If you have a cat or dog with kidney or urinary tract issues or a large breed puppy, it may have been recommended that your animal be fed a low-ash diet or foods that are low in ash content. But what exactly is ash?
Ash refers to the inorganic matter or mineral content left over after the organic matter of a food is burned off. We often think of ash as a “bad” component of food, however it is just a general term referring to the collection of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, etc. that are in some pet foods.
Excess ash content can be the result of using meat meals, especially “meat-by-product” meals, which contain higher amounts of tendons and bones. These foods have higher levels of calcium and phosphorous. A note of caution with large breed puppies is that excess calcium and phosphorous can contribute to irregular or rapid growth that may negatively affect their bones and joints.
In the past, it was also theorized that feeding a low-ash diet reduced the risk of the creation of bladder stones. However, recent studies have shown that the most effective way to reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is to feed a high-moisture diet. Additionally, reducing stress is an important factor when treating UTIs; especially for cats.
In animals showing signs of compromised kidney function, it is important to pay attention to the ash content, and more specifically the phosphorous levels. It is important to prevent excess phosphorous intake because it may lead to an imbalance of calcium/phosphorous. Calcium is then drawn from the bones and deposited into other tissues and organs, which can cause damage over the long term. The best way to avoid excess phosphorus is to avoid foods that contain “meat meals” because these products contain higher amounts of connective tissue and bone, and thus higher values of calcium and phosphorus.
In summary, ash in itself isn’t bad, but for certain pets, you may want to pay closer attention to those values and consider a low-ash diet. However, the best way to ensure that your animal’s intake of ash is well balanced is simply to include high-quality meat sources and moisture in her diet. The best way to do this is by including raw, canned, dehydrated, freeze-dried, and air-dried foods, which are free of “meat-meals” and “meat by-products.”
Ideal Products
Tiki and Weruva are great about listing their mineral content for each food. Tiki even has a chart of the Veterinary recommendations for animals with renal disease and urinary stones: http://www.petropics.com/petropics-nutrition-facts/
Restoring Their Roar: Our Newest Foster Cats
We recently welcomed three new foster cats at The Happy Beast – Fancy Pants, Violet, and Dottie (in addition to our other rescue, Mr. Kitty, now christened “Teo”). All three cats came to us suffering from chronic diarrhea, which was the result of their irritable bowel disease (IBD). Dottie was also born without her right hind paw, but gets around fine and climbs like a champ! All three cats were originally rescued from hoarding situations by Almost Home Adoptions for Rescued Cats, which is a cage-free cat rescue in Westminster.
The rescue had tried everything to help resolve the cats IBD, except for putting them on a raw diet. As a last ditch effort, the rescue contacted us and asked if we would be willing to foster them and put them on a raw food diet. Of course, we agreed and all of the cats are doing much better now.
Dottie has made the quickest improvement and as soon as we transitioned her to a raw diet, her stools became solid. The rescue had a feeling this would happen because her brother also suffered from chronic diarrhea, which was resolved once his adopted family put him on raw. It has been an interesting process and we have been taking copious notes about their progress. Fancy Pants and Violet still have a way to go, but are making progress. Their stools haven’t quite solidified, but they have fewer episodes of diarrhea. This is really nice for us because it means there is far less clean up!
Another interesting observation is that even when Dottie ate a high-quality canned food (she would get into Teo’s leftovers) she would immediately have soft stools. This happened on three different occasions. It seems that her body needs raw. This makes sense because cats certainly don’t cook up mice after they catch them. 🙂
Dottie is now up for adoption through Almost Home Adoption Center. She is a lovely cat and must be kept on a raw food diet, as her digestive system is very sensitive.
Stop by the store to say hello and meet these sweet kitties!
Kick Ash: Is a Low-Ash Diet Right for Your Pet?
If you have a cat or dog with kidney or urinary tract issues or a large breed puppy, it may have been recommended that your animal be fed a low-ash diet or foods that are low in ash content. But what exactly is ash?
Ash refers to the inorganic matter or mineral content left over after the organic matter of a food is burned off. We often think of ash as a “bad” component of food, however it is just a general term referring to the collection of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, etc. that are in some pet foods.
Excess ash content can be the result of using meat meals, especially “meat-by-product” meals, which contain higher amounts of tendons and bones. These foods have higher levels of calcium and phosphorous. A note of caution with large breed puppies is that excess calcium and phosphorous can contribute to irregular or rapid growth that may negatively affect their bones and joints.
In the past, it was also theorized that feeding a low-ash diet reduced the risk of the creation of bladder stones. However, recent studies have shown that the most effective way to reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is to feed a high-moisture diet. Additionally, reducing stress is an important factor when treating UTIs; especially for cats.
In animals showing signs of compromised kidney function, it is important to pay attention to the ash content, and more specifically the phosphorous levels. It is important to prevent excess phosphorous intake because it may lead to an imbalance of calcium/phosphorous. Calcium is then drawn from the bones and deposited into other tissues and organs, which can cause damage over the long term. The best way to avoid excess phosphorus is to avoid foods that contain “meat meals” because these products contain higher amounts of connective tissue and bone, and thus higher values of calcium and phosphorus.
