Hidden Dangers in your Cat’s food and supplements: Benzoic Acid January 12, 2010

A study published in 1972 in the Veterinary Record, entitled, Experimental Benzoic Acid Toxicity in the Cat, clearly showed that even small quantities of benzoic acid are toxic to cats. Symptoms of toxicity included: abnormal behavior, oral ulceration and salivation, internal  organ damage and death.

Benzoic acid continues to be added to food and supplements marketed for cats. Play it safe, read the ingredient list on any product purchased for feline consumption and avoid those that contain benzoic acid or PABA (parabenzoic acid).

Is Irradiated Food Safe – I don’t Think So! June 12, 2009

From Pet Food Industry magazine:

Australia suspends irradiation of cat food
Release Date: Tuesday, June 09, 2009

An outbreak in neurological disorders in cats has lead Australia to cease sterilization of cat food by irradiation. Scientific studies have suggested food irradiation as the source of the illnesses afflicting cats, but exactly how irradiation is causing food to be toxic to cats is unknown.

Ninety cats in Australia were afflicted with neurological disorders after they ate Orijen imported dry cat food, manufactured by Champion Petfoods, according to Dr. Georgina Child, a neurologist familiar with the cases.

Only Australia, which requires irradiation of pet food, has reported issues with Orijen cat food; all other countries who imported non-irradiated Orijen cat food reported no problems.

Irradiated food is it Safe? April 2, 2009

Investigations were carried out on 8 specific pathogen-free cats (5 male and 3 female) from a colony experiencing “outbreaks” of progressive hind limb ataxia in 190 of 540 at-risk animals ranging from 3 months to 3 years old. These studies identified moderate to severe bilateral axonal degeneration within white matter regions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal cord and in the white matter of the cerebral internal capsule and peduncle, in the roof of the fourth ventricle and inferior cerebellar peduncle, and in the external arcuate and pyramidal fibres of the medulla. There were varying degrees of accompanying microgliosis, astrocytosis, and capillary hyperplasia. Such a clinicopathologic syndrome, termed feline leukoencephalomyelopathy, has previously been described in cat colonies in Britain and New Zealand, although its etiology has not been determined. The degenerative nature of the lesions and their bilateral distribution suggest possible nutritional, metabolic, or toxic causes. Although these findings provide circumstantial evidence that the exclusive feeding of a gamma-irradiated diet of reduced vitamin A content is associated with the development of the neuronal lesions, further tissue micronutrient and antioxidant analysis will be required to support this hypothesis.

^{This study should have us thinking that perhaps the trend toward irradiating food for human consumption might be a bad idea. I personally wouldn’t eat food that I know had been irradiated. Will you?}

^{Some of the dangers according to www.mercola.com}

^{Food is irradiated using radioactivegamma sources, usually cobalt 60 or cesium 137, or high energy electron beams. The gamma rays break up the molecular structure of the food, forming positively and negatively charged particles called free radicals. The free radicals react with the food to create new chemical substances called “radiolytic products.” Those unique to the irradiation process are known as “unique radiolytic products” (URPs).}

^{Some radiolytic products, such as formaldehyde, benzene, formic acid, and quinones are harmful to human health. Benzene, for example, is a known carcinogen. In one experiment, seven times more benzene was found in cooked, irradiated beef than in cooked, non-irradiated beef. Some URPs are completely new chemicals that have not even been identified, let alone tested for toxicity.}

^{In addition, irradiation destroys essential vitamins, including vitamin A, thiamin, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, C, E, and K; amino acid and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid content may also be affected. A 20 to 80 percent loss of any of these is not uncommon.}

 In 2007 the FDA proposed some interesting changes to the labeling of irradiated food. They recommended the use of words like Pasteurized (much more palatable than irradiated) and that foods only needed to labeled if the radiation produced a detectable change in the color, taste or texture of the food. It is pretty obvious that we can’t depend on the FDA to protect us from radiation damaged food. So, we must protect ourselves.

 

 

Feeding Cats February 10, 2009

There is no single topic in animal health more misunderstood than feline nutrition.  If you learn nothing else from this blog it should be this: Cats should never be fed dry, processed kibbled cat food. Contrary to popular belief, dry food diets do not promote dental health. In fact they do just the opposite. Cats fed a dry food diet are much more likely to develop stomatitis. 

Stomatitis is a severe inflammation of the gums of cats. This condition can be very painful, stopping a cat from eating. Current conventional treatments include, dental cleaning, antibiotics, steroids and full mouth extractions.

Domestic cats, like their larger wild cousins, are obligate carnivores. They are built to eat large quantities of protein.  Cats actually lack some of the enzymes necessary to digest complex carbohydrates. Unlike omnivores, cats can not adjust their energy requirements when faced with a low protein diet. This means that the low protein diets tauted by the pet food companies to treat renal disease in cats, actually starve the cats of protein and therefor energy.  Visit www.felinefuture.com to learn more about feline nutrition.

Real food consisting of 75% fresh raw meat is  the  diet of choice for domestic cats.  Grains have no place in a diet meant for cats.

Did you know that cats in the  wild rarely drink water? They depend on their food sources to also provide the water that they need.  A nice juicy rat is the perfect meal, containing both high quality protein along with more than adequate moisture.  Dry food diets cause dehydration in domestic cats, putting a strain on the kidneys and contributing to renal disease.

If you can’t fit a quality raw food diet into your lifestyle, a high quality holistic canned food diet is the next best option. There so many new brands of “Grain free or core” diets on the market, finding one that your cat will like should be easy.

In 1939, Francis M. Pottinger, published “Pottinger’s Cats”. This study clearly showed the benefits of a raw food diet in cats. http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/PottsCats.htm follow this link to read more about his fascinating study

Another site worth visting is www.rexforhealth.com