I support a RAW diet for cats/dogs

I support a Raw diet for Cats/Dogs


-About this stamp
I wanted to make this stamp for a while now! I together with my family decided to change the entire diet of our cats into a raw diet for good reasons. So if you don't have a lot of experience or would like to know more then keep reading. We currently have 3 young cats that started on their raw diet when they were still kittens. And what raw food did is amazing! (I recently made two new stamps this is gonna be the last one for a while)

Is a Raw diet healthy ? What about store food ? Isn't it made to be the best?
Actually not, store food often contains: color, artificial flavor, beef tallow, BHA, BHT, brewer's rice, brewer's yeast, by-products, carrageenan, corn, gluten, onion extract, rice bran, salt, soy, unnamed meat sources, wheat, etc... But wait you'll tell me: We buy expensive quality brands and not just the regular store food! Perhaps yes but keep in mind that the majority of cat and dog owners do not buy expensive brands and buy normal regular cat and dog food. There is a reason why these brands are sold every single day and a reason it earns those companies more than enough. Take in mind as well that the "pet" industry for cat and dog food is a money making business. So now brands will change stating grain free cat and dog food for example even though it probably still contains a ton of other things that is not needed in the diet of these animals. Sadly the main issue is also lack of knowledge which is normal, if a package of cat/dog food states "all nutritious" then it's easy to believe that this must be the case. Raw based diets are becoming more popular however which is a good sign, as change is finally happening and people are more curious about their companions food. Unlike Raw food, the store food kibble, and canned food is called back on several occasions due to a possible endangerment to people. The reason why i'm saying this is because some people for some reason get told that handling the raw diet is unhealthy for you as a person which makes absolutely no sense and has no evidence to back it up, after all we people also prepare raw chicken and burgers to eat. Also remember cats and dogs have been surviving and THRIVING on their natural diet for years and years, comparing this to the human made cat and dog food makes no sense, some people believe that cats and dogs have adapted to kibble and human made "pet" food, which is far from true. Remember cats and dogs are designed to be able to consume raw.

My vet says no to a raw diet
This is actually due to lack of knowledge on the vet's side! Yes a vet can be wrong too. Luckily many vets of today are changing their perspectives on this topic. Remember as well that vets don't learn that much about nutrition, which is something that vets who support a raw diet state. Vets on the other side sometimes work together with companies that sell cat/dog food and therefore will faster recommend this source of food. But many vets will try to scare their customers with worms and all sorts of things, basically stating that the natural food of cats and dogs isn't good. But remember this is due to lack of research and knowledge. Remember as well that you CAN make mistakes with a RAW diet, yes i'm promoting a raw diet here but that does not mean you should just go to the store get some random meat and start feeding your animal. The only issues related to a raw diet have to do with people starting a homemade raw diet but lacking information about a good balanced diet for their cat and dog. This can cause issues, so please if you do change your mind do research before starting this transition to a raw diet. 
=>BARF and Whole Prey Model Diet For Cats

Educational video's on the topic (must watch)
=>www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2YII… (this has a part 1-3) 
Article
=>healthypets.mercola.com/sites/…

About those trying to scare you away from a raw diet.
=> healthypets.mercola.com/sites/…

The benefits of a Raw diet
Just from personal experience. Before our 3 newest editions to the family we used to have 3 other cats from which one is only left alive today. They were all raised with higher brand cat food, meaning expensive cat food to ensure (what we only knew back then) a healthy diet for our cats. 2 of the 3 died from kidney failure which was a result from kibble sadly. Back in those days our knowledge was not as far as it is today, and we just bought them the more expensive cat food which still resulted in this (one cat diet at 15 the other at 18). Now the last cat of those 3 is also sadly diagnosed with kidney failure, so he was switched on a "kidney diet" designed for cats with kidney issues. Now during this time a street cat was rescued and 3 kittens were gonna stay with us. Due to personal research I convinced my mother to start a raw diet with these kittens, and we decided to also change our older cats diet into half way kidney diet, and raw. And we were shocked of how more active our older cat became, healthier etc! For a time I thought he's not gonna last any longer but now I often feel like he could become 20 years old, he's currently 18.
So lets get to the benefits I personally also experienced, as our vet said, "your cats are perfectly healthy"! Of course I have no dogs, but the benefits seem kind of similar to that of cats from what I read. 

