Archive for the ‘Feed Your Cat a Natural Diet’ Category

Coal-fired power plants produce more than 100 million tons of the toxic-waste byproduct sulfur dioxide, the stuff that causes acid rain.

Called FGD gypsum, this synthetic powder is produced when coal plant “scrubbers”  remove sulfur dioxide from plant emissions.     

Last year, a coal ash pond just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, spilled and flooded about 300 acres of land with ash, killing many fish in the area. The spill damaged many homes as well, and cleanup costs are expected to be upwards of $1 billion. This catastrophe has prompted the EPA to draft regulations on how to handle toxic coal waste safely.  Guess what they came up with?

In 2001, the USDA together with the EPA began to promote FGD gypsum use in agriculture. Since that time, the amount of coal ash used by farmers on their fields has tripled. According to the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), nearly 280,000 tons of the byproduct was spread on fields last year.

FGD gypsum contains toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, but according to the EPA, “the mercury contained in FGD gypsum does not affect plants and runoff into water supplies at significant levels.”  Guess they never heard of PHYTOREMEDIATION, a technology which uses plants to absorb heavy metals from the soil.

If the waste from coal plants is toxic and must be dealt with in a manner that keeps it contained, I’m just wondering why the EPA would promote the same waste for use on FOOD crops.  Perhaps it’s just more cost-effective to sell toxic waste to farmers than to stop producing it in the first place.

Food that’s USDA-certified organic cannot be grown with coal ash.  I’m sticking with organic for my family, and that includes my cats.


Nature’s Variety Raw Food Diets Organic Chicken Patties 6 lbs.

As we all know, there has been quite a bit of controversy about BPA in plastics and can linings. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic estrogen petrochemical (synthesized from oil) used to harden polycarbonate plastics  and is used in can linings.

The ester bonds that link the BPA monomers together are not very stable. Over time, these monomers break down, which releases BPA into whatever is surrounding it, such as food and water. 

Over 7 billion pounds of BPA was produced in 2007. That’s a lot of poison, from a lot of petro.

Just a very short overview of the dangers of BPA:

Veterinary researchers have found a link between BPA in cat food cans and hyperthyroidism in cats.

Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body’s own hormones.

A 2008 review has concluded that obesity may be increased as a function of BPA exposure.

A 2008 study by the Yale School of Medicine demonstrated that adverse neurological effects occur in non-human primates regularly exposed to bisphenol A at levels equal to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum safe dose of 50 µg/kg/day.This research found a connection between BPA and interference with brain cell connections vital to memory, learning and mood.

In vitro studies have suggested that BPA can promote the growth of neuroblastoma (cancer) cells.

It is fairly obvious that BPA, as well as any petrochemical, is not terribly healthy for your cat, you, or the Earth.  You can read some really great articles on my other blog, creating a better world.

Just for your information, EWG reports that the three human foods showing the highest levels of BPA is canned chicken soup, canned ravioli, and, most disturbingly, infant formula.

Of the more than 100 independently funded experiments on BPA, about 90% have found evidence of adverse health effects. On the other hand, every single industry funded study ever conducted  (14 in all)  has found no such effects.

My opinion is that we should avoid ALL synthetic chemicals, as much as possible.  Yes, it’s difficult considering we produce BILLIONS of pounds of these chemicals annually, they poison everything they come into contact with, and they NEVER bio-degrade or photo-degrade.  A good, but sobering book to read is:
Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story.
Basically, it clearly explains how we are killing ourselves and destroying our Earth with synthetic chemicals.

You can also read an article from Truth About Pet Food to try to figure out if the brand of canned food you get has BPA. Of course, if you feed you cat it’s natural diet of fresh, raw foods, BPA is not an issue!

Since the passing of the Clean Water Act in 1988, sewage treatment plants are not allowed to dump sewage sludge into the ocean.  This is because sewage sludge contains all kinds of pollutants:

Synthetic chemicals, more than 500 found including chemicals from medicines, steroids, flame retardants and detergents,

Heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and radioactive material,

Bacteria and fungi, including 18 human viruses (including Hepatitis A, Polio), 19 different parasites, and 31 different types of bacteria,

Pharmaceuticals, of 72 pharmaceuticals, three (i.e., cyprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, and triclocarban) were found in 84 sludge samples.

