Creating Health! for our
Canine & Feline Companions . . .
and Ourselves!
Longmont, CO
sarah
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, COMMENTARY
What is the best way to not be taken advantage of at the Vet?
I am not able to even think of taking my dog in because of the cost of blood work and the emotional stress I feel when I'm there. Of course I want to do what I can for my pet but the cost is just so much and I know all of the suggestions they give are not necessary. What can I do?
ANSWER:
This is a very good question.
The very best way to prevent unnecessary treatment and testing is to educate yourself. There are some amazing books available to help you decide which treatment options are best for your friend.
We have a dog with a birth defect that dramatically affects her immune system. As a puppy, she was misdiagnosed, x-rayed more than 30 times over the course of 8 or 9 months, given experimental and/or very expensive antibiotics, and the list goes on. We were charged thousands of dollars at the ER at at the veterinarian's office. We felt as though we had been robbed, and still had no clear answers about our puppy's condition.
I now have an extensive list of books in my home library which I refer to and read on a regular basis. There is so much valuable, healing information in these books - Information that I have never heard from ANY traditional veterinarian! Even something as basic as giving probiotics when an animal is on antibiotics is a recommendation we rarely, if ever, hear from veterinarians, yet it is very important and easy to accomplish.
People tell me over and over again that traditional veterinarians overlook or are completely unaware of some of the most obvious ways of creating health: nutrients, herbals, homepathic remedies, and natural products for flea and heartworm control (as opposed to chemical heartworm and squeeze on products.) Instead, they offer prescription food that is laden with common allergens, chemicals, preservatives and generally poor quality ingredients. Their answer to digestive disorders and skin issues is almost always antibiotics and/or steroids. These prescription drugs do not resolve the issues, but only treat the symptoms, often driving the imbalances deeper into the body.
My dogs rarely need veterinary attention. When they do, I'm thankful that our veterinarian is honest and caring, and will always recommend treatments that involve no prescription drugs to begin with. If the problems don't resolve, then we will sometimes proceed with traditional treatments. Most of the time, though, the problems resolve on their own because our dogs are well-nourished.
How is it that something as important as nutrition is not understood, acknowledged or recognized by traditional veterinarians? Animals respond quickly and very well to natural herbs, nutrients and homeopathic remedies. These treatment options are much more effective in resolving feline and canine imbalances - even those that are serious or life-threatening - as nutrients nourish and heal the organ systems and address the source of the imbalance instead of treating the symptom only.
Here are the books I mostly highly recommend:
The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care
The Nature of Animal Healing
Dr. Pitcairn's Guide
to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Veterinarians' Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs
How to Have A Healthier Dog
More information about these books is available on the Recommended Reading page.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease...
How can I resolve It?
Absolutely the best advice I can give for resolving Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a simple whole food diet. That means eliminating all dry and canned food. Seriously. All dry and canned foods have been heated to high temperatures, which destroys all enzymes and many of the most important vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other phytonutrients in the ingredients. The heating process also binds the proteins and carbohydrates, making them much harder to digest than raw or home-prepared food.
If you were eating blueberries for their healing nutrients, would you first bake them at 350 degrees until they were crunchy and brown?
Just recently I spoke with someone whose dog, at 5 years of age, had experienced chronic diarrhea and digestive disorders, and, more recently, vomiting blood, for much of her life. Prescription drugs did not resolve the imbalance, nor did prescription food or other dry foods. Two weeks ago this dog was switched to a raw diet with Sojos Euroopa Grain Free as the vegetable-and-greens part of the diet, and raw beef stew meat composing the other 50%. The dog has done a complete turnaround, and is now happily digesting her food. Discoloration around her nose and mouth unexpectedly and completely disappeared (after 5 years). Many other improvements were noted.
Another example: Lacy, a rescued Weimeriner, had chronic diarrhea, sometimes explosive, for the first 18 months of her rescue. Other eating disorders included frantically eating her own poop. After trying a long list of dry and canned food, and almost as a last resort, Lacy was switched overnight to a raw diet. No gradual change, just switched to raw one day. The next day, Lacy had her first normal bowel movement. After a couple months on a raw diet, her digestion stabilized and it's been normal since that time. She now eats a variety of foods, including raw, with no problem at all.
Third example: A cat with chronic diarrhea and weight loss for more than six months was switched from dry/canned food to raw and dehydrated meat, and the problem resolved within days. When her owners hastily switched back to canned food, the problems resurfaced. This 8 year old cat is now on exclusive raw and dehydrated food, supplemented with greens, and is doing very well.
Or what about Sojos Europa Grain Free or Dr. Harvey's Veg to Bowl with a high quality protein? All these choices provide bio-available, healing, species-appropriate nutrition and offer you and your dog some variety, which itself also create health and balance.
Or meat and vegetables you prepare yourself! Check out Dr. Pitcairn's book for lots of recipes!
Feeding whole foods is the most direct path to health, balance and graceful aging for your companion and yourself. 
Tasha, age 14,waiting for Oz to try to get by her!
Tasha lived to age 16, and played squeaky ball
every day in the back yard right up until
her last few days of life.
My cats have been fine on dry food.
Why should I change now?
"The time you spend preparing your cat's meals,
Dr. Jeffrey Levy, D.V.M.
the personal energy you put into it,
is a gift of great value
and a true measure of your love"
Every day, our feline companions are diagnosed with urinary tract infections, thyroid imbalances, diabetes, dental disease, skin irritations, and worse - in almost epidemic proportions. Why? In large part because the food we have been told to feed them is creating a heavy burden on their digestive systems, and thereby on their immunity, longevity and vitality. We are asking our feline companions to consume "food" that is difficult to digest at best and harmful in many cases.Cats are obligate carnivores. In a natural setting, they would derive their energy and most of their required moisture from their prey. A feline's digestive system - from their very specific dental structure to the types of enzymes their bodies produce - is designed to consume and digest high quality protein - NOT carbohydrates and crunchy, baked food. Cats must eat meat to survive.
Feeding only dry food to your cat, especially "free feeding," can create an imbalance, leading to chronic dehydration. When the system is deprived of moisture, the urine becomes concentrated, and the bladder and urinary tract become the perfect environment in which bacteria thrive and grow. Thus the incredibly high incidence of urinary tract issues in cats today. Think about it!Did you know that cats are not able to produce glucokinase, an enzyme that is responsible for processing carbohydrates into usable energy?
So, you ask,
why is most dry cat food
at least 40 percent carbohydrates?
GOOD QUESTION!Sadly, it's because these ingredients are cheap and easy to come by, especially the floor sweepings from various grain mills (brewer's rice) and leftovers from the feed corn industry (corn, corn gluten).Oh, and don't forget the cellulose and chemical preservatives to go along with the by-products, brewer's rice and corn gluten in the case of Science Diet's dry weight management food! Commercial pet food manufacturers do not care about your animal's health, as evidenced by the inferior ingredients they include. Please read the label!Ingredients to avoid:
by-products, undefined meat in any form,
peanut hulls, brewer's rice, cellulose, corn,
corn gluten, wheat, soy, BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin
We have been horribly deceived by the pet food industry. Dry food does not clean teeth! Dry food has been baked at high temperatures, destroying enzymes and fragile, yet essential nutrients! Dry food explodes into tiny pieces when consumed, actually contributing to the plaque problem. Why do you think so many cats have dental issues?
Pieces of enzyme-rich raw meat that require your cat
to chew vigorously are excellent for dental health!
Raw meaty bones
supply calcium, remove plaque,
and are species appropriate.Other factors to consider:
- Grains - especially the grains used by most commercial pet food manufacturers - are susceptible to naturally-occurring fungal by-products called mycotoxins. Two common forms of these deadly toxins have been found in both dog and cat food.
- Unlike herbivores, cats do not have the dental structure for grinding their food, nor do they produce the salivary enzymes required for digestion of starches.
- Cats are not thirst-driven like dogs, and can survive on less water than dogs. Water, most important for all living beings, is missing from dry cat food. Also missing are enzymes - the healing elements in fresh, whole food - as well as other fragile, yet essential nutrients that can only be found in meat and fresh foods!
- The digestive system of a feline is very short and acidic. Designed to break down fats and proteins, virtually no digestion of carbohydrates can occur in your cat's digestive tract.
- Even if the label says "contains essential fatty acids," these nutrients, along with ingredients such as cranberries and blueberries, are fragile and their nourishing, healing qualities cannot survive the baking temperature and the extended shelf life of dry food.
- Read the label! Are Brewer's Rice, corn, wheat, by-products and cellulose the kind of ingredients you would imagine a carnivore would eat? Chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin have been linked to liver disease and are still present in the prescription foods your vet may prescribe! Sad but true.
Even so,
If you could create health
for your cat,
wouldn't you do it?
It is never too late to learn something new and beneficial!
Please feed your cats
the food they were meant to eat!Have you read about
the Pottenger Study?
Recommendations for dogs and cats:
Whole foods are always best
Feeding only dry food, even a good quality dry, burdens the digestive system of your companion, especially as they reach middle age, around 6, 7 or 8 for most dogs and at about 9 or 10 for most cats. That is when the often hidden imbalances can surface as serious illness. Feeding foods that contain the enzymes and nutrients that occur naturally in their wholesome ingredients will nourish your companion and create cellular repair and rejuvenation.
Longmont, CO
sarah
