Special Feline Diets & Healthy Meals for Cats

For the Undernourished Cat
High-Calcium Broth (Chicken Yeast Soup)
Save up bones from one or two chickens in your freezer. Crack and break the bones (if you can) so that the marrow is exposed. Simmer the bones for 2 to 3 hours in a large pot of water. Add the juice of one-quarter lemon. The acid from the lemon helps dissolve the calcium out of the bones and into the liquid. Don’t let the water boil away, but do boil it down to a concentrated amount that just covers the bones. Strain the broth and store in the refrigerator. For chicken yeast soup, simply bring the broth back to room temperature and add one teaspoonful of yeast per half-cup of broth. The liquid will help keep a cat from dehydrating. Plus, it is high in protein, calcium, phosphorus and B-vitamins.

Dandruff
Dandruff is a waste product. When the smell of food triggers the brain to prepare the body for digestion, waste disposal is slowed down tremendously, along with all body metabolism. So, if food is left out in between meals, the cat constantly smells food and metabolism is constantly slow, causing wastes to build up and back up. When the primary avenues of disposing of these wastes are not able to handle all of them, the wastes are rerouted through secondary routes: the lungs (as carbon dioxide) and the pores of the skin (as grease and dandruff). It is estimated that 90 percent of cats with dandruff have owners who leave food out for the cat all day long. If removing the food between meals doesn’t clear up dandruff, try adding about 1/4 teaspoonful of lecithin granules to each meal to help emulsify the wastes so they can be more readily excreted from the body.

Kidney Health
The kidneys detoxify foreign chemicals and substances such as cigarette smoke, food additives and household chemicals. They also eliminate the excess amino acids. If a cat’s diet consists of too much or low-quality protein in which the amino acids are not properly balanced, the kidneys must rid the body of the excess amino acids. Symptoms of kidney failure include frequent, copious drinking and urination; pale, watery urine and periods of lethargy. You can ease the strain of failing kidneys by feeding less protein and making sure the protein you do feed is only the highest quality and balanced. Leftover protein is converted to starch, so you may try using just enough protein to meet the actual daily requirements. It is also important to avoid tap water and try to eliminate all chemicals from the cat’s food and environment. And when drinking and urination levels are increased, it is important to replace the lost vitamins and minerals. This can be accomplished with a high-quality natural vitamin-mineral mix.

Recommendations for cats with kidney problems:
*Water is crucial for cats with kidney problems. Never use filtered tap water.

Basic Carbohydrate Mix
1 cup pureed barley flakes, creamed corn and/or baby food
2 tablespoons vitamin-mineral mix
2 teaspoons soft butter

Protein
Lightly broiled chicken or beef or soft-boiled egg or scrambled egg with meat (never just egg by itself). Alternatively, baby food chicken can be used. Each meal should contain:
4 parts carbohydrate mix
2 parts protein
1 teaspoon chopped or mashed vegetables or vegetable juice (Carrot, zucchini & alfalfa sprouts are best.)
Blend together and store in a glass jar.

Supplements
(daily, mixed in food or administered by dropper AFTER meal):
1/4 teaspoon cod liver oil
20 minims wheat germ oil from punctured capsule
1 low potency B-complex capsule (10 mg. level)

For the Aging Cat
In the aging cat, nutrients are not assimilated as efficient as in younger cats. There are three ways to address this problem:
1. Feed smaller meals more frequently. It is best to have the stomach 3/4 full because its muscular action is not as strong as it was at a younger age. Also due to the fact that digestive juices and enzymes are not at as plentiful with age, a small meal will be more efficiently mixed with digestive juices, allowing for better assimilation.
2. Supplement with additional enzymes and bile. One-quarter digestol tablet (from health food store) can be given either in the meal or after. One recommended method is to crush the tablet and add to baby food oatmeal and half-and-half. Give about two teaspoonfuls with the quarter tablet, four drops of wheat germ oil, four drops of cod liver oil and six drops of Lixotinic (a B-vitamin and iron tonic available from a veterinarian.)
3. Include extra vitamins in the diet (since older cats won’t assimilate most of the vitamins they take in.) Vitamins can be supplied by power foods like cod liver oil, wheat germ oil, alfalfa sprouts, egg, yeast, lecithin.

Sources
The Natural Cat: A Holistic Guide for Finicky Owners; Anitra Frazier and Norma Eckroate; 1983.
Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cat; Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, 2005.


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