Casie

What if someone told you you’ve been feeding your beloved dogs and cats improperly all this time? And that it’s not the brand that matters, but feeding dry food at all that’s the problem? It might be hard to hear, but just as wolves and wildcats aren’t designed to eat dry kibble, neither are their descendants—our modern-day pets.

In recent years, there’s been much discussion about what makes up a species-appropriate diet for dogs and cats, and many people agree: raw is the way to go. 

Raw Diet for Dogs

A raw diet for dogs includes muscle meat, raw bones, and organs fed at 2.5% of your dog’s bodyweight. 

Meat should be always be completely raw, and it’s best to start by feeding only white meat (such as chicken, turkey, rabbit, or quail) as well as bone for the first week or two. After this transition period, you can begin adding red meat, organs, and raw eggs on occasion.

Note of caution: transitioning to a raw diet too quickly can lead to digestive upset and diarrhea. However, adding bone to your dog’s diet should help—just make sure to feed an appropriate sized bone for your dog’s size, such as chicken wing bones, drumsticks, or necks for small dogs and leg quarters, backs, or half breast for larger dogs. 

Adding Slippery Elm Powder and Probiotics during this transition period can also be helpful in preventing digestive upset.

Once your dog has fully transitioned (which takes approximately one month), he should be eating a variety of meats including the white meats mentioned above, plus pork, beef, lamb, deer, and/or goat, as well as nutritious organs such as liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, and brain. It’s important to note, however, that organ meat should make up no more than 5% of your dog’s total diet. 

Some people may choose to include small amounts of raw vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits in their dog’s diet. These can include kale, spinach, sprouts, and broccoli; sunflower, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and almonds; blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and mulberries. 

 

Raw Diet for Cats

The raw diet for cats is similar to that for dogs, with the exception the optional non-meat foods. Cats need to eat 3% of their bodyweight of meat, bone, and organs daily. They may be pickier about transitioning, but can usually do so more quickly than dogs. Always keep an eye on their stool as a guide though. As with dogs, adding Slippery Elm Powder can be beneficial.

When first transitioning your cat to a raw diet, start with bland white meat and bone. After about four days, you can introduce red meats such as pork, beef, or lamb. Adding raw eggs is also fine. If your cat doesn’t experience diarrhea, you can add organ meats after four more days.

Feeding a raw, species appropriate diet will take commitment on your part as well as patience while your pet transitions away from dry kibble food. Three important things to keep in mind are this: feed variety, feed appropriate amounts, and always use good hygiene. Safe handling of raw meats and cleaning prep areas and food bowls will be an important part of keeping both you and your pet healthy.

 

 

Sources:

BARF Diet

Raw Feeding Transition Guide for Dogs

Should You Feed Your Cat a Raw Diet?

These days, there are a wide array of products designed to prevent and kill fleas and ticks, the newest of which includes spot-on and oral treatments. And while many are convenient and seemingly effective, they do not come without risks. In fact, you could be doing more harm than good by using some of these products.

Spot-On Treatments

First of all, it’s important to know that these products are essentially pesticides which are put on your pet’s skin to kill fleas and ticks. 

In one year alone (2008), the EPA received 44,000 reports of adverse reactions from spot-on treatments. While many of these incidents involved skin irritation, others reported seizures, GI tract issues, or nervous system problems. During that same year, 600 deaths were associated with these products.

It became apparent that spot-on products containing cyphenothrin and permethrin were especially problematic for small dog breeds and younger dogs. Many adverse reactions in cats were reportedly the result of cats being treated with products meant for dogs (which often produced serious reactions and/or death) or from exposure to a treated dog. 

Flea and Tick Collars

These products have been around for some time but can pose health problems to both pets and people. The chemicals released from the collars can cause adverse reactions in dogs and cats, ranging from mild skin irritation to death. 

Another problem with collars (as well as spot-on treatments) is that the chemicals often come in contact with people, too—especially kids. The long-term effects of low-level toxicity from products like these is currently unknown, but some experts believe they may be linked with behavioral problems, cognitive delay, and motor development in young children. 

Oral Products

In recent years, oral products have become a popular choice in treating fleas and ticks because of their convenience. Nexgard, Bravecto, and Simparica are the newest ones on the market, and while they seem to do the job, all three are pesticides which are designed to attack the nervous system of fleas and ticks to kill them. So it’s probably not surprising that they can make our pets ill, as well. 

Since these three products have only been around for a few years, there isn’t much information on their adverse effects; however, in January-March of 2016, vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhea were reported as the most common side effects, followed by seizures (22 for both Nexgard and Bravecto; Simparica is too new). Nine deaths were attributed to each drug during the same time period.

Why risk using toxic spot-on treatments, collars, or oral products when there are much safer alternatives?

Essential oils such as peppermint, lemon, and cedarwood can be great pest deterrents for dogs, however, essential oils are NEVER safe to use with cats. Fresh garlic added into the diet can also help deter pests, but the most important thing you can do is feed a balanced, species-appropriate diet. Healthy animals are far less attractive to parasites—both internal and external. 

Bathing and brushing your pet regularly is also a good idea, as is performing frequent, full-body inspections for parasites. 

At The Holistic Horse, we’re proud to offer several products which can naturally ward off fleas and ticks:

• Fleaguard for Cats
• Fleaguard for Dogs
• Flea and Tick Dog Wellness Oil

You can click on the links to learn more about each product. 

Sources:

How Many More Pets Have Been Harmed by These Products Since the EPA’s Advisory 3 Years Ago?

Cat and dog flea treatments can be toxic to pets, humans

Flea and Tick Medicine Poisoning in Dogs

Flea Collar Allergies in Dogs

Though goats have a reputation for eating just about anything—from roses to weeds—they actually need a variety of foods in order to thrive. Understanding and meeting your goats’ nutritional needs will help to ensure you keep a healthy herd.

Water

First and foremost, goats need access to clean, fresh water at all times. They are quite efficient at using water and tend to tolerate heat stress better than other livestock; however, even a ten percent loss in body water can prove fatal for a goat.

Energy Needs

The energy needs of goats will depend on their life stage and activity level. The best way to assess if energy needs are being met is by using body condition scoring (1-5, with 1 being extremely thin and 5 being extremely obese) and adjusting the diet accordingly.

The most natural way to feed goats is on a pasture with a wide variety of plants, trees, shrubs, and grasses. Goats prefer browsing over grazing, eating things like leaves, woody-stemmed plants, weeds, and brush; however, they will also eat grass if choices are limited. With limited space or during the winter months, providing roughage in the from of hay is necessary. Some goats may need a concentrated goat feed to meet energy needs as well. 

When choosing hay for your goats, don’t necessarily go for lower-quality. Though many consider less desirable hay to be suitable for goats, it’s better if forage is clean and free from mold or dust.

Protein Needs

While pasture or hay is typically sufficient to cover the protein and energy needs of most goats, lactating, growing, or ill goats may need supplemental legumes (alfalfa, clover, etc.) or protein supplements. In addition, feeding adequate or slightly greater amounts of protein than required appears to aid in controlling internal parasites in goats. 

Mineral/ Vitamin Needs

Like other livestock, goats require salt and will readily eat it free choice. Our Pure Unrefined Sea Salt will meet not only sodium and chloride requirements, but many of your goat’s mineral needs as well. To ensure all mineral and vitamin (as well as salt) needs are being met, another option is our Sea Salt and Organic Kelp Mix for goats. 

Other Supplements for Goats

Like horses and other forms of livestock, older goats can suffer from arthritis and joint pain. Supplementing with our Su-Per® Glucosamine Powder and/or Su-Per® MSM Powder—both natural anti-inflammatories— can offer relief. Adding our Omni-Wormguard Plus for Goats will also help to keep your goat parasite-free. 

Foods to Avoid

Yes, goats can eat a wide variety of things, but they can’t eat everything! Goats tend to avoid plants which are toxic to them, but the following are very dangerous and should never be accessible to your goats: rhododendron plants (fatal), azaleas, buckthorn, daffodils, foxglove, rhubarb, poppies, juniper, and tomato plants. 

Sources:

Natural Way to Feed Goats

Nutritional Requirements of Goats

You might be surprised to learn that while urinary tract disorders are somewhat common in cats, urinary tract infections are not. However, if you suspect a urinary tract problem of any kind in your cat, it’s important to get your veterinarian involved, as some disorders can be fatal if left untreated.

Veterinarians use the term feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) as a blanket term to describe a number of different problems affecting a cat’s bladder and/or urethra. Examples of problems include inflammation in the bladder, mucous, crystals, or stones in the bladder, a blockage in the urethra (fatal if untreated), and bacterial infection. As previously stated, infections of bacterial origin are uncommon, so antibiotics aren’t needed for the majority of urinary tract disorders. Incidentally, the only way to identify bacteria in urine is to get a culture to see if it grows in a laboratory. 

Young cats rarely develop true urinary tract infections. However, cats older than four are more prone to the condition—especially overweight, indoor cats who get very little exercise. If your cat is on a dry, carbohydrate-based diet (read your cat food ingredients!), they are at an even higher risk. Cats who’ve previously had bladder stones are also more susceptible to recurring infection.

Stress can also weaken your cat’s immune system, making him more prone to urinary tract problems. It’s also worth noting that over-vaccination can weaken the immune system as well. 

The following symptoms can indicate a urinary tract disorder or infection in cats:

• frequent urination
• straining to urinate
• passing blood in urine
• crying out while urinating
• sudden change in habits such as urinating outside the litter box 
• licking the genital area
• stronger than normal urine odor

Preventing Urinary Tract Disorders

Your cat’s diet can go along way in helping to prevent urinary tract disorders. High carbohydrate foods are not appropriate for cats, and neither is an all-dry food diet. Species-appropriate wet foods or a meat-based diet are healthiest for cats and can prevent many health issues, including urinary tract disorders and infections.

Likewise, there are several natural supplements which are helpful in both preventing and managing urinary tract disorders. Glucosamine supplements can help to coat and protect the lining of the bladder. D-mannose and cranberry act to acidify the bladder and prevent bacterial overgrowth. 

Our Cranberry Powder is a natural anti-bacterial and powerful antioxidant which helps to support a healthy urinary tract and immune system. You can mix 1/2 teaspoon in with your cat’s food daily as a treatment or for prevention purposes. However, it should not be fed to cats with a pH below 6.6. Please Consult your veterinarian for a urinalysis before using. 

 

Sources

Are Urinary Tract Infections Common in Cats?

Urinary Tract Infections (UTI’s) in Cats

Urinary Tract Problems in Cats

 

Did you know your horse’s diet can greatly impact the health of his hooves? 

It’s even been said that the feet serve as a window to a horse’s overall health; they can tell us a lot about what’s going on inside the body. Of course, diet alone won’t make up for bad trimming or shoeing practices, and weather has some effect on the hooves as well, but wall cracks, weak or brittle hoof walls, and even thrush can all be signs that something is amiss in the diet.

What Not To Feed

Let’s start with ingredients that could be adversely affecting your horse’s hoof health. This would include high NSC (non-structural carbohydrate) grass which will most likely be present in lush spring and summer pastures. However, it also includes overgrazed or drought-stressed pastures. Sweet feeds of any kind and all grains will also be higher in NSC’s and should be avoided in most instances. 

Commercial supplements with added iron (such as blood building supplements) should also be eliminated from the diet. High amounts of iron are known to block absorption of other important trace minerals, and horses get plenty of iron in grass and hay anyway.

What to Add

Make sure your horse is getting a sufficient amount of protein. The hoof wall is made up of mostly proteins (amino acids), and while some are produced in the horse’s body, others must be supplied in the diet. These are known as essential amino acids. Two which are key to hoof health are lysine and methionine. If your horse has good quality pasture or hay, they will likely meet protein needs. Sometimes, supplementing concentrates is necessary though—especially for horses in hard work.

For horses who don’t have access to fresh grass, omega-3’s such as ground flaxseed are good to add. The B vitamin, biotin is also often supplemented to improve hoof health.

Trace minerals are often deficient in the diet, and two which are critical for hoof health are zinc and copper. Selenium is another important trace mineral (and is often paired with vitamin E for immune function) but it’s important to know that selenium has a very low toxicity level. Even at very low levels, this trace mineral can be poisonous, leading to mane and tail loss and even hoof separation at the coronary band.

For horse owners who have paid strict attention to diet and whose horses are still experiencing hoof problems, detoxification may be needed in order to see results. Heavy metals and other toxins can build up in the system, leading to poor absorption of vitamins and minerals.  

Our Bentonite Clay (also known as Montmorillonite clay) not only has powerful detoxification properties, it also contains over 70 trace minerals and is beneficial for maintaining hoof health.

One thing to remember is that there are often no quick fixes for unhealthy hooves. Even with proper diet and hoof care, it may take six months to a year to see results. The important thing is to stick with it. Your horse’s health is worth it!

 

Sources

Feeding for Happy Feet: A Recipe for Healthy Hooves

 

Hoof Supplements: Feeding the Feet