I invite you aboard my heartfelt painful personal journey to proper feline nutrition. My greatest lesson in life that every cat (and pet) caregiver should know.
Feline nutrition is one of my greatest passions. Turning pain into passion has been the ultimate lesson for me.
It all started when my soul kitty, late-Monkey Bean was diagnosed with small cell intestinal lymphoma in 2017, she was thirteen years old. Three months after diagnosis, she transitioned to Spirit. My world shattered beyond recognition. My soul ripped from my body, my spirit no longer alive. It brought me to the fetal position, non-functioning, with zero purpose in life. If I wasn’t her Mom, than who was I. If she wasn’t next to me, then what was the point of being here. I was completely lost without her, navigating an unrecognizable world I now wanted nothing to do with. Everything felt foreign, I was floating in the abyss. I seriously did not know what to do with myself. Losing her was unfathomable, yet here I was, on the planet without her. How do I do this?! It ripped me to the core, my essence gone.
I believe, her experience was 99.99% preventable, and was ultimately my greatest, most difficult lesson in love.
Monkey experienced undiagnosed intestinal inflammation, that led to chronic intestinal inflammation, that progressed into undiagnosed IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), that eventually bloomed into small cell intestinal lymphoma (cancer).
In retrospect she showed signs, early on at 2-3 years of age! She was vomiting undigested food moments after consuming, several times a week. I grew up with cats in the midwest, I thought this was normal. After so many weeks of this, I called a vet, who said maybe it was the type of protein she was on- there was no mention about the medium (dry, wet, raw) of food in which I was feeding. So I took her off chicken and kept her on the medium which was dry kibble. After some research we eventually went grain-free. She continued to have bouts of vomit, so I did more research and changed her protein again, we landed mostly on a dry kibble grain-free seafood diet. She was never a fan of wet/can until a few years before she passed - I had finally found a brand she loved! However, I only gave her the wet/can sparingly as a treat here and there. Her diet was solely dry kibble, from a very popular commercial brand pet food company. Long story short, her vomiting never stopped. Sometimes it was hairballs, a lot of times it was undigested-to-lightly digested food or pure liquid.
Caution: contrary to popular belief (my old-self included!) cats vomiting more than an occasional hairball is not normal. It's a sign of an underlying issue that needs to be identified and addressed. For an in-depth thorough overview on why Cat Vomit happens and how you can help your feline, this article by Adored Beast Apothecary is a fantastic read and reference!
As the years went on, her vomit changed in color (yellow and green) and most times it was projectile, the quantity at times was huge, and she did so regularly. Sometimes several times a day and usually several days a week. Each time I’d mention it to the vet, I got nowhere and blood tests didn’t reveal anything. A few months before her diagnosis, we got a blood test result showing low amounts of protein, which the vet said meant her body isn’t absorbing protein the way it should- but we didn’t know why! A few months after this discovery she became lethargic, hiding, not eating or drinking, and not herself - so I took her into an Emergency Animal Hospital who conducted an ultrasound. It showed she had some sort of intestinal blockage and thickening of the intestinal lining. So we went into surgery to remove the blockage (which was a dry hardened petrified hairball) and to take a biopsy of the thickened portion of the intestinal wall. Before surgery I asked what the thickening of the intestinal lining meant- the vet replied “It’s either IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) or cancer, the biopsy will tell us”. The next day, I received the worst news in my life. It was confirmed my baby, soul child, soul kitty, best friend, confidant, mini-me was given a death sentence of cancer. I did not believe it, it must be a mistake. I could not speak.
The signs and symptoms were there, I did not recognize them. I was young, uneducated in proper feline nutrition/care, and was only repeating what I knew as a kid growing up with cats/dogs and all sorts of animals. With that said, the signs were also there for all the Veterinarians I sought out for help and answers. Not ONE said to me…. maybe it’s the type/medium of food you’re feeding.
Not ONE mentioned a species appropriate diet to me. Not ONE mentioned proper feline nutrition that involves life-altering nutritional requirements. Not ONE.
| Fact: to this day if you mention to most veterinarians or vet offices that you’re feeding a species appropriate diet with fresh foods and/or more specifically raw food- you are met with snarky condensing non-supportive remarks. With the intent to have you believe you are ill-informed, what you are doing is wrong and/or unsafe and whichever food they are trying to push is better, the answer, the end-all-be-all for every ailment or breed known to man. This includes “prescription” foods! Which are a marketing ploy from BIG PET FOOD CO. Fyi, no prescription is needed to obtain this "special" food, and it contains all the same nasty cancer causing ingredients while lacking proper nutritional requirements as every other dry kibble or wet can “food” sitting on store shelves - but with a higher price point - that’s the TRUTH.
If I had known of proper feline nutrition early on, I truly believe we could have prevented, managed, reversed the ultimate demise of my soul-kitty. She tried (so hard!) to show me herself early on and throughout her life, it was the humans (myself & vets) that failed her. Instead she taught me the hardest greatest lesson in love.
As the months passed after her transition to Spirit, I was angry. Asking “WHY?!”, “HOW?”, “What could have caused this?”. I dissected her radiographs (x-rays), ultrasound, biopsy report and saw many parts of her digestive system affected including surrounding organs. Then, a lightbulb went on! “FOOD!” That is the ONE CONSISTENT component running through there on a regular basis.
As I began to connect the dots (and thinking of all the vomited food throughout the years)
I felt immense guilt, I felt I failed her in health, it was all my fault. I fed her cancer in a bowl every single day of her life, for thirteen years. Even when she had full blown cancer, I was still feeding her dry kibble cancer “cereal chips” in her bowl every single day. She died at my own hands, I could not forgive myself. I cried every day, several times a day. “If I only had known! Why didn’t I know!??” was my mantra.
With guilt, despair, anger, grief, devastation in my heart I began a looong, hard dive down the rabbit hole of pet food. I also vowed to never have another feline (or animal) again in my home until I knew proper care and nutrition for their species. I was not going to have history repeat itself, on my watch. I wanted to give the best life and nutrition possible for my next resident kitty or any animal that called our place home.
I researched all I could about pet food and the pet food industry. It was many many years of research and self-educating from unbiased voices/entities in the pet industry.
I learned the many forms of pet food and what they all consist of. I learned there was/is choices for our pets food. It does not have to be the one we all grew up with, the one mainstream society and commercials engrain into our brains. There’s more out there, there’s better out there, but most importantly what they are truly meant to eat IS OUT THERE!
The ah-ha moment (for me) came when I learned of species appropriate feeding. Which simply means feeding a diet a specific species (cat, dog, reptilian, avian, aquatic/marine, mammalian, anthropods, etc.) are designed to eat by nature, a diet meant for their individual physiology. One their bodies were meant to consume, digest, and assimilate. One that provides all their vital nutrients to thrive, not merely survive. In order to thrive, an animal must eat a diet that its species has evolved to eat.
I then learned felines are obligate carnivores, which means they must consume the flesh of animals to attain all their nutritional needs for optimum bodily function. Some of their vital nutrients needed to live are only present in animal flesh/ meat/organs/etc.. Their digestive tract lacks the bacteria and enzymes needed to breakdown plant matter or any matter other than what their bodies were designed to consume (ie. animal base nutrients).
Then I learned the nutritional requirements for felines to thrive, which are, very high requirements for animal protein and moisture, moderate requirements for natural fat, zero requirements for carbohydrates!
Felines are unique in the way that they have a high moisture requirement that can only be met by consuming moisture from within their food source! Think, moisture content within a field mouse or rabbit. Cats cannot and will not make up their moisture deficiency at the water bowl, separate from their food source. It must come from within their food! This is crucial information to know as a feline caregiver.
| Fact: when a cat consumes water outside of their food source, their bodies do not absorb the moisture fully, instead the water rests in the stomach/digestive tract where the food absorbs the moisture to then turn into waste and eliminated from the body.
Not good!
Cats who consume a dry/kibble diet are in a chronic state of daily dehydration, nutritional deprivation, and inflammation which can (and most likely will) lead to health related issues- UTI, urinary blockages, crystals, stones, liver/kidney/bladder disease or failure, IBD, cancer, periodontal disease, tooth resorption, behavioral changes, and the list goes on!
I compared feline nutritional requirements to that of dry kibble and to my disgust, it’s the exact opposite of what felines require or even need to live. How is this even allowed in our world, on our shelves? It’s repulsive to think about.
Dry pet foods have carbohydrates/ starch/sugar as their #1 ingredient, including plant based proteins. It has very little-to-no (more like no) moisture, cancer causing spray-on fats for palatability, cancer causing ingredients (like euthanized, diseased animals), and cancer causing chemicals as a byproduct of high heat processing. My mind was blown! Not to mention a deeper dive in research, leads you to BIG CANDY CO. owning pet food brands AND Veterinary offices…. connect the dots on that one please. Feeding the Beast.
Another mind blowing fact learned regarding our pet food industry, is that our pet “food” is actually created under feed regulations not food regulations, and the difference is BIG! There’s big determining factors to what is allowed in human consumed food vs. animal consumed feed. So, our pets food should actually and accurately be called “pet feed”. Read this brochure for more information on food vs. feed in the pet food industry.
For our domestic pets, a species appropriate diet means feeding a diet mirroring as closely as possible what they would consume in the wild, including protein/moisture/ fat/carb/veggie ratios and the medium in which it’s fed (ie. raw, pre-digested, etc.). When I learned that - the lightbulb switched on again! I said to myself, ““Yes, of course! This makes all the sense in the world! The closest medium to a field mouse is raw food! Of course this is what they are suppose to eat in our homes, it’s logic! Why didn’t I know or realize this 15 years ago!”. From that point on, I was locked in and I felt like a super woman with super powers! I knew the secret to keeping our pets healthy and giving them the gift of longevity in life. Lets be honest, thirteen is a pre-mature death. Our pets should be living close to 20-30 years old! —> that’s the truth.
| Fact: did you know Humans are the only species on the planet to cook our food before consumption? No other species cooks their food before consumption. That’s a BIG NEON SIGN how we should be feeding our pets.
Feeding proper feline nutrition, a species appropriate diet, is fundamental to their health, longevity, and quality of life.
| Tip: please see THF Food List for a comprehensive all inclusive food recommendation list for both cats and dogs. Disclosing 8 Healthy Alternatives to Kibble plus recommended brands in each category providing Real Food for our Pets!
When pets consume the standard pet feed "food" diet, which is not a species appropriate diet, pets are not thriving, they are merely surviving. It’s a slow death. They are “OK” until they’re not.
For more information on what’s really in your pets standard pet food, the following are great resources:
investigative report: “What’s Really In (Your) Pet’s Food?”
website: truthaboutpetfood.com
documentary: Pet Fooled (available on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, and many more platforms)
books: Big Kibble and The Forever Dog
A special message…
After vowing to not have another resident kitty until I knew ALL there was to know about proper feline nutrition and care, I am happy to share six years after losing my soul-kitty Monkey Bean, we adopted our Milly Moon Bean… who is loving and thriving on a pre-made frozen raw diet. I must say, it never gets old staring at my little obligate carnivore devour her
raw - it fills my heart with so much joy and love - and I know and feel with every bite Monkey Bean is enjoying it too <3
I am passionate about and personally believe in raw feeding. The health benefits are unrivaled, especially to its commercial feed counterparts, and the proof is in the pudding! Their skin and coat are silky smooth, shiny, thick and luxurious with little to no dandruff. Their eyes are bright and clear. Bowel movements occur about 1x every 24hrs and the poop is small with minimal-to-no odor. This means the digestibility rate is high and the feline is absorbing almost all the nutrients in the food. Which is what we want!
Fresh food and/or raw feeding has the ability to potentially prevent, manage, or reverse ailments and diseases, including some of the most challenging and common in pet health.
| GIFT: kickstart your species appropriate feeding journey with 20% off your first order of Milly's pre-made frozen raw - VIVA - at the link or by using code THEHOLISTICFELINE <3
VIVA formulates for cats, dogs, puppies; is human-grade, clean-humane sourcing, whole food nutrition with organic produce/supplements, made in USDA kitchens, and ships nationwide!
I write this post with so much love in my heart for my Monkey Bean, our journey. We hope not one more animal passes from nutrition related cancer, it is our mission. It was a gut-punching reality of my mistakes and the broken system that lurks in every nook and cranny of the pet industry, especially the pet food industry. It’s a lesson that had the highest stakes of my heart, a lesson I hope you will learn from myself so you may have your beloved with you for many many years to come.
I hope you enjoyed this very personal story and tidbit of information on feline nutrition, and learned a little along the way!
When we know better, we do better.
Angela Warrick, CARM, CAFTP
The Holistic Feline
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all content is for informational purposes only.
all original written composition
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