In summary, ash in itself isn’t bad, but for certain pets, you may want to pay closer attention to those values and consider a low-ash diet. However, the best way to ensure that your animal’s intake of ash is well balanced is simply to include high-quality meat sources and moisture in her diet. The best way to do this is by including raw, canned, dehydrated, freeze-dried, and air-dried foods, which are free of “meat-meals” and “meat by-products.”
Ideal Products
Tiki and Weruva are great about listing their mineral content for each food. Tiki even has a chart of the Veterinary recommendations for animals with renal disease and urinary stones: http://www.petropics.com/petropics-nutrition-facts/
Our Newest Foster Cat – The Fantastic Mr. Kitty
Look who moved in with us! This kitty was set to be euthanized, but he’s getting a second chance with us as our newest foster cat! He’s very hungry and his fur is a little patchy, but our vet friends at Lafayette Companion Animal Hospital checked him out, ran his blood work, and we think that with a good diet and some TLC he’s going to be just fine. He weighed in at 5.5lb when he arrived at Humane Society of Boulder Valley on September 18 and as of October 6, he’s already up to 8.4lb! Read on for his full story or stop by the store to meet this sweet boy – and maybe help us come with a name. 😉
Before he came to The Happy Beast, Mr. Kitty had been living as a stray under a porch. He was relying on the family there for meals, but once they saw that he was competing with raccoons for food, they decided the living situation was no longer safe for him. They took him to Humane Society of Boulder Valley where he stayed for a week. The shelter determined that he may have hyperthyroidism and therefore would not be adoptable. The family who turned him in were notified that they had 48 hours to pick him up before he was euthanized. They reached out to our neighbors, Lafayette Companion Animal Hospital, who asked us if we would foster him. On September 24, he moved in with us as our newest foster cat.
A couple of days later, Dr. Kugler at Lafayette Companion checked him out and ran his blood work. His white blood cell count was slightly elevated and he has some tartar on his teeth, but the great news was that he does not have hyperthyroidism as the shelter suspected. With a relatively clean bill of health, it was time to put a new feeding plan into action.
THE PLAN: Gain Weight & Improve Immune System Health
The Happy Beast’s 1st Birthday Party!
How time flies. Just a little over a year ago, we opened our doors in Lafayette and, like a new puppy at a dog park, we’ve been having a near-overwhelming amount of fun ever since. 😉 Now we’re throwing a party to celebrate our first birthday and all of our amazing customers. Check out all the details below and we hope to see you there. You can also RSVP on Facebook to earn an extra ticket for our awesome prize drawing.
WHAT: Super sales, adoptable pets, prize drawings, games, magic card tricks with Essie Snell, and food and treats for animals (frozen yogurt tasting with The Bear and The Rat) and humans alike!
WHEN: Saturday, October 10, 2015 from 10:00am – 2:00pm MT (also Donuts & Dogs event on October 11th)
WHERE: The Happy Beast, 545 W. South Boulder Rd., #170, Lafayette, CO 80026 (Google Maps link)
FOOD FRIENDS ATTENDING: The Honest Kitchen, Primal Pet Foods, Natural Balance, and Earthborn Holistics
ADOPTIONS & RESCUES:
AMAZING ENTERTAINMENT
SUPER SALES:
PACE Sustainability Certification (Part 2)
Earlier this month, The Happy Beast received sustainability certification in waste, water and energy efficiency through Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE). In partnering with PACE, we’re joining a community of businesses that:
Our PACE certification in waste diversion and water efficiency demonstrates our high level of environmental performance. PACE’s certification performance criteria are based upon and consistent with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria as well as EnergyStar Building certification. To achieve certification, we demonstrated:
We’re making some great strides in sustainability certification and will continue these efforts throughout 2015 and 2016. You can read our Part 1 blog post to see where we started, or check out our progress-to-date below.
The Happy Beast: Steps to PACE Certification
(Audit conducted: May 15, 2015 | Last updated: September 15, 2015)
Ending the Monotony Meal Plan: The Benefits of Pet Food Rotation
At The Happy Beast, we believe that there are significant benefits from pet food rotation. In fact, we think it’s a big pet food myth that animals should eat the same formula of the same brand of food for their whole lives. While this is a great marketing ploy for the pet food companies (who don’t want you to feed anything but their brand of food) it is not in the best interest of your animal’s health and well-being. For one thing, eating the same thing over and over is boring… just imagine eating one kind of cuisine for every meal for the rest of your life! Even more importantly, from a health perspective, a monotonous diet can have negative effects on your animal for the following reasons:
The good news is that there are many ways to incorporate pet food rotation into your animal’s diet:
If your animal has a very sensitive digestive system or has been eating the same food for a very long time:
Chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef are often used in pet foods, but new protein sources are making their way into the market. “Novel proteins” is an industry term for meats not commonly found in pet foods. We commonly recommend novel protein diets for animals with food sensitivities or allergies, but healthy animals can benefit from these meats as well. Try including goat, rabbit, venison, alligator, or kangaroo in your animal’s next pet food rotation!