This blog post addresses nutritional and health concerns related to feeding raw meat diets to companion animals, by examining relevant peer-reviewed research. Scientific evidence is overwhelming – raw diets are unhealthy and dangerous, from nutritional, health and sanitary perspectives. Raw meat-based diets are defined as those that include uncooked animal ingredients and that are fed to dogs or cats living in home environments. These ingredients can include skeletal muscles, internal organs and bones from mammals, fish, or poultry, as well as unpasteurized milk and uncooked eggs1. Raw meat diets have gained popularity in the recent years among dog and cat guardians. Since they contain meat flesh, they are sometimes perceived as more ‘natural’ and nutritious. In fact, many vegetarians and...
Dogs use Methonine as the pre-requisite for synthesizing taurine, while cats require methionine for proper liver function. In either case, methionine must be received from the diet. Methionine is found in highest concentrations in animal proteins and in lower concentrations in plant-based proteins - cereal grains and pulses, such as wheat gluten, corn meal, brown rice, soy and whole peas.
Cancer in cats and dogs What is cancer? What are the signs and symptoms of cancer in animals? Why does cancer develop in cats and dogs? What types of cancer affect animals? How can we treat cancer? Is it possible to cure cancer and how? How does nutrition affect the development of cancer? Cancer is an epidemic. 40% of cats and 50% of dogs prematurely die of cancer nowadays. Many people don’t understand that cancer is not only a human disease – it happens to domestic animals too. In fact, cancer is one of the most common causes of death in cats and dogs. What is cancer? Cancer is a disease that begins with mutation – division/growth of a bodily...
Allergies How can I spot the signs of allergies? What are the symptoms? Where do allergies come from? How can I recognize allergens and treat them? – these are the questions that guardians of cats and dogs often ask. In this article, we will provide answers to questions about allergies in animals and help you solve this problem in your pet. Allergies occur more often in dogs than in cats. Although it’s a common problem, it’s not an easy one to treat, mainly because it is difficult to figure out what causes it. What is an allergy? The definition of the word “allergy” is well established – it’s a “state of hypersensitivity of a living organism to a given substance or...
