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Nutrition: Dogs and Cats

Feeding the carnivore is a lot simpler than we make it. Most people believe we must cook the food for our pets, but believer it or not, the dog and cat's digestive system really hasn't changed to a prepared diet in the last 35-50 years. For millions of years the dog and cats have been eating raw meat in the form of the small animals and birds they hunted. After a kill the wild carnivore first eats the stomach contents (partially digested veggies, seeds, nuts, grass and friendly bacteria called probiotics).

Next in line are some organs, followed by the muscles and bone. The bones and joints (that are not cooked are softer and will not splinter) are a good source of cartilage, connective tissue, chondroitin, and glucosamine and chicken necks and backs are ideal for this purpose. I always advise people that if the dog is older and hasn't been introduced to this diet, than go very slowly. It may take a month to completely switch them to a raw diet. Some dogs are reluctant to change so the introduction must be handled very carefully. First, try adding just a teaspoon of the raw meat (ground meat is a good starter). If they refuse to eat the first meal, either keep putting it out for them to try or pan fry it with some garlic and olive oil.

Once they accept this meal, then slowly cook the meat less and less till they are eating raw meat. Be creative. Use foods they like as a gravy or gravy itself for just the transition. Foods that may help the transition are liver, fish, & sardines. When making raw veggies, add mixed veggies to some broth in your blender and puree. This mimics what the wild rabbit or bird would do to partially digest the stomach contents. Dogs are usually fed a 50/50 mixture of raw meat with bones and raw pureed veggies. Cats may be fed up to 70% raw meat. Proportions vary but a good starting amount is ½ lb. of raw meat and bones to ½ cup of pureed veggies for 15 to 30 pounds of dog and cat.

Supplements should be added: a good natural no preservative vitamin and chelated mineral and a good quality probiotic such as lactobacillus or acidophilus. Fasting for 24 hours is a great way to detox weekly and should be done once per week. Water should be filtered-if your animal is toxic, try distilled water for a month or two to help him detox-I personally recommend reverse osmosis water for its purity and mineral content. In Florida, reverse osmosis water is readily available at most super markets and is cheaper than bottled waters.

For those of you that can't or won't feed a raw diet, then read the label of your dog food. It should contain no BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin and animal by products. The first three are preservatives and have been labeled carcinogens and animal by products can include sick, cancerous and downer cows as well as road kill. Buy the best prepared food you can afford and supplement with raw meat.

Dr. G. Wessner DVM
Holistic Veterinary Clinic,
Summerfield Florida