Species Appropriate Diets for Dogs and Cats
From the Wild
The ancestors of our domestic dogs and cats were/are quite adept at feeding themselves a balanced carnivorous diet. Although our dogs and cats have adapted to living with us and eating processed diets, it serves us to ask: are they really thriving? A natural diet for our carnivorous friends should consist of at least 50-60% raw protein for canines and 60-70% for felines. This includes approximately 10-15% organ meat (liver, heart, kidney) and a fair amount of bone, hair, skin, and the like.
In the wild, the prey of the carnivore is most likely a herbivorous animal with a stomach full of partially digested plant material. The wild ancestors of our domestic friends take down prey and head straight for the abdomen. Here are the richest parts. The carnivore will usually feast on the stomach contents first. This is similar to our domestic animals who every spring find the tender new shoots of grass in the backyard. Carnivores cannot digest plant material well (they are missing cellulase, an enzyme necessary for plant digestion) and require it to be partially digested for them. This plant material is likely not more than 15-20% of the entire meal. It is not until they are completed eating the stomach/intestinal contents that they then turn to the muscle tissue and bones.
What does this tell us? We can obviously conclude the natural diet of a carnivore, of which cats are obligate carnivores and dogs are primarily carnivorous with omnivorous capabilities, consists of organ meat, plant material, muscle meat, hair or feathers, skin and bones. That’s all! No soy products, no wheat bran, not five different types of protein at one meal, no preservatives, colorings or toxic chemicals. Pretty simple!
So, Why Aren't We Feeding a More Natural Diet?
Why are we feeding them grain based diets of 60% or more grains (sugars) and a very small amount of protein? Why have we strayed so far away from the species appropriate diet? Could it be that we are now ‘thinking’ of our dogs and cats as little furry humans and forgetting they are carnivores?
Before the advent of the pet food industry dogs were fed off the table, scraps and leftovers. Cats were second class citizens and usually lived in the barn to fend for themselves. These imbalanced diets pushed veterinarians to strongly recommend that we feed strictly from a bag and never add anything else. This was considered a balanced and complete diet. This may have helped the animals that were malnourished but we ask - did they thrive? As the pet food industry grows the truth about what really goes into those red and brown hot dog shaped nuggets is surfacing. They often spend huge portions of their budgets on research and development to first seduce the consumer to purchase their product and then to transform the unpalatable into the palatable for the dog or cat. Once again corporate America uses marketing techniques such as very catchy names, alluring and wholesome looking packaging, and confusing ingredient listings to encourage sales of not very wholesome products. Don’t be fooled any longer!
How Can We Feed a More Natural Diet?
The first place to start is to remember that cooking will denature (kill) the natural enzymes, vitamins and minerals in the food. The natural enzymes present in all ‘live’ food actually help the body, along with the digestive enzymes from the mouth, stomach, gall bladder and pancreas, to break down the food. By cooking the food you denature the enzymes thereby requiring that the pancreas work harder.
Protein is The Basis!
Although raw protein sources are preferable I know many people are worried about the infection of Salmonella, E. coli and other bacteria. This typically does not seem to be a problem in our carnivores. Remember where they put their mouths and noses daily! The strong digestive juices a carnivore has to digest meat and bones are more than adequate for digesting some bacteria and parasites. This is the most fear inciting issue that a guardian must overcome when feeding a raw food diet. Considering the number of illnesses caused by meat laced microbes in humans, the fear is somewhat warranted. Disinfecting the meat is usually not necessary but will make some guardians feel better about the meat source. If your meat source is poor or not something you would eat then don’t feed it to your animals. There are some animals that have a hard time adjusting to a raw diet and slightly braising the meat will help.
Sources of protein should be as free of preservatives, colorings, antibiotics or hormones as possible. Naturally raised or organic sources are optimum. Remember that you get what you pay for. If you finance a healthy diet for your animals you will not be financing endless veterinary bills.
The types of protein I recommend are varied, but do not use more than one (two at the most) together in one meal. A popular method in the natural food industry is to have up to five different sources of protein in one bag or can. Anytime I have an uneasy feeling about something I pose the question to good old mother nature to give me the answer. Would a dog or cat in the wild eat chicken, turkey, beef, eggs and fish all in one meal, or even in one day? I think you know the answer to this, so why do the manufacturers of these foods think that more is better? My suggestion is to alternate between chicken, turkey, beef, eggs and some dairy (raw milk, cottage cheese, yogurt), fish (especially mackerel, sardines, cod, salmon, herring), lamb and any other meats your animals tolerate. Particularly for those animals with allergies, a rotation diet every few days can help them keep the reactions to a minimum.
Please remember just as for humans no one diet is correct for every animal. You must experiment with patience and care to find the correct combination that works for your animal friends. I realize this may mean that you may need different diets for different animals.
We Can't Give Feathers, but...
Now, for the second ingredient in our diet. We know wild animals don’t eat grains except wild forms of grains which are very different from the agricultural grains of the modern world. All of the dry food diets are primarily grain based (about 70-75%). Remember the percentages that the carnivore requires? This is the inverse of the protein figure! I believe these carbo-sugar based diets are much of the reason we see so much lethargy and hyperactivity in our animal population. If they aren’t ‘jacked up’, then they are a ‘couch potato’. A veritable diabetic time bomb waiting to go off! A cancer producing diet to boot! The energy, vitality and bodily funtions of animals will improve on a raw food diet. I have not seen this on processed foods.
There a number of diets such as the BARF (bones and raw food or biologically available raw food) diet or it’s variations that do not give grains at all, primarily because they are not a natural component in the diet. I agree, but again, some animals do not do well on just meat and veggies. So, if you use grains make sure to overcook them in extra water for extra time. These complex carbos should be not more than 25% of the total diet and actually much less is preferable. Barley, millet, buckwheat, oats and quinoa are often favorites. There are other budget and enviornmental reasons for adding a bit of grain to the diet that are worth pondering.