Industrial waste such as arsenic, lead, mercury and radioactive material.

Since sewage sludge is too toxic to put in the ocean, the EPA has decided that it would be great to use it as fertilizer. Sludge is now called “biosolids,” and is defined as the nutrient-rich organic byproduct of the nation’s wastewater treatment process.   

It is now used on millions of acres of farmland in the US, or, if you like to produce toxic veggies you can spread it on your home garden, just look for the brand names Milorganite, Nu-Earth, Nitrohumus, and Baystate Organic.

Using sewage sludge, by any name, is expressly prohibited by the USDA’s organics standards.  Here are a few other resources for those who are interested:

Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies And the Public Relations Industry
John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
Common Courage Press

Sued and Censored
Michael Moore and TV Nation on Trial for Libel
Texas Observer; March 22, 1996

International Joint Commission
Draft Lake Michigan Management Plan for Toxic Pollutants, Chapter 4

Environmental Working Group
Dishonorable Discharge: Toxic Pollution of America’s Waters

Agency for toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Toxicology Profiles
U.S. Public Health Service

Health effects of heavy metals

I’ll go with the organic food, and organic cat food for my best furry friends!

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

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

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!

This is a video by Dr. Karen Becker, a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian.

Dr. Becker is passionate about educating people about natural health. She often speaks at public seminars and has appeared on Animal Planet. She was also named one of Chicago’s Top Ten Vets, according to Chicago Magazine.

Dr. Lisa Newman is a pet nutrition expert who is also the owner of Azmira Holistic Animal Care. She has an insider’s view of what really goes on in the pet food industry, and she understands why pets are more diseased than ever.

Degenerative disease has skyrocketed in pets. But it’s no coincidence: We’re feeding our pets many of the same disease-causing ingredients that are used in the junk foods people eat. d

When you start to really research how commercial pet foods are made, the ingredient list becomes truly horrifying. Did you know that recycled shoe leather is an acceptable ingredient? Even euthanized dogs and cats are “acceptable” ingredients in pet food.

Dr. Newman explains how to protect your pet with quality products and natural therapies in an amazing interview available at Natural News, you can CLICK HERE to download the pdf.

1) Remove your shoes in the house. Removing shoes has been scientifically proven to reduce contaminants in the home.

A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study shows that people track in weed killers and other pesticides commonly applied to lawns during the spring and summer. The study, conducted by the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, is among a series being funded by the EPA to assess how small children are exposed to pesticides around the home. Scientists think that “track-in” exposures may exceed those from the best-known source: pesticide residues on fresh fruits and vegetables.

In 1991 the EPA conducted a study called the “Door Mat Study” that measured the amount of lead dust that was in homes. The study found that in homes where there was a doormat at the entrance and where shoes were NOT worn, there was a marked reduction (about 60%) of lead dust and other chemicals in the home.

2) Go organic: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60% of herbicides, 90 % of fungicides and 30% of insecticides are known to be carcinogenic. Alarmingly, pesticide residues have been detected in 50% - 95% of U.S. foods. Pet food fare even worse, especially those containing by-products and “meal” (chicken meal, fish meal etc.)

3) Avoid plastics: use a glass bowl for food, all plastic is synthetic and made from petrochemicals, it neither photo-degrades nor bio-degrades, it just breaks down into ever smaller toxins such as Phthalates and BPA. Phthalates chemically mimic hormones and are particularly dangerous to children and pets.

4) Use safe, natural or organic cleaners.  Paints, deodorants, cleaning fluids, varnishes, cosmetics, dry cleaned clothing, moth repellents, air fresheners all contain dozens of chemicals.

5) Avoid using artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners or other synthetic fragrances as they pollute the air you are breathing.

6) Never feed your cat fish, especially tuna!  All fish is contaminated with PCBs and mercury, although wild caught salmon and sardines both have lower amounts.

Nature’s Variety Raw Food Diets Organic Chicken Medallions 3 lbs. Raw diet containing 95% freshly ground USDA meat and fresh, natural fruits & vegetables, with cold processed Norwegian Virgin Salmon Oil.

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?

