Raw Feed? Are You Joking?

Let's think about this for a minute: God did not design our animals to eat pre-packaged, kibble or pellet-like food. In the wild, dogs don't tell each other, "Hey, I'm hungry, let's go to the pet food store and grab us some lunch." As if!

No, together, they go out and hunt down their food, then dig right in while it's still warm. Sorry about the graphic image, but well, that's nature for you! They also do not stoke up a campfire and sit around singing Kum Bi Ya while the meat gets cooked. Nope they just have at it in the natural raw form.

Now you might be thinking, "Yeah but that's wild animals, not our sweet kitties and dogs." Think again. They are and will always be carnivores. They need raw meat and bones to be healthy with a fully supported immune system. Also the raw, non-weight bearing bones such as the shoulders and backs give dogs and cats strong, clean white teeth eliminating the need for dentals done under anesthesia at a veterinarian's office, something that is not only much riskier but much more expensive than feeding your dogs and cats what they were designed to eat: meat.

Your other pets such as horses, guinea pigs, birds and rabbits also need natural raw food in order to thrive. They do not forage for pellets, let me tell you. Many birds are omnivorous so they'll eat fruits, veggies and meat. While our other furry and feathered friends need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Kim Christopher states, "Proper diet is among the more important considerations in the health maintenance of your pet and essential in the management of many diseases. To feed correctly, a knowledge of dietary nutrients and their availability is important."

And Dr. Russell Swift,"Carbohydrates are not needed by dogs(or cats). Carnivores cannot maintain long term production of the quantity of amylase enzyme necessary to properly digest and utilize the carbohydrates. In addition, the proteins in grains are less digestive than animal proteins. As a result, the immune system becomes irritated and weakened by the invasion of foreign, non-nutritive protein and carbohydrate particles."

So just what do you think most packaged pet foods commonly know as premium kibble contain? Grains. Byproducts. Toxic preservatives.

The question would then arise, if pet food manufacturers know this (they must because they're in business to know) why are these things added to our pet food and why are we told that these packaged foods are so good? Even our mainstream veterinarians are selling these foods to us.

Good questions. Part of the reason is because it's cheaper to use grains and byproducts. Byproducts can be anything we'd normally throw out such as beaks, feathers, feet/hooves, euthanized animals, road kill, you name it. It all gets rendered and added into our packaged pet foods.

Oh but it gets better. These foods are then baked. Here is what Dr. Betty Lewis stated on her website, "What's wrong with commercial foods? The number one item which makes commercial foods inappropriate for pets is that these foods are cooked. No one has ever reported seeing wild animals routinely barbecuing their meals! Raising the temperature of food above 118°F destroys all the enzymes and many of the nutrients."

To top it all off, in order to be able to say that these commercial foods have all the needed nutrients in them, they SPRAY on the nutrients. To get more details on this pick up the book by Ann Martin, Foods Pets Die For.

One of the best things you can do if you're confused about how to get started feeding your pets a natural diet is to first find a holistic veterinarian in your area and then find out what is appropriate for your pet. Homeopathic and holistic vets really adhere and promote the complete natural lifestyle for your pets and can help you put together a diet that will give your pet what he/she needs for full nutritional support.

All the problems we're seeing in our pets: allergies, skin disorders, cancer, diabetes, feather plucking, pulling out furr, etc., can almost alway be attributed to poor nutrition AND to food allergies. Their immune systems are compromised because they are not getting enough nutrition to support themselves which then weakens their immune system. Then we see disease. If the immune system is not supported properly, disease gets a front door welcome into your pets bodies.

So if you want to start seeing your pets live healthier, longer lives and also greatly reduce your vet bills, then switch to a natural, raw food diet. Your pets will love you for it!

References:
http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/nutrition.html
http://www.raot.org/information/nutrition.htm

About the Author:
Kim Bloomer is a natural pet care educator helping pet owners learn to care for their pets through natural, holistic means. Disease prevention is her goal to help pet owners lower their pet care costs and extend the lives of their pets. Visit her website Aspenbloom Pet Care and her dog's blog barkin' about natural pet care from a canine perspective Bark 'N' Blog

Look for Kim's new book on natural dog health with Dr. Jill Elliot, DVM due for release spring 2006.

Related News

Pets of the Week - Salt Lake Tribune Pets of the Week Salt Lake Tribune, United States -Sep 5, 2008 Visit the Utah Animal Adoption Center, 1955 N. Redwood Road, or visit www.utahanimaladoptioncenter.org. For more information, call 801-355-PETS. Pit Bulls Attack Man Walking His DogKUTV all 5 news articles Pet care facilities available during storms - ENC Today WNCT Pet care facilities available during storms ENC Today, NC -3 hours ago When it comes to major storms, residents and local officials must do as much to prepare pets as they do for humans. "All people really need to do is what's ... Lenoir County under a State of Emergency at 7PMWNCT Emergency officials continue preparations for HannaENC Today Lenoir County Emergency Operations Center monitoring HannaWNCT ENC Today all 6 news articles Group gets pets out for storm - The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com Group gets pets out for storm The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com, LA -1 hour ago The Best Friends Rapid Response Team provided 3000 pet carriers when it learned some animals were turned away from buses because they didn't have their own ... Keeping Track of Pets - Washington Post Keeping Track of Pets Washington Post, United States -Sep 5, 2008 Dear Heloise: Thanks for telling pet owners to put COLLARS WITH LICENSES for identification on their pets. Please also continue to recommend microchips. ... Prepare for any disaster with pets - Daily Herald Prepare for any disaster with pets Daily Herald, UT -1 hour ago 1 thing you must remember when it comes to disaster management is that you cannot rely on someone else to rescue and care for your pets. ... PetSmart helping homeless pets on September weekend - Newnan Times-Herald PetSmart helping homeless pets on September weekend Newnan Times-Herald, GA -49 minutes ago More than 2000 animals welfare organizations in North America are expected to participate, with the goal of placing 15000 homeless pets with new families. ... Get pets ready for hurricane - MiamiHerald.com Get pets ready for hurricane MiamiHerald.com, FL -11 minutes ago Never leave pets to fend for themselves. BY ELINOR J. BRECHER Your pets depend on you for everything, including safety from the storm, so as you gear up for ... Tropical storm and disaster preparedness for pets - Tri Parish Times NBC13.com Tropical storm and disaster preparedness for pets Tri Parish Times, LA -Sep 5, 2008 As Tropical Storm Gustav heads toward the Gulf Coast and develops into hurricane strength, Banfield, The Pet Hospital would like to remind family members ... Keeping Your Pets Safe Before, During & After The StormLocal10.com Pets weather Gustav wellDetroit Free Press It's tough choice to give up petDaytona Beach News-Journal Cay Compass - Marco Island Sun Times all 280 news articles City mulls making it law to spay, neuter pets - Houston Chronicle City mulls making it law to spay, neuter pets Houston Chronicle, United States -Sep 5, 2008 Won't my pet become overweight? Get answers. Readers debate the benefits of holding off on neutering for a couple of years. Join the discussion. ... Pedigree pets dumped in record numbers - Times Online Pedigree pets dumped in record numbers Times Online, UK -8 hours ago Pedigree cats are also among the pets needing new homes as owners face rising living costs. Anne Power, a co-ordinator for the Ragdoll Rehome Group, ...