefits to us as owners

1. Very often it is cheaper to source a RMB diet than commercial pet foods - especially the "top-end" supposed quality feeds.  In reality an inappropriate feed ingredient is not made any more appropriate by being organic!  Butchers have to pay for bones etc to be taken away and many are happy to hand them over in exchange for a donation to the charity tin or for a nominal charge.
2. Happier, calmer pets that are not hyperactive from additives and preservatives.
3. NO BAD BREATH - Dog breath is not normal despite this phrase now being widely used and accepted in the English language. It signifies a rotten mouth that has periodontal disease leading to many other deliterious medical conditions. (See later for further details)
4. Puppies chew bones instead of furniture, shoes etc and teething is easier.
5. Volume of faeces (poo) goes down to about one third of the previous volume - less to clear up!!
6. Faeces is hard and very much easier to pick up on walks in the public parks etc
7. Faeces goes white in the sun - easier to see when cutting the lawn.
8. Faeces crumbles if stepped on accidentally and dissolves into the ground instead of leaving large mounds of indigestable and insoluble plant fibre from commercial pet feeds that is a public health hazard and nuisance.
9. Fewer health issues and LOWER VET BILLS!!!

Dog/Cat/Ferret Nutrition

Horse Nutrition

Rabbit Nutrition

Human Nutrition

Puppies can start on chicken wings to ensure a long and healthy life - and you'll find out how far a chicken wing can really stretch!!

"In a healthy dog or cat fed a ‘natural’ diet that requires tearing and separation of swallowable pieces, the teeth and gingival tissues are largely self-cleaning; that is, plaque is wiped off before it has time to mature to a pathogenic thickness and bacterial mix. When circumstances change so that plaque accumulates, the disease process starts." 

Professor Colin Harvey 

1993 Small Animal Dentistry

In case there was any doubt, the picture on the left is a dog's mouth that has maintained its own oral hygiene through eating a strict RMB diet.  The picture on the right is that of a dog fed commercial pet food and other "treats" for a number of years.  This dog would have severe halitosis = Dog Breath.

Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease is the main health issue caused by commercial pet foods.  Tartar builds up around the teeth and gums and the bacteria that is protected by the tartar attacks the gum itself.  Once the gum desmosomes start lifting off the teeth and breaking the seal into the body itself the immune system is under constant pressure to try to contain the infection.  As reported in Time magazine (see left margin) human mouth inflammation and periodontal disease can lead onto a variety of other diseases including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's.  If it can do that in people there is no imagination required to see that it can do that to our pets too.  Bacteria that gets into the blood stream through the gums can disperse to the heart causing bacterial endocarditis, or to the kidneys and liver causing diseases there.  As energy is consumed by the immune system instead of being used for more effective cellular repair elsewhere in the body, degenerative diseases begin.  The strain on the immune system combined with over-vaccination leads to immune-mediated diseases.

Commercial pet food companies try to claim that kibble keeps the teeth and gums clean, yet the vast majority of pets are fed kibble and yet the official statistic published by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) is 85% of pets over 3 years old have dental disease requiring veterinary intervention.  If that isn't proof in itself that kibble isn't working Hills have produce a specific "Science Diet" aimed at reducing dental plaque called the T/D diet.  By definition it implies that other diets including its own other science diets are inadequate in this respect.  The T/D diet has a higher fibre content but any kibble shatters if put under pressure and it is very unlikely that teeth will be cleaned adequately at the gum margin where it is most required.  If you think tooth-brushing your pets will do the job, I suggest you try letting someone else brush your teeth for you and see how long it is before you start getting strange looks due to bad breath!!!   

The Growth of Pet Allergies

Of course the mouth is not the only problem site directly caused by commercial feeds.  Grains are often used commercially to make industrial glues.  Grains in the diet will likewise glue up the intestinal villi of the small intestine.  This leads to villus atrophy and a leaky gut wall where elements of protein that would otherwise not cross the digestive tract into the blood do so.  This causes immune complex formation and is the basis of many allergies that often express themselves as the Itchy Dog Syndrome.  

Dermatology is one of the fastest growing aspects of veterinary practice.  Allergy testing is yet another growing income for the veterinary profession and although it will often reveal pollens or fleas etc as an identifiable cause of skin problems there is always in my opinion an underlying food intolerance/allergy that has contributed to the heightened status and imbalance of the immune system.  It is no wonder that special diets based on grains that maintain the damaged gut do not provide long-lasting relief from itching.  Unless you are prepared to change to a strict RMB diet you have almost no chance of curing the problem.  Long term steroid treatment creates its own problems.

Cat Kidney Disease and FLUTD caused by Kibble

In cats which are derived from desert carnivores, kidney disease is one of the biggest killers. Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) is another very common condition of cats that creates serious health issues for cats.  Unlike dogs, cats rely far more on fluid intake from eating raw meat than from drinking water.  It is contradictory to switch cats onto a tinned wet science diet as part of a treatment regime without recognising the causative action of the dried kibble in causing the kidney disease and FLUTD in the first place. 

Anyway that's a little taster from me before I write enough to fill a book and get the record for the longest webpage in history!!  I think you're getting the message by now but if you want to read it in fuller detail I suggest you read Vet Tom Lonsdale's brilliant books - Raw Meaty Bones and/or Work Wonders. 

Raw Meaty Bones goes into the politics of the subject as well as providing lots of references to back up the comprehensive science on which he basis the book.  This book was nominated for an award in Australia and is essential reading for all vets and pet-owners in my opinion. Work Wonders is more of a quick reference everyday how do I do it book for dog owners.

There are plenty of other websites that give you information and practical advice on how to proceed with swapping your pet carnivores onto a species-appropriate non-commercial feed. See links below

www.rawmeatybones.com

www.ukrmb.co.uk

www.rawfed.com/myths

There are also various yahoo raw discussion groups for vets, vet nurses and students and another for owners where people with many years experience can give you practical advice and support if your local vet won't or can't.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawMeatyBones/  for pet owners

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawVet/  for vets, vet nurses and students 

On Periodontitis

"Cats and dogs which lead a freer life and obtain a diet more nearly approaching their natural food, are practically free from the disease." 

Sir Frank Colyer 1947 British Dental Journal, 82 31–35