-Shiny coats, healthy skin
=> Our own vet asks us every time what we feed due to the shiny pelts. Surprising though
I came across one of the "typical" things so many vets do, after praising my cats for their
health, being shocked of a raw diet. My vet instantly suggested to deworm them every month
even when they had NO worms, showing her lack of knowledge on nutrition. This however is
a really common thing for vets with little knowledge of nutrition to do. Aside from that the
deworming vets give is often more harmful to your cats digestion than a natural deworming
paste which again we so far never had to use since our cats never had worms.
-Greatly reduced stool odor and volume
=>Having had cats that ate "commercial" food, I remember how stinky the poo could be!
Ever since my kittens began their new diet their poo became smaller and less stinky. Why?
They gain more from a raw diet, and have less waste due to it being natural. 
-Increased energy
=> I used to think that having cats that do nothing but sleep was fine, but I learned that
with a raw diet they have a lot more energy! Even my oldest cat has become so active.
-Improved digestion
-Better dental health
=> feline-nutrition.org/nutrition…
=> rawfeddogs.org/benefits.html
=>www.youtube.com/watch?v=2biwZd… (nutrition about the raw diet)  

Raw food is to expensive !
Actually that depends on what food you currently feed your cat and dog. If you buy kibble, and canned food in a regular supermarket then chances are that a raw diet is a lot more expensive. Remember the cat and dog food industry is all about making money, the cheapest brands are sadly popular even today. But if you have done research and you already feed your animals a more expensive diet then you'll find out that the prices aren't that much different! We find out that buying more expensive cat food was = to the balanced raw diet our cats get now. Aside from that some people lack knowledge but others actually know and refuse to change the diet. Often people will say they simply don't have a lot of time. This is not a good excuse as the BARF menu comes in frozen rolls and not only barf, but many other brands come that way, which you simple freeze in and put out on time. If you lack time for a home made raw diet, I can understand but BARF is equally good and does not rob you of your time either, not that much at least. 

Cats are picky, how to transition, stop free feeding
When visiting the local specialized dog and cat store here, which focuses on the RAW diet, they often ask us for advice. How did your cat start ? The owners of this store are more focuses on canines as they are also breeders. But they began selling a raw diet for dogs and later on cats. They told us that so many cat owners had issues with switching the diet of a cat. But often the problem is a result by the owners not the cat. Free feeding is a no. Of course it's easy, you put kibble in the bowl and let the cat choose whenever they want to eat. Cats were not meant to eat whenever they could! Often this free feeding results in obesity in cats. My cats in the past also had access to free feeding, but this changed with educating ourselves about cat nutrition. We for example have one portion a day, we cut this portion into two small portions in the morning and evening. And that is completely fine. But free feeding + canned wet food is just so much food all together. If you are going to introduce your cat to a raw diet, with a cat that is used to free feeding, it might be a lot more challenging to get them to start with it. Stop free feeding is one thing you should take serious. Next to that it might be more troublesome if your cat is not used to wet food which isn't good, kibble as an only source is bad. If your cat is used to wet food, simply start mixing wet food and the raw food, in time your cat will transition to the new diet in which you will no longer need to mix wet food. My young cats transitioned first by mixing wet food with raw, then after we completely removed the wet food, we would add a tiny bit of kibble on top. As you can see in the photo of my cat, this was a photo from when she still needed a bit of kibble to start. After a while we removed the kibble and all our cats ate without it. If your lucky like we were with our oldest cat, you cat might just automatically like it right away. Remember if your cat or dog is transitioning that feeding them from one day to the other a completely different diet can result in vomiting. This is normal but I suggest to make the transition slow if your cat or dog is not used to this food, to get them to adapt to their natural source of food.  

=> www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkIp1e…
=> www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh_PzB…

I can't give my cats any kibble or treats ?
I didn't say that, compare it to us humans. We also love eating a chocolate bar, chips or ice cream even when we known it's not good for us. As long as the proportions are small this isn't a bad thing. So giving a cat 1 treat in a day is not bad. We ourselves have kibble from "Almo Nature", and this is not used to feed them but this is actually used as a snack! Because i'm training cat cats currently it is extremely helpful for them to not have kibble on their diet as a dinner or morning portion, meaning their intersession is a lot higher for this kibble, if cats are used to eating kibble it will force people to use special treats in order to teach them something. So I personally would give as advice, if it's possible stick to wet food, and even more desired a raw diet, and keep kibble as a possible snack but try to aim for kibble that nutritious wise is better. 

But what about worms/parasites?
The first thing a vet will warn you about is worms when it comes to a natural diet. However this is more to scare people into avoiding this type of diet which is a shame. I myself have been feeding my young cats raw food very early in their life, and none of them ever had worms. Remember irresponsible raw feeding can result to worms and other unwanted critters. With this meaning, if you give your cat or dog rotten meat, (some people give meat that's outdated for a day or 2 to their cat or dog) this can happen. If your dog eats leftovers while on a leash walk, or poo then this can happen too. If you have an outdoor cat, then you will not have any control over what your cat eats and were they might have received parasites or worms. Now feeding raw is the best thing you can do but it comes with responsibility and you as the owner to make sure you do research in what your cat and dog can have. Especially if you focus on a more home made raw diet, it's important to check what the animal needs to make sure you don't lack it. Most raw diet brands will provide a balanced diet like that of the "BARF" one. Remember as well talking about barf, that this meat comes in frozen packages, 24 hours frozen already destroys most bacteria and parasites and 48 hours makes most non existent. Often these packages itself can be frozen in for a month already which in the case of pork meat destroys unwanted guests as well. I do suggest to read the articles and watch the video's as they will also explain how cats and dogs are meant to deal with unwanted guests and how a healthy immune system will usually destroy bacteria and parasites before they can do any harm. 

