The Happy Beast - Blog - Cat Health

Kayson Cooper
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How to talk to your vet about raw pet food diets

Are you considering a raw dog food diet or a raw cat food diet for your beloved companion, but feeling hesitant because your veterinarian doesn’t support raw feeding?

At The Happy Beast, we frequently hear this concern: ‘My vet is against raw food.’ This is a common challenge for pet parents advocating for fresh pet food or biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) diets.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. While some veterinarians are open to fresh feeding and even recommend it, other vets express caution regarding raw food diets, primarily due to concerns about bacterial contamination and nutritional imbalances, often stemming from limited education on fresh food in vet school.

These vets still default to conventional kibble brands like Purina, Hill’s, or Royal Canin. This isn’t necessarily because your vet is uninformed or doesn’t care; it’s often because they’ve only been taught one side of the story.

In addition to dispelling concerns, we also believe it’s super important to highlight the benefits of raw pet food diets. For example, many pet parents observe significant health improvements in their animals, including glossier coats, improved digestion (leading to smaller, firmer stools), increased energy levels, and better management of allergies when switching to a species-appropriate raw diet. (Check out our blog for more info on the benefits of raw food!)

So how do you navigate this conversation respectfully, advocate for your pet’s health, and make informed choices when your vet isn’t well-versed in raw pet food or fresh diets? Let’s break it down.

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Kayson Cooper
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The Vegetarian’s Pet Food Dilemma

As our understanding of livestock animals, and the conditions in which they are “farmed,” continues to grow, more and more American’s are avoiding meat – or at least being choosier about where their meat comes from. A recent survey found that two-thirds of Americans are actively reducing their meat consumption and 75% of Americans are concerned about the welfare of farm animals raised for food. Between 2014 and 2017, the number of vegans in the United States increased by 600%. 

At the same time, pet ownership has steadily increased over the last few decades with approximately 85 million families including at least one pet. Dogs and cats make up the overwhelming majority of U.S. companion animals, which can lead to an ethical conundrum for the plant-based consumer who decides to welcome one of these carnivores into their home. 

Although vegan and vegetarian dog foods are available, most experts agree that dogs are healthier on a species-appropriate, meat-based diet. Eating meat is even more vital for cats and we discourage ever putting a cat on a vegetarian/vegan diet as the likelihood of chronic illness increases dramatically. This is because despite thousands of years of domestication, dogs are still biologically, domesticated wolves, and cats are nearly indistinguishable from their African wildcat ancestors. As carnivores, there are a host of essential vitamins and minerals that dogs and cats can only acquire from meat.

If you’re one of the 90% of pet owners feeding your pet kibble, this may not seem like much of a dilemma, however, even the best kibble has devastating consequences for livestock animals, the environment, and the health of our pets. 

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Natalie Soonthornswad
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Probiotics vs. Prebiotics for Dogs & Cats

Dog and cat nuzzling in green grass

Dogs and cats can sometimes struggle with health issues, and the most prevalent one we encounter is gastrointestinal or stomach problems. From protein allergies to irritable bowel disease, there are several solutions you can use to help alleviate the symptoms of stomach upsets in dogs and cats. In this post, I’ll be talking about probiotics and prebiotics, what the differences are, and the benefits of each for your animal. If you’re looking for more help or other solutions for chronic bowel problems, please visit us at the store or read our other blog posts on similar topics, which you can find at the end of this post.

One of solutions or tools you can use to help your animal with upset stomach are probiotics. Probiotics are healthy, beneficial bacteria that are part of a complex ecosystem that resides in our pet’s gut. In this ecosystem, a lack of good bacteria can result in poor digestion and nutrient absorption, which can result in a spider-web of other symptoms such as skin and coat issues, bad breath, or persistent, loose stool. This complex ecosystem of bacteria can be thrown off by balance by a variety of factors, including your pet’s genes, environmental factors, or medicines like antibiotics. Some dogs or cats with IBS or IBD (irritable bowl syndrome or irritable bowel disease) need an extra boost of these beneficial bacteria to help stabilize them during certain periods when they’re showing symptoms.

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Natalie Soonthornswad
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Overweight and Obese Cats – Why You Should Act Now

Overweight or obese animals are at risk for serious health consequences and their conditions should not be taken lightly. The extra weight can seriously impact the length and quality of an animal’s life and increases their risk for many health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, unnecessary strain to the bones, joints, and ligaments, and difficulty breathing.

Obesity is a nutritional disease that results from consuming more calories than the body needs. Current statistics show that in the U.S., over 50% of cats and dogs are overweight or obese. This means we are simply feeding them too much, and likely feeding them too much of the wrong food. The good news is it is fully within our reach to get our animals back to a healthy weight so that they can live a happy and pain-free life! (Read about canine weight-loss here.)

