Central Florida Green Guide

Lucy and Jasper were just plain fat.  They were tiny balls of fluff when I adopted the alley cat siblings and just one year later my furry babies were lethargic and visibly overweight.  The most exercise they got was running to the food dish.  To make matters worse, I was paying top dollar on what I viewed as high quality commercial pet food.  Four months ago that all changed when I read the list of ingredients contained in the cat food and started my quest to improve their health.

What I learned was shocking and forever transformed my thoughts on proper pet nutrition:

• 47% of pets in America are obese.  (American Veterinary Medical Association)
• 4-D animals are used in commercial pet foods.  Dead, dying, diseased and disabled animals that can’t be used for human consumption are ground up to feed our pets – hardly suitable food at all.   (Frazier, Anitra. The New Natural Cat: a Complete Guide to Finicky Owners.  New York:  Penguin Books, 1990.)
• Corn and corn by-products are the fillers used in most commercially prepared pet foods. Just check out the labels!  I can’t imagine cats in the wild stalking corn…so probably doesn’t belong in their domestic diet either.

I learned about a couple of alternatives to feeding my cats commercially prepared foods.  A raw food diet made a lot of sense for them, as cats in the wild certainly don’t cook their lizards and mice before eating them.  However, I wasn’t comfortable serving my cats raw poultry when I wasn’t 100% sure I trusted the source.  I decided on what I felt was the next best thing – a whole foods diet that I prepared in my home.

I opened my copies of The New Natural Cat: a Complete Guide to Finicky Owners and The Whole Pet Diet:  Eight Weeks to Great Dogs and Cats and set to changing forever how my pets would eat in my house.  I knew that cats are “obligate carnivores” but also learned that they would ingest a small amount of vegetables found in the stomach content of their prey and that whole grains can mimic the fur that would normally be digested after a kill.  I carefully measured out meat, whole grains, and vegetables in the recommended proportions and started cooking my cats’ first healthy meal.  My chicken and chicken liver stew bubbled on the stove while my cats slept.  Into the food processor, whipped into a delightful mousse, and the food was ready for them.

I proudly presented my cats with their new, homemade food.  They were not impressed.  The books had prepared me to expect a battle as cats are creatures of habit.  That was definitely an understatement!  They sniffed the food and walked away, back to their bed.  The next day I again brought out a portion of their new food.  Still no interest from the felines.  Same thing the next day.  Jasper started to get impatient with me and padded over to the closet where the commercial pet food was kept.  He mewed in front of the door and tried to open it with his paw.  I could imagine what he was telling me, “in here mom!  The food is in here!”  I held tough.

After four days had passed, the cats were definitely thinner and finally hungry enough to tentatively try the new food.  We haven’t looked back since.  They are now firmly hooked on their whole foods diet and life has dramatically changed for them.  No more feline couch potatoes!  They are a healthy weight, sleek, bright eyed, and active.  Very active!  I have never seen such a flurry of feline activity!  As I write, Lucy is begging me to play ball with her and Jasper is exploring the cords in the back of the computer.  They merrily gallop from room to room, scale their cat tower in seconds, and pounce on each other with great enthusiasm.  My furry friends are healthy and happy thanks to their new diet!

Lucy and Jasper with mom. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Holt.

Check out Jan Zeiger’s article, Natural Pet Market in Lake Mary