=>rawfed.com/myths/parasites.htm…
=>healthypets.mercola.com/sites/…
=>www.sott.net/article/276863-10…
=>perfectlyraw.ca/health-nutriti…

Should I cook the meat?
No, this is not necessary.  The act of cooking alters the proteins, vitamins, fats, and minerals in a food. This alteration can make some nutrients more readily available and others less available. Cooked proteins can be altered to the point where they cause allergic reactions whereas raw proteins do not. Cooked food lacks all the benefits of raw food. Cooked food is deficient in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, because the very act of cooking destroys or alters much of them. Vitamins and minerals can be added back into cooked food, but finding the appropriate balance is incredibly difficult.

=> rawfed.com/myths/cooked.html

Is homemade raw diet okay?
It is completely fine, while some sites will discourage this I do not. It is fine if the owner has done enough research and knows what their dog or cat needs to make up a balanced diet. 

My cat/dog grew old without a raw diet!
That might be but that says nothing about the overall population of cats and dogs. I had a cat that became 18 years old and one 15 years old who had no raw diet at all. This however does not mean they were overall healthy. I have seen many cats in my lifetime that were old but super unhealthy, either obese, or having issues and so on. Take it this way, some people have grown to a 100 years old even when they smoke and drink alcohol, but the MAJORITY that smokes or drinks a lot dies from cancer, etc... This is kind of similar with cats and dogs, it's not because your cat/dog grew old that it is because of the food. Sometimes the genes will play a big part in this. But remember that the majority with a healthy and balanced diet will growl older. My oldest cat from who I thought would die last year changed completely when his diet became partly raw. His siblings by now have all died, that he is still a live and outlived his own mother says a lot. Nutrition wise, food wise it can do a lot. Remember as well it's not because your animal is old that they are thriving, some animals I know that never had a raw diet have joint issues, kidney failure and so on! Over all the animals I all met with a raw diet are so much more energetic and to me that the animal itself feels good inside counts too.

So you are telling me I should switch to raw
This is a stamp with purpose to educate people, I can't tell you anything to do! The choice is yours, i'm not making this stamp to say "YOU HAVE TO" change the diet! This change/choice is not up to me but you. This might not be possible for all people to begin with, but I do know that many people have the opportunity to start with this. Raw diets are becoming more popular and that is great, it will only improve in the future (so I hope).

-When is a raw diet possibly NOT good
If you happen to have a cat or dog that has certain health complications then a raw diet could be a problem. But not just a raw diet, likely in this case any other normal store food or good brand food would probably be bad too. Examples, if your cat has kidney failure it will need a diet that helps it with this. This type of food is usually bought online or through a vet and is specially designed to help this animal with the issue it has. Animals like that are special cases and most likely if they would have been wild or feral would die on this issue as well. so switching diets then is obviously important. Raw diet's are good if your animal is completely healthy.

Am I bad for feeding regular store food?
Of course not! This stamp is educational, it's not to bash on people and call them bad owners not at all! Some people might just have all this information and knowledge(I once didn't have this either),  I know that there are people living with their parents, who's parents might not be open to the change or simply do not wanna pay more money for the animals in the house. As a child you have no control over this, or overall if you live with your parents it will always go by their rules. I am glad that my parents are super open for learning as they allowed the big change for our cats to take place. Not all people are in this situation while on the other hand some people might not be able to afford this type of diet. But this stamp is made, what can you do with it? You can try to educate your parents, your friends anyone you know that has a cat or dog. You can take all this information with you for when you live alone and can choose the diet of your companion. Again this stamp is not made to insult anyone it's made to educate nothing more Some people even go as far as to try a balanced diet of raw mixed with store food, such little changes matter a lot! Most people (I hope) have a cat and dog because they love them, so considering this diet would be awesome But again this might not be an easy possibility for everyone due to costs, or having no control over the diet. But that doesn't mean knowing all this isn't important, towards the future it is.

-If you have questions you may always ask them!
-Please do not argue if you didn't read the entire stamp that is pointless! 
-Arguments are welcome as long as respected attitudes remain, insulting or disagreeing when facts are given can
result in your comments being hid to avoid the possible chance of people learning wrong content from you.

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