No More Bellyaches
A young couple referred by their veterinarian were advised to use a “natural version” of a prescriptive diet for early irritable bowel. Hmmm. That's a tough order for many reasons. In reviewing the kitten’s history—a five month old male with chronic diarrhea, he’d been eating a combination of canned and dry foods. His female sibling did not display any problems, although both were fed the same diet. When the male was put on the prescriptive diet, his stools improved, but every time the original foods were introduced, the diarrhea returned.
My first recommendation was to remove the dry. As a kitten, this is a great time to introduce carnivore appropriate diets—meat based canned or raw. The clients looked confused, as they’d been told by their veterinarian kittens needed dry food to promote dental health. Dry foods unfortunately do not clean teeth, and even if they did, the lack of moisture and the high levels of carbohydrates in most dry foods are more detrimental to feline health than beneficial.
Because of the research the couple had done they were receptive to raw, yet concerned with the cost. Nor, were they were quite ready to jump into home-prepared. Fortunately TC Feline, a raw diet premix supplement, provided a solution for a homemade cat food. Armed with this supplement, fresh ground meat and introduction instructions, their kittens were set up to try a well-balanced, cost-effective raw food diet.
In a follow-up call, both kittens had eaten with enthusiasm and his stools, while still soft, were now formed! But the moment that warmed my heart, was when they shared the male had never liked being picked up. After his first meal of raw, he asked for attention and allowed them to pick him up and has been more affectionate since. Why the change? I'm pretty sure his stomach hurt from the digestive problems on the other foods.
Copyright Terri Grow, 2015
A young couple referred by their veterinarian were advised to use a “natural version” of a prescriptive diet for early irritable bowel. Hmmm. That's a tough order for many reasons. In reviewing the kitten’s history—a five month old male with chronic diarrhea, he’d been eating a combination of canned and dry foods. His female sibling did not display any problems, although both were fed the same diet. When the male was put on the prescriptive diet, his stools improved, but every time the original foods were introduced, the diarrhea returned.
My first recommendation was to remove the dry. As a kitten, this is a great time to introduce carnivore appropriate diets—meat based canned or raw. The clients looked confused, as they’d been told by their veterinarian kittens needed dry food to promote dental health. Dry foods unfortunately do not clean teeth, and even if they did, the lack of moisture and the high levels of carbohydrates in most dry foods are more detrimental to feline health than beneficial.
Because of the research the couple had done they were receptive to raw, yet concerned with the cost. Nor, were they were quite ready to jump into home-prepared. Fortunately TC Feline, a raw diet premix supplement, provided a solution for a homemade cat food. Armed with this supplement, fresh ground meat and introduction instructions, their kittens were set up to try a well-balanced, cost-effective raw food diet.
In a follow-up call, both kittens had eaten with enthusiasm and his stools, while still soft, were now formed! But the moment that warmed my heart, was when they shared the male had never liked being picked up. After his first meal of raw, he asked for attention and allowed them to pick him up and has been more affectionate since. Why the change? I'm pretty sure his stomach hurt from the digestive problems on the other foods.
Copyright Terri Grow, 2015