Identifying the Problem

For most cats, the obesity problem can be attributed to two factors: living indoors and being fed a biologically-inappropriate kibble. Typically, indoor cats do not exercise as much as cats that have access to the outdoors, and therefore do not burn as many calories in a day. Additionally, if we feed an indoor cat a diet that is exclusively or predominantly kibble, we are feeding a high carb diet to a low activity animal. This becomes an easy recipe for an overweight cat.

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Natalie Soonthornswad
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From Kibble to Raw: A Feline Food Journey

This month we are featuring Meghan B, who successfully and happily transitioned her feline household onto a species-appropriate raw food diet. As Meghan says, the outcome is a “Cat Mom Win!” Read her challenges, tips, and ultimate success story.

Mya and Diego are my four-year-old purr-babies who came from the same litter. Despite their single origin, each is a unique individual with a differing personality and, as it turns out, gastrointestinal fortitude!

Both fur balls are 100% indoor cats and had been on a kibble (dry food), free-fed diet their entire lives. Previously, I’ve experimented with different proteins and limited-ingredient diet foods because Mya seemed to be particularly sensitive to chicken and salmon. Another concern of mine was the lack of water both cats would drink from their bowl. Instead, they prefer to meow (loudly!) in the sink until I turn on the faucet. Throughout my four years of being the proud cat mom I am, I had never heard of a raw food diet… until recently on a visit to The Happy Beast!

Why raw food you ask? For one, kibble is full of carbohydrates that can often lead to obesity. It lacks a sufficient amount of species-appropriate nutrients and has little to no water content. While I know that kibble may be cheaper and free-feeding my cats is convenient, I’d rather go a little out of my way for the overall health of my babies!

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Natalie Soonthornswad
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Raising Awareness for the World’s Small Wildcats

I have a deep love for all cats, large and small, domestic and wild. They are fascinating creatures with instincts and physiques built for the hunt. It has been a long term goal of ours at The Happy Beast to support causes that go beyond the reach of our pet food industry. Taking care of our environment and all living creatures is the duty of every person on this planet.

When I recently read, “Out of the Shadows, the Wildcats You’ve Never Seen,”an article in National Geographic, I felt that it was important to take this opportunity to raise awareness for the plight of wildcats around the world and how industries like palm oil farming are threatening their habitats. I wanted to provide some of my additional research on the topic, and share how small, everyday decisions can have far reaching effects on preserving their habitats.

There are 31 known small wildcat species on Earth, which are broken into seven different lineages: the Caracal, Ocelot, Bay Cat, Lynx, Puma, Leopard Cat, and Domestic Cat. Small cats diverged from big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars) 11.5 million years ago and evolved with a number of unique characteristics. For example, one distinctive trait between big cats and small cats is that big cats roar while small cats purr.

Big cats have a flexible neck bone called a hyoid that allows them to stretch their larynx to roar. Small cats are unable to roar and purr instead because their hyoid bone is hardened. Interestingly, cheetahs and cougars, while large in size, are actually more closely related to small cats and they do not roar like the other big cats.

While small wild cats might have slight physiques in comparison to the big cats, they achieve great feats of strength by using their acute senses and reflexes. They have amazing muscular strength and flexibility and their jaws and claws are built to deliver precise bites that can kill their prey instantaneously.

Small wildcats can be found on five of our seven continents, and 14 of the 31 small wildcat species live in Asia. Unfortunately, this is a part of the world where wildcats are least understood and protected.. It comes as no surprise that the greatest threat is loss of habitat. In Asia, much of the destruction of their habitat is due to forests being converted into palm oil plantations.

Palm oil farming, production, and food products are complex topics, but I was shocked by how much something simple like my daily purchases could affect the health and well being of an entire ecosystem half-way around the world. Palm oil is used in a variety of different products from health and beauty supplies to everyday food products, but it’s also relatively easy to avoid by paying closer attention to labels on the products we buy. In addition, websites like “Say No to Palm Oil” provide a variety of ways to take action to reduce your impact and help make your voice heard.

Because wildcats are apex predators, when we conserve their habitats, we are saving entire ecosystems and helping to preserve biodiversity.

I believe strongly that we all have the ability to make a difference in the world through both small and grand gestures. Often I’ve found that the first step is educating myself. Below are a few additional links with more information to help us raise awareness and make a difference in the conservation of these beautiful animals.

  • Out of the Shadows, the Wildcats You’ve Never Seen – National Geographic photo expose and article that inspired this blog post.
  • Say No To Palm Oil – Resources, tips, and recommendations, including the 28-Day Palm Oil Challenge.
  • Wild Cats of the World by Luke Hunter – highlights the importance of wildcat conservation and how protecting them can be beneficial to us all.
  • Species Conservation Fund – The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is a philanthropic endowment established to provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives, recognize leaders in the field of species conservation, and elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate.
  • Panthera’s Small Cat Action Fund – The Small Cat Action Fund (SCAF) is a grants program established by Panthera intended to support in situ conservation and research activities on the many small cat species.
  • Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University​​ – Outline of Production: Palm Fruit to Product – Great, practical overview and guide on products containing palm oil
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