Tag Archive for: cat health

Natalie Soonthornswad
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Cats Eat Meat! Phasing out kibble for cats at The Happy Beast

Cats eat meat! Phasing out kibble for cats at The Happy Beast

Starting this month, we’ve decided that The Happy Beast will be phasing out kibble for cats, and that we’ll stop carrying it completely as of July 2016! We know this may come as a surprise to a few of you so we wanted to explain our thinking and provide an opportunity for our customers to ask questions. We’re looking forward to this next stage in our growth and evolution and hope you’ll join us!

For years, we have committed a great deal of our time to educating our customers and increasing  awareness about why kibble can be detrimental to a cat’s health. Despite this, we’ve continued to sell it. Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to sell something that we believe contributes to a variety of the health issues we see in cats today. Selling kibble has become the equivalent of preaching health and wellness on one hand, and then eating a diet of fast food and potato chips on the other hand.

We think it’s important to point out that this topic is not black and white and there are certain circumstances where we recognize the benefits of providing a high-quality kibble for cats. For instance, shelters, rescue groups, and individual’s feeding barn cats, may not have the time or economic ability to feed a diet of raw or canned food to dozens of cats. Then again, we cannot ignore the fact that when you look at the Top 10 Reasons cats go to the vet (reported by VPI pet insurance) we feel that a majority of those visits could have been avoided or remedied by feeding a biologically-appropriate diet of raw or canned food that consists primarily of animal protein.

What really got us moving in this direction was my recent interview with Dr. Angie Krause. In that interview, I learned that by the time Dr. Krause entered veterinary school in 2003, she was taught that cats should be on a canned food diet, and that kibble was no longer accepted as a good diet option for cats. I was both pleasantly surprised by this information and disheartened. If the vet community was now being taught that kibble is not appropriate for cats, then why is it still used and recommended so prolifically?

Let’s quickly review a couple of the most common areas of discussion: the potential health issues and the perceived reduced costs of feeding kibble:

Where kibble falls short and the potential health issues:

Read more in our “Kibble Transition Guide for Picky Cats” blog post

  • Too low in moisture. Can lead to kidney and urinary tract issues.
  • Too low in animal protein. Animal proteins provide the full spectrum of amino acids, including Taurine, which a cat needs, whereas plant-based proteins such as peas and potatoes do not. Peas and potatoes are the most common “binder” found in grain-free kibble, and can make up as much as 44% of the total kibble diet!
  • Too high in Carbohydrates.  All kibble, even “grain-free,” contains an average of 25% carbohydrate (a cat’s natural diet is generally less than 2%). This excess amount of carbohydrates promotes obesity because it is higher in sugar and causes cats to overeat. Cats tend to overeat kibble because the carbohydrates in it do not trigger satiety like fats and proteins do.  Additionally cats lack the enzyme, Amylase, which is responsible for digesting carbohydrates

Perceived reduced costs of feeding kibble:

  • Admittedly, it’s difficult to determine exactly what the cost savings would be to feed a biologically appropriate diet (and avoid extra vet visits) versus the average cost an owner would incur at the vet in order to treat a specific health condition.
  • From my personal experience, I know that I spent well over $8k over the course of four years to help my cat with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The cost to feed raw for an average ten-pound cat would be about $240/year, and the cost to feed canned would be about $480/year. (Costs vary depending on the diet, but yes, feeding raw can be even cheaper than feeding canned!) For my cat, switching him to a raw food diet made a tremendous difference; both in terms of his overall health as well as avoiding extra visits to the vet. I only wish I had made the transition sooner.

In summary, we know that change can be difficult. For example, why should a pet food company shift away from producing a profitable line of kibble cat food when the consumer demand still exists? Or why should a pet food store stop selling it? For us, we’ve decided to stop walking the line of this debate and stop carrying kibble for cats. We’re excited to have you join us, and we’ll continue working to provide the best-possible education and products to improve the health and happiness of cats.
We’d love to have you stop by the store or comment on this blog post to ask any additional questions. Or just use the hashtag #CatsEatMeat on social media to show your support and join the movement!

by
Natalie Soonthornswad
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What is the Difference Between Raw and Canned Food for Cats?

According to VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance), gastrointestinal issues are among the top ten reasons cats visit the vet. We feel very strongly that feeding a species-appropriate diet reduces the occurrence of GI issues, saving you money by eliminating treatment by a vet. In a blog post from last month, Dr. Angie Krause stated that she believes the need to see a vet would reduce by 50% if animals were fed a species appropriate diet!

Our ultimate goal is to see our customers (those wonderful cat guardians) get their animals off of dry food and onto a high moisture, high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Most people are familiar with canned foods, but raw foods are still a relatively unknown food option. There are three big differences between Raw and Canned food.

  1. Raw / Uncooked vs. Cooked (obviously)
  2. Amount of carbohydrates
  3. Use of thickening agents (e.g. Guar Gum, Carageenan, etc.)

In this post, we are going to focus on #3, because #1 is a much bigger topic (2.2 million Google Searches for: benefits of raw food diet!) and #2 has previously been discussed in our blog Flimflam Food: The Truth About Grain-Free Pet Food.

Although canned foods are a much more appropriate option for cats than dry food, it is still important to pay attention to the ingredients. Most canned foods still have a higher than ideal carbohydrate count (over 5% carb) and almost all brands utilize a thickening agent such as potato starch, tapioca starch, carrageenan, guar gum, xantham gum, locust bean gum, and agar agar. These additives are used to give the product a certain texture and consistency. Let’s focus on what these thickening agents are and their potential side effects.

  • Potato Starch – Extracted from potatoes, used as a thickening agent and does not provide any nutritional benefit. It is very important to pay attention to the amount of starch used as any amount above 5% is too high for a cat.
  • Tapioca Starch – Extracted from cassava root, used as a thickening agent. Consists almost entirely of carbohydrates and has no significant amount of essential vitamins or minerals.
  • Carrageenan – A polysaccharide extract from red seaweed. It is commonly used as a thickening agent in both human and animal foods. Studies disagree about the effects on the GI tract, but it should be noted that certain studies urge caution because of the belief that it irritates the GI tract by causing inflammation.
  • Guar Gum – Fiber from the seed of the guar bean, used as a thickening and stabilizing agent. Side effects include increased gas, diarrhea, and loose stools for digestively sensitive cats. Studies have shown that guar gum inhibits the digestibility of both fat and protein in older cats and those suffering from digestive issues, such as Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD). Read more about IBD on our blog. 
  • Xantham Gum – Used as a thickening agent and engineered in a laboratory by the US Department of Agriculture in 1969. To date, no studies have been conducted on its effect in cats, however it should be noted that Xanthan gum was identified in 2011 as the cause of a deadly form of colitis responsible for several infant illnesses and deaths.
  • Locust Bean Gum – Derived from the seed of the carob tree, it is used as a thickening agent. No studies have been conducted on its digestibility in cats. In human studies, individuals reported similar side effects to guar gum (e.g. increased gas, diarrhea, and loose stools).
  • Agar Agar – An indigestible fiber source extracted from red seaweed. In the digestive tract, it absorbs water, increases bulk, and stimulates bowel movements. It has been used for centuries as a laxative. No studies currently exist on its affects on a cat’s digestive tract.

For a healthy cat, these thickening agents might not pose a serious harm to their initial state of health. But because gums, such as Guar Gum reduce digestibility, cats with GI issues are unable to get all the nutrition that they need, and symptoms such as diarrhea may persist due to their potentially inflammatory and laxative properties. Additionally, as cats age, digestive function becomes less efficient and the body has a reduced ability to compensate for less digestible foods.

Cats with IBD, like our foster cats Dottie and Fancy, need to be on an exclusively raw food diet. We have “experimented” with different brands of canned foods, all containing various thickening agents. The results are always the same: loose and excessive stools even when given less than ¼ tsp!

Raw food is our number one option when it comes to cats. Raw food most closely simulates their natural diet of rodents, rabbits, and birds. It is the least processed of all the commercially-available food options and does not contain fillers or thickening agents. Compare the ingredients in a raw diet for cats with those of a canned diet.

  • SmallBatch Raw Chicken Formula: 97% Chicken, 1% Produce, 2% Supplements: Chicken, Skinless Chicken Necks, Chicken Backs, Chicken Livers, Chicken Hearts, Chicken Gizzards, Salmon Oil, Organic Dandelion Greens, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Kelp, Organic Bee Pollen, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Cranberries
  • Mauri Brushtail Canned Food: Brushtail, Brushtail Broth, Pumpkin, Ovine Plasma, Calcium Carbonate, Fish Oil, Locust Bean Gum, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Vitamins & Minerals: (Choline Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate , Zinc Amino Acid Chelate), Cranberries, Taurine, New Zealand Green Mussel.

Raw food is more digestible than cooked food, and especially more digestible than the protein found in kibble. Due to its higher digestibility, raw food is the best option for a cat suffering from GI issues. While feeding your cat raw meat, initially seems odd, when we take the time to consider the fact that cats don’t cook their prey, the concept of raw doesn’t seem so far fetched.

Let’s take a look at the cost to feed both raw and canned foods, I think you will be surprised at the cost (in a good way!) Remember there are lots of variables that can drive up and down the cost, for instance feeding a “novel” protein such as Rabbit or Venison will cost more, but feeding Raw “chubs” (big blocks of meat) will drive your cost down.

COST OF RAW FOOD: 3lbs Bags with 1oz sliders:

  • 8 lbs: 160 cal/day: 3oz of raw: $30/month
  • 10 lbs: 200 cal/day: 4oz of raw: $40/month
  • 12 lbs: 240 cal/day: 5oz of raw: $50/month
  • 15 lbs: 300 cal/day: 6oz of raw: $60/month

Cost of Raw Food Chubs (2lb sausage shaped)

  • 8 lbs: $18/ month
  • 10 lbs: $24/month
  • 12 lbs: $30/month
  • 15lbs: $37month

COST OF CANNED FOOD: Calorie/oz varies between brands, it’s important to check your calories so that you are feeding them the proper amount.

  • 8 lbs: 160 cal/day 4oz-5oz: $32/month
  • 10 lbs: 200 cal/day 5.5oz: $42/month
  • 12 lbs: 240 cal/day: 6.6oz: $50/month
  • 15 lbs: 300 cal/day: 6.75oz: $62/month
by
Natalie Soonthornswad
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Feline Nutrition with Veterinarian Dr. Angie Krause

As many of you know, we spend a lot of time educating our customers about appropriate feline nutrition and which commercially-available foods meet our criteria for a proper diet. You can imagine my shock and disappointment when a coworker of my husband’s was told by his vet that cats are omnivores! I couldn’t believe my ears. The domestic cat is part of the Family Felidae which consists of 41 known species, all of which are known to be obligate carnivores.

An obligate carnivore requires a diet of meat and organs to survive, their bodies do not produce enzymes that can convert plant matter into essential amino acids and vitamins. Taurine is the most commonly known essential amino acid that cats must acquire from meat alone.

Over the years, we have had several personal conversations with local vets about feline nutrition and what their nutrition curriculum consisted of while in veterinary school. I decided to take this opportunity to sit down with veterinarian Dr. Angie Krause, DVM, CVA, CCRT from Boulder Holistic Vet, and formally interview her about feline nutrition.

As it turns out, our conversation about feline nutrition was short and simple: proper nutrition means feeding a biologically-appropriate diet that is high in moisture, high in protein, and low in carbohydrates. In essence, we should come as close to feeding a mouse, or other typical prey animal, as possible. This also means that for your cat to achieve optimum health, you should eliminate or feed as little kibble as possible. Kibble is too high in carbs and too low in moisture to meet the needs of a strict carnivore.

Of course my burning question was “why have vets recommended a kibble-based diet?” Dr. Krause said that by the time she had entered vet school in 2003, she was taught that veterinarians had gotten it wrong when it came to feeding cats. Cats had previously been lumped into the same category as small dogs, and were fed as such. However, it is now a well accepted truth that cats have very specific needs and that a diet high in carbs and low in moisture is not well suited for these strict carnivores.

Dr. Krause believes nutrition is everything and that if individuals fed their animals a biologically-appropriate, less-processed diet, the need to see a vet would decrease by 50%! She said that when she first started practicing at a conventional vet clinic, a majority of the feline cases she saw were inflammatory in nature (e.g. Pancreatitis, Irritable Bowel, etc.). When she switched to an integrated vet practice, where patients were feeding healthier foods, she saw a huge shift in the type of conditions she would see. This furthered her belief that nutrition plays a vital role in the overall health of companion animals; cats in particular.

The importance of nutrition became clear to Dr. Krause through her own health crisis. When she was just 18 years old, Dr Krause got mono, followed by chronic fatigue syndrome. The doctors told her that she would suffer the effects of her illness for the rest of her life. Dr. Krause was incredibly active and couldn’t accept this prognosis. At just 18 years old, Dr. Krause followed her intuition and used nutrition to make a full recovery. The key to her recovery was the removal of sugar!

We are all shaped by our experiences and what I valued most about my conversation with Dr. Krause was that she has personally experienced the effects that nutrition can have on our overall health and the power it has to bring us back from disease and illness.

Learn more about Dr. Kraus and her practice with Boulder Holistic Vet.

 

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Natalie Soonthornswad
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Helping Cats with Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD)

Dottie & Other Cats with IBD | The Happy Beast

Dottie, our long-time foster cat, was born without a right hind paw, but that doesn’t slow her down a bit! Unfortunately, when she first came to us, we couldn’t say the same thing about her Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), which caused severe vomiting, diarrhea, and general stomach discomfort that kept her from have having much fun.

The good news is that with a new diet, close oversight, and a little TLC, we’ve been to help Dottie make a full recovery and live a happy, healthy life. We want to take the opportunity to explain what irritable bowel disease is, how it affects cats like Dottie on a daily and long-term basis, and how you can help your cat with IBD or similar stomach issues.

IBD is a general term referring to a group of gastrointestinal disorders that are believed to be the result of intestinal inflammation. The source of the intestinal inflammation is attributed to one or more of the following factors: genetics, diet, and/or diminished intestinal microflora. Cats with IBD will typically exhibit chronic vomiting and/or diarrhea and be at increased risk for intestinal lymphoma.

Current research supports the idea that diet plays a large role in the overall health of both humans and animals. For decades cats have unfortunately been fed highly processed, species-inappropriate foods. Cats are obligate carnivores who have no known dietary requirement for any carbohydrates in their diet. The average kibble is well over 25% carbohydrates! (Please see previous post on carbs in pet food for more details). It is essential that cats with IBD, or displaying symptoms, be fed highly digestible proteins. The more processed a food is, the more chemically altered and less digestible it becomes. Feeding such highly processed, carb-heavy foods has the potential to greatly damage overall intestinal health, especially in cats prone to digestive disease.

Healthy gut flora (or the lack of) is linked to the severity of intestinal inflammation. If a cat’s natural gut microflora is depleted, it is unable to fully digest and absorb the necessary nutrients. This is why it is extremely important, especially after a round of antibiotics, to use a PreBiotic or ProBiotic to re-establish and maintain a healthy flora.

There are varying degrees of IBD, but in all cats with IBD, no matter the severity of their symptoms, it is absolutely essential that they are fed a diet that is highly digestible and unprocessed. The house cats of today are no different from their predecessors. They are built to process and thrive off of their natural prey source of rodents, rabbits, and birds – a raw food diet.

The severity of Dottie’s IBD appears to be minimal. Upon her arrival at The Happy Beast, we fed her an exclusive raw food diet and her stools immediately solidified. It should be noted that she does become loose if she gets even the highest quality canned food. On a day-to-day basis, Dottie is very low maintenance, she eats her raw food, plays around with her catnip toys and loves scratching on her natural tree posts. Long term, we feel that because we got her on a raw food diet early on in her prognosis, she will live a long and healthy life.

Do you have a cat with IBD? Send us an email or stop by the store in Lafayette and ask how we can help!

by
Natalie Soonthornswad
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Kibble Transition Guide for Picky Cats

As everyone who knows me knows, I always encourage people to get their cats off of kibble and onto a high moisture, high protein, low-carb canned or (ideally) raw food diet. Our kibble transition guide is great place to start. 

Convincing some cats to give up their “sugar” addiction isn’t always the easiest transition. For those cats that are giving you a run for your money, here is a step-by-step guide to getting your picky, kibble-addicted cat on the road to a healthier and happier life. Remember patience and persistence are the keys to success!

First, let’s reiterate the importance of getting your cat off of kibble.

  • Too low in moisture.
    can lead to kidney and urinary tract issues.
  • Too low in animal protein.
    Animal proteins provide the full spectrum of amino acids, including Taurine, which a cat needs, whereas plant-based proteins such as peas and potatoes do not. Peas and potatoes are the most common “binder” found in grain-free kibble, and can make up as much as 44% of the total kibble diet!
  • Too high in Carbohydrates.  
    All kibble, even “grain-free,” contains an average of 25% carbohydrate (a cat’s natural diet is generally less than 2%). This excess amount of carbohydrates promotes obesity because it is higher in sugar and causes cats to overeat. Cats tend to overeat kibble because the carbohydrates in it do not trigger satiety like fats and proteins do.

 

Kibble Transition Guide

  • Step 1: Eliminate “free-feeding” (leaving out kibble). Cats will be more inclined to try something new if they are hungry. The most difficult part of transitioning away from free-feeding is often that we humans feel bad taking away their “choice” to eat. However, keep in mind that a cat can easily go 8-12 hours without food, just be sure to leave out water.
  • Step 2: Once your cat has not had any food for 8 hours, offer a “stinky” can of cat food, such as B.F.F. Tuna or Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken.

If your cat eats the canned food…

  • Step 3: Feed your cat canned food 2x/day, always aiming to expand their palate by introducing new proteins and different textures. Don’t get discouraged if all your cat wants to eat is tuna. Eventually your cat will try and like different proteins, but you must be persistent.
  • Step 4: When offering new foods, leave new food out for up to 30 minutes and if untouched, place their “old” food next to it or in the same bowl.
  • Step 5: Incorporate freeze-dried treats or foods into the diet. Freeze-dried foods have a very distinct odor, flavor and texture which can be very alluring especially when enticing a cat to try something new.

If your cat won’t eat the canned food…

  • Step 3: Try sprinkling freeze dried food into the cat’s kibble. Or alternatively, you can try sprinkling a little bit of the cat’s kibble on top of the canned food.
  • Step 4: With each feeding, decrease the amount of kibble and increase the amount of freeze-dried or canned food. Remember that because kibble is so high in carbs the cat becomes “addicted” to the sound, smell and texture and the longer the cat goes from having kibble the easier the process will get.
  • Step 5: Once the kibble has been eliminated for 4 weeks, try introducing raw food

Why switch to raw from canned? Raw is less processed and therefore more digestible, and surprisingly can be less expensive than doing canned foods.

  • Step 6: Because raw food does not have a strong smell, using a little bit of canned or freeze-dried on top of the raw is a great way to entice your cat to try something new. Also be sure to add a bit of warm water to the raw as cats like their food at room temperature.

If your cat does not like the raw, continue serving 1 tsp of raw next to the cat’s current food, either in a separate dish or next to it in the same bowl. Some cats are very suspicious of new things, and this allows your cat to become familiar with the new food and begin to associate the raw with meal time.

Good luck and happy feeding!

If you want to tell us how your cat’s transition to raw food is going, send a us an email at eat@thehappybeast.com, find us on Facebook, or stop by the store. 

 

by
Kayson Cooper
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Digestive Enzymes for Pets

Digestive Enzymes for Pets | The Happy Beast

What are digestive enzymes? Enzymes are responsible for making the chemical reactions in our body faster and more efficient. Digestive enzymes aid the body by breaking down proteins from food into amino acids which can be absorbed and utilized. Enzymes facilitate proper absorption of foods.

Digestive enzymes are found in raw foods. They are what cause foods to break down and decay. For example, bananas contain the enzyme, amylase. Amylase breaks down raw starch into sugar, which is why green bananas become softer and sweeter as they sit on the counter. All raw foods contain the right amount of the specific enzyme required to break the proteins they are made of.

Why is this important? Cooking destroys the enzymes that are required to break food down, so when we eat cooked food our bodies have to source enzymes from an internal supply. If the body is focused on producing enzymes for digestion, less energy is allotted to the metabolic enzymes used in organ, muscle and cell function.

Efficient and complete digestion is essential to good health. When the digestive system is functioning well, the rest of the body is prepared to maintain good health and fight disease. Digestive enzymes can take the body from merely surviving to truly thriving. This is especially important in animals with allergies, compromised immune systems, IBD, IBS, and pancreatitis. Symptoms of an enzyme deficiency can include bloating, gas, irritability and fatigue.

How should this affect your choices for pet food?

  1. Feed raw. Any food that hasn’t been cooked over 118 degrees will retain its required enzymes. Choose a frozen, dehydrated and freeze-dried raw food that is complete and balanced. See some of the foods we recommend here.
  2. Supplement with a digestive enzyme. Choose a plant-sourced enzyme as they survive under more diverse conditions. Avoid enzymes called “animal pancreas extracts” which may not survive the acidic environment on the digestive tract. We like InClover’s Optagest.
  3. Choose raw treats like frozen marrow bones and raw goat milk. These treats contain live enzymes to support the digestive tract and overall good health and your animals will love them!
  4. Read our blog post on “Helping Pets with Digestive Problems“ for more info and recommendations.
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