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Feline Nutrition: Nutrition for the Optimum Health and Longevity of your Cat
Cats, through desert adaptation, require water as a component of their food. They also lack the metabolic pathways to efficiently process plant material, thus defining them as obligate carnivores; their food should consist only of meat, fat, bones, and organs. These are two very simple yet fundamental facts of feline nutrition. A cat is soley designed to hunt, kill, eat, and process meat. Through millions of years of evolution, cats have developed unique characteristics of anatomy, physiology, metabolism, and behavior indicative of obligate carnivores. Many feline diseases such as diabetes, obesity, urinary tract disorders, chronic renal disease, and irritable bowel syndrome can be directly attributed to low moisture, low-meat-protein, and high-carbohydrate levels that plague many of today’s commercially produced cat foods. Many cats survive on these dry, supplemented, plant-based diets but they do not thrive. This book will discuss basic feline anatomy and physiology (explaining how a cat's body metabolizes nutrients) coupled with interpreting pet food labels which will help you make healthy selections whether choosing to purchase commercial foods or making a home-prepared raw diet to feed your cat.
- GenresNonfictionCats
139 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2011
79 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Curtis
1 bookLynn is a former, professionally-trained, veterinary technician and has been a feline advocate for over two decades. She has spent more than 25 years working in the fields of biology and chemistry. Lynn's experience with her own cats, one dying at nine years of age from chronic renal disease and the others diagnosed with varying medical ailments, inspired her to seek an answer to their health challenges. Diet was the key.
Lynn's knowledge of feline nutrition lead to the creation of the Feline Nutrition Awareness Effort, an online venue founded to educate care-givers and advocate for optimum feline nutrition through a species-appropriate diet whether produced commercially or prepared at home.
Lynn's knowledge of feline nutrition lead to the creation of the Feline Nutrition Awareness Effort, an online venue founded to educate care-givers and advocate for optimum feline nutrition through a species-appropriate diet whether produced commercially or prepared at home.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 13, 2021
I wish All Cat Owners Would Read This
Well I already knew all the information in this book because of the holistic veterinarian Lisa's blog at catinfo.org, most people don't know how much harm they are causing their cats by feeding them dry kibble. This book tells you everything you need to know. I was really hoping it would have more recipes but that's okay. As a vegan it would be too hard for me to grind up an animal with their bones and and all that stuff so after reading the book and the cost comparison I decided to check online to see if there was an already made raw food company that I could afford. Because I have 13 cats at the moment I cannot afford to feed them raw at every meal. They get raw once a day though and wet pate the rest of the day. I may have to suck it up For the Love of my cats and learn to make my own to make my own because with this many cats I'm losing everything in my savings so. I've read other reviews saying that the book tries to guilt them it does not. If you feel angry after reading the book there's a reason for it. You should feel guilty. I understand people that have their cats love their cats very much and want the best for them and not everybody can afford raw I get that. But the book informs you what the dry kibble does to cats and if you can't afford raw then the cheapest canned food is better than the most expensive dry kibble. There's no such thing as a high quality dry kibble. Yes there are some that are far better than others. But regardless and they still cooked at such high temperatures that all the nutrients have been cooked out which is why they have to add man-made nutrients to it. They have to add carbohydrates and starches to get the dry food to hold together. Then they have to spray it with an animal fat to get it palatable for cats to even eat it. How a veterinarian can say a cat is a obligate carnivore and recommend a dry food is beyond me it makes no sense it's a contradiction. You don't see wildcats are feral cats sitting around a campfire with their mice and birds on a stick roasting them. If you can't even afford Friskies wet Pate at 80 cents a can then you shouldn't have a cat.
Well I already knew all the information in this book because of the holistic veterinarian Lisa's blog at catinfo.org, most people don't know how much harm they are causing their cats by feeding them dry kibble. This book tells you everything you need to know. I was really hoping it would have more recipes but that's okay. As a vegan it would be too hard for me to grind up an animal with their bones and and all that stuff so after reading the book and the cost comparison I decided to check online to see if there was an already made raw food company that I could afford. Because I have 13 cats at the moment I cannot afford to feed them raw at every meal. They get raw once a day though and wet pate the rest of the day. I may have to suck it up For the Love of my cats and learn to make my own to make my own because with this many cats I'm losing everything in my savings so. I've read other reviews saying that the book tries to guilt them it does not. If you feel angry after reading the book there's a reason for it. You should feel guilty. I understand people that have their cats love their cats very much and want the best for them and not everybody can afford raw I get that. But the book informs you what the dry kibble does to cats and if you can't afford raw then the cheapest canned food is better than the most expensive dry kibble. There's no such thing as a high quality dry kibble. Yes there are some that are far better than others. But regardless and they still cooked at such high temperatures that all the nutrients have been cooked out which is why they have to add man-made nutrients to it. They have to add carbohydrates and starches to get the dry food to hold together. Then they have to spray it with an animal fat to get it palatable for cats to even eat it. How a veterinarian can say a cat is a obligate carnivore and recommend a dry food is beyond me it makes no sense it's a contradiction. You don't see wildcats are feral cats sitting around a campfire with their mice and birds on a stick roasting them. If you can't even afford Friskies wet Pate at 80 cents a can then you shouldn't have a cat.
July 9, 2021
Really helpful! Well-informed and researched, consistent with information I've received from other sources. Full of practically useful information about, for instance, pet food labeling and choosing a species-appropriate and nutritionally balanced diet for your cat. I appreciate that it's specific to cats -- lots of related books concern pet nutrition generally and unhelpfully vacillate between facts pertaining to cats and those pertaining to dogs. In the end, I found myself needing still further guidance in choosing an optimal food for my cat, but I was a lot better off than when I started.
August 20, 2020
Very educational
I have always wanted to get my cats onto a raw diet, they don't chase dried food.
A mouse is the perfect balance of bone meat and organs.
However I felt sorry for the mice and day old chicks even though they still get one every now and then as a treat.
I now make my own with the help of this book and my vet and have happy healthy cats.
Best of all no stinky poops as they absorb most of the food.
I have always wanted to get my cats onto a raw diet, they don't chase dried food.
A mouse is the perfect balance of bone meat and organs.
However I felt sorry for the mice and day old chicks even though they still get one every now and then as a treat.
I now make my own with the help of this book and my vet and have happy healthy cats.
Best of all no stinky poops as they absorb most of the food.
November 6, 2021
A lot of information, but…
I appreciate all the information in this book. I honestly felt like I was reading a college textbook. I was very disappointed to find out in the end that there are only 2 recipes. I would have preferred less scientific data and more variety in recipes.
I appreciate all the information in this book. I honestly felt like I was reading a college textbook. I was very disappointed to find out in the end that there are only 2 recipes. I would have preferred less scientific data and more variety in recipes.
November 25, 2024
Great read for those wanting to give their cat the best
Fantastic read!! So much information on why the best diet for your cat is a wet or raw diet!! A must read for those wanting to give their cat the very best!
Fantastic read!! So much information on why the best diet for your cat is a wet or raw diet!! A must read for those wanting to give their cat the very best!
January 16, 2019
Pretty technical
If you are looking for recipes, this book only has two. This book is more of why feed a raw diet over commercial dry food.
If you are looking for recipes, this book only has two. This book is more of why feed a raw diet over commercial dry food.
June 24, 2021
Learnt more about nutrition in general from this book than any other human nutrition book I've read. Very objective and scientific. Very good read!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews