Archive for the ‘articles’ Category

Most of us think nothing of giving our cats a nice fresh bowl of cold tap water, but that may not be such a good idea, for either you or your cat.

Many pharmaceutical and personal care products are entering rivers from sewage treatment plants or leaching into groundwater from septic systems.

Antibiotics, painkillers, sunscreen, hormones, drugs and much more are routinely found in U.S. waters. In some parts of our nation, male fish are growing female parts because they’re literally swimming in hormones.

Tests have shown that American drinking water is contaminated with perchlorate – the chemical used to make rocket fuel, and pharmaceuticals have been found in the drinking water of 51 million U.S. homes. Perchlorate can interrupt the production of thyroid hormones, and lead to hypothyroidism.

Tests on U.S. drinking water routinely find the residue of legal and illegal drugs, poisons, and synthetic chemicals.

Heavy metals are also seeping into our water. These are inorganic chemical elements with relatively high density, such as mercury, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel and lead.

Did you know that if you drink chlorinated water while pregnant, it can increase your child’s risk of heart problems, cleft palate or major brain defects?

Independent studies in such journals as Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; Environmental Health Perspectives; American Journal of Public Health; and Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health, as well as reports published by the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that millions of Americans become sick each year from drinking contaminated water, with maladies from upset stomachs to cancer and birth defects.

One recent study showed that 62 million Americans drink substandard water.  Many of the chemicals, drugs and toxins are unregulated, (meaning nobody checks to see if they’re in your water supply) so millions of people drink dangerous water that actually still meets U.S. government standards.

Water bottled in plastic is not really safer, and some has been proven to be just plain tap water anyway.  Reverse osmosis filtering systems are the best bet, and a less expensive option is a high quality water filter.

According to Will Falconer, DVM, the diseases that are quite common in cats now were virtually unknown in the late 70’s.

Cats didn’t have thyroid problems, and hyperthyroidism was not in the books or the exam rooms.

Chronic diseases such as heartworm (a dog disease originally), asthma, kidney failure, inflammatory bowel disease, dental calculus and decay, heart disease, and cancer are fairly commonplace now in the feline population.

Wild cats like the lynx and bobcat are not experiencing these chronic degenerative diseases. Wolves don’t die of heartworm disease or have dirty teeth.

We are actually causing these chronic diseases to become more prevalent by administering annual vaccines, feeding toxic food, and using topical flea poisons that warn us not to get them on our skin. You can read the full story by clicking on the following link:

The Cats are Talking… About Chronic Disease

Avocado: All parts of the avocado contain a toxin known as persin. It causes gastrointestinal irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, congestion, fluid accumulation around the tissues of the heart and even death. Cats may be attracted to the oily texture, but should not be fed avocado.

Tuna, all tuna contains mercury which accumulates in the body until it reaches a toxic level. It also can cause nutrient deficiencies.  The BPA which lines tuna cans is an estrogen-disruptor and can play havoc with hormones, including yours.

Grapes and raisins, which can sometimes cause kidney failure in very low amounts.

Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which are both classified as methylxanthines; these can cause hyperactivity, increased heart rate, tremors, and potentially death (the more bitter the chocolate, the more toxic it is for your pets)

Onions and members of the onion family, such as leeks and chives; these can cause damage to red blood cells that could result in anemia in both dogs and cats.

Garlic, which is metabolized into a different metabolite than onions, is not toxic to pets. A small amount of fresh garlic fed to pets daily actually has some great health benefits, including killing parasites and repelling fleas.

Macadamia nuts may cause problems including weakness, depression, vomiting, ataxia, tremors, and hyperthermia.

Rising bread dough can be life-threatening – The bread dough itself is not toxic but the animal’s body heat can cause the dough to rise in the stomach, doubling or tripling in size and leading to impaction. The dough can also produce ethanol, which causes animals to stumble and become disoriented, lethargic and depressed.

Processed Milk, which has had all the vital nutrients destroyed. Pasteurized milk lacks enzymes and “good” bacteria and binds the calcium so that’s it’s unusable.  Homogenized milk has been molecularly changed so that it no longer resembles food and becomes a useless poison, causing allergies and other health problems.  See RAW MILK FACTS

Xylitol, a sugar substitute common in sugar-free chewing gum, can cause life-threatening hypoglycemia and liver damage in dogs; if your dog has ingested gum, bring your dog to the emergency vet immediately!

Truth About Pet Food has announced it’s 2009 winner of the “Stupidist Act in Pet Food” and once again it’s our very own FDA.  The FDA wins hands-down on a few counts:

1) Ignored Federal Law (the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) with pet food for another year.

2) Pulled the Emergency Permit from Evangers Pet Food with no recall or information available to the public. A few months later Evangers was back in business.  No explanation of what happened or didn’t happen, what was corrected or wasn’t corrected, nothing.

3) Premium Edge Pet Food Recall was 18 days AFTER it was announced to TruthaboutPetFood.com from the company.  Pets continued to get sick while the public was NOT informed of the recall.

4) The FDA was found to ‘Not Follow Procedure during the 2007 Pet Food Recall’ by the Inspector General of the United States.  This error of the FDA not following their recall protocol is not only stupid,  it undoubtedly cost the lives of many, many pets.

5) During 2008, not one proactive move was made by the FDA to improve the safety of pet food.  During 2009 there has not been one step made to improve the safety of pet food.

If your cat is having surgery, including nuetering or spaying, make sure the veterinarian is aware of the recall of Ketamine Hydrochloride Injection, USP CIII 100mg/mL in 10mL vials.  Veterinarians who have this product, made by Teva Animal Health, Inc, are instructed to cease using the product immediately and return it to their distributor.

This latest recall stems from the reported death of five cats, inconclusively linked to the drug’s use. But troubles within Teva Animal Health surfaced last July, when the FDA shut down the company via a permanent injunction and filed a lawsuit, alleging that regulatory inspectors had uncovered adulterated animal drugs at Teva’s main facilities in St. Joseph, Mo.  Click here for the full article.

Apparently a cat in Iowa came down with the H1N1 virus.  In general, cats are not considered susceptible to human flu viruses, but this cat got H1N1 flu from his owners.

On Oct. 27, the cat became sick. The owners called friends who are veterinary researchers at Iowa State University in Ames. The researchers brought in the cat to be studied, and it tested positive for H1N1. It has since recovered and is back home.

For anyone who is concerned about their cat getting the flu, the best defense is a strong immune system.  This has been seen time after time in clinical research, yet it is routinely ignored.  Researchers will inject animals with a virus or some disease-causing substance, and some animals will get sick and some will stay healthy.  The healthy animals are ignored, the sick ones will be studied to learn how various drugs or chemicals affect the illness and suppress symptoms.  The drug industry is a billion dollar business.  It’s simply not profitable to suggest maintaining a strong immune system to avoid illness.

There is a reason why there are untold trillions of bacteria and viruses everywhere: to keep the immune system working properly.  Unfortunately, our cats and other pets, as well as us, have immune systems that are so overburdened from a toxic stew of synthetic chemicals in almost everything we touch, breathe, and eat that they no longer work so well.  You can keep your cat’s immune system strong by feeding a wholesome diet of raw meats from grass-fed animals, supplying filtered water, and eliminating as much as possible synthetic chemicals in food and the environment.

How can you stay healthy? Get rid of the poisons!  Instead of supporting pollution and disease, spend your money on safe organic foods, cleaners, cosmetics and other items.  Eat a lot of RAW unprocessed foods.  Get plenty of sunshine (or vitamin D if that’s not possible).  Drink the purest water possible, filtered is good.  Take a probiotic (there are probiotics for cats too), eat meat only from grass-fed, humanely-treated animals.  Smile, laugh, love, stay positive, get enough sleep, have a pet (of course a cat is excellent…) and believe in your body’s ability to stay strong and healthy.

Organic Pet Superfood Super Immunity Powder for Dogs, canines, felines, and Cats

Here are some Carrot Toes, their are SIX toes on each Carrot paw, TWELVE Carrot toes in all!

Here is a photo of the whole Carrot, with all 26 toes:

A bit tubby…

First of all, I am NOT a fan of Dr. Pottenger, who apparently had no qualms about using cats in experimentation and watching them die. However, his studies on cat nutrition are quite valuable.

Back in the 1930’s, there were no chemical procedures to measure the strength of adrenal extract. So, scientists used cats. Cats die without their adrenal glands. So, the amount of extract the cats needed to keep them alive allowed the manufacturers to calibrate the strength of their product. 

Dr. Pottenger noticed that the laboratory cats showed a decrease in their reproductive capacity and many of the kittens born in the laboratory had skeletal deformities and organ malfunctions, despite the fact that he was feeding them a relatively nutritious diet of raw milk, cod liver oil and cooked meat scraps, which included liver, tripe, sweetbreads, brains, heart and muscle.

He received so many donated cats that he was having a hard time keeping up with the food supply, so he ordered raw meat scraps from a local meat packing plant, including the viscera, muscle and bone.  Being a scientist, he separated the cats so that the ones being fed the all raw diet could be studied.

Within a few months, the cats fed the raw meat appeared healthier, their kittens more vigorous, and they had a higher survival rate after their operations.   The contrast between the two sets of cats was so startling,  Dr. Pottenger decided to perform a controlled experiment to  scientifically prove his new hypothesis that cats fed a raw diet are healthier than cats fed a processed cooked meat diet.

The experiment included 900 cats over four generations and was well documented by Dr. Pottenger.

All four generations of the raw meat and raw milk groups remained healthy throughout their normal lifespans!

This is important to note: cats eating their true diet of raw meats not only had no illness, they thrived generation after generation!  On the other hand:

The first generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses near the end of their lives.

The second generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses in the middle of their lives.

The third generation of all three processed food groups developed diseases and illnesses in the beginning of their lives and many died before six months of age.

There was no fourth generation in any of the three processed food groups.

You might want to read that again!  Either the third generation parents were sterile or the fourth generation cats died before birth.

Remember, all four generations of the raw food groups were healthy throughout their normal lifespans.

It’s something to think about.  Perhaps we would be healthier also if we ate our optimal diet of mostly raw, unprocessed, chemical-free foods too!

I recently added the FDA’s Pet Health & Safety Widget to the right sidebar on my blog, it’s right under the “Become a Facebook Fan” widget (feel free to become a Facebook Fan!).

Cats, as much as we all adore them, have some rather UNDESIRABLE habits.  Here is Taco’s favorite:

Looks content, doesn’t he?  Of course we can remove him from the table 100 times, and he’ll happily return as soon as nobody’s looking.  Sometimes even when we are looking.  Just for the fun of it.  No, squirting him with water doesn’t help, he loves water.

Mango has an undesirable habit of napping on the clothes that I set out to wear.  Being very organized, I set my clothes out a few hours before I’m due to leave.  Mango does a great job of warming them up for me.  Unfortunately he also does a great job of sharing his mounds of poofy orange fur.

I don’t smoke, in fact nobody is allowed to smoke in or near my house, or car.  I guess I’m a bit obsessive about it, but then I’ve learned long ago that it’s way more fun being healthy than being sick.  Still, a lot of people smoke, some of my friends also, and I’ve found that often the biggest incentive to quitting is to protect those we love.  Here is another reason: your love for your pet!

A 2007 University of Minnesota study showed that cats who live with smokers have nicotine and other toxins in their urine.

A 2002 Tufts University study linked second-hand smoke to cancer in cats. The study found that cats living with smokers are twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma—the most common feline cancer–as those in non-smoking households. Lymphoma kills 3 out of 4 afflicted cats within 12 months.

A 2007 Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine study linked second-hand smoke to oral cancer in cats (squamous cell carcinoma.) Cats living with more than one smoker and cats exposed to environmental tobacco smoke for longer than five years had even higher rates of this cancer.

The ASPCA, one of the largest animal rights groups in the U.S., lists tobacco smoke as a toxin that is dangerous to pets.  Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, medical director of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center says:

“Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have effects to the nervous systems of cats and dogs. Environmental tobacco smoke has been shown to contain numerous cancer-causing compounds, making it hazardous for animals as well as humans.”

A recent study from Harvard Medical School, published in the January 2009 Journal of Pediatrics, found additional health risks associated with what they termed “third-hand smoke,” describing the invisible yet toxic  gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, cars, and carpeting that lingers long after the second-hand smoke has cleared the room.

One reason cats are so vulnerable to the carcinogens in tobacco smoke is they are meticulous groomers. Daily grooming over a long period of time can expose their delicate oral tissues to hazardous amounts of carcinogens.

Birds who sit on a smoker’s nicotine-coated hand often develop dermatitis and end up pulling out their own feathers.

Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households have a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer.

Did you know that cats and dogs with black coats have a lower adoption rate at shelters and are euthanized more often than other pets?

In some shelters, up to 40% of the cats that are euthanized are black.

This phenomenon is so common in black dogs that it is now called Black Dog Syndrome (BDS). I don’t see that it matters what color an animal is, but some folks think that they just don’t stand out as much, so people really don’t notice them.  And also there are all kinds of weird superstitions about black cats.

Some animal rescue groups came up with the idea of promoting Black Friday adoptions, now there are hundreds of Black Friday Adopt-a-thons held from one end of the country to another.  I personally have no interest in the “Black Friday” shopping frenzy but anything that will help animals get adopted into good, loving homes has my support.  Whatever works.

This post brings up memories of my beautiful black Sunflower, a cat I got from the shelter years ago.  She spent 19 years with me, and I still  miss her.

When blood and urine samples were collected from 20 dogs and 37 cats at a Virginia veterinary clinic, 48 industrial chemicals were found.   

Cat samples contained 46 chemicals altogether, including 9 carcinogens, 40 chemicals toxic to the reproductive system, 34 neurotoxins, and 15 chemicals toxic to the endocrine system.

Endocrine (hormone) system toxins include the thyroid toxins and fire retardants called PBDEs. Thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism) is a leading cause of illness in older cats. 

In addition to PBDEs, hyperthyroidism in cats could be linked to the plastics chemical and potent endocrine disruptor BPA that is known to leach from cat food can linings into food.

You can read the full article on POLLUTED PETS at THIS LINK

If you were in the medical profession and learning how to intubate babies, which would you prefer: learning on humanlike manikins (which I might point out would not be suffering at your hands), or using live cats, repeatedly pushing a hard plastic tube down their throats until they are bleeding, swelling and scarred to the point where they are no longer useful and need to be killed?

I myself would choose the manikin, mostly because I don’t like to cause suffering to other living beings.  The manikins maybe don’t squirm, but they are very lifelike and the exact dimensions of a real baby, unlike a cat which admittedly is configured a bit differently.

On a positive note, Heartland Regional Medical Center (HRMC) has finally stopped torturing using live cats in these medical training exercises.  Finally. On a less positive note, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) still uses cats purchased from an animal shelter for the intubation procedure as well as a second procedure in which cats are stabbed in the chest with needles. The cats at TTUHSC are always killed at the end of these training sessions because the procedures leave them so badly mutilated.

You can sign a petition right here to help stop this atrocity.

This is interesting:

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) regulations state “the label of a pet food may include an unqualified claim, directly or indirectly”. Say WHAT?? Let’s read that again:

“the label of a pet food may include an unqualified claim, directly or indirectly”

Now, directly from the pages of The Federal Trace Commission’s website, we have: “Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive”.

“What makes an advertisement deceptive?”
“According to the FTC’s Deception Policy Statement, an ad is deceptive if it contains a statement - or omits information - that: Is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances; and
Is “material” - that is, important to a consumer’s decision to buy or use the product.”
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus35.shtm

OK, see if you can figure this out:  AAFCO regulations do NOT override FTC Federal laws.

By stating they only “recommend regulations“, AAFCO doesn’t take responsibility for their actions.  The FDA doesn’t take responsibility for their actions by stating AAFCO writes the rules; so it’s OK to blindly follow AAFCO’s regulations.

Pet food imanufacturers are allowed to violate several Federal Laws (Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Federal Trade Commission Act) openly and without any repercussions.  I wonder if this is one of the reasons some folks refer to the FDA as the Fraud And Deceit Association?  This is the same FDA that has given FROOT LOOPS the HEALTHY CHOICE STATUS!! Yup, a highly processed junk food loaded with refined sugar, artificial color from petrochemicals, artificial flavor, artery clogging hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial “vitamins” and other dead, processed artificial garbage.  How “truthful and non-deceptive” is THAT?

The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society International estimate that two million dogs and cats are killed each year to supply the fur trade, mostly from China and South East Asia.

As with other animals in the fur industry, dogs and cats are bred in dank facilities with inadequate food and water, under conditions that optimize the thickness and length of their fur, but weaken and sicken them in time for slaughter. Since suppliers of fur aren’t subject to any regulations at all, the animals are slaughtered in sickeningly inhumane ways, often skinned alive to preserve the skin. 

China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States, and  dog and cat fur is often deliberately mislabeled for export. The only way to establish the true origin of fur is with expensive DNA tests.

Fur from dogs and cats is used  to line the inside of parkas, gloves, hats, handbags and other accessories. Approximately 20% of all animal figurines covered in fur are fabricated using dog and cat fur.  

In an internal memo issued this week, government officials in Canada urged Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz not to ban cat and dog fur imports, arguing that such a ban would weaken Canada’s position against the banning of seal products by other countries.

You can tell Prime Minister Harper and Agriculture Minister Ritz that you do not support the import of cat and dog fur - or the commercial seal slaughter by clicking here to sign the petition.

Buying fur or fur trim supports an industry that also kills millions of domestic dogs and cats each year.

I was sick for most of my life.  I had Crohn’s Disease and all the crap that goes along with bleeding, inflamed guts…anemia, arthritis, kidney stones…the list goes on and on.  Today, I am fairly healthy, minus a few feet of intestines here and there.  Along the journey, I learned that a good diet of whole unprocessed foods is one of the many pieces of the puzzle of good health.  This applies to our pets as well, and as I learned about the utter garbage that goes into pet food, I changed my cats’ food to the best organic food I could find.                         

They were healthy for sure, but it wasn’t until I eliminated the grains and cooked food that I noticed some really amazing changes.  The two most surprising ones are: Mango used to barf once or twice a day, now he barfs maybe once a month and I really think that’s just for fun.  And my friends who are allergic to cats don’t seem to be allergic to mine!! This is amazing considering there are three cats in this little house.

A few other observations that may be relevant: they simply don’t get sick at all, Taco’s pudge pouch has diminished dramatically, (Sumari is rail-thin and Mango never had pudge), They have tons of energy and play a lot, even old Mango.  They have no discernable odor, no flaky skin, and the litter box has almost no odor at all.  They shed very little, except Mango still leaves behind some of his mass of orange fluff wherever he goes.  It’s decreased though.  Their furs are incredibly soft and silky, they seem happier, they don’t have fleas (but I do sprinkle a bit of Diatomaceous Earth on them when I remember), and they recover from injuries quickly and without intervention on my part.  In case you’re wondering what injuries, Taco and Sumari got stung by yellowjackets,  Sumari enjoys jumping from roofs and other high places and recently hurt her shoulder, and Taco has been known to get into a fight or two. 

I’ve been feeding them Real Pet Food from Slanker’s Grass-Fed, and the following from Only Natural Pet Store

Only Natural Pet Chicken & Veggies Patties 6 oz. Freeze-Dried Dog & Cat Food


Grasslands Cat Food Grain-Free Dry 15.4 lb. for Felines


Pacifica Grain-Free Dry Cat Food 5.5 lb. for Felines


ZiwiPeak Daily Cat Dry Cuisine Pouches Venison 14 oz. Bag


ZiwiPeak Daily Cat Cuisine Canned Food Fish & Venison 6.5 oz. Can - Case of 12


Primal Pet Foods Raw Cat Food Beef & Salmon Nuggets 4 lbs.


Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Cat Food Prowl 4 lb. Bag

This stuff is all incredibly convenient, the Prowl cat food is a powder that you add water to  and it looks like canned food.  Slanker’s is frozen, you need to thaw it a little (it’s very bloody so don’t thaw it much) then cut it into slices, then re-freeze.  My cats all love everything they’ve tried.  It’s less expensive to make your own raw food, but I don’t have the time or freezer space.

Karen McComb  is the lead author of a cat vocalization study performed at the University of Sussex. She got the idea of studying cat purrs while listening to her own cat purr, and noticing that cats seem to have a variety of purrs.

The University of Sussex study examined the acoustic structure of recorded cat purrs.  The researchers decided that all purrs are not the same; some contain an “embedded, high-pitched cry.”  Ten different cats purring were recorded and all human listeners in the study identified  ‘solicitation purring’ sounds.

McComb explained that what cats seem to be doing for the special purr “is producing the low fundamental frequency and its harmonics by muscular activation” (that has been associated with typical purring) “but also voicing a cry, probably with the inner edges of the vocal folds, which is then superimposed on the sound’s frequency spectrum.”

Virtually all listeners, whether or not they owned a cat themselves, identified the solicitation purring sounds as being more urgent than others.

They believe that human sensitivity to this type of purring may be innate in humans, drawing from a primal drive to respond to crying babies.  And you thought it was just purring…

About ninety percent of all cat litter sold is made from clay. Clay litter produces a lot of dust (although some brands claim that the type of clay they use produces a dust-free product), which contains silicon particles that have been established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known human carcinogen.    
A product made for humans called Moltan Absorbent is also made from the same ground clay as cat litter. It is manufactured for use in garages to absorb oil. This product must carry a warning label that reads, in part, “Aggregate contains crystalline silica. Crushing, grinding, or creating dust may cause exposure to a respiratory silicosis or cancer health hazard.”
Many brands of clay cat litter also include fragrance made from petrochemicals, also known to be carcinogenic.
Clay particles tend to cling to your cat’s fur and in-between their toes. In addition to leaving dusty cat prints on your floors, breathing these particles can cause respiratory infections.
A recent study actually found clay-based litter silica dust in cats’ lungs, and that cats with respiratory disease had up to six times the amount of silica in their lungs as healthy cats.
The clumping capability of sodum bentonite is due to its ability to swell to 15-18 times its dry size when exposed to liquids. This is great for absorbing cat urine. But when cats lick themselves clean and ingest the clay, it can prevent nutrient absorption and cause intestinal blockage as it swells when it gets exposed to intestinal liquids. Many veterinarians recommend not using clumping cat litter as the first litter for inexperienced young kittens, as they may experiment with the litter and eat it.

You can keep your cat safe by using natural cat litter made from corn or wheat. World’s Best Cat Litter is made from corn, it clumps well and is flushable, and contains no chemicals, perfumes, clays, silicas, bentonite, or any synthetic substances whatsoever.

Swheat Scoop is made from wheat, it is completely safe and non-toxic and the natural wheat enzymes work continuously to neutralize litter box odor, no matter how many cats you own.

Natural Pine Cat Litter is made of 100% pure, southern yellow pine pellets which instantly neutralizes ammonia odors and is safe and healthy for our cats and our planet.

My friend Becky over at Basically Becky sent me some pictures of her beautiful 5-month-old kitty, Gracie.

Becky has a really great blog that’s a mix of all kinds of interesting stuff, or as Becky puts it: “a general public record of my thoughts, opinions, ideas, useless bits of trivia, gossip and whatever else pops out of my head”   Becky has also had a series of very sad and unfortunate events this past year so you may want to show some support by leaving a word of encouragement or a donation.

And without further ado, here’s Gracie!

Tired baby…

Gracie wants OUT!