Veggies for a Carnivore
The third component of the carnivore meal is plant material. To model what our Mother would provide we must puree, cook or very finely grate the veggies and herbs. Our carnivores cannot digest plant material as herbivores, therefore we must ‘partially digest’ them in our Cuisinart or blender. Using a rotating diet of vegetables will insure that you do not give too many sugary starches or oxalic acid producing greens that can contribute to arthritis conditions. Rotation is always the safest approach. You will surprised at what your animals will got crazy for. Even the cats will surprise you!
Don't Forget the Organs
The fourth ingredient is organ meat. It is vital that our carnivores eat some raw organs weekly or small amounts daily. Any organ is fine, but alternate and make sure the liver is organic. The organ meats are what I call ‘high chi’ foods. They are a source of vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients that are critical to the THRIVE diet. They are intense, powerful energy and often craved by those animals with severe illness. Some animals are offended by organ meats. How odd isn’t it? These are often the animals that are fussy about everything they eat, which I would consider a symptom of dis-ease. A healthy animal should have a strong, robust appetite.
The Right Oils
The fifth ingredient is oils. Again, ask Mother Nature......do cats and dogs in the wild eat flax oil? Soy oil? Canola Oil? There is a disturbing fad now to feed flax oil. In the studies I have been fortunate to have read there is ample evidence that these oils actually are thyroid toxic. Every cell in the body has tiny structures called mitochondria. These mitochondria are the lungs of each cell. These highly processed oils clog the respiration of the cell. Blocking respiration means suffocation. These oils are often difficult to metabolize and find places to lodge with other fat and stay immobile for years. The best oils are animals oils, especially fish oils. Cod liver oil is a wonderful oil, but must be used sparingly, especially if commercial food is fed or if you are using on that is supplemented with vitamin A.The high levels of vit A in the commercial food can become toxic if cod liver oil is fed daily. Nevertheless, cod liver oil is still an excellent source of vit A and D, as well as the essential fatty acids. Whole body fish oils are also an excellent fatty acid source. Olive oil seems to be one oil (along with coconut oil) that are easily metabolized by the mammals. Feeding whole oily types of fish is an excellent way to provide the oils and protein our carnivores need. Cats need much more oil than dogs do. Those addictive dry crunchies you cat begs for are sprayed with fat (usually beef) and are much of the reason you cat goes crazy for them.
Minerals for Strength
The sixth ingredient includes several minerals necessary to complete the species appropriate diet. Calcium is mandatory to offset the phosphorus in the meat. If calcium is not supplied either in the form of raw bones or an additional supplement, the body, in it’s infinite wisdom will leach calcium from the bones. As all of us women know, calcium leached out of our bones is not good!
Back to the carnivore in the wild. After the ingestion of organs, stomach contents and muscle tissue, they turn to bones. Crunching and munching the bones removes the fatty nutrients out of the marrow. The cartilage at the ends of the bones are treasured for their natural chondroitins and glucosamines. And how do you think animals in the wild brush their teeth? You guessed it - chewing on bones, tearing thru the skin and hair and ripping apart the flesh! Often the worse cases of tartar are improved after a few sessions with the appropriate raw bones.
My favorite bones are chicken and turkey necks. These are easy to chew to digest and are loaded with those joint supporting nutrients. When giving raw bones it’s always good to be in the local vicinity of your animal. Some dogs in their excitement will swallow large pieces and forget to chew. This doesn’t usually cause problems but occasionally it can. Start with necks, removing the skin, as too much skin can cause diarrhea in sensitive animals. Feed bones several times a week. The numbers depend on the amount of meat given and the size of the animal. Large knuckle bones are not ideal because they frequently have little to no meat or cartilage on them. These large bones can crack teeth or if used frequently will wear down the teeth to nubs.
It gives such delight to see your animal enjoying a bone. Especially knowing all the benefits physical and emotional they provide. Some cats will go crazy for bones especially if you have started them out as kittens with a neck or a wing.
Other sources of calcium include extractions from sea weed. This is a plant based calcium source and seems highly digestible to our carnivores. Alternatively, egg shells are a good source. Calcium carbonate or other ‘rock’ sources are not absorbed well and should be avoided, as well as bone meal. Bone meal in this country is not organic and often is laden with lead and other heavy metals.
Other Minerals
Other necessary minerals are best supplied by kelp and alfalfa. I think of them as the sea minerals and the land minerals. These minerals round out the VITAL diet and are easy to acquire. Some animals are offended by the smell and taste of kelp. Using alfalfa is good alternative, but I prefer equal parts of these minerals.
Vitamin C is one nutritent I beleive that provides such good antioxidant support any animal will benefit. Sodium ascorbate is the best for joint and eye support. Other forms are also helpful. If diarrhea starts reduce the dose until bowel tolerance is established.
Your Own Special Touch
The final but most important ingredient is the one you cannot buy. It is the one in most abundance. It is the one you cannot over or under do. It is love. The loving energy you put into your animals’ food is fueled by your intention to provide those in your care with nurturing - physically, emotionally and spiritually. This intention is the most important criterion from which our animals will THRIVE. Your preparation of food that sustains and nourishes your animals should not be one more thing on the ‘to do’ list. It should be a source of fun and exploration. Do not become militant nor a push-over. Let the animals show you how to feed them. But, be aware everyone has their addictions. Good eating habits are acquired. Be patient, there is a learning curve. Then watch your animal THRIVE!!
Yours in health and good nutrition....................Dee Blanco, DVM