PLEASE watch this video, and pass it on to others.

Everything You HAVE TO KNOW about Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods from Jeffrey Smith on Vimeo.

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.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) just released a new study that showed high levels of fluoride in eight of ten pet foods tested.

Eight major national brands of dog food marketed for both puppies and adults contained fluoride in amounts between 1.6 and 2.5 times higher than the EPA’s maximum legal dose in drinking water.  These levels are higher than amounts associated with bone cancer in young boys in a 2006 study by Harvard scientists (Bassin 2006). All 8 brands contain bone meal and animal byproducts, the likely source of the fluoride contamination.  So far, the names of the brands of dog food have not been disclosed!  WHY?? It seems of course that sales are so much more important than the health of animals.

Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food
Paw Naturaw Mixed Case of Organic Formulas for Cats and Dogs: 2-Count Organic Chicken Diets and 2-Count Organic Turkey Diets, 32-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4
Paw Naturaw Organic Chicken Formula for Cats and Dogs, 80-Ounce Bag

Ninety percent of the fluoride added to our drinking water is hydrofluoric acid, a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing.  (Surprise!!)

Fluoride is also the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder.  Still thinking about giving you cat (or YOU) flouridated tap water? The National Research Council reported 84 percent of the population had dental fluorosis in areas where fluoride in the water exceeded 3.7 parts per million (ppm).

Flourosis is a systemic change, where excessive fluoride is incorporated into the structure of the teeth AND bones so it stimulates bone growth, but not NORMAL growth. Instead, it’s growth that damages cells at the ends of bones and causes osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

Fluoride is known to cause human cells to mutate.  You can read The Fluoride Deception: An Interview with Christopher Bryson to get a good clear picture of the damage that flouride does.

The safest water for you and you cat is pure spring water bottled in glass, which is nearly impossible to find.  The next best is water that is filtered with a high quality filter, such as the Berkey Light without LED w/ 2 Black Berkeys This is the water filter that we use, but I’d like to get the top of the line with LED lights someday.  I can personally vouch for this water filter, it is incredibly easy to use and clean and the filters last forever.   Here’s a picture of mine:

For around $10, the Real Safety Guide to Pet Health gives you the strategies you need to help your pet live a long and happy life.

“Ninety percent of all pet health problems are caused by pet food and preventable health hazards”

Look at all the sources for raw cat food that I found!! I just ordered one bag of freeze-dried, and one bag of grain-free dry food. There are 244 different varieties of raw food at this site, check it out!

Bravo! Raw Food Diets Duck Blend 1 lb package for dog or cat Bravo! Raw Food Diets Certified Organic Chicken Blend 1 lb package for dog or cat These convenient pre-made blends are made of pure premium grade meats, organ meats, ground bones and vegetables

Primal Pet Foods Raw Cat Food Chicken & Salmon Nuggets 4 lbs. Scientifically balanced formulas made with 100% human-grade, antibiotic- & hormone-free meats. Packed with organic fruits and vegetables, too!

Northwest Naturals Raw Cat Food Chicken Salmon 2 lbs. Raw cat food is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and is grain-free. Includes fresh ground bone as an excellent calcium source.

Nature’s Variety Raw Food Diets Chicken & Turkey Medallions 3 lbs. Raw diet containing 95% freshly ground USDA meat and fresh, natural fruits & vegetables, with cold processed Norwegian Virgin Salmon Oil.

Only Natural Pet Chicken & Veggies Fresh Patties 6 oz. Freeze-Dried Dog & Cat Food - 5-Pack These freeze-dried complete meals (formerly called Fresh Filets) offer the proven health benefits of a raw meat diet in a more convenient form. Made with USDA beef, chicken and organic veggies.

Raw Advantage Organic Dinner for Cats Duck & Yam 1 lb. Fresh frozen USDA free range poultry, organic grains, herbs, vegetables, flax, wheat grass, kelp, garlic, millet, and oats.

Nature’s Logic Raw Food Diets Rabbit Patties 5 lbs. Nutrient dense raw muscle and organ meats with highly digestible eggshell calcium and a select concentrate of fruits and vegetables.

Prairie Feast Grain-Free Dry Cat Food 5.5 lb. for Felines High-protein, grain-free and low-carbohydrate kibble loaded with premium meat ingredients (65%) to promote peak conditioning in cats.

Read the ingredients on you cat’s food bag or can. If you see “by-products” of any kind listed, watch the following two videos:

Pet food and pet treat ingredients which include  animal fat, meat meal, meat and bone meal, by-product meal, and animal digest commonly contain kerosene, fuel oil and/or used crankcase oil.

This is because these ingredients are derived from 4-D animals.  Typically, these 4-D animals are denatured with approved agents such as “kerosene, fuel oil, or used crankcase oil”.

Wondering what 4-D meat is? The big D stands for DEAD, DYING, DISEASED, and DISABLED cattle and horses.

The Obama Administration has pledged to create an unprecedented level of openness and public participation in government.  The FDA, in an attempt to abide by the Administration, has formed a ‘FDA Transparency Task Force.’  CLICK HERE to read an  initial transparency guideline recommendation to the FDA regarding pet food.  Please add your signature.

Cats do not have an enzyme called “glucokinase” in their livers. Glucokinase is a key enzyme that controls the metabolism of carbohydrates and prevents glucose from flooding the animal.

This means that when a cat eats carbohydrates, which are sugars, they are overloaded with glucose, causing damage to their pancreas and other organs.

Despite this, most major pet food manufacturers use corn or other grains in their meals. Cats are NOT grain-eaters, and the grain causes a great deal of damage, but it IS a CHEAP FILLER.

Here are the first few ingredients of Iam’s “HEALTHY NATURALS”: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Chicken Meal, Salmon, Brewer Rice, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Corn Grits, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Chicken Flavor, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride… if all the grains won’t ruin the health of your cat, the CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL will.  This is a whole other story, and quite disgusting…                  

Most commercial dry foods contain between 30% and 70% carbohydrates. If we examine the diets of  wild felines, the carbohydrate intake would be less than 5%, if any at all.

Cats need their natural diet of fresh, RAW meat.

READ:
Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food

It seems like most cats like fruits and vegetables to some extent.  Since they are carnivores, we have to wonder if they actually need the nutrients in plants, just like the taste, don’t really know what’s good for them, or just eat what they see their humans eating.

First of all, extracting nutrients from plant-based foods requires bacterial fermentation of the cellulose based plant structure. The cat has a very simple digestive tract insufficient for bacterial fermentation. Food entering the cat’s stomach is broken down by acids and enzymes produced by the cat, and the nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, so it seems that cats don’t require any added nutrition from plants since they can’t digest the plants.  That’s why they eat grass, so they can barf it up.

The tongues of cats do not have receptors for sweets, so unlike other mammals, they cannot taste the sweetness of fruits.  It’s a mystery why some cats really go for sweet fruits like bananas and cantaloupe if they can’t taste the best part, the sweetness!

Most people know that grapes and raisins can cause renal failure, but eating plant matter of any type also alters the body chemistry and causes urine pH to be alkaline. Naturally occurring minerals in the urine form solids when the urine’s pH is above neutral, causing urinary crystals – an epidemic disease of nutritional origin which causes the cat great pain, and can lead to death.

Fruits and vegetables can putrefy in the cat’s digestive tract due to the cat’s inability to efficiently break down the cellulose in plants. This can cause vomiting, gas, and/or diarrhea.

Plant matter in the cat’s diet can also interfere with the proper absorption of nutrients from animal source, and the overall amount of plant matter in the diet can displace much-needed animal based food. Diets containing plant matter are much less dense in nutritional and caloric value.

How about the food in the digestive tract of the mice and other animals that are a cat’s natural diet?

An adult cat needs to eat an average of five mice or 140g of mouse per day to meet its daily caloric requirement. Dissections of wild mice have revealed that a single mouse stomach – always found to be full - weighs 2 grams. The contents varied seasonally from blackberries, to nuts, to greens. Therefore, the cat would end up eating about 10 grams (or 2 teaspoons) of plant matter as part of her daily meal of mice, but that’s if the cat actually ate the stomach and intestines, which in most cases they don’t.

So, in the long run, it’s probably best not to let your cat eat fruit and vegetables, or only a tiny bit once in a while.